Laphroaig 33 Year Old Strong Characters Chapter One Donald Johnston 43.8%

Nose: Creamy fudge with honey and a touch of sea salt.
Palate: Starting with stewed fruit and smooth vanilla créme brûlée.
Finish: Our iconic smoky finish sets the scene for savoury aromas of cured meat.

Laphroaig is located on Islay’s south coast and was founded by farmers Donald and Alexander Johnston in 1815. Named after its position ‘broad hollow by the bay’ the distillery remained in family ownership for over a hundred and thirty years. Back in the early days word spread of this particularly delicious whisky with it’s soft, peaty water source and the farmers quickly realised distilling was a more lucrative proposition.

Laphroaig is now owned by Beam Suntory and is the largest seller of single malt whisky on Islay. The distillery’s production capacity is 3.3 million litres of alcohol and with 34 mashes per week it has been running at full capacity for a number of years. The whisky is know for its smoky style which is individual and unique. Being so close to the coast the the peat used to smoke the barley has a higher moss content which adds to its distinctive character. Interestingly a great series of bottling’s named The Ian Hunter Story have been introduced which pay homage to the last of the Johnston family to own Laphroaig. In 2022 book four of the five Ian Hunter Story series was released.