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!

89/100

Ledaig 1995-2020, 25 years old, Hogshead, 48.5%, The Whisky Agency Spring 2020.