Whisky : Ledaig 14 Year, Single Malts of Scotland

Country/Region : Scotland/Islands

ABV : 55.4%

Cask : Sherry Butt

Age : 14 Year (Distilled 7 Nov. 2005, Bottled 18 Nov. 2019)

Nose :  Barbecue, maritime, fruit. Grilled shellfish— mineral, salt, and smoke, along with sweet caramelized fruity chilis, smoked crab meat, and sweet chili prawns. Herbal notes emerged with a bit more time as a dry spice on a pork loin, smoked tea, or a heavily spiced Holiday gingerbread cake. A few drops of water brought out more meat and sea.

Palate :  Medium-bodied and oily with notes of salt, earth, and tobacco. Sweet and salty initially with notes of candied ginger, caramel brownies, cola, and black sugar. Subtle smoke hung in the background as a distant grass fire or a beachside compost burn with coconut husks, palm fronds, and mulberry bark. Herbal grassy notes lingered toward the end as tobacco or dried grass.

Finish : Slightly dry with caramel, cola, and dried grass.

Score : 7

Mental Image :  Post-BBQ Brownies

Notes :  This was a really un-funky Ledaig, and my wife was a bit disappointed because of that. The sherry influence was a bit strong, and the flavors a tad sweeter than she hoped for when I first poured this. After a few months, the sherry-driven flavors did mellow out, and fruit notes transitioned toward fruity chilis on the nose, while more chocolate and cola appeared on the palate.  A few drops of water brought out more meat and salt on the nose and black sugar and grass on the palate.

I love Ledaig, and I think I have a big enough sample size to say that I prefer ex-bourbon Ledaig. I have had some refill sherry casks I enjoyed— I thought maturation in a big butt would be fine— but in general, I love the pure salty-cheesy funk that seems to come through strongest when there is less cask influence. I found this quite good for a peated sherry cask whisky; I just hoped for something a bit funkier and wild from Ledaig.

Overall, this improved quite a bit with some time to breathe, even if it never quite hit the heights that I had hoped it would. I am glad I split a bottle with some friends rather than nabbing an entire one for myself. I was tempted, but sharing was clearly the better option— and it usually is.

Image Credit: Whiskybase