Tobermory

Tobermory_Distillery

History The distillery was founded as Ledaig distillery in 1798 by John Sinclair, ten years after the founding of Tobermory by the British Fisheries Society. Sinclair had originally arrived in the village as a merchant dealing with soda ash from burning the locally available kelp. In April 1797, he applied for 57 acres to the south of the harbor in order to build houses and a distillery. Distilling had been banned in the UK since 1795 in order to save grain for the War of the First Coalition with France. Although he was originally told to build a brewery instead, he remained with the original plan and additionally built a pier known as “Sinclair’s Quay”. The current buildings were constructed during that first period of occupation, and were licensed in 1823. It was acquired by John Hopkins & Co in 1890, and by Distillers Company in 1916 before closing in 1930 following a drop in the demand for whisky due to ten years of prohibition in the United States. In 1972 it was reopened under the name of Ledaig Distillery (Tobermory) Ltd. In May 1975, production had to stop for a month as storage space for the whisky had run out. The construction of a bonded warehouse had been delayed, causing fourteen workers to be laid off in the duration. This was followed by the distillery going into receivership, with it being purchased by the Kirkleavington Property Company in 1978, it opened again between 1979 and 1981. In the 1980s, the warehouses were sold off for conversion into flats, and as such maturation no longer takes place on site. It closed again until 1989, and in 1991 it was purchased by Burn Stewart Distillers for £600,000 plus £200,000 for stock.

Burn Stewart Distillers were bought out by Trinidad–based CL Financial for £49 million in 2002, including the distillery at Tobermory and Deanston. It remains the only whisky distillery on the Isle of Mull, in the main village of Tobermory at the northern tip of the island. Tobermory is known for the variety of colors that the houses of the shore front are painted in and for being the location of the children’s television show Balamory. The distillery itself is located at the foot of a steep hill, at the head of the bay. In 2012, during the driest summer for thirty years, the distillery was forced to halt production temporarily, to preserve the quality and consistency of its whisky. Early the following year, following several further months of unusually dry weather, there was another temporary halt to production. On each occasion, the water level in the small, private loch used to supply water to the distillery had dipped to such an extent that proper rainfall was needed to replenish it to a satisfactory level. In 2013 Burn Stewart was bought by Distell Group Limited of South Africa. The Tobermory Single Malt is distilled from unpeated malted barley and matured in oak casks for at least ten years. A heavily peated whisky is also produced, but in small quantities, named Ledaig for the original distillery name. The malts are used in a number of blends including Scottish Leader and Black Bottle. The water for the distillery comes from a private loch near to the Mishnish lochs. The branding had been confused under previous owners, with the Tobermory brand being used for both a single malt and a blended whisky. Production was upgraded in 1990, with the distillery becoming capable of producing a million litres of spirit a year. It uses a traditional copper–domed cast iron mash tun, four washbacks made of Oregon pine, and four spirit stills. The whisky is matured in both former bourbon whiskey and sherry casks. Maturation takes place at the distillery at Deanston.

The Whiskyphiles tasting notes

Official bottling
  • Ledaig 10 Years Old (2013) - Ledaig 10 Years Old (46.3%, OB, 2012) 46.3% ABV, £30 for 70cl Score: 80/100 What they say: Ledaig is a wonderfully distinguished single malt. Not only is it handcrafted in the Tobermory […]
  • ledaig-10-year-old-whisky Ledaig 10 Years Old (2020) - A lovely expression full of salted caramel and soft peat smoke. 85/100
  • The Whiskyphiles Ledaig 18 Years Old Ledaig 18 Years Old (2015) - Ledaig 18 Years Old ~ 46.3% (Distell) Island single malt scotch whisky 46.3% ABV, £77.95 for 70cl Score: 86/100 What they say: Ledaig 18YO is described as a “wonderfully smoky” single malt, […]
  • Ledaig 1998 (19 YO) Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish_Limited Release Ledaig 19 Years Old 1998 Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish (2018) - Ledaig 19 Years Old 1998 Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish whisky review: Fruity and smoky but for me a little too light in places, hardly any barley malt and much too fine/light a spirit for these flavours, needs more oils, also some funk on the nose which may not be to everyone's liking. 83/100
  • Ledaig 1998 (19 YO) PX Cask Finish_Limited Release Ledaig 19 Years Old 1998 PX Cask Finish (2018) - Ledaig 19 Years Old 1998 PX Cask Finish whisky review: Wow, completely different from the Ledaig 1998 Oloroso finish, this is a super expression with much more intense dried fruit, nut and chocolate influence balanced better againats the smoky Ledaig spirit. A touch mentholic but a great example of where this works in conjunction with rich dark chocolate. 90/100
  • Tobermory 10 Years Old (2013) - Tobermory 10 Years Old (46.3%, OB, 2012) 46.3% ABV, ~£26 for 70cl Score: 82/100 What they say: For those fortunate enough to uncover it, here lies a gem of a whisky.  The […]
  • 2019 Tobermory 12YO Tobermory 12 Years Old (2019) - Tobermory 12 Years Old whisky review: Full of dark sugars, ripe fruits and a hint of spiced pepper, much sharper than the stalwart 10 year old expression but with those flashes of unmistakabley Tobermory qualities. 84/100
  • Tobermory 2005 (12 YO) Fino Cask Finish_Limited Release Tobermory 12 Years Old 2005 Fino Cask Finish (2018) - Tobermory 12 Years Old 2005 Fino Cask Finish whisky review: Not overly complex but lots of pleasant flavours, definitely sweeter and darker fruits than I would have normally expected from Fino sherry casks - perhaps this spent quite some time in them? 85/100
  • Tobermory 20 Sherry Cask Tobermory 20 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish (2017) - Tobermory 20 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish Distillery Exclusive (56.1%, OB, Sherry Cask Finish, 600 Bottles, 2014) Category: Island single malt scotch whisky Origin: Tobermory Distillery Bottling: Distell ABV: 56.1% Cost: ~£100+ […]
Independent bottling
CADENHEAD
  • Tobermory 19 Years Old 1995 Sherry Cask (2015) - Tobermory 19 Years Old 1995 Sherry Cask (54.2%, Cadenheads, 498 Bottles, 2014) Island single malt scotch whisky 54.2% ABV £51.50 Score: 88/100 What they say: Tobermory 19 Year Old – Cadenhead’s Sherry […]
Claxton’s
  • ledaig-8-year-old-2008-claxtons-whisky Ledaig 8 Years Old 2008 The Single Cask (2020) - Ledaig 8 Years Old 2008 The Single Cask (52.8%, Claxton’s, Refill Sherry Butt, 645 Bottles, 2016) ABV: 52.8% Age: 8 years Old Bottling: Claxton’s, The Single Cask Category: Island single malt scotch […]
  • ledaig-10-year-old-2008-cask-1851-700075-claxtons-whisky Ledaig 10 Years Old 2008 The Single Cask (2020) - Ledaig 10 Years Old 2008 The Single Cask Whisky Review: Another superb expression, the complete antithesis of colour = flavour, much like many young Islay whiskies. A lovely mixture of fruit and smoke with more than an indication on the nose of exactly where it came from. 86/100
  • 1963 Tobermory White Background Compressed Tobermory 24 Years Old 1994 The Single Cask (2019) - Tobermory 24 Years Old 1994 The Single Cask whisky review: A very drinkable refill? sherry butt matured Tobermory. The nose and the palate show hints of that metallic/radiator nature of Tobermory's spirit and some vaporosity - followed by brown/woody sugars, ripe/dried fruits and lots of chocolate and coffee - what's not to like? 89/100
DOUGLAS LAING
  • tobermory-21-year-old-1996-cask-11768-old-particular-douglas-laing-whisky Tobermory 21 Years Old 1996 Old Particular 11768 (2019) - Tobermory 21 Years Old 1996 Old Particular whisky review: Very drinkable old drying, woody, salty and smokey, musty then tropical. Has plenty of that Tobermory oddness like metallic old radiators, which it teeters on the edge of. The end results gives it a lively kick which resembles freshness for a musty 21 year old. 85/100
Gordon & MacPhail
  • Ledaig-12-Year-Old-Discover-GM Ledaig 12 Years Old Discovery (2018) - Ledaig 12 Years Old Discovery Island single malt Scotch whisky review: For me Ledaig can be brilliant and on a par with Ardbeg with the first sip and like drinking out of stale beer can used as an ashtray from the party the night before the next. This is one of the great ones, and mostly thanks to Gordon & MacPhail's excellent cask management here. The Sherry influence isn't overt but just an addition of dried fruit, nut and tannin in the right places to carry this expression. The end result is actually quite amazing. 85/100
  • Ledaig 19 Years Old 1993 Private Collection (2015) - Ledaig 19 Years Old 1993 Private Collection St Joseph Wood Finish ~ 45% (Gordon & MacPhail) Island single malt scotch whisky 45% ABV, £55 for 70cl Score: 92/100 What they say: Colour: […]
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
  • SMWS 42.14 Hot water bottle (2015) - Ledaig 9 Years Old 2004 42.14 Hot water bottle (60.1%, SMWS, Refill Bourbon Barrel, 100 Bottles, 2014) Single malt scotch whisky 60.1% ABV, £43.60 Score: 78/100 What they say: Cask No. 42.14 […]
  • smws-42-29-marvellous-maritime-margaritas SMWS 42.29 Marvellous maritime margaritas (2016) - Ledaig 9 Years Old 2006 42.29 Marvellous maritime margaritas ~ 57.3% (SMWS) Category: Island single malt scotch whisky Origin: Tobermory Distillery; Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society ABV: 57.3% Cost: £59.40 What they […]
That Boutique-Y Whisky Company
  • Ledaig 12 Years Old Batch 18 (2021) - A superb Ledaig expression full of peat smoke, salty coastal influence and sherried/dried fruits. 84/100
  • Tobermory 12 Years Old Batch 15 (2021) - Quite harsh/spicy, black pepper and cinnamon overpower the fruitiness quite quickly, certainly needs a drop of water and readily reveals that metallic edge/hot radiator nature. 77/100
  • tobermory-21-year-old-that-boutiquey-whisky-company-whisky Tobermory 21 Years Old Batch 4 (2016) - Tobermory 21 Years Old Batch 4 (51.2%, That Boutique-Y Whisky Company, 162 Bottles, 2016) Category: Island single malt scotch whisky Origin: Tobermory Distillery Bottling: That Boutique-Y Whisky Company ABV: 51.2% Cost: £66.95 […]
The single cask
  • Tobermory-23-years-old-1995-the-single-cask Tobermory 23 Years Old 1995 The Single Cask (2020) - Tobermory 23 Years Old 1995 (54.2%, The Single Cask, Refill Sherry Cask #1201, 161 Bottles, 2019) ABV: 54.2% Age: 23 Years Old Bottling: The Single Cask Category: Island single malt scotch whisky […]
Whiskybroker
  • Tobermory 20 Years Old 1994 Single Cask 188063 (2015) - Tobermory 20 Years Old 1994 (51.1%, WhiskyBroker, HH #188063, 285 Bottles, 2014) Single malt scotch whisky 51.1% ABV, £40.50 Score: 85/100 What they say: This whisky, distilled on 14th April 1994 at […]