January 31st, 2011

Review: Ledaig, 10 year old

John Hansell

Ledaig, 10 year old, 46.3%, $49

Tobermory’s peated offering. Great to see Ledaig hitting its stride, with a brisk punch of peat and not chill-filtered. There’s a bit of a raw edge too, quite bracing but still plenty of soothing sweetness. Earthy peat smoke, ripe barley, honeyed vanilla, bourbon barrel char, black licorice stick, espresso bean, olive brine, and suggestions of beef jerky. In some respects, it even tastes younger than 10 years old, but I’m balancing that with bonus points for distinctiveness.

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 83

Category: New Releases,Reviews,Scotch whisky Tags: , 18 Comments

October 21st, 2010

Burn Stewart whiskies now un-chillfiltered

John Hansell

Burn Stewart has made it official: no more chill-filtering. From now on the entire line–Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, Ledaig, and Deanston–will not be chillfiltered, and they’ll be bottled at 46.3% abv.

It’s great to see more and more companies following this trend toward keeping more flavor and texture in their whiskies. Their official announcement is below.

Burn Stewart Distillers Malt Portfolio Takes a Traditional Twist

Burn Stewart Distillers, producers of Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, Ledaig and Deanston malt whiskies has made a bold move to re-launch its entire range of malts as un-chillfiltered – the way whisky would have been produced at the hands of craftsman many years ago.

The evolution of the portfolio has been introduced across its Bunnahabhain 12 year old, Tobermory 10 Year Old, Ledaig 10 Year Old and a new addition, Deanston Virgin Oak.

This move is in line with the vision of Burn Stewart Distillers’ Master Blender, Ian MacMillan. Ian comments: ‘Whisky spends all those years maturing in the casks, developing the aroma and flavour. By un-chillfiltering, nothing is taken away or added so whisky lovers can enjoy the whisky at its very best, giving them a better whisky experience. Each dram retains a depth of flavour, allowing the gentle, subtle notes of the malt to come through, providing a purer taste, nose and appearance.’

Tobermory, Ledaig, Bunnahabhain and Deanston Virgin Oak will all be bottled at 46.3% abv, a transformation which will delight whisky drinkers as un-chillfiltration leaves in nuances of flavour, providing depth and complexity to the malts.

Deanston Virgin Oak, a new addition to the portfolio, has been finished in virgin oak casks sourced from a family-owned cooperage in Bardstown, Kentucky.  Unlike most, these casks have not been used for any other alcohol so the Deanston malt picks up more of the oak flavour in maturation.  Everything else about the process is kept close to home, with only local barley and yeast used with water from the River Teith which runs alongside the distillery.

Bunnahabhain Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Islay and Tobermory and Ledaig which are both from the Tobermory Distillery on Mull have also been given a new look to coincide with the launch.  For Bunnahabhain, smoked oak glass will replace the traditional emerald green of the 12 year old bottle, with dual labelling conveying an overall sense of speciality, subtlety, confidence and luxury, reinforcing the premium quality and heritage of the brand. Both Tobermory and Ledaig now have bespoke, embossed glassware to reflect the Tobermory family, emerald green glassware for Tobermory and clear flint for Ledaig with new labelling and etching of Tobermory Bay on the capsule. Both bottles are presented within a quality gift carton.  All the packaging for Deanston Virgin Oak is recycled or recyclable to keep the whisky as close to nature as possible.

The variation in method across the range has excited whisky lovers across the globe as it offers a richer, fuller flavoured whisky.

Category: Marketing,New Releases,Scotch whisky Tags: , , , , 48 Comments

January 3rd, 2010

Top five commenters get some rare Ledaig

John Hansell

I asked you to help me pick which rare whisky to open up on Christmas Eve on this blog posting. And, as I posted here on Christmas Eve, the bottle I opened, as decided by you, was the 1973 vintage, 16 year old “Connoisseurs Choice” Ledaig single malt scotch from the Isle of Mull. A delicious whisky!

As I promised I would do, I shared this bottle with many whisky lovers over the holidays. There’s about 1/3 of the bottle remaining, and I want to share what’s left too.

I thought the proper thing to do with the rest of the bottle is to share it with you. And it’s only fair to reward the most active commenters here on WDJK. So, I’m going to send 50 ml samples to my the top five commenters. As of the end of the year, they were (with number of comments):

Sam K (183)

Red_Arremer (172)

B.J. Reed (125)

Louis (110)

Two-bit Cowboy (94)

Congratulations guys! If you can send me a private email (john@maltadvocate.com) with your mailing address, I’ll get the sample out to you. If you want, please feel to post your thoughts of the whisky up here after you had the chance to taste it.

And in case you were curious, those just missing the top five:

Todd (87)

Bgulien (87)

Neil Fusillo (85)

butephoto (84)

J. C. Skinner (80)

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a great 2010! And thanks for stopping by.

Category: Opinions,Scotch whisky,Special events Tags: , 32 Comments



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