Tobermory 27 yo 1994/2021 (43.5%, The Single Cask, cask #5118, sherry butt, 258 bottles)
Colour: light amber. Nose: light, elegant and leafy sherry, with some gingery notes, rolling tobacco, earths, mushroom powder and very nice gamey touches. Who could be against such things, charmingly old school, clean and easy. Mouth: same feeling, the modest cask strength makes this rather deadly as it sort of cries out to be sipped from a tumbler with minimal overthinking. Again it's a clean and leafy style of sherry, with sultanas, tobacco notes, a little chocolate and some nicely gamey and rancio touches. Uncomplicated, direct and very pleasurable. Probably would have been even better with one less year in cask and two or three more degrees of alcohol but these aren't really quibbles. Finish: medium, with a slightly salty edge that feels very 'Island' and after all, isn't Tobermory on an island? (world's most pointless whisky note award incoming!) Comments: in the right circumstances you'd could be forgiven for thinking you'd been handed a glass on an old Macallan 18yo.
SGP: 551 - 88 points.

Ledaig 29 yo 1993/2022 (44%, The Single Cask, cask #249, barrel, 84 bottles)
Not too sure we should expect any peat here…? Colour: pale gold. Nose: a funny one, immediately throwing off these rather funky notes of plasticine, clay, ointments and even something that strays towards chemical. Milk bottle sweets, brand new trainers and chamois leather. It was all kicking off on Mull in 1993! Not sure how to feel about this nose. Mouth: a real medley of waxes, clays, ointments and some kind of explosion with a chemistry set. Plasticine, bubblegum, hessian, some rather punchy medicinal herbs and various types of cooking oil. Nothing that I would call soapy, but some of these flavours are rather… extreme. I would also say it feels a bit younger and more punchy than 29yo. Finish: medium, still strongly on plasticine impressions, dry waxes, peppery notes, a little dusty cereal note too. Comments: what can you say about such a potion, I can imagine that some people would adore this, while others would run immediately for the first CalMac  Ferry off Mull. Depends on what your definition of a flaw is I suppose. Personally, I find this very entertaining but a bit extreme and challenging. Philosophical whisky that you should pour blind to your friends and enjoy the ensuing agitation and guesswork. Please take my score with all the salt in Loch Linnhe.
SGP: 471 - 80ish points…?

Ledaig 29 yo 1993/2022 (44.9%, The Single Cask, cask #247, hogshead, 239 bottles)
Colour: yellowish straw. Nose: much more typical, although again the immediate impression is of a younger profile than the age would suggest. On raw ingredients, freshly kilned barley, grist, yeasty bread starter, mature Champagne and the slightest glimmer of cut grass and crushed parsley. I like it, but perhaps I'm breathing a slight sigh of relief after the previous one? Mouth: very pure and naked, mature malt whisky. Full of raw cereals, cooking oils, mash water, limestone, putty and soft waxes. A tiny hint of white stone fruit and buttery cereal. But this is almost entirely about the raw ingredients, what strikes very clearly though is that it is much cleaner and more classical than its sibling. Finish: medium in length and with a very pleasing and gentle sandalwood and cereal combination. Comments: this is a much more 'technically' safe and direct proposition. So, in one sense it's much easier to score and the pleasures of this style - of mature, naked malt whisky without any wood slapped on - are evident. On the other hand, those are also its limitations as it feels like it misses something extra and deeper that many other malts of similar age and pedigree usually display: greater waxiness, a little more fruit, or more expressive coastal character for example. Now, we are once again in danger of philosophising, let's not get too bogged down, this is a lovely dram.
SGP: 461 - 85 points.

Ledaig 29 yo 1993/2022 (46.1%, The Single Cask, cask #253, hogshead, 229 bottles)
Colour: bright straw. Nose: an impression of more brightness and sweetness up front. Still rather a lot of cereals, raw ingredient vibes, yeasty notes, pebbles, clay, chalk and minerals etc, but the overall feeling of greater richness works very well. Some subtle notes of shoe leather and olive oil too. I would also say this one noses 'fresher' with a more suggestive coastal side. Mouth: definitely the best of the bunch, still rather naked and dominated by barley, cereals, grains, sheep wool oils, waxes and delicate medicinal notes, but the overall impression is of a more cohesive and robust whisky. I also think this one feels more aligned with its age statement. Some nice notes of grassy rapeseed oil and herbal cough medicine too. Finish: good length, with an elegant dryness, some costal, waxy and peppery notes and more wee cooking oil impressions too. Comments: easily the best of the three in my wee book. Enjoyed the balance and greater sense of cohesion in this one.
SGP: 461 - 87 points.

Ledaig 18 yo 'First Murderer' (50.5%, Elixir Distiller's 'Macbeth', 2100 bottles)
I once played Donaldbain in a local amateur production of Macbeth. Fact. Colour: white wine. Nose: coal smoke, tar, charred lemons on a BBQ, this very particular heavy and rather greasy, mechanical peaty profile that I find very typical for modern era Ledaig. Add to that some creel nets, malt vinegar and shellfish broiling in salty water. Evocative stuff! With water: anchovy, green peppercorns in brine, antiseptic. Very coastal and fresh. Mouth: pure, fatty and creamy peat smoke, loads of tar, peppery notes, mercurochrome and this increasingly blade-like, pure and pin-sharp lemon juice note. Really one of those whiskies that could be consumed with seafood, or just guzzled on a west highland shoreline to dull the torment of the midgies. With water: reveals this greasy Ledaig undercarriage, feels like bits of it are becoming stuck in my teeth… Finish: long, fatty, salty, very tarry and with some feelings of bacon frazzles and pork scratchings to go along with all this shellfish! Comments: could be 8yo or 18yo in some ways, it's very much a bottling about distillery character and personality. I like that the clever Elixir wizards have managed to make a batch bottling of over 2000 units taste like a single cask. Smart and very good whisky bottling in my view.
SGP: 367 - 88 points.

Ledaig 20 yo 2001/2022 (58.4%, Gordon & MacPhail 'Connoisseur's Choice', cask #285, refill sherry butt, 498 bottles)
Colour: bright amber. Nose: very tarry and a sense of coiled peat, ready to spring! This mix of refill sherry and peat together creates some wonderful aromas that recall resinous fir woods, smoked teas, game meats and tarred rope. Also more playful things like coal syrup, glazed ham, iodine and cough syrups. With water: becomes more herbal and develops more towards aged herbal liqueurs, cough syrups, natural tar extracts and some wee notes of root beer and salted liquorice. Mouth: superb tarry and sweet peat concentration. The sherry works really well here and does some very clever, back seat driving. Many thick medicinal and ointment vibes, cough syrup, herbal throat lozenges and a drop of green Chartreuse. Then iodine and TCP as well, with another thick slice of glazed ham for good measure! With water: superbly rich and savoury, big notes of game meats, Maggi, umami paste, strong herbal teas with nippy tannins, iodine, camphor and classical, dry earthy peat smoke. Finish: long, deeply tarry, salty, back on umami and savoury notes, game salami and smoked paprika. Comments: terrific cask captured at a perfect age. One to stick in a cool, dark cupboard for 20+ years.
SGP: 477 - 90 points.

Ledaig 17 yo 2005/2022 (65.2%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange, cask #900040, refill sherry butt, 460 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: rather narrow and pure, which is probably due in large part to the hefty ABV, on sharp peat smoke, seawater, pickling juices and shucked oysters. A little wood smoke too. Very precise and powerful, but I feel it needs water to rouse it further… With water: much broader and becoming altogether fattier, taking in bacon jam, frying pancetta, dry roast peanuts, iodine and further notes of malt vinegar and pure tar. Mouth: very syrupy and tarry at full strength, and also impressively accessible. Superbly peaty, peppery, kippery, oily and with some surprisingly subtle notes of sandalwood, dried seaweed and mercurochrome. With water: excellent, oily mouthfeel with a huge mix of kippers, smoked olive oil, herbal teas, iodine, charcoal and olive brine. Huge whisky! Finish: long, densely tarry and with a compact, almost crystalline peat smoke. Getting greasier and brinier in the aftertaste, picking up dirty martini and green olive vibes - extremely Ledaig! Comments: one of those whiskies that can hypnotise you for hours, provided you are suitably armed with a pipette and plenty water.
SGP: 467 - 88 points.

Ledaig 25 yo 1997/2023 (57.2%, Douglas Laing XOP for The Whisky Exchange, cask #DL16830, refill hogshead, 171 bottles)
Not too sure it's sensible to place this one at the end, but I at least know it's a peaty one… Colour: gold. Nose: a peat smoke that simultaneously manages to be thick and creamy, while also showing this brittle, crystalline and extremely sharp aspect as well. Love it! Add to that coal smoke, sheep wool, farmyard funk, pure tar, creel net and kelp! Also there's an almost mentholated edge to the smokiness that makes you think of things like eucalyptus and tea tree oil. With water: pine sap, beach bonfire smoke, olive tapenades, preserved lemon - gathers complexity and beauty superbly! Mouth: superb arrival, all on mature, syrupy fusions of thick peat smoke, seawater, medicinal embrocations, iodine, wee sooty notes, camphor and things like pickles and Dijon mustard. Sitting somewhere between aged Caol Ila and mid-teens Ardbeg. With water: stunningly fatty, thick and textural in the mouth now. Medicinal, beautifully mentholated and developing some preserved citrus fruits, olive brine and big, extremely salty and umami notes. Those lovely anchovies drenched in Maggi are back! Finish: very long, pristinely smoky and peat, deeply tarry, peppery and holds onto this wonderful sense of maturity while simultaneously being perfectly coastal and fresh to the last. Comments: a great cask, absolutely love this more mature expression. Was 1997 when Ledaig and Tobermory started to get properly separated into peated and unpeated? Anyway, love this one.
SGP: 467 - 91 points.