Ledaig 11 year old 2007 Chieftain's, cask 700611

Though I bid adieu to Chieftain's two years ago, that did not spell the end of my Chieftain's reviews. Diving for Pearls is only timely on accident. Everything gets reviewed at least three years late around here. For instance, today's Ledaig appeared in the US four years ago. Though from a sherry butt, the whisky has taken on the color of a refill hoggie (though I tinted it a bit for my pic below).

Distillery: Tobermory

Malt: Ledaig
Owner: Distell International Ltd.
Region: Isle of Mull

Independent Bottler: Ian McLeod
Range: Chieftain's
Age: 11 years old (June 2007 - September 2018)
Maturation: B.U.T.T.
Cask number: 70611
Outturn: 528 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 58.1%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

One may find ocean water, moss, wood smoke, fresh coffee and roasted mixed nuts on the nose. The palate is nutty and salty, with some heat from chile oil and cinnamon, and just a hint of raspberry sweetness in the background. It finishes with billowing salty smoke and a squeeze of lime.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose leans more towards pork, brine, cashews, apples and basil. I'm sure there's a recipe in that somewhere. The palate arrives with a balance of smoke, salt and sweet. It gets that raspberry note again, along with a vegetal hint, with time. Again with the salty smoke in the finish, this time with dark chocolate and mint leaf.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This was definitely from a refill butt, but not too refill. This is no mezcal-like palate killer, instead it has touches of fruit, nuts and spice to go with the warming smoke. TL;DR: December whisky. Wish I had more of it!

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 87