hs305 scored this whisky 90 points

...and tonight it is this Ledaig from one of the best quality vintages of the Tobermory distillery (so far). This dram confirms that with a delicate and flawless modern profile which does not go for the cheap thrills but for balance and distillate character instead. Ledaig from the mid-nineties was and still is a good deal - imagine the heavy bucks you have to pay for an Islay dram of a comparable age these days...
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The colour is pale gold and the nose offers a delicate toffee-peaty-fruity profile without too much wood influence, exactly as I like it. This certainly is a modern profile but a pretty nice one - the sometimes annoying cheesy notes from older vintages have been converted into rather tasty sourdough bready impressions which is a good deal (according to my olfactory cells).
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The taste is impressive on a full load of spices lead by mighty vanilla impressions which quickly turn into toffee flavours and later together with the molten barley sugars into a delicious liquid crème brûlée-alike. The peat plays a nice counterpart to this rather sweet setting with tasty bitter-smoky-ashy notes while the woods stay in the background but provide a firm structure to the dram. This is an excellent and balanced mix of flavours which does not require a lot of experience to be checked out but it is very enjoyable, and dangerously quaffable!
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The initial mouthfeel is warming and nicely coating without distracting moments. The finish is of medium length and adds more barley sugars and notes of high-grade vegetable oils which I like. Again no distracting bitter or astringent moments here, the wood is just about perfect in this setting. Water releases more aromas in the nose (earthy, chalky-mineral, ashy) and turns the taste smoother - I like this dram both neat and somewhat reduced (another characteristic of a great malt).