Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Ledaig 15yo Cask #56423 & Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Glentauchers 17yo Cask #901120A

Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Ledaig 15yo Cask #56423 (Warehouse Reserve)

Region: Highlands

ABV: 52.4%

Price: £96.00

Distilled at Tobermory distillery on 23rd October 2010 and bottled on 20th January 2026 after 15 years of maturation. Finished for 21 months in a first fill Sauternes hogshead and released as part of the Warehouse Reserve range. Outturn of 232 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with a real dirty smoke, cigarette ash, dried leaves, bran flakes, runny honey, ginger juice and slightly sour milk. There's a yoghurty/lactic note to this, it's quite similar to the profile we get from Port Charlotte actually. Behind this punch of smoke, we're finding tinned pineapple chunks, honey roast ham, forest floor and a little apricot jam in the background. The Sauternes finish feels like it's added a little tropicality and sweetness to quite a dirty, punchy dram.

Palate

The palate opens with the juice from those tinned pineapple, condensed milk drizzle, sour candies, lemon yoghurt, a little honeycomb and a real ashy, bonfire-like smoke that lingers on quite a long finish. There's a bit of spice here, black pepper mostly, that sits in the background, but the dram has good balance overall. The mouthfeel is decent, not thin at all, and we're getting some ginger juice and apricot preserve as we go back to it. There's also a slight salty, savoury note that appears on the latter palate, but it's predominantly a sweet-smoke profile.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels a little softer, the peat punch is more restrained, but it merges into more of a vegetal, woody, forest-like profile with the smoke as a backing note. The lactic note is still there for us, and there's a top note of sweetness, but it feels a little dulled - we'd skip water here.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has a bit more upfront zing to it, there's more citrus, more lemon peel, more pineapple, but also more savoury notes - those honey roast ham flavours are really starting to appear. There's a kick of warm alcohol spice appearing on the finish that feels stronger than before. Like the reduced nose, we'd skip water here.

Conclusion

Filthy, dirty Ledaig mixed with sweet, fruity Sauternes is quite something. It does exactly what it says on the tin, lots of smoke, lots of sweet and sour flavours and aromas, and a real lactic note that was unexpected but not unwelcome. If you're into sweet & peat, you'll love this.

Score: 8/10

Value

Not a bad price for a cask finished indie bottling of Ledaig.

Woodrow’s of Edinburgh Glentauchers 17yo Cask #901120A (Warehouse Reserve)

Region: Speyside

ABV: 63.2%

Price: £108.00

Distilled on 16 October 2008 and matured fully in a single refill Oloroso sherry butt. Bottled on 20 January 2026 with an outturn of 304 bottles. This is the result of an experiment where Woodrow's wanted to test how a half-filled cask affects maturation. This was achieved by bottling half of this sherry butt last year, with the remainder allowed to mature for a further year with half the liquid remaining.

Nose

The nose opens with a mixture of sour cherries and raspberries, almond marzipan, fondant icing, light brown sugar, dark cooking chocolate, toffee crisp bars and some toasted hazelnuts in the background. The alcohol balance is really impressive on the nose - there's no issue getting deep into the glass even at the whopping 63%! Time and air brings out more of a sponge cake aroma - think the spongy side of a Jaffa Cake, maybe even with a little orange marmalade and ground ginger coming through too.  

Palate

The palate opens with honey nut cheerios, lemon sponge cake, citric acid, orange marmalade, and condensed milk. There's a real mixture of sweet and sour notes here, working really quite harmoniously. Like the nose, the ABV feels very restrained, there's a white pepper spice that lingers through the latter palate and finish, but it's gentle and serves to enhance the other flavours around it. The mouthfeel is good, it's fairly viscous, with a sugar syrup-like texture, and we're getting some Dairy Milk chocolate coins, cinnamon sticks, and maybe even a little heather. It sort of reminds us of Drambuie in places - not a bad thing at all.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more of a sour Irn-Bru note, but given more time, we start to get raspberry jam, chocolate fudge cake, ginger snap biscuits and lots of sweet vanilla fondant icing. It honestly hasn't changed too much. Again, the alcohol remains in great balance and it's very pleasant to nose.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate maintains the sweet and sour juxtaposition - perhaps leaning more into the sweetness now, but it does lose a bit of texture/mouthfeel. Like the reduced nose, there hasn't been too much change, still lots of those honey, orange, and lemon flavours appearing for us. 

Conclusion

In the words of Woodrow's themselves - it's no pish. We were apprehensive given the ABV, but after 17 years and some magic, it manages to be incredibly drinkable at 63%. It's a really tasty dram, with lots of dessert-style flavours and aromas with enough variety to keep you coming back.

Score: 8/10

Value

You can find similar aged indie bottles of Glentauchers for a little less, but those are rarely full maturation sherry.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

If you like what you’ve read then check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get notifications of when we post a new review or just to chat about whisky with us.