Ledaig 18 Year Old Oloroso Finish (Batch 4)
The fourth batch of Ledaig's 18 Year Old carries its peat into a bath of oloroso sherry, and the two argue happily all the way to the finish. This is not a whisky that tries to hide its smoke behind the wood. Instead the sherry wraps around it, and what you get is something bold and oily, richly fruited, with tar and sea salt underneath.
Ledaig is the peated spirit made at Tobermory, the little distillery on the Isle of Mull. It belongs to the Islands, not the Highlands, and that coastal setting shows. Batch 4 spends its first years in the usual casks before a spell in ex-oloroso wood pulls the whole thing towards dried fruit and warm spice. Bottled at 46.3%, non-chill-filtered, it has the weight to take its maturity seriously.
The nose is a fruity, sherried smokiness, with seaweed, a little creosote and dried chilli flakes over spicy black pepper and sweet oak. The palate is where it opens right up: sherried dark fruit, caramel and sweet spice, then a wave of smoke, earth and brine. A few drops of water calm the phenols and let the oloroso sweetness come forward, though many will enjoy it just as it is. The finish is long, drying, faintly medicinal.
A dram for a cold evening when you want something that fills the room.
How to Serve
Neat in a Glencairn to begin, then a small splash of water to soften the peat and lift the sherry. No ice.
Where to Drink It
Black Rock in Shoreditch, whose whisky tables were made for a smoky Islander like this. Boisdale, for peat with a plate of something hearty. Milroy's of Soho, if you want a knowledgeable pour and good company.
Food Pairings
Try it beside a wedge of aged Gouda, or after a bowl of smoked haddock chowder. The salt and smoke find each other.
