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Ledaig/Tobermory

No: 42
Producer: Tobermory distillers; Sold to Burn Stewart 1993
Region: Highlands(Island)
District: Mull  -   Multimap view
Map reference NM 50 56 ; Latitude 56 39° N, Longitude 6 4.1° W
Founded 1798 ; Operating Status: operating

This famous, very small old distillery, the only one on the island of Mull reopened in 1990 after a decade's 'silence'. It has continued to market two products - a malt and a blend. The former, identified as Tobermory the Malt Scotch Whisky is presented in a bottle with an enamelled label. It is a vatted malt containing some Tobermory whiskies of up to 20-years old and proportions of newly-mature spirit from elsewhere. The latter has a conventional label and is described as Tobermory blended Scotch Whisky. Single malts from this distillery have been bottled by the independants under the site's older name, Ledaig.

Tobermory is the main village on Mull and the home of the distillery. It is a dramatic location at the foot of a steep hill with the distillery signalling the begining of the village, which spreads round a broad bay.

The distillery was founded in 1798 and the present buildings were erected during its first period of operation which continued until 1826. The distillery was 'silent' for long periods in the mid 1800s and mid 1900s and was twice revived during the 1970s. Now it has been revived again.
© Michael Jackson 1994

Gleaned from the Malts mailing list:

The book I happen to be reading right now describes the Spanish ship San Francisco (or possibly the San Juan di Bautista or the San Juan di Sicilia) limping in and lying at an island called Isla (Islay) loaded with, said to be, over 3 million pounds (not a weight measurement, I'm pretty damn sure!) worth of gold (this was in 1588). Gold that has not been seen since. Hey, combine a visit to Islay with a treasure hunt! She then went to Tobermory, where she sank. (Tobermory did not exist officially exist until 1788, but was a fishing village long, long before that, Isle of Mull (hey, Isle of Mull Cheese, from their Web Page: milk is therefore spared the effrontery of pasteurisation, sounds like a plan!), and the Earls of Argyll searched for that treasure for a long time, but they didn't find much, maybe with a few top notch drams, your luck will be better! [pc 118/3.98]

Distillery rating: 2*

Main Street, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, PA75 6NR
Tel:01688 302647 or 01688-302666

Hear "Ledaig/Tobermory" pronounced in AU or WAV format
Search Dr. Do'g's index for the history of Ledaig/Tobermory
There just might be some news about Ledaig/Tobermory in The "Scotsman" newspaper