Reviews of scotch and world whiskies by a history professor, his wife, bird, and three cats.

Ledaig 13 Year Ex-Port

Ledaig 13 Year Ex-Port

Whisky : Ledaig 13 Year Ex-Port

Country/Region : Scotland/Islands

ABV : 58.1%

Cask : Ex-Port Pipe

Nose : Smoked salmon spread on rye at Sea World— salty, meaty, and slightly fishy.  Faint chalk, smoked gouda, and mild antiseptic notes gave this a nice sharp complexity.  Fruity notes came through with fried plantains, roasted bananas, and smokey fruit punch.

Palate : Medium body with a bright and clean flavor profile.  Smoked grapes, a wine shop in Pompeii during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, bbq’ed figs, and purple drink at a family backyard bbq.  Beyond the smokey fruity profile sat notes of grilled shellfish, candied seaweed, and antiseptic wipes.

Finish :  Lingering dry smoke and sweet raisins.


Score : 6

Mental Image : Pompeii’s finest wine shop; Oct. 24 79 CE

Something Similar : Laphroaig 25 Year (similar grilled shellfish/sweet fruit, more chocolate)

Something Worse : Strathisla 12Y SMWS 58.32 (similar grape/purple drink, more sugars, less complexity)


Notes :  An interesting Ledaig with a clean and balanced flavor profile that stretched more in the direction of fruit and sweet than it did to funky and salty.  The port pipe played a starring role as it drove the flavor profile with its concentrated fruits and grapes while the Ledaig spirit hung in the background with occasional gusts of smoke from a seafood bbq.  Overall, while there are some really nice elements in, it felt a bit too balanced, too clean— too much in the direction of fruity and sweet.  Based on prior reviews, it is pretty clear my preference is for refill or ex-bourbon cask Ledaig and that wine casks just have not tickled my fancy.  I think that if you love a fruity wine cask influence on your malt, especially if you love sherry matured Ledaig, then this will have some good appeal.

Dalmore 12 Year SMWS 13.80 “Cerf sans moustache”

Dalmore 12 Year SMWS 13.80 “Cerf sans moustache”

English Whisky Co. 9 Year SMWS 137.4 “Ye olde fish mines of Norwich!”

English Whisky Co. 9 Year SMWS 137.4 “Ye olde fish mines of Norwich!”