1993 Gordon & Macphail Private Collection Ledaig 19 Year Old St. Joseph Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Ledaig is produced by Burn Stewart Distillers, a company conceived in 1988 with a vision to create a fully integrated Scotch Whisky company and to build a portfolio of international brands. In 1991 Burn Stewart achieved a listing on the London Stock Exchange and soon after acquired the Tobermory Distillery - the only distillery on the picturesque Hebridean Isle of Mull. It is here that Ledaig is produced. (The name is pronounced "Led-chig" and translates to 'safe-haven' from the Gaelic tongue, aptly named after the area in which the distillery sits.) Unlike the Tobermory whisky however, Ledaig is distilled from heavily peated malted barley.

This expression from the distillery was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2012 and finished in red wine casks from St Joseph in the Northern Rhone (Southern France) for 40 months.

Tasting note: Deep burnished copper appearance. Some rubber band lurking in an aroma that otherwise boasts cocoa aplenty followed by a hint of jaffa and toffee apple. Second pass finds the nose to be more fruit and nut chocolate like and with only a whisper of peat to speak of, accentuating slightly with time in the glass, but not typically Ledaig by any stretch. A soft entry leads into a medium bodied, gently warming profile featuring delicious fruit and nut chocolate flavours followed by hints of caramel and vanilla. Excellent balance. The sweetness is restrained. Concludes pleasantly dry but a little short. 45% Alc./Vol.