mull this over

On the way back from Usk I popped over to Morrison's in Rogerstone to do a bit of shopping, and being in an expansive sunny Saturday sort of mood I snapped up a whisky bargain while I was there: a bottle of Ledaig for a measly £17.99.

Ledaig is the peated whisky produced at the distillery in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull (the unpeated one being just called Tobermory) - they've recently revamped their whisky range and packaging (here's the old and new Tobermory, for instance - an improvement I think) to include a 10-year-old Ledaig, but this one has no age statement. As you may recall we were planning a distillery visit on our last trip to Scotland in June 2010, but didn't go in the end. We're off up there again in September so we may have another crack at it.

It's pronounced "Led-chig", incidentally. Those crazy Scots.

Anyway, this looks young as it's very light and straw-coloured, but if you're expecting something thin and uninspiring you're in for a pleasant surprise. It's got the same slight rubbery smell that the Oban had, but with something intriguingly salty and umami-y as well - Marmite? Kippers? Tiger piss? It's one of those where the smell is more interesting than the taste, which is mainly some gentle peat and a bit of sweetness, but all very pleasant. Anyway, in terms of quality:price ratio I reckon this is pretty much unbeatable, especially as I don't think the Morrison's price is a special offer or anything, it's just the regular price.

Fascinatingly (or not, please yourselves), the word "Usk" derives from an old Celtic word for "water", same root as the first half of the old Scots Gaelic phrase uisge beatha, "water of life", which is the root of the word "whisky". So I pretty much had to buy it.