Is Ledaig's proximity to Islay a disadvantage? Is the low recall a function of less marketing dollars? Or is the whisky too challenging? I sometimes feel perceptions and associations are based on conformity and regionality in that sense can be a trap. Which brings me to the following questions. When it comes to peated whiskies our mental spotlight still shines firmly on Islay. When tasting these three expressions blind, nobody from our whisky group could place them as non-Islay drams let alone guess them as Ledaig. That and its un-peated parent Tobermory fly a bit under the radar, outside of the enthusiast circle. Ledaig is situated on the Isle of Mull just north of Islay. Island malts, not officially classified as a region by the SWA is a cluster of islands (Isle) comprising of Orkney, Lewis & Harris, Skye, Mull, Jura and Arran. Which brings me to Ledaig ( Led-chig ), an Island malt. But this debate can go on much like the T word. Few other drinks (hard spirits) have regionality built into the 'general' character of the spirit perhaps with the exception of rum and mezcal. I began my journey that way and I'm sure many, if not most would have done the same. But I feel it is a great on-boarding tool for those who are just dipping their toes. Now I'm mindful of the fact that there are unpeated Islays and peated Speysiders and the fact that the genesis of the regions have more to do with taxation, legislation, logistics and then with flavour. I will steer clear of the T word for now but on regionality he says that even though the lines are blurry it does provide a point of reference to a 'general' style that one can expect from a particular region. There was an interesting discussion on Aqvavitae's (Roy) Vpub episode on whisky regions and terroir.
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