Official bottlings 2021 & 2023 | 46.3% ABV

Hooray for batch variation

As enthusiasts we are often told to embrace batch variation in our bottle, rather than expecting blenders to try and produce the exact same whisky time and time again. We don’t need to be too concerned with 100% consistency in flavour, as long as the character that attracted us to buy another bottle is there, and the quality remains consistently high.

Marrying casks to maintain the same flavour from batch to batch is a skilled task for the blenders, and must be a difficult job for the distilleries and brands who’s core range malts and blends have certain expectations from their customers.

Most often, but not always, they tend to be the ubiquitous 40% whiskies we find in our supermarkets. Any noticeable differences to the flavour or colour of those whiskies could turn customers away and potentially to a rival brand. Even outside of whisky, getting the casual consumer of any product to accept any change is a difficult task. New Coke anybody?

As these two bottles show, Tobermory clearly aren’t as concerned with maintaining the same level of consistency, and are happy for the liquid to change from batch to batch. I am fully behind that approach. It is surely better to use the casks you have available in the warehouse to make the most flavoursome whisky you can, rather than being hamstrung into trying to make a carbon copy?

Towards the end of 2021, I bought a bottle of Ledaig 10. It was probably my second or third bottle, but for whatever reason I thought this particular batch was very good. I immediately bought another, with the idea of letting it sit on the shelf for several years, perhaps even a decade. I could then compare it with a much later bottle, assuming Tobermory distillery continues to produce their 10 year old peated whisky. This is something I have done with a number of readily available and inexpensive whiskies that I love, all of which are currently sealed for another time.

I decided to buy another bottle to drink now, but before I opened it I reached into the cabinet and checked it against my bottle from two years previous. To my surprise, the older bottle was very noticeably darker. It wasn’t a case of holding them both up to the light to try and spot minute differences, they were very clearly different, as you can see from the pictures.

Checking the label on both the bottle and the box, I could see neither bottle mention whether the colour was natural, only that they are not chill filtered. The fact that they are different shades gave me encouragement that it would be natural colour, something which the website confirms. In fact, it says all of their malts are natural colour. I only wish they could put it on the label for us, but at least we do have a reliable source confirming that fact.

I believe it has always been the case that they haven’t used E150a for colour, but in an attempt to ascertain whether that was the policy a couple of years ago, I approached Tobermory distillery via email to see if they could corroborate my suspicions. If they are natural as suspected, are they using 100% ex-bourbon casks, and we’re seeing the use of more active bourbon casks in the older bottle giving it a richer colour, or are there sherry casks in the mix? All reasonable questions to ask. A few weeks have passed and they haven’t replied as yet, but I’ll include it in the comments if they ever do, but I suspect not. For now, I’ll have to theorise based on what I’m nosing and tasting in the glass.

I didn’t intend on opening both bottles, but seeing these differences made me curious as to how they would compare. I shared the pictures on social media and with the rest of the Dramface team, and a little encouragement made me conclude that they should be opened for comparison.

Since then I’ve spent a few weeks with both bottles, trying them around once a week, and maintaining a similar fill level in both.

Review 1/2

Ledaig 10yo, 2023 bottling, 46.3% ABV
£47 but often discounted (£32 paid)

The bottle codes on both bottles are difficult to read and are in tiny etched font. I’ve tried my best to read them, and this one appears to be 2474687L5164573757. Where’s Ralfy and his “steampunker” magnifying glass when you need him?

It was purchased early December 2023. It’s a shame their bottling dates aren’t clearly displayed on the glass like many other distilleries do, and it’s hard to confirm exactly when these were both bottled.

Nose

Burnt toffee and medicinal notes initially – first aid kits. There’s a little rubber, with lemon, caramel, sea spray and chlorine. A lot of the typical beach vibes you get with these peated malts, which are nothing to do with the sea, despite what some marketing departments may lead you to believe at times. The smoked meats are there along with putty, bready notes and wispy bonfire smoke.

Palate

Quite thin on the palate, with tons of ashen smoke, bitter lemon and charred oak. As it develops we get liquorice and copper coins, but everything else is struggling to assert itself against the bitter smoke and charred oak notes. It is rather astringent and austere. There is a little sweet toffee creeping in, before it starts to get creamy with vanilla and then dry herbal flavours appear. Green apple peels and grass towards the finish as the smoke begins to fade, along with the return of the metallic copper, but it’s all fading disappointingly quickly.

The Dregs

This is fine and not a bad whisky at all, but the smoke and charred astringency on the palate is overly dominant for me. It’s also found lacking in the finish, which doesn’t hang around and disappears unexpectedly fast.

Score: 4/10

Review 2/2

Ledaig 10yo, 2021 bottling, 46.3% ABV
£47 but often discounted (£35 paid), this batch less likely to be around

Again, this bottle code is tough to read. I think it is 2263752L516:0221215. I’m not sure either gives much indication as to when they were bottled, unless you happen to know how the codes work.

It was purchased in October 2021.

Nose

This is richer and bolder on the nose. It certainly jumps out of the glass. More of the toffee, but mixed with apple, blackcurrant and even bubblegum. Mild rubber and sea spray are here again, as are the smoked barbecued meats, but they are much more overt and there is a greater smokiness. I also get oily rags, fresh mint and chocolate.

Palate

The mouthfeel is still relatively thin, but this is much bolder flavoured. There’s sweet toffee followed by a big hit of dark roast espresso, tobacco, dry stones and ashen smoke, along with herbal flavours of dried sage, rosemary and liquorice. There’s fruitiness in the shape of apple and raspberry. Again the copper coins and the apple peel towards the end, but the creaminess and the smoke lingers much longer, and then back comes the coffee and it’s bolder than ever and comes with crunchy, dry, autumnal leaves. I love the palate journey on this. It goes on for some time too.

The Dregs

I now remember just why I picked up a second bottle - I now wish it was three or four. I strongly suspect there are sherry casks involved, and they are adding layers upon layers to this whisky. Those coffee and tobacco notes as well as the red fruits all indicate the presence of sherry, but by no means overdone and masking the spirit. They simply lift it.

There’s no reason why this couldn’t be more bourbon cask forward and still be a great whisky, but that’s not what I am finding in these batches. I would say please don’t see this as meaning that darker whisky means better whisky, it does not, despite the fact this is how it’s turned out in this comparison.

The Port Askaig 100 Proof and the new cask strength release are bourbon cask releases and as pale as can be - both are fabulous. An even bigger example of this is Hamish's review of the Ledaig 10 year old, which judging by the label design was older than both of these batches (bottled ~2010), and looks to be a fairly light coloured example. He found it to be very good.

However, in this instance, it has to be said that to my palate the newest batch of Ledaig 10 I am tasting is a little disappointing compared to the bottle from two years ago. The later batch is not a bad whisky at all, but it struggles to go toe to toe with its previous incumbent.

Being able to get my geek on and do these kinds of experiments is magic. Although I am disappointed with this batch, I am so glad Tobermory does embrace batch variation rather than seeking homogenisation. I hope the new owners CVH Spirits, and their overlords at Heineken will continue that ethos with all of their distilleries.

This isn’t going to turn me away from buying Ledaig 10, although having two open means I won’t need a bottle for the next year or two, which seems like an appropriate length of time to leave it before revisiting. I can only hope that in time it returns to 7/10 territory.

If anybody at Tobermory is reading this, what we really need from Ledaig is a young, potent, cask strength release. Price it around £50-60 and I think it’d do really well.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT

Other opinions on this:

Dramface (Hamish)
GWhisky
Ralfy
The Whiskey Novice

Whiskybase (2021)

Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.