Today we focus on the Ledaig limited editions releases for 2018. Distell did us a favor and released two Ledaigs from the same vintage and same age statement and you can understand why the first thing that came up in my mind was: “Yay, a comparison review!”. Surely it bounds to be more interesting than two separate reviews.
First one up is the Ledaig 1998 19 Year Old finished in Oloroso sherry casks. Although I’m not sure it’s legal to call it a finish as it was matured for barely 6 years in Bourbon casks before being finished in Oloroso sherry casks for about 14 years. Yeah, 6 Years Vs 14 Years. It was bottled at the standard Distell ABV of 46.3% instead of cask strength) and 2,400 bottles should be released later this month.
Ledaig 1998 19 Year Old Oloroso Finish (46,3%, RRP £130)
Nose: Fungal, sour berries, sweet cherries, lactic, seaside breeze, sweet peat smoke, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Palate: Very lactic, then comes the sour sweet fruitiness, cherries flavored hard candies, I don’t think it’s a good combo, sweet peat, subtle smoke, salt, honey.
Finish: Medium length, full of sour sweet dried red berries, hard candies, sweet smoke, salty and lactic.
I can’t say this Oloroso finish was up my alley. Let’s check the other Ledaig. The second one is the Ledaig 1998 19 Year Old finished in PX sherry casks. This time it’s a more traditional finish with 2 years finish maturation in fresh (1st fill) PX casks
Ledaig 1998 19 Year Old PX Finish (55.7%, £149.95/€154,99)
Nose: Far less lactic but still has some, but it’s manageable. But on the good hard it’s more smoky, with sweet dried fruit below the surface getting stronger the more time elapses.
Palate: Sweet dried fruit, also some soursweet hard candies, smoky, glazed BBQ meat, pure meat/goose fat, sweet peat and slightly more drying.
Finish: Long length, drying, lingering sweet dried fruit and BBQ meat, salt and see breeze.
Thoughts: The Oloroso started on the wrong foot, recovered a bit with time but still it’s a very underwhelming whisky. The PX finish was very good and far better than the sherry counterpart. both were somewhat lactic, but the PX carried more smoke, more coastal-ness and better fruitiness, meshed together to create a truly good and unique Ledaig.
Nose: Oh this is a sweet one. The Brandy impact is there with sweet white wine, grapes, nuts and sultanas. subtle pepper, vanilla, bread-y and creamy. With a few drops of water it’s spicier and the bread-y note turns to multi-cereals health bread. 
Nose: Somewhat musty and fungal at first, takes a few minutes to expose its secrets, then the sherry notes shows up, sour sweet dried fruit and it’s getting a bit dirty, oily, fumes, greenery, Almost a Springbank sans peat… A few more minutes and more layers are exposed, nuttiness then sour sweet fruitiness followed by spiciness layer and back to fungus. A brilliant nose experience. 
Nose: Right out of the fresh bottle it was very closed and needed some time to open up. Then we get dry smoke accompanied by red berries, cherries and red wine. After breathing for a while there’s smoked meat and sweet glazed BBQ meat with nuttiness to top it all. 
Nose: Soft nose, for a fleeting second I could believe its a Glenmorangie whisky. It’s sweet with lots of stone fruit, citrus, soft white pepper, butterscotch, cake-y. After breathing for a few minutes there’s sweet dessert wine, nuttiness, dried pineapple and banana, then more
Nose: Sour sweet dried fruit, barley and cereals, honey and white pepper. After a few minutes it open up and we get some lovely sherry notes like milk chocolate, sour red berries juice mixed with demerara sugar so we get enhanced sour and sweet experience. 
Nose: Somewhat muted at first so lets give it a few minutes to open up. Then we have pears, apricot and honey sweetness. Slowly rocks dust note comes up, baked pears, cake dough and vanilla, After a while it gets fruiter and sweeter. 
Nose: Fruity, again the limestone note, hints of tropical and guava, caramel, butterscotch. A very fresh nose for a 25 Year Old Whisky. Pears and apricot, honey, gentle cinnamon and oak spice. Wt menthol freshness and slight note of semi dried plums and red berries 
Nose: Very closed and restrained at first. After a few minutes we get the limestone again, citrus, mellower, gentle white pepper, pears and a touch of apricot, honey and a bit of vanilla, less fruity than the younger siblings. 
Whisky Gospel 