Ledaig 2010 V&M (Valinch & Mallet)

Single malt Ledaig, selected and bottled by Valinch & Mallet, a 10 year old from 2010, drawn from cask 700414 and bottled at 53.7%. A release of 648 bottles. Ledaig is the heavily peated single malt of Tobermory distillery, the only distillery on the Isle of Mull, founded in 1798. Its history is famously broken, with long silences; the buildings once held holiday lets and stored cheese.

Distilled from peated malt in kinked copper stills on soft Mull water, giving a sooty, coastal peat smoke over a fruity sweetness. Ex-Sherry wood added dried fruit to the smoky spirit. At this age the smoke is fierce and ashy, the brine and medicinal note sharp. A patient maturation suits the bold, smoky Ledaig character. Burn Stewart revived production in 1993, and Distell bought the distillery in 2013. The stills carry boil bulbs and a kink in the lyne arms, which lifts the reflux. Water is drawn from a private hill loch, the Gearr Abhainn, above the town.

At a natural 53.7% it is bold and full. Peat smoke, brine and a medicinal note, and the Oloroso adds figgy fruit and a warm nuttiness. A BBQ char and a sea salt lift it. The finish is deep, tarry and sweet. This is Ledaig, the peated malt of the Isle of Mull.