Laphroaig 1970’s 10 Year Old Unblended Single Malt Whisky

$2,250 AUD

43% ABV 75cl

Research suggests that this is possibly a 1970s or early 80s bottling of the legendary Islay dram, in good condition, with some discoloration to the label. Regardless, the superlative review from whiskyfun.com for a similar bottling from the same era suggests that what's inside is something pretty special. No wonder it claims to be “the most richly flavoured of all Scotch whiskies”. This was intended for the Italian market with the importer’s details boldly stated on the front label.

Tasting Notes:

Colour: golden.

Nose: a perfect mix of fruits, coffee and smoke. Hints of tropical fruits – perhaps the old bottle effect. Roasted peanuts. Fresh cream. Very complex.

Mouth: very powerful. Lots of smoke and lots of citrus. Big, bold peat. Notes of coffee bean, getting vegetal. Cooked apple, pepper, nutmeg. Gets grassier and grassier, but it’s all a matter of peat getting stronger and stronger. A beautiful malt, that’s for sure.

Finish; long, on smoke, passion fruit and pepper.

90 points (Serge Valentin, whiskyfun.com).

This product is located in the United Kingdom

 

Distillery

Laphroaig Distillery

A large distillery for Islay (with capacity equivalent to Ardbeg and Lagavulin put together), many followers including the Prince of Wales, and so a very high-profile despite its somewhat challenging name. It is extreme Islay, almost medicinal – you either hate it or love it. I am firmly in the latter category.

Laphroaig was constructed in 1815 by the brothers, Donald and Alex Johnston. Amazingly, it remained the property of the Johnston family until 1954. Ian Hunter, the great grandson of Donald, was in charge from 1908 until 1954. In an interesting gesture, he left the distillery to his secretary, Bessie Williamson, who had basically run the place whilst he promoted Laphroaig around the world. She gradually sold it off between 1962 and 1967 to the Schenley Industries’ subsidiary of Seager Evans. The latter were London gin rectifiers who had diversified into Scotch whisky in 1927 by building the Strathclyde grain distillery in Glasgow. They later went on to acquire the Long John brand of Scotch whisky, which, for a period, became closely associated with Laphroaig, when the latter became part of Long John International Ltd., which was set up in 1971 to manage Schenley’s Scotch whisky interests. These were acquired in 1975 my Whitbread, the prominent British brewers.

Whitbread’s distilling interests, including Laphroaig, went to Allied Distillers in 1989 and then to Jim Beam in 2005 and into Japanese hands in 2014 when Suntory acquired Beam Global.

 That is but a skimming of the surface of the Laphroaig story. There are three books on the subject. Go to the Biblioteca to find out more. For the long-standing dispute with Lagavulin Distillery next door, read about White Horse under “Great Whisky Icons”.