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.