Ledaig 42 Dùsgadh Review

Hi everyone,

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Lot been going on in my life and just have not found the motivation to write anything much about whisky.

However, I’m going to try and make more of concerted effort to keep posting reviews and helpful articles because there’s still stuff to taste and talk about and, hell, I enjoy it.

Many, many thanks go to u/UncleBaldric for the sample of this elusive dram!

 

So, this could be considered something of a white whale for me. I love Ledaig, it’s no secret, and yet I have never even seen a bottle of this open. Perhaps that’s got something to do with the fact that it’s the oldest and most expensive Ledaig ever bottled.

I had a very wonderful thing to celebrate in August last year, the birth of my first child. This was the dram I saved as something truly special to taste at the time.

In a world that seems increasingly confusing and chaotic, it is a comfort to take the time to sit with such a whisky. To sit, to be still, and, in a way, to fall into the glass…

 

Ledaig 42 Dùsgadh 46.7%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: There’s an entire world in here. Deep, rich and complex. The peat is well intact with medicinal notes of Calpol, tintures of old oils and medicinal things that have long past their use by date, old petrol soaked rags, kerosene, very old Jamacian rum, sea water, samphire, bandages, old sticking plasters. The Sherry comes in with a wave of dark fruit, raisin and figs, Christmas pudding, cinnamon, saffron, toffee apple and a touch of wild strawberry, lavender, some wood smoke. Developing into the most amazing and exotic dark chocolate money can buy. Oh, and add exotic black coffee too. There's so many layers to this and its constantly evolving and changing in wonderful ways. Beautiful, layered nose.

Taste: Soft and sweet arrival, lacking a touch of power to begin with before the peat comes in, very softly with coal dust, burnt paper, ash, some soft florals, a touch of lavender. Of course there's some oak but it's restrained for 42yo, some rich spices with saffron. Really chewy mouthfeel. Though the nose felt like it was more about the smoke, this is more about the Sherry I would say. Tobacco and dark chocolate going into the finish.

Finish: Long/Very Long length. More of the smoke here, plenty of tobacco, raisin, coals, even some blackberry actually. Then more drying oak and some very soft spice. Really long but very soft finish.

Distilled 1972, Gonzales Byass Oloroso Sherry finish from 2001 and bottled 2014. Dùsgadh means Awakening. Really very special stuff. I could nose this for hours! Having said that, this suffers from a very minor floral/soapy note that I've found in 1972 Tobermory's from Sherry casks too.

89/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #865

Whisky Network Review #1039

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

 

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Scapa 16 Review

Hi everyone,

Today I’ve got a whisky that I’d been trying to track down for a while. Scapa with an age statement, something that hasn’t been seen in quite a while. This version was discontinued a good few years ago.

Scapa, if you didn’t know, is the other distillery on Orkney. It used to have one of the longest fermentation times of any distillery, always being above 120 hours. This has since been cut to 48 hours, along with the release of a bunch of uninteresting NAS whiskies. People speak quite highly of this one though.

This was another one I wanted to taste to complete 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die.

 

Scapa 16 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity and heathery, loads of fresh apple, light honey and vanilla, pleasant nose.

Taste: Soft then quite watery before the spice arrives but then it goes very dry and spicy, harsh ginger, finally the honey and heather come to the rescue at the end.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Oily and heathery, honey, HP-like. A tiny bit of plastic right at the end.

Can’t help but think that this would have been pretty good at 46% or even 43%. As it stands, Scapa has bored my twice, though I can imagine it being great as a single cask, cask strength thing. Sadly, we don’t see it independently bottled very often.

67/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #853

Whisky Network Review #1026

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

 

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Arran 10, 18, 21, Sherry Cask & The Bothy Reviews

Hi everyone,

Got a few Arran’s for you today! Gotta say, I love the new packaging and range. The new bottles have a great look and feel, though of course its the juice that we’re really interested in. Plenty of the new stuff seems darker, with more sherry casks in the mix of the usual age statement range.

Having started in 1995, it is now Arran’s 25th Anniversary, which should bring some exciting things as well.

If memory serves, my first experience of Arran was the 12yo cask strength, which I found very solid but isn’t around anymore. Since then I’ve always found Arran to be very dependable, quality malt.

Arran 10 (2019) 46%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A sweet shop that only sells gummy sweets, some kiwi, keylime pie, whipped cream, very fresh and bright.

Taste: Malty and soft then a big hit of fresh fruit, melon and apple, gummy sweets but goes a bit rubbery.

Finish: Short/Medium length. More rubbery here with some malt and apple.

Fresh and malty, kept back a little by the rubbery notes that I seem to be very sensitive to.

66/100

 

Arran 18 (2019) 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Bright cherry, malt and chocolate. A heavier, almost meaty Arran. Toffee apple, a little gravy maybe, some vanilla, a little creamy.

Taste: Malty arrival, raspberry and cherry, again quite heavy and thick, almost Mortlachian, then some unfortunate rubber. Seems that the sherry wasn't quite perfect.

Finish: Short length. A little of that rubber and cherry but another short finish...

This was so almost so damn good. A Mortlach of an Arran ruined by the rubber and short finish. Fun whisky though.

74/100

 

Arran 21 (2019) 46%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Malty and robust with plenty of fruit, red apple, spearmint, herbal pockets, wild strawberry, dark chocolate truffles, all nicely in balance and expressive.

Taste: Soft arrival, really good, chocolate and malt, a little orange, wild strawberry, dry oak, some leather, goes a bit flat into the finish.

Finish: Medium/Long length. A bit flatter here with oak and a little chocolate.

Would be in the 80's if the finish hadn't let it down. Nose is the star here.

76/100

 

Arran Sherry Cask 'The Bodega' 55.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Ethereal rather than a full on Sherry bomb, actually a bit medicinal, cherry cough sweets, cherry lip gloss, something slightly mouldy? Interesting nose.

Taste: Sharp and sweet, medicinal again, cough syrup, raisin and prune, plum, quite fruity and something more oily as it develops. A bit of rubber near the finish.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Fades quicker than expected. Fruity with some rubber.

Not completely pleasant but very interesting whisky.

71/100

 

Arran The Bothy Batch 3 53.2%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Slightly tropical, austere, lemon, butterscotch biscuits, some nettle and mint, creamy vanilla.

Taste: Soft and creamy, biscuit, malt, lemon, dark chocolate, some leather, really nicely balanced, oily into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Very oily here with more creamy biscuits.

Quarter casks used. Similar to the Wolfburn Langskip.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #842-#846

Whisky Network Reviews #1012-#1016

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Talisker 15 (Special Releases 2019) Review

Hi everyone,

The 2019 Diageo Special Releases rolled around again to much fanfare and fanciness, as it does every year. And as it did, two things caught my attention; the prices had taken another jump upwards and the packaging had taken a turn for the worse.

The 12 peated Cragganmore looked interesting but was £110, the same as this Talisker, which I also liked the look of. What I don’t like is that Talisker 18 I got for £60 a few years ago, the 2014 Lagavulin 12 for £80. So this years special releases can be as amazing as they want, but they’ve left behind the reasonable prices that I am willing to pay for them.

Talisker 15 Special Releases 2019 57.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Robust but closed at first. Sea spray and engine oil, more like a Springbank! Dried orange, old spice box, liquorice, salty dried fish.

Water: Closes up like a clam. Goes quite austere.

Taste: Great arrival, super intense and oily, engines and old trains and cars, guttering fires, diesel fumes, very industrial actually, black pepper (of course). Mouthfeel on this baby is fantastic.

Water: Softer and more fruity but loses the luscious mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length. Not too powerful but nicely balanced, quite soft black pepper and olive oil.

What I was looking for from the 8yo from 2018. Powerful, visceral and mechanical. If the finish was more powerful we'd be in the high 80's. As it stands, I’d be buying the 18yo over this.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #841

Whisky Network Review #1011

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Robert Burns Single Malt Review

Hi everyone,

With Burns’ Night having just passed us, I thought I should get round to reviewing this sample I got given at Christmas… last year or maybe the year before. Yeah, I don’t get round to reviewing stuff I have at home.

Anyway, I hope everyone had great Burns’ Night celebrations and Haggis galore!

This one is a single malt from Arran distillery, NAS and done specially with a special Robert Burns society .

Robert Burns Single Malt 43%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Nice and malty, green apple, apple pie, a little pear, creamy. Seems like a nice young Arran, if a little boring.

Taste: A bit astringent on the taste, quite bitter with lemon pith, damp wool, a bit of plastic or something burnt, some malt, none of fresh fruit I was expecting.

Finish: Short length. Some lemon and malt.

The nose on this is fine but the taste and finish are not so good. The astringency and bitterness on the taste kill it for me.

57/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #838

Whisky Network Review #1004

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Talisker 1979 Cadenhead's Sherrywood [Road to #1000, Review #984]

Hi everyone,

Earlier in the year, in California, I had the pleasure of meeting some great whisky people that work for JVS distribution and share some whiskies.

Actually, a few of these Road to #1000 whiskies are from them, starting with this Talisker that Elijah very kindly brought to a tasting for me to try.

Now I’ve always wanted to try an old indie Talisker, especially from a Sherry cask but I was warned that this whisky was vile and undrinkable by someone else, while Elijah himself was a little more optimistic.

Talisker 1979 Cadenhead’s 60.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Dirty, sulphurous and vegetal, damp wood, wet and damp walls, damp mouldy concrete, burnt heather and match sticks. Big sour balsamic vinegar, raspberry vinaigrette and spiced orange. Love the nose, despite the obvious sulphur.

Taste: Dry, weirdly wine-y, raspberry syrup, oak and smoke and then more sweet with orange. The weird notes are hard to ignore here, the sulphur having a pronounced effect.

Finish: Medium length. Sweet and kinda flat, dry, orange and a little black pepper.

Bottled at 18yo. Not exactly a balanced style of whisky and people will absolutely hate it, particularly if they are sensitive to sulphur. Cool nose that the taste doesn't really go with.

73/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #826

Whisky Network Review #984

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Highland Park 1995 Carn Mor Sherry [Road to #1000, Review #976]

Hi everyone,

We continue towards 1000 reviews with a great Highland park from a Sherry cask. I’m not certain why HP does so well with Sherry but perhaps it’s because of the heavier style of the spirit combined with light peat smoke, similar to Springbank. Also, we must remember that the stablemalts include Glenrothes and Macallan which also do well in Sherry.

Anyway, this is a release from Carn Mor and would have been quite expensive on release but then, this is better than the last batch of the 30yo OB I tried so there’s that.

Highland Park 1995 Carn Mor 54%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Real fuckin' good! A proper good Sherry cask, clove, cinnamon, no end to the dried fruit- raisin, prune, date, walnut, thick plum sauce on crispy duck! Really rich, a dram to lose yourself in! Singed heather, unami soy sauce, roasted goose leg but sweeter moments of chocolate orange and Kirsch.

Taste: Soft and sweet, building Sherry, dry and sweet, smoke and layers of sweet dried fruit, raisin and prune, sweet orange and singed heather, leather, tobacco and dark chocolate. Wonderfully balanced.

Finish: Long length. Sweet and mouth watering. More orange, dry oak, then chocolate and some heather, malt. Lovely.

Bottled 2018 at 22yo but could easily be 25 or more. Very complex and well timed release. Stunning.

87/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #819

Whisky Network Review #976

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Orkney 2000 The Whisky Agency for Toronto Whisky Society Review

Hi everyone,

Another one from that crazy night with the Toronto Whisky Society people. And, excitingly, another one that they selected themselves!

I tried the Tobermory that they had done first blind and really enjoyed it, so was intruiged by this whisky distilled on Orkney that definitely isn’t Scapa (yeah, its Highland Park, duh). 

Orkney 2000 The Whisky Agency 52.9%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Very natural and mineral, lightly smoked porridge, a great little funky note. Its a little closed and austere but it opens up over time and with a little warming, reminds me of a Benromach from a Bourbon barrel or Springbank Local Barley.

Taste: Soft arrival, beautiful balance of light lemon, minerality and light smoke. Quite austere again but great. Nice spices and good level of dry oak, white pepper.

Finish: Long length. The white pepper and dry oak really stick around and build with some great minerality.

Bottled for Toronto Whisky Society at 17yo in 2018. Another really good pick guys. Quite smoky for HP I thought, while still being clean and well balanced.

83/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #816

Whisky Network Review #972

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?