Ledaig Sinclair Series Rioja Cask Finish takes Tobermory's heavily peated Ledaig spirit and finishes it in Spanish Rioja wine casks — a combination named for the distillery's founder, John Sinclair. The marriage of Mull's coastal peat and Rioja's red fruit creates a whisky of genuine distinctiveness.
The Rioja finishing is the dividing line. Some drinkers find the combination of red wine fruit and island peat exhilarating — Turkish delight, dark chocolate and coastal smoke in an unexpected alliance. Others find the two elements at odds. The truth, as often with polarising whiskies, is that the quality of the execution is beyond question even when personal preference varies.
At 46.3%, non-chill-filtered and naturally coloured, the Sinclair Series Rioja is honestly presented. The peat provides assertive smoke, the Rioja adds berry fruit and a gentle tannic structure, and the combination creates something that exists nowhere else in Scotch whisky. Whether that novelty appeals is personal — but the craftsmanship is genuine.
