Ledaig 12 Year Discovery (Gordon & Macphail)

During some early Christmas-shopping, I discovered this 12-year-old Ledaig of Gordon & MacPhail's Discovery Range. So far, I liked everything Ledaig I've tasted and I had some fine experiences with some other private bottlings, so I had good faith in this one. At only 50 euro's per bottle, one can't go wrong too badly either... On the nose, there's pleasant smoke combined with some grassy peat-notes. The palate additionally reveals sweet and tasty baked apples, and some mild sweet spices, but also some soft caramel/syrup notes but also a hint of smoked meat (or a nice baked steak?). The aftertaste lingers on, with mostly sweet but smoky meat notes. This entry-level Gordon and MacPhail didn't fail to please me one bit. Compared to the regular Ledaig 10, this 12-year-old sibling is perfectly on par: Slightly more mature + slightly more expensive. In this price range, this is a top-notch dram, in my opinion.

I enjoyed this. I always enjoy drinking ledaig. The reason I rated this 3.75 is that the ledaig 10 is a solid 4 and this added nothing to it, and cost an extra $20-25. I’ll stick with the 10 in the future. I’m also learning that, much the same as with other peated scotch you don’t really need/want a lot of time in the barrel. It might smooth the edges a bit, but that’s where the fun and flavor are for the peated ledaig funk. I think the sweet spot for ledaig is the core 10, which is a great value, and younger IBs finished in sherry, wine or port casks. 5-7 years seems to do the trick.

Pleasant smoke, bready but not thick on the tongue. Finish is shortbread

Definitely a smoked cured meats taste here. And that’s not a bad thing.

Heavy smoky peat. Rich, smooth, balanced cask influence. Very nice.

Stronger at the tip, very warm once going down the throat.