Het Whisky Forum

Lagavulin! schreef:Ledaig 2005 Berry Bros

Ledaig 2005/2010 (62.7%, Berry Bros & Rudd, sherry butt, cask #900008)
Five stars Wot, a 4 years old sherried Ledaig?

Colour: amber.
Nose: starts on extreme leather, roasted chestnuts, pepper, fumes (say an old Harley’s exhaust pipes, traditionalists will prefer a Velocette ‘T’? ) and truckloads of orange zests and marmalade. There may well be other things below the surface but it’s all very powerful so let’s not take chances. With water: works beautifully. Ginger and orange jam, cardamom, shoe polish, a newly opened box of toffees, chocolate…
Mouth (neat): did you ever try any of these Port Charlottes that were matured in sherry bloodtubs? We’re quite close here. Superb combination of peat, pepper, orange marmalade, ginger, buttered fudge and salt. Big, big whisky.
With water: works wonderfully, with more chocolate, more dried fruits, nougat, ‘peated marzipan’, Seville oranges…
Finish: as long as Der Ring, as they say. Great orangey bitterness in the aftertaste, with maybe just something a tad too paraffiny. Splitting hairs now.
Comments: I just couldn’t decide between both versions and will go for the same rating. Different bodyworks but very same engine.

SGP:548 - 91 points.

Conclusion: there were already several excellent Ardbeg taste-alike (some peated Cooleys, some Kilchoman or Glann ar Mor’s Kornog to name but a few) and now there’s Ledaig. The more the merrier!
By the way, just checked BBR’s web site to find out about some details on the bottling and found these cool tasting notes for their 2005 Ledaig. Their maltoporn is better than Whiskyfun’s if you ask me :

Brooding and almost foreboding in the glass, the sheer depth of colour serves as a warning to weak-willed whisky lovers to steer well clear! As expected, this is monstrous on the nose, aromas leap out, held up to the bright light of inspection by the cask strength richness. Ginger and currants interweave with the smoke backed up by ‘herbs-de-Provence’, uncooked flapjack mixture and even some ever-so-slightly burnt arrowroot biscuits!

Huge waves of flavour roll in on the palate with peat leading the way, the sherry cask giving roundness with hints of molasses and treacle. This is exquisitely balanced, albeit with every dial imaginable turned right up to 11! The battle between the sweet fruit of the spirit, the spicy weight of the wood and the primal peat smoke rages on into a sublimely satisfying finish.

Rob Whitehead- BBR London Shop Spirits Specialist