Ledaig Batch 2 (TBWC)

This Ledaig was chosen and bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company, bottled at 50.5%. 99 bottles in all. Made on the Isle of Mull, Ledaig is the heavily peated malt of the island's only distillery. Water comes from the Gearr Abhainn, a private hill loch above the town of Tobermory.

The spirit was made in the kinked copper stills from peated barley, for a smoky, tarry make with a sweet core. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, a light sweetness under the peat. Carrying no age, it leans on peat smoke, brine and a sweet fruit. Active casks frame the smoke without smothering the fruit beneath. The distillery's history is broken by long silences; its buildings once stored a local cheddar. 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 50.5%, undiluted, it is rich and deep. Peat, iodine and a fruity sweetness, and the ex-Bourbon lends vanilla and a soft honey. A sweet fruit and a medicinal note sit under the smoke. A long, peaty finish smoulders to the end. This is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery.