Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I generally dig Ledaig but I don’t own much of it. I tend to get it in samples or at tastings, and I’ve had some excellent single casks in the past. So I’m looking forward to these two for sure.
Tasted on 6/24/2022, neat in a Glencairn, water added later as appropriate.
Ledaig 12 Year (2007) Signatory Vintage
I got this one recently as a “cheap gamble”, because I like Ledaig, I like SV, and I had a little FOMO as some of the boys were pulling together a FD order. So let’s see what my impulse buy got me.
Distillery: Tobermory
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islands
ABV: 59.8%, cask strength
Age: 12 years old. Distilled on 06/07/2007. Bottled on 02/11/2020.
Cask type: Refill Sherry Butt
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. #516 of 604 bottles, from a single cask #700555.
Nose: lovely earthy peat smoke. Apple, pears. Machine oil. Seaspray. Black pepper. Green tea. Cereal. Dry grass. Bacon grease. With Water: more cereal and malt. A bit floral. More mineral; sand, chalk. Sweeter, a touch more fruit.
Taste: black pepper. Very hot. Big wood smoke and ash. Oil. Tea. Apple. Black rubber. Nice mouthfeel. With Water: no heat. Less pepper. Much more smoke, peat, oil. More tea. More maritime. Sweeter.
Finish: big pop of wood smoke, lots of black pepper. Machine oil. Seawater. Grassy. Black rubber. Decent length on pepper, smoke, and rubber. With Water: even more smoke, less pepper. More earthy notes.
Summary: In your face and dirty. It’s got some rough notes in there which I quite like. I think many may find the rubbery notes off putting, but I think they work really well here. This one is just too hot neat, honestly, and needs a nice splash of water to really settle down and open up. Water brings out more smoke, floral notes, cereal, and it gets much more mineral. Nicely maritime, too. I’m not getting much sherry out of this one at all, must be a well-used sherry butt, which is fine. I’m really surprised by this one, very nice indeed. Looks like my gamble paid off, this was a bargain.
Would I buy a bottle? yep.
Final Score: 87.
Ledaig 23 Year (1997) Hunter Laing Hebridean Mulligan for K&L
Okay, okay, this one is technically a blend. A single cask of Ledaig teaspooned with 23yr Talisker. Sometimes I love K&L’s shenanigans, especially when it comes to avoiding foolish tariffs. 2oz sample from a split.
Distillery: Ledaig
Bottler: Hunter Laing (HL)
Region: Scotland, Islands
ABV: 59.0%, cask strength
Age: 23 years old. Distilled in 04/1997. Bottled in 09/2020.
Cask type: Refill Hogshead
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 202 bottles, from a single cask #HL 18069.
Nose: peat, coal smoke. Iodine, camphor. Eucalyptus. Seawater, warm sand, seaweed. Tea. Apple. Herbal. Farmy. With Water: more smoke. Mud. More camphor. Sweeter, caramel apple now.
Taste: rich, earthy peat. Coal smoke. A bit dry. Camphor. Seawater. A bit hot. Herbal. Apple. Oily, coating mouthfeel. With Water: thinner mouthfeel, oops. Sweeter. Heat is gone. Ham.
Finish: nice pop of smoke, earthy, farmy, dry. Camphor & eucalyptus. Seawater. Apple. Nice length on smoke & spice, with some rubbery notes creeping in. With Water: less smoke. Not quite as dry. More lingering warmth.
Summary: Some really nice right, earthy, farmy, muddy notes on this one. Nice smoke throughout, and lots of camphor and eucalyptus. Reminds me of Lip Medex. Some nice maritime notes in here, too, and much more herbal than fruity. Water seems to open up the nose, but I feel like it lost out on the palate quite a bit, getting thinner all around, with less smoke. A bit simple all around, which I feel is a bit surprising in this case.
Would I buy a bottle? nah.
Final Score: 85.
Comparison
Order: 12 > 23
I really dig the SV 12 here. A bit rough and dirty, but bold and right up my alley. The 23 is very good, don’t me wrong, but it’s subdued and a bit of a letdown honestly in comparison.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 