🥃 Whisky van Zuylen

A sample from karloff. I do like a good wine finish, and Rioja happens to be my favourite red. How does it work out with a peaty islander? It's unusual, but good, and at the price it's a no-brainer.

The fruitiness because of the finish is most noticeable in the nose, there the peaty influence is quite subtle. In taste much more smoke and spices come through, putting the red fruitiness a little to the back. But still some clear fruity smoke. Pleasant dram and good value for money.

2022 Rating

Quite ok, the Ledaig character comes across well, the finish has nothing superimposed, but is still noticeable. Nose> taste >> finish

Tempranillo Ledaig barely needs an introduction, right? The peated version of Tobermory. The name means 'safe haven' and it was also the original name of the distillery, until the village of Tobermory burst at the seams and swallowed up the fishing port. Bottled at 46.3% to eliminate the need for chill filtration. This Ledaig first matured in bourbon casks and then got a finish on Rioja wine barrels. Rioja is perhaps the most famous Spanish wine region, located in the northeast of the country along the banks of the Ebro. The most famous grape variety is Tempranillo and 90% of their wines are red and you can see that in the color of this whisky. Ledaig's dirty notes are unmistakable – young peat, diesel fumes, fried bacon and pretzels – but are nicely fluffed up with sweet and sour fruit, strawberries and raspberries. Something of spicy cheese and even the smell of a cowshed. In the mouth it is more of the same, but with a lot of smokiness and quite a few herbs. Lightly drying due to the tannins of the wine barrel. Blackcurrants, now. In the medium finish, the smoke slowly fades away to make way for a bitter and some ashes and stockfish. Delicious. For a whisky with a price tag of 40 EUR, you can call this bang for your buck. Thx, Manny!

Aroma marine smoke. Red wine notes, tart fruits, some citrus, young taste Smoky, some citrus, fruity, some acidity finish Caramel, slightly spicy, some smoke No direct comparison over time, but felt a little more complex than the 2021

Ruby red. Good price for this dram.

it's kind of cool, young, very special look, but overall very entertaining in the aroma. Strong Ledaig with a little wine aroma, which does not iron the malt down, rather complements it a little visually and aromatically. On the nose more with the fruit, in the aroma more with the slightly dry oak note. In view of the nice price, you can't complain.

stop just for the color! nose: peat, very sweet fruity, spices, concentrated vanilla mouth: a Ledaig with its strong, predominant peat, a little rounded by the addition of the Rioja barrel starting on the wine side, on the sweet side, on stewed fruit with the syrup that comes with it; the concentration of fruit erases a little the peat which leaves it on the zan (ideal association in fact) and gives a return of sticky fatty soot final: simple, on the same scents with oily peat, soot, sugar, zan and poached fruits a monolithic dram on the other hand in the final.

beautiful rosé colured peat monster! superb ledaig style nose, spice palate. taming with water works well.

The profile got my attention first, then the percentage and then the price. This is a very decent dram and I was very happy with it.

Smoky, berries, wine, done Very pleasant, easy to drink but not to sip for me. Clearly inferior to the beginner Ledaig 10 with almost no price difference (2021)

COLOR: copper - a very successful surprise for a NAS whisky - very aromatic, great result, great buy recommendation - very good Ledaig for a narrow thaler

A young, wild and yet good island whisky - great wine barrel finish! [Color:] = Copper/Rose;

Interesting and pretty well done but overall too young and just too winey for my palate. Nose is actually fine with the typica Ledaig burnt peat smoke smells and some nice sour fruitiness. Tastewise this shifts more towards wine sourness and burnt charcoal flavours. The finish is predominantly ashy and somewhat tannic, but too short to be really annoying. Price performance ratio is good; saw it for €33 at a local shop. Won't be buying a bottle though, cause I'll lose interest after a few drams.

I liked the nose best. For it's retail price of 37 euro a good buy to my opinion.

A very pleasant signature rich whisky. I really like this unusual tobacco / cigarette profile in the finish, which is created thanks to the collaboration between Rioja and Ledaig. N: 22 T: 22 F: 22 B: 22

It's nice to sit down after a day's work and sip such good whisky in the comfort of your home. I am charmed by it. Everything in it is in its place and sea salt, peat and smoke, and most importantly, a lot of fruit and a wonderful aftertaste of smoked plums, which in the final stage turns into a raspberry crispy. Whisky needs a lot of airing time in the glass for it to appear in all its glory.

Excellent value for money.

A bottling with an extremely good price-enjoyment ratio. Not for the faint-hearted, but if you find the beautiful dirty notes interesting, you might even take this bottling to your heart.

Blue blind glass Super standard, very interesting for the profile and well done.

Very good PLV. Tasty whisky.

A strong representative of smoky whisky, with recognizable Ledaig features and a bright wine color.

Delicious, drinkable dram. Great price-performance ratio.

Nice dirty smoke, partly barn with typical red wine aromas. I find it relatively complex.

22+21,5+21+21,5

Impressive, I wasn't expecting it to be so delicious. Almost on par with the 10-year-old version.

Nice mix of smoky influences and the wine notes. Still looks quite youthful, but is still easy to drink. Overall, a coherent whisky with a reasonable PLV.

Brief impressions from a blind tasting. Very tasty, pleasant, delicious. Fits.

Who loves white wine or rosé or splashes its a must-have piece of this whisky. Like in a summer heat, drink a cold splatter.

19-12-2020 1802-2022

Slightly greasy but clearly recognizable smoke, mildly sour currant jelly with a light fruit sweetness, crazy to recognize my herbs in the form of dried lovage, mildly spicy with a subtle and subliminal bitterness, slightly creamy, no alcoholic notes. Unfortunately, there isn't really anything more to come and so it remains for me to say after the sample was nice, but unfortunately nothing more. I have to get a sample of the standard 10 and compare it.

12/22/23, 30 ml + 30 ml ice Beautiful whisky, I'm glad I bought the bottle, but the wine overpowers the soft peat, which seemed like leather and fruits roasted on the coals.

Alcohol: 46.3% Aroma: Classic čmoudovka in combination with red wine. Full of fruity sourness (I like that in whisky), smoke behind it. (88 b) Taste: Sour in taste, ash-like, gradually drying. I enjoy the juicy touch of wine again. Damage to a thinner body and shorter reverberation, however, a positive impression prevails. (86 b) Points: 87/100 Summary: Tasted upon arrival at the festival in Malá Morávka as part of the heats. Nice whisky, the interesting orange color is also worth attention.

I bought this whisky blindly because it costs nothing and a sample including shipping would have been half as expensive as my large bottle. And there we are already at the crux of the matter. NAS, red wine finish, diluted ... Of course, the malt cannot offer what full maturation or at least lush maturation / post-maturation, preferably at cask strength, has to offer. It is too young for that (and yes, it has a metallic note and you can taste it very clearly, the malt is not really old), the wine influence is only noticeable through the fruit component / raspberry, an accompanying acidity, but zero barrel reminds me a bit of (no hate) those young finishes of some German bottlers such as. Scotch Universe or Alba Import. Whiskys to drink away for a slim thaler - but not really complex. As far as the basic character of the whisky is concerned, it is clearly recognizable as Ledaig. It's drinkable without a big headache (without water), red fruits and cold ashes, nothing pokes, just as I said, the style is a bit too young for me and too thin on the palate. For 35 thalers you can't expect a top malt, so I would give PLV 87 points, but objectively (without including the price) it has to be less ... So for beginners it is definitely an alternative if it should be "smoky-fruity".

"The Tobermory Distillery has kicked off its Sinclair Series of bottlings with a brilliantly flavoursome Ledaig single malt, which has enjoyed a finishing period in Rioja wine casks! The series is named after the distillery's founder, John Sinclair, and this particular edition packs plenty of peaty notes alongside the ripe red fruit sweetness imparted by the Rioja casks. A sublime evening dram, this. The first release in our new Sinclair Series, this non aged statement Ledaig Rioja Finish is ruby red in colour and perfectly balances peat smoke with sweet, fruity Rioja. Like all our single malts, this is non-chill filtered and natural colour." Overall I have to say it's an excellent dram. Especially for its asking price. As my good friend Northbright Oakley said: "Wine and peat are great friends and they work quite well together." I agree with this 100%. This whisky is put together very well and the selection of the casks are just perfect. I am very happy I picked this bottle up. Buy it, try it, enjoy it. Thank me later. Hehe. 89 / 100. Great price per value ratio. Worth it.

Extraordinary price performance. Very enjoyable. Rioja barrels definitely do not overpower anything here, while the peat says I am here with a slightly medicinal side. Super harmony. It makes you say this is a whisky. Price performance: Very very good Would I buy it again?: Yes.

Ledaig Rioja Cask Finish, 46.3% alc. Original bottling. Expansion: Bourbon barrel, maturing in Rioja wine barrel Nose: coal fire and chimney soot, plus sour fruit aromas. The smoke clearly dominates, plus a hint of a cowshed, which Ledaig likes to do. The fruit aromas go towards gooseberry and raspberry, some black currant. After the first impression, the sweetness in the yeast biscuits and vanilla changes. Palate: Smoky and very sweet, really very sweet. Here peat smoke and fruit wrestle with each other, but that goes really well with each other. The fruit aromas on the nose are confirmed, as well as a bit bitter grapefruit and a very small amount of pepper. Finish: Medium length, becomes drier and continues as before, clear lines. Raspberries in campfire smoke, some sea salt and caramel. Conclusion: No age information, but the youth does not attract attention. However, you shouldn't expect a very complex whisky here either. A beautiful Ledaig with a matching finish, balanced between sweetness and smoke, very nicely made. 84/100 points (2021). www.notesofmalt.com

First of all: I am a big Ledaig fan. But this is by far the weakest Ledaig I have ever tasted. This is as far away as you can get from the from the typical dirty, musty and earthy profile which I like so much in Ledaig whisky.

Absolute price-performance recommendation. Powerful smoke combined with a dry, dark fruit thanks to the Rioja barrels. Despite the lack of age information, he doesn't seem particularly young.

At last, a red wine cask matured whisky that really works well. Great on the nose, sweet berries, red jams, BBQ smoked ham, honey, plums, cherries . On the taste getting smoky, jammy, fruity, sweet, caramelised syrup notes with a warm wine finish. A flavourful, great value, tasty and enjoyable malt.

One of the very few NAS releases I tried that I actually liked (and bought). It does what it needs to do: a big dollop of the typical farmy Ledaig character with some red fruits, some vanilla and a good level of sweetness. Most notable thing here is that the finish is not drying at all, which happens with most other wine maturations. All in all this is a very well made whisky - I like it a lot. Then again, I like Ledaig in general.

A very nice balance between fruit, sweetness and tart smoke.

Nothing outstanding, yet nicely done with 'a little more' than just smoke and maritime notes. Price-performance ratio definitely fits, but in this case would look more in the direction of Islay for a few euros more. Nonetheless, a very pleasant 'smoker' who is not overwhelmed.

price/performance hit

The flavor is slightly thin, the effect of the flavor barrel is not very obvious, and the middle is slightly watery. It may be better to mention 50%.

This is not my cup of tea, just another red wine finish that I can't get behind.

Last remnant of a split bottle in the glass 03.0.2025. It tasted good, my share of the bottle. It's not a high-end malt, but it's drinkable, tasty, and easy to drink. For me, LEdaig is simply a bank.

In the aroma of fried fish with rotten seaweed, poured with blueberry-currant jam. The taste is clearly balanced and repeats the aroma by adding spices and caramel. The finish is medium-long, mineral-smoky, berry-fishy. I don’t remember Ledchig letting me down either in organoleptic or in quality, the barrel was well played, everything was balanced, expectedly good. RATING: 85pts - | 83 - 86 (B) → Good | - Not a “must”, but a nice-to-have.

n: sherry & peat, iodine, fruit, vanilla, frozen strawberries, fruit, sweet, chilli, sweet, hint of leather t: fruity, smoke, oak, dry, berries, peat a: fruit, sherry, mouthwatering, old & fine

Very young whisky

Not profound or complex, but nevertheless a beautiful interplay between the fruit notes and the classic elegant taste. Nice experience, especially for this price (29 euros)!

I actually bought this whisky blind because of the price (40 euros) and the rather unique combination of peat and rioja casks finish.. a peat and port always go well together and this one too.. i have a few sides, tobermory and ledaig are known for the natural color and unchilfiltered whiskys only it is not on the bottle or box here… why??? Another downside is the no age statement.. this whisky was bottled much too young, so that there is no depth to be discovered and the aftertaste is immediately gone.

Brilliant Ledaig with a great wine finish, sweet fruits, lovely smoke, old mustiness, well-integrated alcohol and a good medium-length finish, it has a bit of everything. You should definitely try it.

Fireplace and intense flavor. Excellent whisky for this price

Very drinkable, bottle went down way too fast. Such nice dram, not extremely nice, but for this price highly recommended. Perfect sipper without having to work at it. Great value.

Colour: rose gold Finish: very long

Even though I think samples do not grant full access to a whisky's DNA, I also feel 1st bottles can produce an analogous effect. My 1st bottle I rated a 79/80, when my palate was indeed less trained, and now I am rating it a very solid 84, virtually unmatched in this price range. I feel this will also happen with 3rd and 4th bottles a decade from now!

Wow, rhubarb explosion in your nose! In addition, cooked strawberries and the subtle Ledaig typical cowshed smoke note and a touch of vanilla. Compared to the standard 10, it is much more sour and even fresher. Creamy-sweet-sour in the mouth and more balanced than the 10, but also less complex. At the end the strawberries flash again. Length: 5/10 Super sweet, fruity and palatable island paint, which cannot keep up with the complexity of the 10, but is very independent due to the red fruit notes and the maritime character. Grade: 2+

A nice whisky to complement the Ledaig 10, but it's still ahead. If you like smoky whisky from wine casks, then you can confidently grab it here. But don't expect much complexity. Sweet wine, grapefruit, orange peel, a light, light wood, some vanilla and of course lots of smoke (for a beginner). For the price called, you have to make a purchase recommendation! He can be placed on the standard shelf next to his brother, the one point better Ledaig 10. My (high) score adequately reflects the price, which is still great in 2022. Otherwise I would be at 85-86 points here and at 87 points with the Ledaig 10.

With time, the bottle gets much better. Wine influance is not so intense when you let it breath,

Peated whisky matured initially in ex-bourbon cask and finished in ex - Rioja red wine casks. Lovely red - copper colour. Not overwhelming influence from the wine casks. Great quality/price ratio, absolutely recommended for peat & sweet lovers.

80+ This is a tough one for sure. I like it, but not as a whisky (especially with the prices nowadays) -- a nice drink, but it does not feel like a single malt, and it does not deserve the 55 euros I paid for in my location. The finish is perhaps the best part, the nose feels slightly artificial and platic-y, even if not too offensive. I will not buy this again for sure, and still it would be tough for me to go below 80 points, even if I think I should. For 20-25 euros it would be a (non-malt) dream. P.S.: end of the bottle now, and I have no idea what to think of this --- for a malt it is a 70-75, for a general drink it would be a 90 (if it were a 20 euro very well made peaty firewater with a wine finish). I will stay at 80, just because I actually like to drink it.

Bang for your buck. Does what it says on the tin, typical Ledaig nose and palate. Light finish due to its youth.

An excellent RQP for this young Ledaig. Red fruits, smoky, silky on the palate. A very present peat but which leaves room for the fruity aromas of this whisky.

Ledchik in its own style, pleases with its non-triviality! Even at first glance, a modest NAS release turns out to be interesting and catchy with an unusual combination of aromas. Soft peat shades, lime, red currant, fresh fruit (apple, banana), barnyard echoes, metal, tobacco.

Nicely done wine finish from Tobermory.

So I’m currently re reviewing drams I haven’t had in a while, and there’s no way I can skip this one. The Ledaig Sinclair Series Rioja Cask was one of my absolute favourites when I first got into single malts, and at the time I scored it very high - 89 points. Since then I’ve had many many other drams - lots older and more complex ones-, and I thought I might have been a bit too generous with my scores in hindsight. Especially when compared with the kind of stuff that now tops my favourites list . But to my surprise - even though it drops a single point - this Ledaig holds up quite well. I still think it is wonderfully balanced, flavourful but not overly ‘casked’, I still really like the amount of peat in this, I still get the lactic note I started loving Tobermory/Ledaig for. It’s not the most complex dram out there, but honestly, that’s about the only criticism I can give this expression. Especially given the price. I prefer this over some stuff 4 times the price, so IMO this is some ridiculously good back for buck. Time to revisit the 18YO!

Nose: opens with maritime notes of saltiness and seaweed, followed by dark fruits, grass and a sweet peatiness. A slightly dirty tone of earth and soot takes hold and I am moved for a while back to the countryside and grandpa's basement. The scent is straight and clear rather than complex, but the combination is wonderful to smell. And I love it! Taste: the sweet dirty note lingers from the scent and along with it, the peat. Dark fruits take over and are followed by a slightly acidic and dry astringency from the Rioja casks. The roughness does not take over and disturb but complements the taste which is followed by seaweed and ash. A spirited pepperiness follows and draws the mind towards young whisky. The taste is really nice, but it probably would have been fine with a few more years in barrels to remove the pepperiness from the young spirit.

Nice one to start with

A great everyday dram to drink. Fresh and balanced. There's always a place for this in a bar, open in a bottle.

This one is really in the top of the list if it is about bang for your buck.

80 / 100 Yummy

Ledaig Rioja Cask Finish. Nose is amazing, otherwise I prefer Ledaig 10.

Usually appreciate Ledaig very much and I’m always very attracted by wine cask finishes; the combination of both could turn into something special, so I couldn’t help giving a chance to this first release in the new Sinclair Series of the distillery. Maybe because of the expectations, the first approach hasn’t been enthusiastic, starting from its nearly pink colour, quite close to a rosé wine. Being a young NAS malt, it still lacks in profile and texture, but going deep into it, while the bottle level got (quickly!) lower, it reveals some rich red fruits, vanilla and spicy notes. The result is well balanced, with neither peat nor fruit sweetness clearly prevailing. It’s not simply the usual Ledaig (even if the 10 y.o. is much complex and richer) with a quick pass in a red wine cask, but after all it’s been an interesting experiment, easily drinkable and for a very reasonable price.

Best quality dram for the price on the market. Complex, Smokey, sweet and no real negative comments today about this whisky. Bottle number 4 now and can’t see past it. Great go to whisky and general easy drinking whisky!

A whisky with a distinctive smokiness. Plus lots of berries. Delicious. However, he still looks a bit young.

Exceptional bang for the buck. Still, there’s an unapologetically grimy, almost grubby edge to this dram—like it’s been dragged through a peat bog and left out in the rain. The sweetness does a sterling job of reining in that glorious filth without ever fully taming it. Pair it with a punchy Cuban cigar and, good lord, the two get along like a house on fire.

PLV Monster! To get the money just a board.

For this price range this stunning whisky, superb !

Nose : 82 Pallet : 86 Finish :82 Not as meaty as you’d like from Ledaig however at this price the it represents great value. Wonderful flavours going on.

Excellent barrel for little money

Ledaig Sinclair Series Rioja Cask Finnish *Age statement: unstated. *Alcohol percentage at least 46%: yes, 46,3%. *Amount of filtration: unstated on the bottle, but the box states non-chillfiltered in small writing on the back. *Use of caramel coloring {E150a unstated, but Germans claim there isn’t ‘farbstoff’ in this, which must be disclosed in some European countries. (3 out of 4, regarding craft/integrity presentation). Nose: boiled pea, candied bacon, braised tomato and red berry. Palate: burned marshmallow, toast, runny egg, cherry coke. Finish: strawberry jam, dried fig, fruit toffee, smoked salmon. While my dislike for wine and fortified wine casks has become more abundant to me, I can’t say that this is objectively bad whisky. The rioja wine maturation hasn’t created a dram that is sweet per se, it’s more on the dry-ish side, this creates a meaty profile with some complementary sweetness. But I think that the Ledaig 10 that’s been aged in ex-bourbon barrels would suit me more, but that’s the life of someone who dislikes wine in his whisky, yet keeps buying sherry matured whiskies.

Peat, vanilla, red fruits, orchard fruits, sea breeze.

For the price, it's simply unbeatable. The smoky and wine notes are very harmonious and intense.

Ledaig Rioja - 46.3 NC NCF What an oddity. I'm intrigued, but not fully sold on it. I like the Ledaig 10 better (scored 89/100), but this is an interesting take from Tobermory. If you want some weird peated offering to make you question single malt, this is it. Personally, this feels like an attempt to cover underaged 10 year in an odd wine finish to cover it up. The price, however, is fantastic and I can't complain given the specs. This whisky is finicky and requires time in the bottle, time in the glass, and some water added before it unleashes its full force. To clarify, I like this but it is too out there to score highly.

Interesting, but struggled with this cask

Bad

Really good whisky with unique copper tone

This had quite a good nose, it's rich and full. But on the palate, it was weirdly watery. There wasn't much body to it despite it having a decent abv. And the finish was rather short too. It has an odd sweetness in the taste as well, somewhat off-putting. I had allowed the bottle to open up and it didn't get any better. The odd swetness has translated not just on the palate but on the finish too. Really unpleasant. The only pleasant thing about this whisky is the nose, taste is just awful (this weird synthetic-metallic-bitter sweetness)

75/100 is a good value, why does something like this have to be checked?

For the money, integrity and a product that brings something unique to this corner of the market, I would highly recommend this whisky to anyone. I fully enjoyed this bottle and shared with as many friends as I could. Not the best whisky by any means, but offers enough to grab attention.

Charcoal grill, broth. Contrary to its strong peat aroma, the dominant flavor profile is citrus, with the sea peat providing a subtle accent. Like the aftertaste of lemon steak, the citrus aroma lingers deeply in the finish. The quality of the sake is medium, and while it has a slightly diluted taste, it has a distinctly appealing flavor.

I ordered this whisky based on the tasting notes and was pleasantly surprised. The smell is reminiscent of other wine or sherry-finished peated whiskys, but it is special. On the other hand, in taste it stands out from these comparable whiskys. Very special, the coordination of the fruity-sweet taste with the smoky base. This whisky hit my taste right away and that's why it gets a very high rating. Certainly one of the best drams you can get for this price segment!

ez sipper , very nice peated whisky

Nice balanced zipper, barrel maturation does its work in the background. Slightly sweet, slightly smoky nose. That continues in the taste. Soft with a wine barrel sweetness, but still a bit "hot". Short aftertaste.

good buck for the money, but harsh taste (NAS) and too sour...nice peat, still not for me

For me it is great idea to bottle in Rioja cask. I love it due to moderation what is recommended when drinking daily