Leidsche Singel Malt
Batch 3
Leidsche Singel Malt Batch 3: A short review
" Tim, are you home next Friday? I like to drop something off."
An instant smile on my face, because the man asking me this is Tom.
And I wrote about Tom before. He is the driving force behind the Leidsche Singel Malt series and their second series Angel's Share.
It al started with a fun yet delicious bottling: Leidsche Singel Malt. It was a BenRiach finished on an ex-Laphraoig cask.
Then, almost two years after that first bottle, Batch 2 was launched. A beautiful young Ardmore.
And when Tom dropped of the Angel's Share, he already gave me some secret insights on what might be next. I promised not to tell.
It took me some effort, because when I figured out what he was doing, I knew I wanted to try it.
The brand itself no longer needs a full introduction, so here it is today:
Leidsche Singel Malt Batch 3. A 5 year old peated Ben Nevis.
Leidsche Singel Malt traditionally tries to bottle at 46%.
There was a rough start on that tradition, since the first batch was bottled at 43%.
A fun story that has to be noted down in the origin story of Leidsche Singel Malt.
Batch 3 follows that tradition and is bottled at 46%, no coloring added.
The color itself is very light. It almost looks like a light Chenin Blanc in my tasting glass. But this is far better than that. Even at 46%, this dram leaves thick droplets in my glass.
Taking my first sniff I sat still for a moment. Fruit, peat, dirty copper, funky herbs.
A second sniff confirmed the first one: Peaches, sugared pear, a small sniff of cinnamon and a light, bright, almost industrial hint of smoke. It reminded me a little of repairing the inner tube of my bike: Melted rubber. A weird and funky note, but oh so nice. The third sniff gave me more sweet fruit and I was starting to think it wasn't that peated.
Then I took my first sip. Bonkers.
The fruits start en drag you into an rollercoaster of peat. Some earthy peated notes pop up and take over the wheel. We go from moist clay to dried peat, paired with some chalky notes and dried herbs. In the back it carries some heat, which is the cinnamon from the second sniff returning for some attention. All the time the fruity notes have not left you and they return for a small push towards the finish.
The finish is medium long and carries a sweet lingering mix of some slight sulpher with candied pear and some fudge. Lovely.
