Ledaig 25 Years Old The Whisky Agency 48.5% 1995

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (87)

Colour: straw. snapped twigs along with a very gentle kind of ‘green’ bonfire smoke that comes through wispily and elegantly. Also lemon cough drops, anthracite embers, Marmite on brown toast, some crushed pink peppercorns and things like lanolin, sourdough starter and orange vitamin tablets fizzing in soda water. Light, bright, elegant and nicely complex. There’s also this sense of yeastiness which feels rather like a Tobermory accept encroaching upon this pretty gentle Ledaig. Which seems too often be the case with 90s Ledaigs. Mouth: indeed, it’s not a particularly peaty one. This is more on wet rocks, crushed aspirin, wet grains, raw cereal, fresh butter with chopped chives and parsley, plain toast, ink, carbon paper and lemon barley water. Cleaves close to the raw ingredients which is always good, but also has that elegant veil of age. And the mouthful has a robustness that carries everything nicely. More soft yeasty tones, grass, freshly muddled herbs, some mouthwash and more of these gentle lemony notes. Finish: good length but rather light and cereal driven, also some olive oil, sunflower seeds and hints of canvass and new leather. Comments: A tad whacky but also pretty charming and, most importantly, clean and never straying far from the raw ingredients. Indeed, the whole thing feels very natural. Although, I would say this is something of a departure from other Ledaigs from the mid-90s or earlier, most of those remain very ‘unlikely’ in my experience; perhaps time is the key ingredient with this baby.

Whisky Notes (91)

Nose: hardly peaty. There’s a mellow fruitiness of yellow plums, peaches as well as some sharper citrus, flints and coastal minerals. Also leathery notes and hessian cloth. A little eucalyptus. Ink and paraffin. Leafy notes and broken branches, with a subtle farmyard note in the background. A light dirty touch, as expected, but it suits this profile. Fairly gentle and slow to unfold.

Mouth: more of the coastal notes now, actually really salty, mixing with some fruity acidity (kiwi, lemon) and some herbal notes. Mint. Also chalky notes, wet wool, subtle aspirin and ginger. Becomes increasingly oily, with some dusty hints and waxed papers. Don’t expect much peat as such. Rather unique.

Finish: medium long, on malty and leafy notes, with a lingering coastal edge, a little green pepper and herbal tea.

This is not for beginners but I love how it unfolded itself, showing new elements with every sip. Too bad I only had ten sips or so, I would happily spend an evening with this one. Unusual but I think it’s lovely and probably the most interesting pick from this batch

BOW (89)

Maltfascination.com

It’s been a while since I had anything from The Whisky Agency, but recently I got the opportunity to buy some bottles and I did. I bought the 25 year old Ledaig, and a 23 year old Ben Nevis. The review of the latter one will follow sometime reasonably soon.

Ledaig, as we know by now, is peated Tobermory, and with our current holiday plans for spring next year, I decided to educate myself a little bit in regards to this distillery. Any excuse for a dram, right?

Let’s dive right in.

Sniff:
Lots of coastal notes right away, with the surf rolling in on the beach, marram grass and flotsam. A gentle peat smoke, much less prominent than I expected, even after 25 years in oak. Fresh grass and some minty notes too. Leafy greens, straw, apple and cracked black pepper. Later on I get white grapes too.

Sip:
The palate continues with the black pepper, with a slightly sharp edge. Dry oak, with apple and pear, melon and smoke. Salty smoke, with grass and washed up wood again.

Swallow:
The finish shows a hint of vanilla that I hadn’t noticed before. Syrupy sweet, with apple and pear and oak. Lightly smoky, and slightly less coastal.

It’s become very mellow in the quarter century in a cask, much more so than most other Ledaigs I’ve had over the years. It does show that peated whiskies change quite a bit over their maturation, and it is very much a dram to sit down with. Not just something you quickly chug back for an impression and then move on.

All in all it’s a great dram, with a lot of complexity. Initially I thought it was merely ‘very good’, but a second and third glass proved me wrong and I got more and more enthusiastic about it. A shame my share is already gone!