Tasting Notes by Brand: Tobermory

Rating 7/ 10
Categories
Authors

Ledaig 2007 13 Year Refill Sherry 53% by Whisky Sponge Ed 24

Nose: Milk chocolate, oats, with a dash of cinnamon. A rich festive smoked horchata. There is a gofio factory a touch inland from daily surf break. Waiting for waves on my longboard while basing in the sun, the wind turns, and the whole lineup perks up. The smell of warm roasted oats and maize, almost coffee like, drifts by on the winds. You can’t help feeling like it’s breakfast time.

Palate: Delish. Potent smoke, but you gotta know that going into a Ledaig, followed by a wood 2×4. Not quite as dirty as some of its brethren. A hella good wallop. Like a straight edge kid from the 90s. Deeply roasted coffee with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and a shake of irish cream. Baking powder.. In the way that it shapes the flavor of a proper fluffy belgian waffle. With a spoonful of nutella.

Rating: 7 / 10 – Blind I could almost imagine this is a Killowen, which is a mutual complement. When I want a smokezilla with a clean foundation, this is going to be an easy choice.

Rating 8/ 10
Categories
Authors

Ledaig 24 year 1995 46.4% for WhiskyNerds

Nose: Berries and cream, this really amps up with time in the glass. Oysters and sherry vinegar, salty and puckering. The astringence of a white tea. Fresh cut grass with slight whiffs of nectarine and tangerine. Fabric bandaids and copper penny. Sour green apples, wildflower honey, and amazingly no peat. With more time, canned peaches and white chocolate make an entrance.

Palate: There is a place and time for each pour. This is being paired with my diary. It suits a pensive mood, makes me think and introspect. Writing about how to be a better husband tonight. 18 years in, it’s pretty easy to take shit for granted, be it my amazing julie, or a well chosen Tobermory. I love the gentle waxy minerality. And the splash of pink grapefruit bitters and basil – which could be an awesome hipster lolly. Nose wrinkles at the furniture spray. A big sip lends itself to matcha green tea, an enticing bitterness. With more time in the glass you get some of those white chocolate and peach notes. In the distant finish you get that lovely nod to the berries on the nose.

Rating: 8 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10
Shane: I truly like this. Freaking elegant and layers across the tongue. This is the least peated Ledaig I’ve had. I can’t find the smoke. Wondering if it should have just been labeled a Tobermory? Kinda sad my sample is gone and already asked Ryan if he wants to sell me one of his bottles. He was so unsure and I was so excited he asked me to wait while he tried it on a different day.
Ryan: I want to like this more than I do, the nose is really lovely and soft, but I’m struggling to pull much from the front of the palate other than bitterness. I love that subtle berrylicious note that lingers long after the finish. This is a challenging and shockingly delicate spirit, and one I’d like to spend more time with. Definitely a fun and unique expression from Ledaig and I appreciate Bram and Floris bottling it for us to enjoy.

Rating 10/ 10
Categories
Authors

Tobermory 1972 32 Year Black Label 49.7%

Nose: Packed bar late at night… a 1990s pintxos bar. Rich cecina (cured air dried beef), red wine splashed on the ground, flat coke, sawdust, cigarette smoke, touch of body odor from so many people laughing too loud in the night air. Chocolate mints they put on my pillow. Cedar.

Palate: Deep, dank, brooding with a shocking whit. Oily and slightly sweet. I just kissed a smoker (shane). Dried ground cinnamon. Cold Press coffee. Black tea with hints of cardamom and anise. Leather. A wonderful funk factor.

Rating: 9 (Shane) 10 (Ryan) / 10 a simply standout beast. Delicious with an extra helping of n-eroticism. This is red label’s funkier edgy sibling who doesn’t give a damn.