Ledaig 2009 An Independent Bottling (The Whisky Agency)

The Whisky Agency bottled this Ledaig, a 16 year old island malt from 2009 and bottled at 52.9%. The outturn was 295 bottles. Ledaig is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Its history is famously broken, with long silences; the buildings once held holiday lets and stored cheese.

Worked through high reflux stills from peated malt, for the smoky, maritime spirit Ledaig is known for. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, vanilla beneath the soot. Around the mid teens the smoke knits with dried fruit and a sea salt. Coastal warehousing lends a mineral, sea spray lift to the smoke. It is one of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland still working. 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 cask strength 52.9% it is muscular. A maritime smoke over ripe fruit, and the refill bourbon lends a quiet vanilla. Soft smoke and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. The finish runs smoky, sweet and warm. This is a bold, peated island single malt.