Origin: Mull Island(Scotland)
Type: Single Scotch Malt Whisky
Strength: 59.1%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Atom Brands
Average price: € 150.00
Official website: www.thatboutiqueywhiskycompany.com
Vote: 89/100
The packaging of this British bottler has always been over the top, a cross and delight for every whisky enthusiast: some find it too frivolous, others appreciate the lightness and pure fun that characterises it.
Fully respecting this mocking spirit, Boutique-y Records was born, a series in which it is the musical theme that characterises the labels with audiocassettes, vinyls, audio files… and Back to the Future!
In this case, the illustrations refer to the concept of uncompressed quality, in music as in whisky: the reference is to .flac audio files seen as parallels to full and unadulterated strength, with an illustration showing the pronunciation of the whisky’s name in both sound waves and text.
And when it comes to Ledaig, the peated whisky made by the Tobermory distillery, pronunciation is anything but easy!
Single cask ex-Sherry with a distillate from December 1997 which produced 475 bottles in 2022, in the usual 50cl size.
Tasting notes
The whole soul of Ledaig can be found on the nose, embodied in the fatty notes of barbecue (ribs and sauce), juniper and grilled pineapple, with a salty twist of sardines in saor, a typical Venetian dish that I cannot but appreciate. But the sherry cask doesn’t fail to make its own contribution with massive doses of chinotto, goji berries, liquorice, cinnamon roll and a touch of chocolate, while in the background appear flashes of cow’s cheese matured in burnt hay (does it exist?). Intense and pungent.
In the mouth it finds a sparkling spirit, between white pepper, blood orange and chinotto (intended as a drink) that anticipate less brutal evocations than on the nose, where the salty component becomes more important on a red fruit compote accompanied by sweet liquorice, ginger biscuits, panforte and burnt grass. Very full and oily, with the smoky part emerging at length to envelop the flavours in a warm embrace.
Quite long finish, ashy and salty, of panforte, liquorice, ginger biscuits and a hint of paprika.
How good Ledaig’s single casks are! When they offer such rich and full ageing as this one, where the sherry cask marries perfectly with the distillate, knowing how to enhance its potential by giving depth and body to a peat that knows how to be ‘dirty’ and captivating at the same time.
And I like Those Boutique-y labels.