Birthday Booze! Lemorton 35 year old 1978 Calvados Domfrontais, the final chapter

This year's birthday booze started out with a huge pour of the 1978 I'd opened last year.  Back in 2012 I began the ritual of opening up a special (and expensive) 1978 whisky that I'd only drink on my birthday.  That precedent-setter was a Balblair 1978, and it was good for three birthdays' worth of posts.  Since 2012, a funny thing happened.  Or not so funny, I guess.  The price of 1978 whiskies has risen exponentially.  Hell, 1988 whiskies are now more expensive than 1978s were three years ago.  So while I do have a pair of '78 single malts in the stash, those will be the last.  Vintage be damned, I'll just open something fun on my birthdays.

Meanwhile, last year, I decided I would open up a 1978 that I'd found for a fraction of the price of a single malt.  It was a calvados, a calvados brandy from the Domfrontais region of Calvados, Lower Normandy, France.  While calvados brandy is usually made primarily from apples, there is an exception.  Pear trees flourish in the Domfrontais region's soil, so local brandy makers have added these fruits to their calvados mash.  To get the "Domfrontais" appellation on the label, the calvados distillate needs to be made up of at least 30% pear.  The Lemorton family's calvados distillate content is 70% pear.

For more words, see last year's post.  And for even better info see Charles Neal's site.

To the booze!

Type: Brandy
Country: France
Region: Calvados (in Lower Normandy)
Subregion/commune: Domfront, Orne
Family: Lemorton
Distillate: approximately 30% apple / 70% pear
Distillation: once through a column still
Year distilled: 1978
Year bottled: 2013
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
(from just above mid-bottle)

The color is bourbon brown, pretty dark for a calvados.  The nose starts out all apples and honey, and though other notes appear, the apples and honey always remain up front.  There are some roses, lemon peels, oaty granola or maybe oats & brown sugar, and a hint of sweat.  But in the palate, the pears take over.  Small notes of salt, pepper, and clover honey.  A mild sugariness, never cloying.  After 20-30 minutes, tart apples come rolling in.  Honey is the biggest note in the finish.  Then, Macintosh apple skins.  Yes, I know that's the wrong apple for this juice.  A mild dryness lingers.  Hints of baked apples and pears show up late.

So any changes since last year?  Yep, much less wood spice now.  Less pepper too, though that may have come from the wood as well.  That has made the liquid an even easier drink now.  Perhaps slightly less complex though.  The pear notes have receded and the apples have largely taken over.

You readers will not see this getting reviewed next year.  I'll open something else then.  While this is still an enjoyable drink, there's nothing to keep it from being anything other than a nice everyday comfortable spirit for the warmer days.  Okay, nothing other than the price and age statement.  But it's open now and it's meant to be enjoyed and, frankly, it's not a world beater.

If you're looking for a calvados brandy distilled in 1978, there aren't many (or any?) others being sold in the US, so this would fit your needs.  But you need to ask yourself, is the age or year of distillation really that important?  The Camut 6 year old can stand toe-to-toe with this one any day, and at less than half the price.

Availability - A dozen or two retailers in the US and Europe
Pricing - $150-$180 (US), $120-$140 (Europe)
Rating - 84

WTF Is This? Mosstowie 1975-1994 G&M Connoisseur's Choice

No, Mosstowie is not a distillery.  It is a fungal disorder quickly contracted by the body when walking barefoot through the Highlands.

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That "joke" doesn't even work.  Mosstowie usually pronounced with a hard 'ow', like "Ow, that was painfully poor", rather than 'oh', like "Oh, what wonderful wit."

Look, this is what passes for original content when the writer is an insomniac stay-at-home father.

Soooooooo, Mosstowie was the single malt produced from two Lomond stills (rather than pot stills) at Miltonduff distillery between 1964 and 1981.  Back in the '50s and '60s, Hiram Walker installed Lomond stills at their Miltonduff, Glenburgie, Scapa, and Interleven/Dumbarton distilleries as a way to create a wider variety of whiskies for blenders from one single setup.  Their fates were brief: Glenburgie's Glencraig Lomond stills (like Miltonduff/Mosstowie's) were scrapped in 1981, Interleven distillery was closed in 1991, and Scapa's Lomond has been heavily modified.  So Hiram Walker's Lomond stills weren't what one would call a full success.

Today's review is of a 1975 Mosstowie that was released amongst Gordon & MacPhail's expansive (but originally not expensive) Connoisseur's Choice range in 1994.  Many many thanks go out to Teemu of Whisky Science with whom I did some sample swappin'.

Distillery: Miltonduff
Malt: Mosstowie
Ownership at the time: Hiram Walker

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail (Connoisseurs Choice)
Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Distillation year: 1975
Bottling year: 1994

Maturation: probably not first fill casks

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

(pic source)

Its color is a medium-to-dark gold.  At first, the nose is almost all spirit-driven.  Hay, seaside, barley, and a hint of white fruits.  Then there's carob, caramel, and buttery shortbread cookies.  After 15-20 minutes in the glass, a maple syrup note appears and quickly expands. A little sawdust and furniture polish.  At the start, the palate has a nice slight funky musty thing going on (OBE, is that you?) which quickly dissipates. Hints of coffee beans and dark chocolate.  Barley, caramel, and those shortbread cookies.  Maybe a peep of orange zest. It's never too sweet. Texture's a little thin. About 15 minutes in, vanilla and wood spice notes begin to show.  After 25 minutes, a big wood bitterness takes over.  The finish begins with a sugary vanilla breakfast cereal (specifically Trader Joe's Vanilla Almond Clusters). Then a roasted note, reminiscent of the palate's coffee and dark chocolate.  A little peppery tingle on the roof of the mouth.  There's a peep of bitterness at first, that then expands along with the bitterness in the palate.

The LAWS guys liked this whisky and mentioned no particular oddities.  Meanwhile both Johannes (of Malt Madness lore) and Serge (of Whiskyfun Gone Wild) both make point to reference that the palate gets really woody after a while.

I agree with the Europeans on this one.  To me, the oak even grows loud in the nose.  But before that happens, this is an acceptable middle of the road single malt.  The low ABV likely keeps much of its potential richness at bay, but the whisky is simple and pleasant, and would likely appeal to many blend drinkers.  And then the oak rumbles in and zaps it.  I don't know what causes this sort of thing to happen.  Spirit issues from the stills?  An imbalance from too much added water?  Caramel colorant?  Or maybe just some weird casks.  So, to somewhat echo Johannes, I'd have to say this one's a drinker not a thinker.  And make haste!

Availability - Auctions

Pricing - $$$ !!! ???

Rating - 82 until the fifteen minute mark, at which point it loses 5 points; at the half hour mark it loses another 5 points.  This is all very exacting and scientitious.

Single Malt Report: Talisker 18 year old 1979 Cadenhead's Authentic Collection

Today I'm reviewing a 18 year old Talisker, distilled in 1979, bottled by Cadenhead in their old tall green bottle "Authentic Collection".  It comes to this blog courtesy of the most generous Cobo.

My experience with the Authentic Collection is about 50/50.  Half of the time I find these very high ABV whiskies to be intensely hot and tight.  Water tames the heat, but does little to open up the whisky.  The other half of the time, these whiskies prove to be excellent.  Let's see how this one -- which I've been waiting to find an excuse to open -- fares.

Distillery: Talisker
Ownership: Diageo

Independent Bottler: Cadenhead's
Range: Authentic Collection

Age: 18 years old (July 1979 - April 1998)

Maturation: "Oak Cask", yup
Region: Isle of Skye

Alcohol by Volume: 61.1%
(Thanks to Cobo!)

NEAT
The color is of pale straw, which is often the color of the whiskies in this range.  The nose starts off with just ocean, burnt wood, and a seaweed-peat combo.  Then suddenly there are peated cinnamon buns, shortbread, lemon, and smoked toffee.  The palate leads with peat cinders and a generous helping of chili oil.  Behind that, there are smaller notes of smoked almonds, fruity shisha, and cherry candy.  Lots of smoked salt in the finish.  Then lemon juice, shortbread, and barley.

Okay, this whisky feels closed.  Adding water...

WITH WATER (~50%abv)
Out come the lemons in the nose, and some faint limes and tart peaches. Then paste, seaweed, and white frosting.  The palate has cinnamon, salt, cigars, and black peppercorns.  In the finish the pepper goes more cayenne.  Still the salt, cinnamon, and tobacco.

Trying a little more water to see what happens...

WITH WATER (~43%abv)
In the nose, the peat gets slightly farmier.  Still lots of ocean air.  Now some brown sugar and a hint of jasmine flowers.  A better bitter peat smoke shows up in the palate.  Gentle notes of brown sugar and vanilla get somewhat corrupted by a cardboard note.  The finish is fading, now tingly, sweet, and salty.

I can't believe I'm writing this, but I'd take the new Laphroaig 15yo (reviewed on Tuesday) over this 1979 Talisker without a second thought.  Thanks to previous experiences, my expectations for older Taliskers are set pretty high.  So while this is not a bad whisky, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.  As referenced earlier, like many of the green bottle Authentic Collection whiskies, this Talisker bottled at a high ABV and shows very little oak.  The latter is a good thing.  The former, not always a good thing.

At full strength it felt tight, but the nose was decent and I enjoyed the big chili oil heat in the palate.  The nose picks up some new complexity at 50%abv, though the palate gets simpler.  At 43% the nose remains nice though simple, while the palate and finish seem to be falling apart.

Had I not known what this was a '70s Talisker perhaps I'd be less critical.  But still, I don't think I'd find it any more expressive or complex.  It's still a peppery barnburner, full of ocean and barley.  And that's about where it stops.

Availability - Auctions?

Pricing - ???

Rating - 83

Single Malt Report: Laphroaig 15 year old 200th Anniversary

200K views for me, 200 years for Laphroaig...

Many long time whisky fans reminisce fondly about the old Laphroaig 15.  I am not amongst their number.  The 15 was fine but I always preferred the rawer 10yo and Cask Strength.  In 2009, the 15 was replaced by an 18 year old.  Imagine that, an official bottling replaced by an older whisky.  Again, I found the 18 to be decent though unremarkable, brighter than the 15, though quieter.  But in 2013, Laphroaig changed the design of all of their labels, and I was told by friends with reliable palates that the 18 had changed and improved.  I tried it and I agreed.  But now, in 2015, there's an undying rumor that the 18 year old is on its way out, to be replaced by a 15 year old.  IF, if, if that is true then that is some very quick turnaround/turnover.

Meanwhile, Laphroaig celebrated its 200th anniversary (1815-2015) earlier this year by releasing......you guessed it, a limited edition of a 15 year old.  Perhaps, I should put the limited in quotes.  It's a 72,000 bottle "limited" release.  (If someone mocks Diageo for their 50000+ bottle limited bourbons, then it would be hypocritical of him not to mock Beam Suntory for their 72000 bottle limited scotches.)  As of the day I am writing this post, neither this release nor the 2015 Cairdeas has made it to the West Coast, though they are both for sale in much of the rest of the country.

The reviews of this new 15yo have been very positive, so I purchased a pair of samples of it from the Whiskybase Shop to see if the whisky is worth the hubbub.

Distillery: Laphroaig

Owner: Beam Suntory
Type: Single Malt
Region: Islay

Age: minimum 15 years
Release Year: 2015
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels
"Limited" Release: 72,000 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Chill-filtration? Possibly
Caramel colored? Possibly

Drinking Laphroaig on a 95ºF summer's day was a little unusual for me, so I switched on The Flaming Lips' Christmas on Mars soundtrack for this tasting because it made sense.

NEAT
The color is light gold with an orange hue.  The nose's first notes are mango, vanilla, shortbread, and a very soft peating.  Then comes grapefruit, Campari, dried grass clippings, and orange gummi bears.  But after a good 20+ minutes in the glass, the whisky emits some good Laphroaig stink and a whole pile of citrus peels.  The peat moss is much bigger on the palate.  A nice bitter edge to the smoke.  There's the grapefruit and Campari from the nose.  Then some smaller notes of lime, caramel, and peppercorns.  The finish has quite a bite for a 43%abv whisky.  Tart citrus, an herbal bitterness, and lots of pepper.  A moment of tropical fruit punch.  Smoke and sweetness lingers longest.

Since Laphroaig 10yo is often bottled at 40%abv overseas, I thought I'd check out what this 15yo would be like at that level.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose is full of orange peel and peated orange marmalade.  Vanilla and the seaside.  The palate is still pretty bold.  Wet wool left by the fireplace.  Very green peat.  Sharp peppery spearmint leaves.  A good bitter nip in the finish, along with some dirty peat and soft sweetness.

I'm uh...um...impressed.  All of Laphroaig's recent tootling around with oak in their NAS and AS stuff had resulted in my low expectations.  But this is good whisky.  While the oak is present, it never intrudes.  It's a mellower version of the 10, but still loaded with character.  Plus the whisky thrives with a few drops of added water.

If this is the stuff that would allegedly replace the new 18, then that wouldn't be a total tragedy.  Just a small bummer perhaps.  Pricing for this whisky starts at $80 in the US.  Personally, I won't pay that price for a 43%abv 15yo from a conglomerate.  You may feel differently.  Perhaps 72,000 bottles is super limited in your opinion, and thus the pricing is reasonable.  I would feel differently.  But as for the liquid itself, the quality is there.  If only we could have a world where the 10, 10CS, 15, and 18 would live together in harmony.  Maybe next decade?

Availability - apparently all over the US, except for the Best Coast

Pricing - $80-$100

Rating - 88

200,000+ Views (as per Google Analytics)! Thank you!

Lady and Gentlemen!

This blog somehow just zipped past another nice round-numbered milestone.  Thank You Thank You Thank You to all of my readers no matter how you found this site or how frequently you visit.  I appreciate stealing your attention while you're at work or in bed or on the can.

This second 100K happened much quicker than had been expected thanks to one fateful series of posts written in early January.  What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom series has been viewed 10,000 times (by actual humans).  That number is astounding and frightening and sexually invigorating.  Perhaps the series told people what they already knew or what they wanted to hear or what they already feared.  Whatever the reason, those posts struck some sort of chord and has kept me rechecking my charts out of sheer paranoia that I've gotten something wrong.

While it's now no longer a secret that the so-called-Boom is in the past tense, I still witness so many whisky geeks buying out of scarcity fears.  And I still see prices rising.  Next January, I'll update the spreadsheets and graphs, as long as the figures are still being made public.  At that point I'll also update the pricing spreadsheet and share that with you all as well.  If any one of my beloved readers has access to industry data that is more granular and specific than that released by the SWA, and is willing to provide it anonymously so that I may apply deeper analysis, together we may be able to create something of interest and assistance to many Scotch drinkers.

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There were also 90,000 views that weren't connected to the Boom series.  The Top 25 All Time posts hasn't changed a whole lot since last May, so if you want the old long list you can click over there.  But let's see what's happened since then.

Firstly and most importantly, my daughter was born.  Everything else is sorta quiet compared to her.

Also, I went to Japan.  My brother got married.  Mathilda turned one.  I went through a long buying freeze.  I left the dusty hunt.  And this stay at home dad squeezed out over 140 single malt reports whenever his daughter allowed him.

Aside from the Scotch Boom stuff, here are the Top Dozen new posts:
1. A Friendly Reminder to Kill Your Whisky Gods
2. The original Suntory Royal SR review -- okay, so this was posted the month before the 100K marker but the number of clicks this review gets baffles me
3. Grangestone Double Cask review
4. Usquebach Old-Rare review
5. Whisky Observations from Japan (or Where the Hell is the Japanese Whisky?)
6. Glen Scotia 12 year old (old label) review
7. Talisker 25 year old (2012 bottling) review
8. Four Roses Single Barrel OBSK barrel 37-1B review
9. Balcones Rumble, batch R12-3 review
10. Karuizawa Spirit of Asama 48% review
11. R.I.P. Willett 4 year old Family Estate Single Barrel MGP Rye
12. Hello, Loch Dhu and Cu Dubh. Goodbye, 2014.

Some odd ones in there.  Um, Glen Scotia 12?

And the ten countries with the most views were:
1. United States of America, making up 52% of the total views
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Australia
6. Netherlands
7. India
8. France
9. Sweden
10. Finland

While blend reviews made up 18% of my first 100K posts, they only accounted for 12% of the second 100K. While the big four malts (Macallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and Glenmorangie) made up 14% of my first 100K, they made up less than 7% of the second 100K.  So even if I discount the Scotch Boom views, it's clear that people are coming to my site for things other than the super popular whiskies.  And if you look at that list of Top Dozen new posts above, readers are clearly going for some of the quirkier things.  And that's great because that's the path I prefer to travel as well!

One final thought regarding the Boom's demise.  If whisky's popularity continues to shrink then will my pageviews -- and those of other whisky bloggers -- do the same?  Probably.  That's how it goes.  As industries contract, so do peripheral businesses.  I guess that's one good thing about running an independent site, I won't be losing revenue.  Can't say the same thing about blogs and publications that directly rely on an expanding industry for financing and content.

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This week I'll celebrate this recent milestone with one relevant whisky and one irrelevant whisky and then a WTF? whisky (super irrelevant!).  And the following week will be a whole bunch of stuff that I'm sure will be brilliant.

Thank you!

WTF Is This? Pride of Orkney 12 years old Vatted(?) Malt

Last Friday, it was Pride of Islay 12yo.  This week is its cousin, Pride of Orkney 12yo.

A similar starting schpiel to last week's:  This is a Gordon & MacPhail product from the '80s and early '90s, and part of a range of Prides, such as Islay, Lowlands, and Strathspey.  And almost verbatim... I'm 75% sure this is a vatted (or blended) malt.  Most online resources say as much.  But whiskybase shows it as a single malt, so I'll leave that parenthetical question mark in the title.  If you do google Pride of Orkney, you'll mostly find auction listings and most of those are of this very mini (50mL) version.  Not a lot of reviews of it out there, other than one from a certain prolific Frenchman, so hopefully this post will help someone on this planet.

The label does state "Highland Malt", which is funny because just two weeks ago my chosen WTF whisky had labelled another Island whisky a "Highland Malt".  So the usage of this vague, marketing/branding terminology goes back long before the recent whisky craze.  The label also displays a photo of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, which is right up the street from Highland Park distillery.  So, that may have folks thinking this is a Highland Park, if it is indeed a single malt.  But Scapa distillery is also in Kirkwall.  The difference in distance from the distilleries to the cathedral is all of 1 kilometer (2.8km for Scapa, 1.8km for Highland Park).  Thus again, I'd be happy to accept that this is a vatted (or blended) malt of the two Orkney distilleries.

Brand: Pride of
Pride of what? Orkney

Ownership: Gordon & MacPhail

Type: Scotch Vatted (or Blended) Malt

Age: minimum 12 years
Bottling year: most likely somewhere in the 1980s or 1990s

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

(Many thanks again and again to Cobo for this opportunity!)

The color is a dark brownish gold.  Like the Pride of Islay, it leaves one wondering: is it big on sherry or big on e150a?  The nose has much less sherry in it compared to the Islay.  More cereal notes.  More American oak, though not nearly as much as current whiskies display. There's something grungy and dirty on top (sorta Campbeltown-ish, if we can call that a region).  But underneath there's orange zest and vanilla.  With time in the glass, the whisky picks up some green apples, maple wood, and a hint of soapy florals.  The palate is loaded with tobacco and cocoa powder. More sherry perhaps? Minimum sweets at first.  White fruit essences, especially those green apples. It's lightly grassy with some mint leaves.  A little vanilla balanced with a little bitterness.  Gets sweeter with time.  The finish is sweeter than the palate.  Still has that balance of vanilla and bitterness. Menthol and sherry.

This is a satisfactory whisky.  Its pleasures are the reverse of the Islay, wherein this one's palate is much better than the nose.  Like the Islay, the finish is the Orkney's weakest point, possibly the result of the ABV.  Then again, the whole package is so acceptable that I can't imagine it getting that much better at 43% or even 46%.  The peat is nearly silent and the sherry restrained as the spirit pads about casually.

Again, if you have a 70cL bottle in your stash, or one of these minis, you're sitting on an acceptable whisky which I can't imagine would be worth the effort to flip on the secondary market.  So drink it and be moderately satisfied.

Availability - Auctions, I s'pose

Pricing - ???

Rating - 82

The Life of a Whisky Bottle: Ledaig 15 year old (2001 bottling)

This whisky and I have some history.  It was introduced to me three and a half years ago at a most formative tasting, one that introduced me not only to Ledaig, but also early Corryvrecken and Willett's single barrels of LDI/MGP rye.  It left me wondering, what is this weird Ledaig stuff?

It also left me searching for my own bottle of the now extinct white-labelled 15 year old.  My online searches took me as far as Yorkshire, UK.  Lucky me, for my wife had a business trip near the retailer around that time.  Lucky me, for my wife received the whisky parcel at her hotel.  Lucky me, for my wife couriered it back to our home.  Lucky me, for my wife.

My plan was to open the bottle this past winter.  But then Long Beach had late summer heat until November.  Then we were traveling in December.  So it wasn't opened until January of this year.  Thus the bottle's winter was short, as was its open life.

As an experiment, I took samples from the top of the bottle, the mid-third, and the bottom of the bottle, in January, February, and April.  I've done Life of Bottle posts before where I've done tastings throughout the bottle's life, but this time I would taste various points of the bottle at the same time in order to compare and see how much it changes and oxidizes or oxygenate in the bottle.

One thing to note before I dive into the results, this whisky was bottled in 2001......which means that the whisky in the bottle is older than 15 years.  In 1982, Tobermory distillery (which makes Ledaig single malt) was closed and turned into apartments and (yes) cheese storage by the real estate company that owned the facility.  Production restarted in 1989.  This means the whisky in my bottle was 19-20 years old, or possibly older.  If that sounds a bit nutty, consider the entry in The Whisky Monitor for the 2003 bottling, which was 21 years old or older.  These are the sorts of things that happen when whisky industries have gone through a long term down period, and also when companies are establishing an age stated range (like current GlenDronach).

Now, onto the tasting.  My Annoying Opinions and Chemistry of the Cocktail will be posting simul-reviews of the whisky from this very bottle.  I'll include links to their reviews as soon as I am able...

And here they are!
MAO's review: http://myannoyingopinions.com/2015/08/12/ledaig-15-43/
Cocktailchem's review: http://cocktailchem.blogspot.com/2015/08/whisky-review-ledaig-15-year.html

Distillery: Tobermory
Brand: Ledaig
Type: Single Malt
Region: Isle of Mull

Age: minimum 15 years old, though actually 19 years or older in this case

Maturation: probably ex-bourbon barrels
Bottling year: 2001

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Colored? ???

Chillfiltered? ???

This bottle's usage:
24% - Swaps and shares
0% - Whisky experiments
20% - Graded tastings
56% - Casual drinking

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FIRST POUR FROM THE BOTTLE, January 2015
Color - Gold
Nose - A cheerful green/herbal note; think anise and cucumber skins.  Wood smoke and gentle peat moss.  Raspberry candy and rhubarb pie.  Dry leaves, grilled fish/seaweed, and wet sand.  With plenty of air, the candied notes remain, but not the herbal note.  A farmy hint appears as does a louder cinnamon note.
Palate - Pretty peppery and lightly sweet.  Barbecue and charred meat.  Salt and toasty barley.  A hint of tobacco.  With time an herbal bitter note grows and grows.  The peat expands.  The cinnamon note arrives, along with hints of tropical fruit punch and peach liqueur.
Finish - Sweeter and more vanilla-ed here.  Beachy and salty.  Slight lime tartness and herbal bitterness.  With air, the cinnamon shows up here too, as does the peach liqueur.

MID BOTTLE, February 2015
Similar to the 1/15 notes but with the following differences: 
Nose - More citrus and rhubarb pie.  Some dark chocolate and citronella candles.  With air, it remains bright and fruity, but also a little floral. Maybe a note of floral soap.  Salty cheese and butter.
Palate - Much more vanilla now. More direct overall. Bigger sweets, bigger bitter.  Some anise and pepper, less charred beef.  With time, a butter note develops. Cinnamon. More peppercorns and wormwood. Peat's a little dirtier. 
Finish - Peat is louder, as are the sweets and bitter.  Oddly, it feels longer.  With time, the peat and bitterness vanish, replaced by butter, cinnamon, and dried herbs.

BOTTOM THIRD OF BOTTLE, April 2015
Similar to the 1/15 and 2/15 notes but with the following differences: 
Nose - Fruitier still. More grassy, more anise, less smoke, less grilled fish/seaweed. Peat feels cleaner, saltier.  Hint of cardboard.  With time, it gets a little farmier.  Maybe some lime candy.
Palate - Mildest peat yet. Mild overall. Vanilla, pepper, and hay.  Picks up some more spice and florals with time, but also awakens that cardboard note.
Finish - Sugary vanilla, salt, and lots of cracked pepper.

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Observation #1: The first thing that struck me was how subtle and graceful this was compared to my experience with it three and a half years ago.  Back then I was seduced by its big weird smoke and strength.  Now, after having tried quite a number of modern Ledaigs, I'm fascinated by this whisky's calm.  It's certainly the mellowest Ledaig I've ever tried.

Observation #2: Usually I find the first pour from a bottle to be closed and a little jumbled.  The middle third is often my favorite part.  This time the top of the bottle proved to be the most complex.  The mid-bottle pour from this bottle was definitely the friendliest and brightest.  But really there wasn't a heck of a lot of change between the two.  Oxygen didn't do too much work over that first month.  But after three months, and with the bottle spending most of its open life less than half full, oxidation had started to affect the whisky.  The edges were gone, the palate had begun to flatten out, and the finish started to vanish.

Observation #3: As I'd mentioned in the intro, I searched for this bottle long and far, finding it 5,500 miles away and buying it at a considerable price.  Two years later, I discovered two stores in my neighborhood still carried that very bottle and at almost half the price.  Two facepalms transpired.

Observation #4: I don't know if there's anything on the market quite like it, but at the same time it is not worth $100+.  If you do have one of these and you do open it, I recommend hitting it with some Private Preserve (or something like it) once you get to mid-bottle.

Observation #5: It's not a 92-point whisky, but it's still very good.  I'm glad I opened it rather than keeping it tucked away all crowded in with other lonely bottles.

Availability - Happy Hunting!!!

Pricing - $60-$120

Rating - 87