Laphroaig distillery ( ) is an

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...

single malt

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

. It is named after the area of land at the head of

Loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

Laphroaig on the south coast of the island of

. The meaning of the toponym is unknown, but a commonly suggested etymology includes the elements "lag" (Gaelic: hollow), "breid" (Norse: 'breidd' breadth) and "vik" (Norse: 'vík' bay), implying an original Gaelic form something like "Lag Bhròdhaig" (the hollow of Broadbay). The name may be related to a placename on the east coast of Islay, "Pròaig", again suggested as meaning "broad bay". The distillery and brand are owned and operated by Beam Suntory, the American subsidiary of Japan's

Suntory Holdings (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

History

The Laphroaig distillery was established in 1815 by Donald and Alexander Johnston. The Johnstons who founded Laphroaig were from the Clan Donald and are likely to be from the MacIain of Ardnamurchan branch of the clan. The family anglicised their name to Johnston. The last member of the Johnston family to run the distillery was Ian Hunter, a nephew of Sandy Johnston, who died childless in 1954 and left the distillery to one of his managers, Bessie Williamson. The distillery was sold to Long John International, a Scottish distiller in the 1960s. In 1973, Long John International and the distillery were acquired by Whitbread. In 1989, the distillery was sold by Whitbread to become part of Allied Domecq. The brand was in turn acquired by Fortune Brands in 2005, as one of the brands divested by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

in order to obtain regulatory approval for its takeover of Allied Domecq. Fortune Brands then split up its business product lines in 2011, forming its spirits business into Beam Inc. Beam was then purchased by

in April 2014. Laphroaig has been the only whisky to carry the

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

of the Prince of Wales, which was awarded in person during a visit to the distillery in 1994. The distillery identifies Charles by his title of

Duke of Rothesay Duke of Rothesay ( ; gd, Diùc Baile Bhòid; sco, Duik o Rothesay) is a dynastic title of the heir apparent to the British throne, currently William, Prince of Wales. William's wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, is the current Duchess of R ...

, as he is recognised in Scotland. The 15-year-old is reportedly then prince's and now King Charles III's favorite Scotch whisky.

Taste

Expensive Laphroaig whiskies on Viking Amorella

Laphroaig calls itself "the most richly flavoured of all Scotch whiskies", and is most frequently aged to 10 years, although the 15-year-old variety is common (the 27-, 30- and 40-year-olds are rare and expensive; the 18-year-old was discontinued in late 2015).Noah Rothbaum
"How to Survive a Single-Malt Drought"
'' Wall Street Journal'', January 28, 2016. The whisky has a peaty/smoky flavour. Approximately 10% of their barley is malted on site using hand-cut peat from locations on Islay. The ''Laphroaig Quarter Cask'' was introduced in 2004. This expression is aged in ex-bourbon barrels, is finished in smaller casks, and is not chill filtered. Due to the smaller barrels used, the oak surface contact is 30% greater than with standard barrels. The company describes the effect of this as "creating a soft and velvety edge". The Quarter Cask is bottled at 48% ABV (96 proof).Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion, Edition 6, page 307. The 10-year-old standard-bearer is bottled at 40% or 43% ABV, depending on the local market. There are also expressions now selling in Travel Retail: Laphroaig QA cask (matured in ex-bourbon barrels and virgin American oak casks), Laphroaig PX cask (matured in three types of wood – from American oak to Quarter Cask to Pedro Ximenez ex-sherry), Laphroaig An Cuan Mor – Big Ocean (matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and then in European oak).

Friends of Laphroaig

In 1994, the Friends of Laphroaig Club was established, members of which are granted a lifetime lease of up to per person of Laphroaig land on the island of Islay. The annual royalty from owning a plot is a

dram Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...

of Laphroaig which can be obtained upon visiting the distillery. Friends of Laphroaig was revamped in 2020, from lifetime status to an annualized tier-based system starting in 2021, whereby members gained annual access to club benefits commensurate with points earned under the program's new rules.

Advertising

In early 2016, Scottish poet Elvis McGonagall began appearing in online ads, reciting his own poetry as he humorously discussed the correct pronunciation of Laphroaig whisky.

Managers

*James A. McLennan 1919 (formerly manager of the Bowmore distillery) *Edward Shaw 1928-32 (afterwards manager of the Glenburgie distillery) *John MacDougall 1970-74 (afterwards manager of Tormore distillery) *Dennis Nicol 1974-80 *Murdo Reed 1980-87 (afterwards manager of Tormore distillery) *Colin Ross 1987-89 (formerly manager of the Ben Nevis distillery) *Iain Henderson 1989-2002 *Robin Sheilds 2003-2005 *John Campbell 2006-2021 *Barry MacAffer 2021-

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Laphroaig official website
{{Scottish Distilleries 1825 establishments in Scotland Beam Suntory British Royal Warrant holders Companies based in Argyll and Bute Whisky distilleries in Islay