Ledaig Hebridean Moon is the first cask strength version of their Ledaig 10 Year Old. It is also interesting because it contains the first spirit drawn from Tobermory’s new still, installed in 2014. Maturation took place entirely in second-fill ex-bourbon casks. Sounds good.
The team were inspired by Mull’s Baliscate Standing Stones, which are said to be aligned with the lunar cycle, hence the name.
Ledaig Hebridean Moon 10 yo (58,8%, OB 2025, refill bourbon casks, 7000 btl.)
Nose: a very clean peaty kick, with plenty of lemon zest, smoked tea and lots of sea spray. The citrusy side becomes sweeter after a while, and merges with slightly floral overtones, a bit of birch wood, green walnuts and some sweet pepper in the background. Then hints of leatherette, band-aids and carbon paper. Very fresh and rather accessible so far.
Mouth: a lot of punch, of course. Bags of lemons and lemon peelings, with mild vanilla cake, more leather and green apples, maybe even some unripe pineapple. A creamy sweetness runs underneath. Nice hints of antiseptics. Then also mentholated notes, more green nuts and green pepper, along with some light tobacco. Growing pepper and lemon.
Finish: long and warming, with some oak spice, citrus freshness and plenty of medicinal peat smoke.
A good bottling, I thought this was fresher than the standard 10 Year Old. On par with all of the independent bottlings that gave us such strength (sometimes with a nasty butyric edge). Not cheap, but I like it. Already available from retailers like Royal Mile Whiskies or Tyndrum Whisky.