Sunday, October 23, 2011

Ledaig 15 year

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Color: golden straw and banana skin. Gorgeous clarity.

Nose: musky. Dry mandarin and orange peel. Barnyard dust. Greenness of the aloe plant. Honeyed corn bread. Bales of hay in the back. Spiked honeycomb with a tickle of heat – primitive mead.

Body: medium-light with mild coating of glass which doesn’t last long. Oily and mouth-coating up front and dry in the in the back.

Palate: oily sticky decadence and not heavy at all. Orange oils and aloe oils. Heaviest in the middle, lightest up front and back. Honeycomb. Dusty dry finish – sawdust, barnyard dust, horse blanket, baled hay. Spiced stewed honeyed apples and peaches. Cornbread and honey. Yellow banana peel in the back. Cinnamon-sugar in the breath. Subtle sweet peaty smoke permeates and entices and soothes. Subtle and sophisticated.

Finish: long, smoky, and sweet with gentle oaky dryness.

As real as the bottle of Ledaig 15 year and the multiple drams she relinquished from her glassy confines, the distillery itself has proved ghostly illusive. Searching for any information on this once defunct and now operational distillery has been a pleasurable challenge. What I have been able to deduce is that Ledaig is still alive and well but goes by the name of Tobermory which is located on the Hebridean Island of Mull. Where it grows confusing is that Tobermory also has its own single-malt which goes by her new namesake. These two singular spirits are not to be confused with each other for each are truly a unique tasting experience.

While Tobermory and I remain strangers, Ledaig and I fast developed an intimate relationship. A truly fine spirit, she was sensual sophistication. The smoke was divinely delicate and her fruit tantalizingly sweet. I truly fell in love with this single-malt. Each sup left a thin sheen of sticky oaked honey divinity on my lips. Brilliant from nose to mouth, I’d gladly savor Ledaig 15 year on a very regular basis. Bottles may be hard to find, but the fruitful reward of one’s search is in the bottle and, of course, in your glass.

Brilliant. 

(an original written work by Kristyn Lier. plagiarism is not tolerated)

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