Ledaig 20 year old 1997 Alexander Murray & Company

Alexander Murray & Company's bottlings flooded the California whisky retail scene almost overnight in 2015, appearing in beloved specialty retailers as well as Costco. The distillery variety was impressive, the the 40%abvs were not. A year later a pair of cask strength bottlings (Dalmore and Highland Park) appeared but I wasn't particularly thrilled with either. Then I moved out to Ohio — whose liquor control department doesn't believe in independent bottlings — and promptly forgot about Alexander Murray. At some point the company reinvigorated their brand and began offering additional cask strength single malts from Laphroaig, Bunnahabhain and this Ledaig. Let's see if this is a step up from that Highland Park.

Distillery: Tobermory
Brand: Ledaig
Owner: Distell International Ltd.
Region: Isle of Mull
Independent Bottler: Alexander Murray & Company
Age: minimum 20 years (distilled 1997)
Maturation: "multiple refill Bourbon barrels" per the official site
Outturn: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 50%
Chillfiltered? ???
Colorant added? ???

(from a bottle split)

NEAT
The nose begins very sugary, think circus peanuts and orange candy. Blue scented marker (a fave) and roasted corn. The peat reads toasted as opposed to outright smoke. The palate's sweetness is milder than the nose led on but the peat is heavier, starting off as dark industrial smoke, then tilting towards moss. Lots of salt in the foreground, though less than Monday's monster. Some mellow tropical fruit punch hints in the background. It finishes with tart and tangy fruit, ocean-y peat and a hint of tobacco.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or ½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Just this little bit of water does indeed bring change. Now the nose shows manure, black walnuts and chalk dust up front, grilled pear with fruity cinnamon in the back. The palate gets fruitier: apples and pears, as well as a lemony smoke. Then plenty of salt and a hint of those black walnuts. The finish mirrors the palate but with a little more herbal bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
A few steps up, in fact! This is a proper peated drink, to my palate, that even lets some fruits sneak through. Because I'm a sucker for black walnuts (except for that damned tree in my backyard), I may have enjoyed the diluted version even more. As this was a mix of "multiple" casks, I think the blending did it a lot of favors, sanding down raggedy edges and providing structure, while also probably salvaging at least one very low ABV cask. The price was a bit steep and the whisky has sold out, so once again, you're welcome.

Availability - Sold out, I think
Pricing - $170-$190
Rating - 87

Ledaig 17 year old 1998 AD Rattray cask 800036 (my bottle)

The Mull Monster

I wasn’t even in the mood to buy anything when I saw this bottle in late 2015. (My comrades with this same disease know what happened next.) A year later I realized I’d never actually enjoyed super-high ABV single malts. A year after that I opened my awful sherry cask Auchentoshan from this same bottler, and began to wonder if something terribly wrong happened to this sherry cask too. Buyer’s Remorse set in.

When 2020 decided to be all 2020 about everything, I figured if this Ledaig was indeed demon piss then this was the right year to find out.

Cheers.

Distillery: Tobermory
Brand: Ledaig
Owner: Distell International Ltd.
Region: Isle of Mull
Independent Bottler: AD Rattray
Age: 17 years (3 April 1998 - 1 Sept 2015)
Maturation: Sherry Butt
Cask number: 800036
Outturn: 528 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 65.8%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from my bottle)

I tasted this whisky at three ABV levels, side by side, for the purposes of this review:

FULL STRENGTH, 65.8%abv
There's no alcohol burn to the nose, but there are three peat levels trading fours: Farm, Moss and Ocean. Chalk dust and stones fill in the midground. Black plums, dried cherries and toffee chips perch in the background. And occasionally a cashew hint ekes out. The palate is VERY approachable for this ABV. Black walnuts, manure, and a salty, savory broth sit up front. Sweet citrus, nectarines and baking spices are in the back. The monolithic finish is all stones, earth, salt, herbal smoke and bitter chocolate.

DILUTED TO ~50%abv, or 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose goes medicinal, with lots of iodine and band-aids. But there are also candied pecans, orange peels, seaweed and manure. The palate becomes intensely salty, like ocean water and kelp. It grows sweeter and more aromatic with time, gaining a good selection of citrus fruits. It finishes salty and savory. Some mossy smoke, dark chocolate and limes appear after a while.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or >2½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Much more variety in the nose now. Industrial smoke and elephant manure. Walnuts, dried herbs and hay. Dark chocolate and cherries. The palate remains very very salty and a herbal bitterness develops around the edges. Bits of brown sugar and raspberry jam in the background. Bitter chocolate and dried stone fruits finish it up.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Immediately upon finishing my first pour from this bottle I was convinced that the 65.8% abv was a typo. It drank much too easily. Perhaps the label was supposed to read 56.8% (which was the ABV of the previous Rattray I reviewed, coincidentally), or 55.8%. I was convinced there was something fishy going on, and not the usual Weird-Era Ledaig fishiness.

But after this tasting my doubt has decreased. In fact after the tasting I was utterly hammered and my mouth was numb. And at ~46%abv, the whisky was still gigantic. Had the original ABV been 56.8%, and I'd added the same amount of water, the dilution would have dropped it to about 39%abv, and that was no 39%abv whisky.

Ignoring all the numbers, I must say this is a terrific whisky. Its sheer brutality keeps it from ascending to the 90+ point team. Heaps upon heaps of sea salt and bitter chocolate fill the palate, and Octomore-levels of peat punish the nose. And also manure. It's a manure monster. You can add water, but it won't save you.

Availability - Possibly still around on The Continent
Pricing - I bought it for $120 four years ago, now it appears to be closer to $150-$200 (pending exchange rates)
Rating - 89

Tormore 33 year old 1984 Cadenhead Authentic Collection

It's difficult to find 1980s-distilled single malts, it's even more difficult to find 1980s-distilled single malts for prices lower than a mortgage payment. Luckily, independent bottlers like Signatory, Cadenhead and the Laings have released a few dozen 1980s Tormore single casks in the $150-$250 range over the past few years. I often eyed those offerings but never wound up committing to any, so I don't know what to tell you about their actual quality. Today's sample, from a bottle split, will be my first try of a 1980s Tormore, and I don't know what to expect.

Distillery: Tormore
Ownership: Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard)
Region: Morayshire, Speyside
Bottler: Cadenhead
Range: Authentic Collection
Age: 33 years old (1984 to Autumn 2017)
Maturation: bourbon barrel

Outturn: 132 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 51.7%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT
The nose begins with a nice combination of cinnamon custard, heavily toasted cashews and walnuts, and pine sap. Then twigs and dead leaves. Cinnamon rolls and toasted marshmallows. A little bit of naked barley still remains after more than three decades. The palate goes a different direction. Cantaloupes, lemons, nectarines and Lucky Charms "marshmallows" show up first. Then toasted salted almonds tossed with rosemary. Oak gradually settles in, until a bitterness begins to register at the 45 minute mark. It finishes very sweetly with some tart fruit and toasted nuts in the background. A little bit of that bitter oak sneaks in after a while.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose doesn't open up. In fact it feels muted. Boston cream, baby powder, citrons and a hint of wood smoke are all I can find. There's less fruit in the palate, though as whole it all reads sweeter. Then there's some toasted coconut and oversteeped black tea. This feels like it's closing up as well. It finishes tangy, tart and tannic.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Puzzled to see how highly this Tormore was rated by the Whiskybase community, I was thankful to see Angus had experienced the same limited enthusiasm as I. The whisky's fine. It's perfectly drinkable when neat and the nose is the overall highlight. That the oak has started to get its hooks into the palate isn't surprising at 33 years, so this may have been a better cask five years earlier. Adding just a little bit of water squelched the best parts. It's a nice drink, but one can't fault a buyer for expecting more from a whisky at this age and price.

Availability - May still be available at some Cadenhead shops
Pricing - ~€265 w/VAT
Rating - 84 (neat only)

Tormore 14 year old Connoisseurs Choice

As I mention in nearly every review of a Gordon & MacPhail whisky, I appreciate the pre-2018 Connoisseurs Choice range more than I actually enjoy its whiskies. For nearly two decades it offered lesser-seen single malts at reasonable prices, unfortunately the results were rarely interesting. This was partially due to low abvs, 40% then 43%, but even after it moved 46%abv I didn't find a CC whisky I actually enjoyed. This was also wasn't due to the quality of blander blendier distilleries, as a 46% sherry cask Caol Ila demonstrates. One wonders if the casks are the culprits. I have no problem with milder, almost-neutral casks, but there's a dullness to so many of the CC whiskies that perhaps their wooden vessels tended to be (figuratively) flat.

With that in mind, here's a Tormore aged in first-fill bourbon barrels. Who woulda thunk it?

Distillery: Tormore
Ownership: Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard)
Region: Morayshire, Speyside
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Range: Connoisseurs Choice
Age: minimum 14 years old
Maturation: first fill bourbon barrels
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? No
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose begins bready and minty, with small notes of walnuts, figs and dried grass clippings. Some dried lavender and thyme. Some apple peels. There's something mossy and organic in the background, but it isn't quite peat or smoke. The palate immediately offers the caramel and vanilla cream combo that always reminds me of Cow Tales candy. At the same time it's very malty in a Westland way. Some barrel-aged stout. Then a bit of bitterness and a few limes. It finishes with a peppery heat, some vanilla and malt (in that order). Chocolate stout, dried oregano and a mild bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This shows an oak wallop surprising for this series, though it never gets out of hand because the whisky maltiness grounds the palate. Heck, it's probably one of the most loudest pre-2018 Connoisseurs Choice whiskies I've had. It's also neither particularly complex nor interesting after the second sip. So the casks are probably not the problem this time. Again, one can see why this Tormore would be a good base for a blend, as one builds a better whisky on top of it. Yet one can find many worse single malts from sexier distilleries, even within CC's range.

Availability - Possibly in the US? Though possibly sold out.
Pricing - ???
Rating - 81

Tormore 16 year old (2018)

You've been waiting all decade for this:

TORMORE WEEK.

You're welcome.

One of the main ingredients in Ballantine's blended whisky, Tormore has been around for all of 62 years and has already passed from Long John Distillers to Whitbread to Allied Lyons/Domecq to Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard). The distillery's product been blend fodder for most of its life, showing up sporadically as a 5 or 10 year old single malt during earlier decades, then as a 12 year old during the Aughts. In 2014, a 14 and 16 year old formed a new official range, with the latter malt bottled non-chillfiltered at 48%abv. Though that setup sounds promising the malts are only released in less than a handful of European countries. Thus Pernod Ricard doesn't seem to take the Tormore single malt that seriously. Gotta bottle more Ballantine's.

Today I'll be reviewing the 16 year old from what I believe is a 2018 batch. All sarcasm aside, I've been looking forward to this one, hoping to find promise in a lesser-loved distillery.

Distillery: Tormore
Ownership: Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard)
Region: Morayshire, Speyside
Age: minimum 16 years old
Maturation: "American Oak" per labels
Bottling year: 2018 (I think)

Alcohol by Volume: 48%

Chillfiltered? No
Colored? Probably
(from a purchased sample)

NOTES

Honey, roasted grains and roasted nuts on the nose, in fact there's a lot of honey in this one. Some white peaches and date rolls. Orange peels and cloves, slightly reminiscent of mulled wine. It becomes earthier with time. The palate is very malty, with an oily mouthfeel. It's loaded with citrus: think limes, yuzu and clementines. A touch of bitter herbal liqueur around the edges and some earthiness in the background. It finishes with a balance of sweet and tart citrus fruits up front, with the bitter liqueur lingering in the back. Plenty of malt fills the middle.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

In addition to enjoying the malt assault, I could have sworn there was some sherry cask action in the mix but perhaps that's just a combination of rich oak and a bold spirit? While it's neither subtle nor intellectual, Tormore 16 is a thick, bold whisky, and one I wish was more widely available. One can see how it would fit in a Compass Box-style vatting or as a flavoring malt in a good blend, but still it does work as a single malt, one with more flair than I'd expected from the Tormore factory.

Availability - A few European countries, and possibly Japan?
Pricing - around €60 - €80 with VAT
Rating - 86

Two teenage actual Japanese blended whiskies

Harrumphs continue over contemporary Japanese whiskies that are not fully made out of Japanese whiskies, and the harrumphed whiskies continue to be made. I expressed my vital opinion on this matter three years ago and that hawt take hasn't changed.

This Japanese week ends with two lesser known blends (no apologies for the rhyme), both of which are very likely probably kinda sorta totally 100% Japanese, and both of which I'm fairly geeked about. The first is a recent blend, the second is a random dusty that I know nothing about!

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Kirin's gigantic whisky factory, Mt. Fuji Distillery (formerly Fuji Gotemba), sits near the eastern base of the wee hill, producing dozens of blends, grains and malts we don't hear much about in The States. Over the past decade, several editions of an 18-year-old blend have been released in its home country. Imma try one.

Fuji Gotemba (Fuji-Sanroku) 18 year old
2018 Small Batch blended whisky

Brand: Fuji Gotemba / Fuji-Sanroku
Distillery: Mt. Fuji Distillery (previously Fuji Gotemba)
Ownership: Kirin Distillery Group
Type: Blended whisky
Region: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Age: minimum 18 years old
Maturation: ???
Outturn: ???
Release year: 2018
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The oak moves in waves through the nose. At first it's shy, allowing lots of grains (barley and otherwise) to hold the fore. There are also oranges, out-of-season peaches and a whiff of glue. Toasty aromatic oak, toasted coconut and white chocolate move to the front after 20 minutes, then recede again at the 45-minute mark, allowing the fruits to return. The palate begins with fresh ginger, tart oranges and sawdust. Then something plummy takes over after 20 minutes. At the 45-minute spot, the plums are joined by whole cloves, wood smoke and more citrus. The ginger and orange finish gets sweeter and smokier with time, with a hint of the palate's plums.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This comes across as a bit of a generic blend until 45 minutes pass by. At that point the oak and spirit find their best balance. The mouthfeel is very thin, perhaps the victim of heavy chill-filtration, but I really enjoyed the fresh plums and the finish is quite pleasant. The whisky's overall quality is comparable to the major Scottish 18yo blends, with the plums perhaps giving it a slight edge. But Johnnie Walker 18 averages $85. This averages $600. I don't know, man.

Availability - It can be found
Pricing - $500-$850
Rating - 81

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Rarely do I have a whisky sample that's so random that I can only shrug and say, "I dunno, here's a thing," but I'm short on facts here.

It's a 17 year old Suntory blend with Takashimaya and Yokohama Club listed on the label. Takashimaya is one of Japan's chains of ten-storey super-duper department stores. I've been in a few, and I highly recommend travelling to the basement level and eating yourself to death. Once upon a time, these department store chains' basements sold exclusive single casks and small batches of Suntory's and Nikka's famous distilleries. Today their whisky selection isn't much better than a Duty Free shop. Perhaps this specific Suntory blend was a bottling for the Takashimaya store in Yokohama, or maybe there was a whisky club in Yokohama and they had a blend made for them which was then sold via Takashimaya? There's very little information about this bottling online, so if you made it here via a Google search and you know more about this whisky please let us know in the comment section below. Thanks!

Otherwise, I dunno.

Here's a thing.

Suntory 17 year old blended whisky, Yokohama Club, Takashimaya

Brand: Suntory
Ownership: Beam Suntory
Type: Blended whisky
Country: Japan
Distilleries: Yamazaki and Hakushu for malt, Chita for grain (probably)
Age: minimum 17 years old
Maturation: ???
Exclusive to: see above
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose triggers an intense sense memory of the white Kosher wine served at Kiddush at the synagogue I attended in my childhood. But the nose also shows polyester, dried paste, Dijon mustard, plum wine, ocean water and raspberry candy. And, no, none of those notes can be bothered to work together. The palate delivers some serious OBE: dust and must and metal. Lots of sweet grain whisky. Some paper. Raw almonds, malt and whole wheat toast. It picks up some peaches after a while, and has a gingery fizziness running throughout. It finishes sweet and malty, though also bitter and papery. Some peach sweetness eases in after a while.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Had I tasted it blindly I would have guessed it was an early '70s scotch blend, like Ambassador or Passport. Not the healthiest compliment on the surface, but I do like the dirty oddities that 40-50 years brings to those cheapies. The nose is truly strange and not of the clean, rounded quality of later Suntory blended products. That could also be read as a positive, because I think I'd rather drink this than Hibiki Japanese Harmony. I'd still take Toki over them both.

Availability - Somewhere. Or not.
Pricing - Damfino
Rating - 77

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thank you for joining me on this week's twirl through Japanese whisky. These were the last of my Japanese whisky samples. Yes, the last. I even finished the heel of my Yoichi 15 bottle. Next week the blog returns to Scotland for three reviews of one very sexy distillery's single malt.

Two Mars Komagatake single casks

While Chichibu gets the lust, Komagatake gets......noticed. Fashioned in Mars Shinshu distillery, the Komagatake single malts have not yet reached 10 years of age, and many of their early bottlings had single malt from the previous Shinshu production era (1985-1992) mixed in. So like Chichibu their whiskies are very young and very expensive, though many of the regular Komagatake releases stay below $200. I'm still not going to call this stuff cheap.

For more on Mars's whisky, I recommend checking out my Mission: Mars series from 2018. Here's the intro and here's the closer with the review links.

Today I shall compare two official Komagatake single casks -- one bourbon barrel and one sherry butt -- which I enjoy courtesy of bottle splits. Expectations set to medium well.

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Mars Komagatake 4 year old 2012
cask 1453, USA release

Brand: Komagatake
Distillery: Mars Shinshu
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Region: Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Age: 4 years (February 2012 - July 2016)
Maturation: bourbon barrel
Cask #: 1453
Outturn: 175 bottles
Bottled for: USA
Alcohol by Volume: 58%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose is full of cereals (think wheat bran and oats), as well as lemons, rosemary and witbier. It's sugary and pretty, a little bit worty. It develops notes of rosewater and dried grass clippings with time. It reads younger once it's reduced to 46%abv. More sugar, more malt. Grassier and toastier.

It's even younger on the palate, with yeast, wort, barley and a wheated bourbon-like sweetness. Pears and smoky peppercorns. The sweetness mellows with time, and some simple citrus notes appear. It's never too hot. Diluting the whisky to 46%abv narrows it a bit. Malt, grass, bitter herbs and a slight tart bite.

Tart lemons, black pepper and sugar in the finish. Once the whisky is reduced to 46%abv, the finish matches the palate with the tartness lasting the longest.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

There's no mistaking this for an older whisky. A blessed lack of oak allows one to get very very close to the spirit which feels novel in this whisky era. So though there's nothing remarkable about the whisky, I appreciate that direct barley hit. Though I'm tired of damned bloggers like me writing "I can't wait until this is ten years old", I can't wait until this is ten years old. In a refill cask. At a bargain price. *wink*

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (when neat)

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Mars Komagatake 3 year old 2013 ePower
cask 1704

Brand: Komagatake
Distillery: Mars Shinshu
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Region: Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Bottler: ePower
Age: 3 years (March 2013 - September 2016)
Maturation: sherry butt
Cask #: 1704
Outturn: 594 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 56.9%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose on this one is more expressive than that of cask 1453. Apricots, eucalyptus, vanilla fudge and honey are the first to greet the sniffer, followed by toasted barley, mesquite and cinnamon syrup. It picks up notes of amaretto and almond extract with more time in the glass. When reduced to 46%abv, the nose becomes simpler: flowers, lychee and barley.

For the palate my notes read, "Malt and almond things". Then there's a distinct new make note, almost like rye white dog. It opens up further after 20+ minutes, revealing walnuts, agave nectar, wheat bread toast crust and dried apricots. It has a nice thick mouthfeel. Again, reducing the whisky to 46%abv really does water it down. It becomes sweet, bitter and almond-y with a little bit of cherry candy on the corners.

The sweet and nutty finish sticks around for a long time. Notes of cinnamon, salt, dough and dried apricots linger. Diluted to 46%abv, the whisky's finish matches the palate.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

As with cask 1453, cask 1704 does not hide its whisky's youth. Though the sherry cask lends some character, it shares bright fresh fruit and nuts rather than oak and raisins. And, like its sparring partner, it performs much better when neat. I enjoyed this one a teeny bit more, while also realizing that at 10 years old this cask would likely have smothered the spirit.

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84 (when neat)

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Aside from an excellent Komagatake I enjoyed in Japan (but have since forgotten which edition it was) all the Mars Shinshu single malts (from the current production period) I have tried fall into this general age and rating range. Though that totals just five whiskies, I do wonder how much more can be done with this single malt at this extreme youth. Though I continue to root for Hombo Shuzo Co. and its whiskies, I do hope they can push the age up without raising the prices much more.