This 12-year-old Ledaig Distillery Exclusive release was finished in Amarone wine casks for one year. Non-chill filtered, natural colour and limited to 2753 bottles.
Appearance: Rose wine, amber honey. Good viscosity, plenty of medium legs and decent film forms on the glass.
Nose: Sweet BBQ smoke, sauce and plenty of salty meat aromas. Like steak chargrilling over an open fire on the beach. Also, if you remember the smell of the char frilled meat in a Harvester, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Underneath the tempting BBQ smells there’s a sweeter, more delicate element, stewed summer fruit strudel, heavily buttered, slightly burnt toast and a touch of citrus.
Palate: A delightfully oily mouthfeel, along with a pleasing balance of BBQ smoke, spice and buttery bakery flavours. Very slightly drying with orange and white pepper.
The meatiness from the nose is still evident, which I really like.
There are some sweeter flavours that I’ve tasted before in rum, specifically caramels, sugary milky coffee and Demerara sugar.
Finish: White pepper, smoke, berry sweetness, peppermint and that drying. The sweet BBQ element, that’s been consistent throughout, persists until the end.
The butter side of this whisky is also still there, offering balance.
Overall: I’m pretty confident that while I really like this sample, I’d grow to love a bottle. With maturity, more and more berry sweetness shines through. I can only imagine what happens to a bottle over time!
