Another 10,000 unique bottles were added to Whiskybase, so there had to be another single cask bottling. This time around, they picked a Ledaig, or a peated Tobermory, from a bourbon cask.

Generally, as the last couple of years have proven, Ledaig is a force to be reckoned with. Interestingly, that doesn’t seem to translate to Tobermory being that too. With this being ‘just’ 11 years old, it wasn’t too expensive and it didn’t take long for the bottle-share to fill up.

My own sample was emptied a week or so ago, when I wrote my notes. I wasn’t in a rush since this whisky didn’t need more exposure. As with most things from Archives and/or Whiskybase, it sells out rather quickly. Of course, the bottle is now available in the secondary market at not-too-inflated a price. It’s only about € 20 over the initial retail price, and with Whiskybase taking 8%, the sellers aren’t making any profit, I guess.

Sniff:
A beach bonfire of peat initially, with lots of peatsmoke and brine. Barbecued apples, notes of tar and fish. Very, VERY, coastal. Slightly oily, with engine grease and some diesel. Also straw, marram grass.

Sip:
Bone dry, with salty coastal notes, oaky sharpness. Chalk, vanilla and oak planks.

Swallow:
The finish carries on down the same vein. Salty, briny, tarry, lots of smoke, grass and straw.

This seems to be the quintessential coastal whisky. And while it does lack in complexity, it does make up for it by being so ridiculously focused on these coastal notes.

I like that it’s a bit dirty. There’s some engine oil and diesel happening. There’s tar and fish. There’s still enough to be discovered, if you manage to wrap your head around the almost 60% ABV.

87/100