Tobermory
The distillery was founded by John Sinclair in 1798 after he had applied to lease the 57 acre site named Ledaig in 1797 with the intention to build a distillery along with housing for the workers..
Initially he was turned down for the licence to distill but was granted a brewing licence, however John Sinclair prevailed and opened the Ledaig distillery..
The distillery unfortunately closed in 1837 and remained closed until 1878, with closure once again hitting the distillery in 1930 and once again the distillery remains closed for a number of years.. Well 41 to be precise..
The Ledaig Distillery re opens in 1971 but once again hard times impact the distillery and due to bankruptcy it closes again in 1975..
With bursts of production being sporadic over the next decades the distillery is purchased by Burn Stewart Distillers and opens under the Tobermory name..
In 2013 Burn Stewart is bought out by Distell and the rest is history..
The latest chapter in the distilleries history sees a large refurbishment which started in 2017 and finally finishing in 2019 with the release of a new 12 year old expression.
Today the distillery is well known for producing both Un peated and peated styles, the un peated version is sold under the Tobermory name while the peated version goes under the Ledaig name..
As the title suggests today’s whisky is Ledaig so we can expect a little peaty funk to be going on..
Ledaig 12 year old – TBWC
Distillery.. Tobermory
Region.. Islands ( Isle of Mull )
Age.. 12 years
Abv.. 50.3%
Cask.. Sherry
Batch.. 18
Outturn.. 360 x 50cl Bottles
Nose.. Burnt toffee, caramel and sticky toffee pudding resonate along with an earthy peat smoke and smouldering wood scents. Toffee apples and apple pie both baking in the oven with a sprinkle of cinnamon rise gently on the soft sea spray coated breeze that you imagine as you lay on the sand as the ocean laps at your feet..
Palate.. Dates, raisins and plum pound the mouth with delicious flavours that then allow the bitter dark chocolate, honey, salted caramel and apples to have a moment.. Fruit salad sweets and roasted pineapple mingles with Manuka honey and that brings in that earthy smoke perfectly..
Finish.. Spices and earthy smoke
Thoughts.. Tis a diiirty dram indeed.. Ledaig is fast becoming a firm favourite amongst the peated section for me and the way this whisky still allows those fruity notes to shine along with the smoke is perfect..
Another stonking expression from the Tobermory distillery and bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Thanks go out to TBWC for this official sample..
ocdwhisky.com 