Ledaig 2020 JE Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland Commemorative (James Eadie)

Bottled by James Eadie, this Ledaig, aged 5 year old from 2020 and bottled at 52.6%. The outturn was 1015 bottles. Ledaig is the heavily peated single malt of Tobermory distillery, the only distillery on the Isle of Mull, founded in 1798. The single malts are bottled without chill filtration at 46.3 percent or higher.

Made in the kinked copper stills from peated barley, for a smoky, tarry make with a sweet core. A refill bourbon cask held it, keeping the smoke to the fore. At a youthful age the smoke is vigorous and coastal. Active casks frame the smoke without smothering the fruit beneath. Mull's maritime climate works into the maturing casks over the years. 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.

At 52.6%, undiluted, it is rich and deep. Peat, iodine and a fruity sweetness, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. A sweet fruit and a medicinal note sit under the smoke. A long, ashy finish ends on sea salt. This is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery.