Ledaig 2008 (Connoisseurs Choice)

A Ledaig single malt, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail matured to 12 year old from 2008, drawn from cask 20/074 and bottled at 45%. The outturn was 4440 bottles. Ledaig is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Burn Stewart revived the distillery in 1993, and Distell of South Africa bought it in 2013.

The spirit was distilled from malt peated to around thirty seven parts per million, building the bold, smoky Ledaig style. A sherry butt held it, sherry and smoke twining together. Mid age brings a deeper, sweeter smoke and a maritime lift. The cool, damp island air gives a slow, even maturation. Tobermory has distilled in the island's harbour town since 1798. The town of Tobermory was laid out by the British Fisheries Society a decade before the distillery came. The distillery's history is broken by long silences; its buildings once stored a local cheddar.

At 45% it is supple and rich. Wood smoke, BBQ char and a coastal salt, and the Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth. It is bold and coastal, the peat and soot to the fore. The close is long, smoke over a sweet fruit. This is a heavily peated malt from Mull's only distillery.