Iodine

Ledaig 18 Year

Ledaig 18 Year

The Ledaig brand comprises one half of Tobermory’s output, a heavily peated malt in the 30-40ppm range. The Tobermory distillery, in fact, was originally founded as the Ledaig distillery in 1798. The distillery has four wash stills and four spirit stills, with production capable of a million liters of spirit a year after an upgrade in 1990. The water for the whisky is taken from a small, private loch close to the Mishnish lochs. While the number of offerings in the brand is limited, they occasionally include limited options often featuring special cask finishes or unusual age statements. The Ledaig 18 is finished in ex-Sherry wood, though the official details don’t seem to note specifically what kind of sherry. Others seem to think well of this scotch, as it has won several awards at recent spirits competitions. 

Oban Little Bay

Oban Little Bay

While Oban has been distilling for over two hundred years, their geographic restraints have kept them from growing into a truly giant place of production. For many years, their single malts were relegated to the 14 Year and Distillers Edition. Therefore it was a welcome surprise when they introduced a new No Age Statement offering to their lineup in 2015, the Oban Little Bay. The Scottish Gaelic name for the town, An t-Òban, means “little bay”. The single malt is blended in 200 liter ex-bourbon barrels, the smallest barrels available at the distillery. This was at one point their travel retail exclusive.

Great King Street The Glasgow

Great King Street The Glasgow

Compass Box was founded in 2000 by John Glaser, a former employee of Johnnie Walker (and native Minnesotan). While Compass Box is not a distillery, it does produce and bottle scotch. Noted for their blends and pushing the buttons of the Scotch Whisky Association, Compass Box has also taken home a variety of awards from whisky competitions. The Great King Street series a purposeful look back, seeking to recreate the kind of scotch favored in the 19th century. Citizens of Glasgow in particular favored full-bodied and bold flavored malts according to records, hence the name.