Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5

The Malt Nuts gathering to do a Ledaig tasting has become a yearly tradition. Though this year, unfortunately, I had to opt to do the second (digital) version because of a scheduling conflict. Luckily that option is still open, though who knows for how much longer. This is why the photos below don’t look like my usual shots. These were taken by the head Malt Nut Barry.

At this point, I don’t think I need to go into much detail about our blind tasting setup or the distillery, but for the heck of it here it is. The rounds were all done blind, mine in minis, with a reveal after the tasting. Ledaig is peated Tobermory and we focused on expressions aged 10+ years and 46%+ ABV. All good? Great, here we go.

Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5 – Pre round

Pre 1: Morgan & Morgan Barrel Selection Ledaig 9 years (08-18): 50%

Nose: Salty, briny, dirty smoke, spirity vanilla, cakey
Palate: Buttered popcorn, fruit, char, spirity vanilla, smoke and maritime.
Finish: Long -> Smoke, vanilla cake, minerally and dry.
Overall: (3 / 5) Damn this is a classic Ledaig. Fun and tasty!

Pre 2: Ardbeg 10 years: 46% – ex-Bourbon

Nose: Minerally clay, malt, vanilla, spirity smoke
Palate: Buttered toast, smoke, minerality, honied fruit and malt.
Finish: Long -> Smoke, fruit and minerality.
Overall: (2.5 / 5) Super minerally and spirity, kind of an off profile, not as “dirty” as Ledaig usually is. And light, I had a hard time getting the notes I wrote from the nose.

Pre 3: Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2012: 50%

Nose: Malt, Honey Nut Cheerios, BBQ smoke, fruit and spice, sharp.
Palate: Malt, fruit, HNC sweetness and BBQ smoke with a bit of cakey sweetness.
Finish: Long -> Sweet and fruity with BBQ smoke.
Overall: (3 / 5) BBQ smoke isn’t usually something I associate with Ledaig, more of a Bruichladdich thing, but I like it.

Post-Reveal Commentary: These pre-rounds are always fun because they’re usually things we’ve tasted at previous tastings or things to calibrate the palate. I obviously, and now seeing falsely, thought it might all be Ledaig, but glad to see I pinged the true Ledaig right out of the gate. Also, by now I should know Barry’s going to throw a few curveballs into a tasting.

Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5 – Round 1

1A: Exclusive Malts Tobermory 11 years (05-16): 57.6% – Refill Hogshead

Nose: Strawb shortcake, fruit leather, dried apricots, malt, touch of sulfur
Palate: Shortcake, spice, stale dried fruit, malt, touch of sulfur.
Finish: Long -> Coppery fruit.
Overall: (2 / 5) Has an almost artificial note to it and no real smoke to speak of. Weird.

1B: Archives Ledaig (08): 55.9%

Nose: Banana malt, smoke, dried fruit, spice and touch of oak.
Palate: Banana malt, malt, smoke and dried fruit, spirity oak.
Finish: Long -> Fruit and malt with a smoky Cheerio.
Overall: (2 / 5) Watery and light. What little I’m getting is in hints and whispers. Again, a slight artificial note to it like 1A.

Post-Reveal Commentary: Sooooooo we’re not off to a good start. It’s like the curse of bad whisky carried over from the Peated Bruichladdich Round 2 into this tasting. I hope this doesn’t continue.

Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5 – Round 2

2A: Blackadder Ledaig 13 years (01-14): 57.5% – Oak Hogshead

Nose: Malt, banana, smoke, Canada mints, fruit and minerality.
Palate: Smoke, fruit, minerality, malt, floral and caramel.
Finish: Long -> Smoke, fruit and malt.
Overall: (3 / 5) Dirty and a bit crisp.

2B: Single Cask Nation Ledaig 15 years (04-19): 55.7% – Refill Bourbon Hogshead

Nose: Sunkist fruit gems, smoke, vanilla, cherry taffy.
Palate: Buttery, Sunkist fruit gems, minerality, smoke, vanilla and fruity syrup.
Finish: Long -> Smoke, fruit, Sunkist gems and malt.
Overall: (3 / 5) Pretty good, it’s an enjoyable Ledaig.

2C: Blackadder Ledaig 17 years (01-19): 58.3% – Hogshead

Nose: Malt, banana, smoke, fruit, vanilla taffy, touch floral.
Palate: Honey Nut Cheerios, smoke, banana, vanilla taffy, mildly floral.
Finish: Long -> Sunkist, smoke, fruit and floral.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) Nice, I could drink this all night.

Post-Reveal Commentary: Now this is more like it! This was a good, tasty round of Ledaig and I was surprised to see Blackadder in there. I’ve only been so-so on them over the years.

Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5 – Round 3

3A: G&M Ledaig 16 years (90-06): 46%

Nose: Crisp and coastal, minerally clay, dark fruit taffy, vanilla, fruity and malty.
Palate: HNC, banana, Sunkist candy, malt, clay, leather and winey sweet with a teeny hint of peat.
Finish: Long -> Butterscotch, sunkist gems and malt
Overall: (3 / 5) Is there smoke in this? Are the smoky hints I’m getting leftovers from the last whisky or a psychosomatic? It’s so light. It’s a good whisky, but it’s more like a Tobermory…

3B: Alexander Murray Ledaig 20 years (97-17): 50%

Nose: Smoke, herbal-spice, banana, fruit, malt, char.
Palate: Fruit, malt smoke, char, dried fruit, sweetness and
Finish: Long -> Smoke, malty sweetness and char, a bit dirty.
Overall: (3/ 5) Tasty whisky, not bad at all.

Post-Reveal Commentary: Huh, so 3A actually was a Ledaig, a super lightly peated Ledaig, but I guess a Ledaig nonetheless; I thought this was going to be like 1A and be a Tobermory. I think the only reason I’m getting a hint of peat on the palate is because of the residual peat from the others, it should just be labeled a Tobermory.

Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5 – Round 4

4A: Chieftain’s Ledaig 11 years (07-18): 58.1% – Butt

Nose: Banana chips, malt, smoke, waxy vanilla, cinnamon, fruit and salt.
Palate: Banana, smoke, waxy vanilla, cinnamon, malt, nuts and leather
Finish: Long -> Smoke, sweet, honey and malty graham.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) I like this, it’s odd and fun and rich. This is a heavy, velvety, whisky.

4B: G&M Cask Strength Ledaig 14 years (00-15): 54.5% – Refill Sherry Hogshead

Nose: Sunkist gems, overripe fruit, malt, fruity syrup, graham and char.
Palate: Sunkist, grapefruit peels, malt and graham, touch minerality.
Finish: Long -> Fruity, smoke and candy sweet
Overall: (4 / 5) There is a dry grapefruit peel note that reminds me of Laphroaig 18, I like it a lot.

Post-Reveal Commentary: I really want a bottle of that 4A, it was super unique and wholly enjoyable. It stood up and stood out amongst everything I drank up to this point. I love surprises like this in a blind.

Malt Nuts: Ledaig Part 5 – Bonus Round

BONUS: Single Malts of Scotland Ledaig 14 years (05-19): 55.4% – Sherry Butt

Nose: Fruit, malt, banana chips, touch floral, spice and smoke.
Palate: Malt, fruit, banana chips, nuts and taffy, with a dark candy sweetness.
Finish: Long -< Smoke, malt fruity candy and spice.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) I like it. The peat is oddly light on the nose, but very punchy on the palate and finish. This was a great whisky to end the night on.

Post-Reveal Commentary: It was good.

As always, this was a fun event. Even if it was just a handful of us doing it via Zoom, it was still fun to see some familiar faces, try some tasty whisky and spend the evening chatting and laughing.

Cheers!