Whisky: Ledaig 20 Year (1997), The Maltman for Shinanoya

Country/Region: Scotland/Islands

ABV: 51.2%

Cask: Bourbon Cask

Age: 20 Years (Distilled Sept. 1997, Bottled Sept. 2017)

Nose: Maritime, herbal, and barbecue. Exceptionally coastal— maritime memories of slate-colored water, a small charcoal grill, and a bag of lemons, cheese, and herbs to prep dinner. Dehydrated lemon slices paired with medicinal herbal notes of mugwort, sage, and coriander seeds. As smoke wafted off white-hot coal, the herbal notes turned toward savory barbecue meats, peppery herbal rubs, and fat trimmings.

Palate: Medium-bodied with dirty notes of saltwater, citrus, and herbs. The wife proposed a cocktail: smoked lemons and muddled mint with a salted rim. Citrusy brine and dirty coal smoke carried hints of sage and burning herbs. Mint and graphite appeared on the mid-palate as a slightly acrid smoke slid further into focus. Dirty and industrial on the one hand, burning herbs and cleansing rituals on the other, perhaps a cocktail was the best way to describe the experience.

Finish: Lingering notes of smoky citrus and mineral-rich saltwater.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Burnt Sage & a Cocktail Cleanse

Notes: A robust and dirty Ledaig, this Maltman bottled for Shinanoya was absent some of the Ledaig funk but full-throated in its herbal-maritime embrace. It was brilliant, with loads of dirty coastal, industrial, and anthracite notes lingering in the air and across the palate. If there was one weakness, the flavor characteristics did not build over time but became a bit flat. Rather than a crescendo of complexity or intensity, the dram petered out as I sat with it— a strange evolution I noticed even more during subsequent tastings.

The wife declared it, “the kind of Ledaig I like,” and what more can I say. Though her initial notes are always brief and to the point— a style I am sure those who find me a bit wordy would enjoy— once she has had a few drams, she becomes more verbose with increasingly detailed and specific descriptions. I will never forget her describing a Craigellachie as “two dudes in pastel sundresses enjoying a late summer vineyard stroll.” That is a flavor note with some layers to unpack. She kept in simple with this, which reflected her enjoyment— though she was a bit more reserved on subsequent blind tastings of it.

Overall, my wife had a point— this was nice. It was that sort of bottle you might point to as being to essence of Ledaig. It had a bit in common with a Chieftain’s bottle I did not rate as highly; the difference was the clarity and crispness of flavors.

Image Credit: Bar Waiter Waiter