Side by side : A Ledaig flight

The only distillery on the Island of Mull, Tobermory, produces both unpeated and peated whisky. The peated now goes under the name Ledaig.

Sometimes knows as 'dirty whisky' - here I'll try five different bottlings.

Somewhere around 1798 John Sinclair established Ledaig, Gaelic for “Safe Haven”, distillery on the Isle of Mull. It wasn't licensed until 1823, but by 1837 had fallen on hard times and was mothballed for 41 years. Reopening in 1878 it operated under a succession of owners until it was purchased in 1916 by Distillers Company Limited before being closed again in 1930.

A consortium purchased the distillery in 1972, before going bankrupt, the distillery closed again in 1975. In 1979 a property group bought the site renamed the distillery Tobermory but it again closed in 1982 and was then used as holiday accommodation. The distilleries warehouses were sold off in 1982 and are now used as apartments.

Finally in 1993 Burn Stewart Distillers bought the distillery before they themselves were bought out by South African group Distell in 2013. The distillery closed again between 2017 and 2019 for major renovations.

The distillery produces peated spirit (around 40PPM) for six months of the year, and unpeated for the remainder. The two names have been used for the distillery's output - there has been some peated Tobermory and some unpeated Ledaig but since 2007 the peated whisky has been sold under the old name of Ledaig. Although there is still occasional mix ups - a recent TWBC Ledaig bottling was unpeated! Much of the whisky is used for blends such as Scottish Leader and Black Bottle.

A cast iron rake and plough mash tun, with a copper dome, is used to make the peated wash. Four Oregon pine washbacks ferment the wash for around 90 hours.

Photo: Islay Whisky Academy

Two Wash stills and two Spirit stills, with strange S-shaped kinks in their lyne arms (to increases reflux), with shell and tube condensers are used to distil new make to around 68% ABV.

Photo: Islay Whisky Academy

Most of the whisky is matured on the mainland at Deanston, one of Distell's other Scottish distilleries, but there is a small on site warehouse for limited edition bottlings.

Ledaig is sometime described as a dirty whisky with tar, rubber and smoke notes, here I'm trying 2 distillery bottlings, 2 from SMWS and 1 from TBWC, let's see what they are like:

Dram	2007 9yo 42.40 Herb smoked treacle [SMWS]	2008 9yo 42.43 Smoky spicy red rye ale [SMWS]	2004 13yo Amontillado Sherry Cask Finish [Distillery bottling]	Batch 4 19yo [TBWC]	2008 12yo Marsala wine Cask Finish [Distillery bottling]
Characteristics	59.9% ABV Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead 360 bottles	59.7% ABV 1st Fill Ex-Wine Barrique 252 bottles	59.2% ABV Amontillado Sherry Cask Finish 302 bottles	46% ABV 1121 bottles Guessing ex-bourbon?	58.1% ABV 1121 bottles Marsala wine Cask Finish Casks 912 - 914
Bottler notes	Stewed fruits greeted us with the warm embrace of ginger marmalade and an aged quality reminiscent of old Armagnac. Nutty reverberations brought elements of fine oloroso sherry that deepened with time into figs, dates and orange skin. The warm spice of nutmeg and mace encouraged us to delve into the taste that soon became a smorgasbord of nutty character. Toasted oats, pine nuts, cobnuts and chestnuts all jostled for position. Herbal hues peered through the husks as we found snippets of tart fruit and yoghurt. The finish displayed a strong sense of coconut, neatly packaged in a crate of new oak.	The nose neat was just like compote made with blood smoked plums, red wine and star anise whilst the palate that awaited us was the fiery, spicy, smoky sensation of smoky Texan style pulled brisket or smoked Peking duck. With water the aroma was that of smoked red rye ale, orange bitters and pure lavender honey and the taste reminded us of warm brioche with burnt fig, honeycomb and caramel ice cream. After nine years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky directly into a 1st fill wine barrique, which the cooperage had specially charred and fitted with new heavily toasted heads for us.	This limited edition has been matured for 13 years including a period of finishing in casks that previously held Amontillado sherry a particularly rich white wine whose casks are less commonly used than Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez for aging whisky. Bottled at a strength of 59.2% abv, free from chill-filtration. The nose is rich with barbecue beef, smoky bacon and seaweed notes. The palate is mouth-coating and sweet with a slightly salty and faintly sulphurous taste, before a peppery finish with more delicious smoke.	Nose: Classic Ledaig – all roadworks, smoky bacon, peppercorn sauce, chamois leather and metallic peat, but also some aromatic lemon zest and a floral airiness, too. Palate: Chilli spice, black peppercorns, an earthier peatiness this time. Roast pork sausages with a smoky apple sauce, a malty element, and some rich 90% cocoa dark chocolate for good measure. Finish: All about the leathery peat smoke and a sweet chilli kick.	Nose: Scorched caramel, honeyed nuts, butterscotch, candied fruit balanced with black pepper and a light herbal spice . Palate: Subtle wood spice with notes of barley, walnuts, fruit pastries and an underlying lemon citrus. Hints of smoke and liquorice come through at the back. Finish: Warming finish with bonfire embers, poached pears and a hint of bitter citrus.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Pale gold, almost straw like in, the glass. Swirls cling as a hairline crack, form small beads and fall as slow thick legs.	Light gold in the glass. Swirls cling as a hairline crack which slowly evaporates - no legs to speak of!	Light gold in the glass. Swirls cling as a hairline crack, form small beads and fall as slow thick legs.	Mid gold in the glass. Swirls cling as a hairline crack, form small beads and fall as slow thin legs.	Dark gold in the glass. Swirls cling as a hairline crack, form small beads and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Typical Ledaig dirtiness to start - tar, rubber skid marks, used engine oil, peat smoke but underneath all of this is a fruitiness blackcurrants, stewed pears and fresh mown grass.	The peat notes are a lot more subdued in this one - much more berry and orchard fruit notes - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, dry peaches and a little citrus zest.	Again the peat notes are subdued but there is a huge maritime note - seaweed wind blown beach sand. The fruit is here too - berries and orchard fruit vi with strawberry jam and orange marmalade.	Back to the dirty stuff - fresh road tar, burnt rubber, smoky bacon. There's some citrus here and a little apricot jam.	Again the dirty notes are a little subdued, some maritime notes alongside black pepper, citrus and honey nut cornflakes.
Palate	Liquid smoke arrival, huge peppery spice, asphalt, burnt coffee, silage. There's some tropical fruit notes hidden under here somewhere but they are struggling to get out. A little sweet citrus as the liquid disappears. Yummy!	The smoke is much more apparent on the palate with berry fruit: blackberries, strawberries, raspberries; and citrus notes: orange zest; again to the fore. Some gingerbread notes and a little warming  peppery spice.	Sweet fruit arrival, orange marmalade and spicy black pepper, the tar and smoke arrives soon after drying the mouth. Some strawberry jam notes and hints of brown sugar and almond nuts.	Sweet fruity arrival, honey, stewed pears covered in creamy vanilla custard and a little brown sugar complimented by dirty oil, tar and rubber  peat smoke notes. The smoke notes aren't as pronounced as on the nose - much more balanced and even a hint of Islay iodine here? Yummy!	Another smoke / fruit balance done well - all the tar, rubber and oil funk with tropical fruit - pineapple, coconut and berries - blackberries, strawberries. Lip tingling , mouth coating spice, salt and sweetness adds a little more complexity.
Finish	Long dry and spicy - lots of smoke and tar notes with a zing of citrus.	Long sweet smoke notes with honey covered fruit.	Again lots of smoke and sweetness but with a strange burnt note.	Lingering sweet smoke with a peppery spice kick.	Salty smoke lingers before fruit and spice take over - nice.
Overall	For me the 42.40 has your typical Ledaig funk : tar, oil, rubber peat smoke notes with some tropical and citrus fruit trying to get out. Yummy! The Boutique-y, a little more diluted, is a dram for all seasons - I could imagine it going down well stood on a beach in the pouring rain! All of the finishing casks tend to subdue the smoke a little and amplify or add to the fruit notes - the 42.43 Wine finish adding berry notes; the Amontillado adding strawberry jam and brown sugar and the Marsala adding tropical and berry fruit notes. For me good but not great - get your teeth into an ex-bourbon first to get the  Ledaig funk before you start experimenting with strange finishes.