Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Undisclosed (sort of.)
Bottler: Living Souls.
Region: Scotland (blended).
ABV: 46.3%.
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2025.
Cask type: Ex-sherry.
Price: £55 GBP for 700mL.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 5 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: rich, red fruits, bonfire smoke, oiled wood, motor oil, sharp cheese, orange rind, rubber.
Palate: big, full-bodied ~ tons of wood smoke, more red fruits and cheese, a hint of cough syrup, forest decay, more rubber.
Finish: medium length ~ smoke and red fruits linger, a bit more oiled wood and orange zest.
Thoughts: This was one of the first releases from relatively new indie bottler Living Souls—a blended Scotch named, ostensibly, for its 99:1 malt-to-grain ratio. The story told by the bottler goes that a splash of 3yr Scottish grain whisky “accidentally” found its way into a vat of older, heavily peated Island malt whisky. The ABV is a clue that this malt was Ledaig, supposedly 18 years old. Living Souls then sold it for a fraction of the price 18yr sherried Ledaigs typically go for on the market, and the whisky enthusiast crowd went wild for it.
I picked this bottle up in Glasgow, having heard some of the initial good chatter. My impression is that it’s extremely bold both on the cask front and the spirit front, and the integration of the two is great. The rubber note that weaves its way from background to foreground in the heart of the bottle, and then recedes in the heels, feels like a fault compared to some of the other funky Ledaig hallmark notes here; it’s a touch distracting to me, but not enough to dissuade from the rest of its merits. I honestly get no sense of grain here, which makes sense given the miniscule amount in the batch—it’s Ledaig through and through, and pretty darn good to boot. The obvious comparison for me is Atom Brands’s Siren Bay 18yr, which was also a cheap, undisclosed, heavily peated Island Scotch. Ninety-Nine and One is much more overtly sherried, and I may have slightly preferred the cleaner profile of Siren Bay, but not by much. I’m very happy to have had both of them in the cabinet (bring on more of these well-aged, well-priced mystery Ledaigs!)
Final Score: 85.
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 