Sometimes you need to relax and enjoy some good and easy young peated whisky while listening to music, or enjoy some times with friends. So let’s try some from the 2000s and see what happens.
Ledaig 10yo 2004-2015 (62.3%, Signatory Vintage, 1st Fill Sherry Butt, cask #900177, 599 bottles)
Colour: Amber.
Nose: It’s quite powerful. We have some phenolic taste, raisiny, walnut, gentle smoke and some old and dusty books, old leather too.
Mouth: There is a nice oily texture here and the alcohol is well integrated. To be honest, flavours are really powerful and the first sip is quite overwhelming. Here we are boys : Iodine, medicinal flavours, smoky meat, peat, walnut too. It’s not very complex while at the same time remaining very effective. And oh, what a fighter, this guy just goes all-in at the start, pure effectiveness.
Finish: Really long, dry and salty, a bit of smoke too.
It’s a really good dry sherry with peat and even medicinal notes, not really hyper complex but hey, it’s a really good sherry-peaty-bomb with medicinal notes! Very Laphroaig-y actually, and to be honest I like complex whiskies, but this one got me.
Not expected but very much appreciated.
Score: 90
Ledaig 12yo 2008-2020 (55.9%, Archives, Hogshead, cask #700003, 249 bottles)
Colour: White wine.
Nose: Alcohol is totally absent. Smoke and iodine, hints of lemon confit, brine. It promises of beautiful things.
Mouth: Flavours are powerful and the alcohol is perfectly integrated. It possesses an oily texture which enhances the whole experience. It’s a one-direction mouth, no complexity but a pure Ledaig profile. So we have meaty peat, smoke all over the place, lemon, brine, a bit of salt too in the background. Well, nevermind.
It’s really good, powerful and really easy to drink.
Finish: Long and powerful with a lot of ashes and salt, some delicate touch of lemon too. Really nice, it reminds me of the Ardbeg profile quite a bit.
Just a typical young monolithic Ledaig with a lot of meaty peat, smoke and a bit of lemon. At this price that’s really a nice price/quality ratio. Again, a really nice bottle to have from the Archives/Whiskybase team, well done!
Score: 89
Those bottlings are really good as daily drams. They are finally quite monolithic but powerful and the alcohol is perfectly integrated. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want, some easy drink to enjoy with friends. But pay attention, these are dangerously quaffable and easy to drink!
I’ve tasted a lot of really nice young Ledaig’s these days and it seems to be nearly always a good pick, those are most of the time straightforward pure Ledaig profile, seems it’s better to come as you are in these days!
Tasting Bro's 