Hi everyone,
Let’s face it, as much as I love Ledaig, the stuff is getting more expensive. It wasn’t too long ago that you could pick up an amazing single cask, cask strength Ledaig for £50 or £60. Nowdays, it’s getting closer to £100. That’s fine, we’ve gone on about it long enough and people know now that it’s great.
But what’s next? Surely there must be undiscovered gems from distilleries that have started doing new and exciting things… underrated unknowns of the whisky world, lurking somewhere out there waiting.
The hunt is on for the next Ledaig.
Enter this bottling from Glenturret, bottled by the SMWS. Heavily peated (a make known as Ruadh Maor) and matured in a recharred hogshead.
Glenturret 2009 SMWS 16.42 63.7%
Top Notes of Covfefe
Colour: Dark Gold
Body: Full
Nose: Ethereal because of the abv, thick malt, newly sawn wood, lip gloss, marshmallow flavouring, a bit closed. Likely gonna need some water.
Water: More medicinal, rubber gloves (the thick ones), an old medicine cabinet, sticking plasters, iodine, salt and some lime, there's a funky mineral thing and constant battling between the fruit and the wood here that is really quite interesting.
Taste: Not too much at full strength! Nice amount of power. Lip gloss, big oily malt, obvious farmyardy peat, burning hay and grass clippings, some plain wood nearer the back end with Laphroaig-esque salt and bandages.
Water: Dry arrival, the wood is more prominent, the peat more intense, much more mineral, sea soaked rocks, iodine, bandages, lime rind. A touch of rubbery wood into the finish.
Finish: Medium length. Nice fade, not too powerful. Think the wood has had a say in toning this down. The salt is there with a bit of lime. Less peaty. Dry finish.
Heavily peated, which really makes this a Ruadh Maor. What an unusual and interesting whisky!! Big, powerful and bold. You could give this to a lot of people and tell them that it's Laphroaig and they wouldn't say a thing.
82/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Review #857
Whisky Network Review #1030
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.
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