Ledaig Rioja Cask

Tobermory was founded in 1798 on the Isle of Mull. It has changed ownership several times over the centuries and is currently owned by Burn Stewart Distillers, itself a subsidiary under the larger Heineken Beverages umbrella. The distillery’s main output falls under the Tobermory brand and is used in some blends like Black Bottle, but they also produce a smaller mount of peated single malt sold under the name Ledaig, the original name of the distillery. When the distillery was in a period of receivership in the 1980s, the warehouses were sold off and therefore all maturation takes place at Deanston Distillery, which is part of the same portfolio. The Ledaig Rioja Cask is the first in the Sinclair Series, launched in 2020. Oddly, it is the only entry in this series over five years later, prompting speculation. Regardless, this peated single malt is aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in ex-Rioja casks. 

Distillery: Tobermory
Region: Island
Age: NAS
Strength: 46.3%
Price: $79.99
Maturation: ex-bourbon and ex-Rioja casks
Location: Tobermory
Nose: Leather, cranberry, smoked meat, walnut, smoke, green peat, toffee, rose, black cherry, green pepper, tobacco, wine
Palate: Medicinal, brine, vegetal, pepper, tobacco
Finish: Pepper, celery, brine

Comments: While water is not required, we recommend experimenting to find your sweet spot. 

Adam – The Ledaig Rioja caught my attention first because it is a Ledaig and second because of the Rioja finish. I am partial to Spanish wines and they are not often seen in whisky finishing at all. The nose is engaging right away, an intertwining of peppery dark fruits from the wine, nut, sugars and leather that Ledaig does so well. Definitely some peat and smoke too but not dominant, ready to play a second or third fiddle when needed. A rich cornucopia, really. The palate shows a little bit of youth, a medicinal tang right at the fore before settling down into a slightly bleaker journey of pepper and brine with some tufts of light vegetation. It is by no means unpleasant and doesn’t hit so hard after your tongue has calibrated but it does offer a stark contrast in some ways to the nose. Adding a few drops of water weakens the nose but smooths out the palate for me a great deal. The medicinal element goes away and allows some of the wine-influenced fruits to come to the fore, the vegetation sharpening to tobacco. The black pepper is still but serves to add a sparkle to the other flavors more than overwhelm.

Kate – Smells like smoked meat to me, and cranberries. Butter and brown sugar toffee. Homemade toffee sauce. I was really hoping for more vanilla notes, something that would tone it down a little. With water, it instantly gets sweeter on the nose. I like this more with water. A beautiful journey of unfolding depending on the amount of water.

Henry – Leather, tobacco, turf, green pepper, and wine must on the nose with a bit of a tannic undertone. Sweetness and smoke join hands with a strong brine on the palate: seaside campfire and smoked meat with a savory vegetal richness, yielding to a sweet-salty finish. ABV 46,5%, but it packs a heat and mouthfeel of a cask strength bottling. Adding water brings the wine cask to the fore, with sweet florals on the nose and more fruitwood smoke on the palate. I want elk jerky with this. I wonder what a few more years in the aging cask would add.

Bill – There’s a dry, dusty bit from the wine cask there, maybe. This is a riddle for me, and I enjoy riddles. The mouthfeel is pleasantly oily, the kind I like. It could be an all day sipper for me. I kind of want to chew on this for a while, roll it around with my tongue and see what it wants to do. More grape forward with water.

Mike – This smells like I’m sitting on the coast of an island, extremely briny. I’m getting grass and 10,000 year old decaying matter. I like it until the finish. The finish punches you in the palate in a way that’s not very nice.

Kristin – I love the smell of the Ledaig Rioja, I could smell it all day long. I do not like the flavor. It drinks like a cask strength whisky, maybe because it is younger?