Review #128: Ledaig 6yr 2008/2014, Van Wees, 46% abv, Cask #800014, ex-bourbon, 433 bottles

off to a different island

I ran out of Nikka whiskies, so I guess it's time to move over to Mull. I guess I've not yet reviewed a Ledaig, which is a peated Tobermory, which I guess I've also not yet reviewed. Tobermory is known for tasting funny, but Ledaig is known for really successful peaters at a young age, which is good, because this one is young and was cheap.

Nose: a nice stinky, earthy peat with lots of gasoline, bacon, salt spray, and wet wool. There's some canola oil in the background, and the whole thing gradually settles on lemon wedges, wet rocks, and resinous smoke, with just a touch of vanilla. Except for just a touch of bare ethanol and some angry pears, everything seems suitably mature.

Palate: Oily, phenolic, zesty, and sweet. I expected a big letdown, but this is a pretty rich palate. Sweeter than I expected, maybe, with some new rubber tire and barley notes.

Finish: sweet, peaty, long


No big revelations here, but this is just good, richly-flavored peated whisky. Great bargain.


score: 86

Review #110: Ben Nevis 21yr 1992/2013, 46% abv, Van Wees, ex-sherry butt, Cask #2312, 695 bottles

that's a lot of bottles

This is from Ben Nevis, which promises to be a little weird and possibly good, and Van Wees ("The Ultimate"), which is often curiously cheap. It's from a well-stuffed sherry butt, but very pale, so probably very refill.

nose: gristly malt and brown sugar. a dollop of tangy yoghurt, fresh green herbs, and then some faint sherry fruit and walnuts come out. hazelnuts and vanilla and citrus rind, too -- like a flavored coffee without the coffee.

palate: much bigger than I expected. bitter almonds and herbal notes, caramel, and vanilla.

finishes: sweet and grassy, oddly enough


I like this one a lot, actually: it's a pretty plain malt with a couple complications and some nice sherry seasoning, it's youthful despite its age, and it's big-bodied for 46%. So no bombshells here, but straightforward goodness.

score: 86

Review #75: Balmenach 24yrs 1988/2013, Van Wees (The Ultimate), 55.2%, Cask #2795, 252 bottles

three-quarter century

I've made it to 75 reviews. I'll try to make it to 1000, maybe. I'm hoping to know everything by 800 or so, though.

This is Balmenach, about which I know almost nothing. It is part of the Inver House group, which includes OP and Balblair, so I guess it's Thai owned. I think it mostly goes into blends; this page also says that they make gin. I mostly associate it with an overpriced bottle from Chieftain's that came out a few years ago. But I'm optimistic! This very whisky has been listed as a "hot seller" for a few weeks now.

nose: starts on juicy apples, but then takes on crunchy forest smells: moss, thatch, dried leaves, that sort of thing. a little yoghurt with lot of honey on top, some lemon, and then the inside of a barrel. the sweet fruit comes back, but with a lot of eucalyptus. somehow both familiar and strange.

palate: surprisingly sweet and oily. the eucalyptus and lemon and honey come marching back: it's a cough drop, a really good, slightly malty cough drop. it would be cloying, or numbingly harsh, or tart, if not for the combination -- that must be why they make the cough drops that way. it's not so much balanced as it is stable.

finish: more cough drop, a little wood. the fruit comes back a little once everything else dies down.

In the end I have to search myself to find bad things to say about it: the profile is simple, apart from the eucalyptus the flavors aren't that intense, it reminds me of a cough drop. it's still tasty and interesting, though.

score: 87

Review #70: Isle of Jura 23yr 1989/2013, "Heavily Peated," 46%, Van Wees/Ultimate, ex-bourbon, C#30713, 230 bottles

another one like the last one?

after this one appeared, much to my liking, some similar ones seemed to pop up here and there: heavily peated Juras from 1989. This one, in fact, like the Signatory, was distilled on 17 December, so it's safe to say they're from the same run.

this one, unfortunately, is proofed down to 46% -- like most of "The Ultimate" bottlings, but here's hoping it's otherwise a twin to the Signatory.

nose: some sweet orchard fruit on top of an oily/coastal base. Where's the "heavy peat"? I sense a little black smoke, but nothing like the phenols and licorice and tar of the other one. The fruit (dessert apples and peaches) is a nice surprise, along with some white chocolate, and the coastal elements are there (brine-soaked rocks and sardines), but no peat.

palate: sweet at first -- more apples and peaches, and then charred oak takes over. A little too drying, but the fruit holds up well.

finish: maybe a little dry ashy peat on the finish? Some licorice? But I'm really looking for it. Otherwise more of the same: fruit, coastal oiliness, dry oak.


This is a nice fruity dram, which complements the Jura oiliness well. If there's any peat, it helps the oak hold up the body, but in any case, this is completely different from the other one. Very good in its own right, though.

score: 87