Laphroaig was 'officially' founded in 1815 but rumour has it that the
brothers Alexander and Donald Johnston actually built it around 1810
when they started farming in the area. The first official registration of
the distillery wasn't until 1826. The distillery remained in the Johnston
family until 1954 when Ian Hunter left it to one Bessie Williamson. 

I'll get back to Bessie in a moment - there's another little nugget of history I'd like to share with you first. The Johnston family provides a link between Laphroaig and another distillery on Islay: Tallant. It is long gone now (according to my copy of the 'Moss & Hume' bible it was closed in 1852), but it was owned by another branch of the Johnston family tree. In those days, people still married their nephews and nieces (if they liked them enough), so after a marriage Laphroaig and Tallant were owned by the same family for a while. Unlike the name suggests, Ian William Hunter was a member of the Johnston family as well.
He started working at Laphroaig in 1908 and remained there until his death in 1954.

Ian Hunter had no descendants, so he left the distillery to his secretary, Elisabeth
('Bessie') Williamson. Bessie was the first female distillery manager on Islay (and quite
probably in all Scotland); she managed Laphroaig until her retirement in 1972.

1) Most distilleries have an even number of stills; x sets of a wash still and a spirit still.
However, Laphroaig has an uneven number of stills - seven to be exact. In 1968 the number of stills was expanded from four to six and when Bessie Williamson retired in 1972 a seventh still was added - an extra spirit still.

2) Laphroaig stands on the 'grave' of another distillery in the Kildalton area of Islay.
Unlike the aforementioned Tallant distillery, the Ardenistle distillery (a.k.a. Ardenestiel or Aredenistiel) was located right next to Laphroaig. It was founded in 1837 by Andrew & James Stein - but it was discontinued again just a decade later, around 1848. The remains are now part of the Laphroaig distillery.

3) Know of any other interesting trivia that should be included? Just let me know ...

Over the years I've sampled dozens of different Laphroaigs, both official and independent bottlings.
Here are my tasting notes for recent batches of some of the 'core range' OB's, followed by a selection of 'antiques' and a few of my personal favourite independent bottlings of Laphroaig.

Laphroaig 'Quarter Cask' (48%, OB, Bottled +/- 2005) - No age statement
Nose: Aaaah... Lovely organics in the start. Medicinal elements growing stronger. Rubber. Diesel. Meaty notes.
There's a softer, fruitier side to the bouquet as well, but you have to look for it. Give this one time to breathe.
Taste: Big peat. Smoke, quickly growing dryer and more medicinal. Laphroaig? Dry and quite bitter. Chewy.
The palate didn't seem quite so solid during my second try, but it's still a magnificent talkative peat monster.
Score: 90 points - just my kind of profile. I didn't even dare to add water in fear of breaking up the palate.

Laphroaig 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2005)
Nose: Sweet and peaty, not much else at first. Some fruity notes after a minute. A young Kildalton malt?
Oooaah... Yup, I love the nose! A peat monster that takes no prisoners. Definitely a young Kildalton malt.
Oh, what a lovely nose. Meaty and rubbery. Hint of iodine. Hey... Tea. Whiff of urine as well, I'm afraid...
Taste: Sweet and peaty, just like the nose. Lovely! Just my kind of profile, but it seems to lack a little depth.
Score: 85 points - I was initially more inclined to go for the 90's, but it's not quite complex enough for that.
On closer inspection it just lacks some power on the palate. Very nice, but it could use more 'oomph'.

Laphroaig 10yo 'Cask Strength' (55.7%, OB, Red Stripe, Bottled +/- 2005)
Nose: Oooaah... Sweetness and peat. Lovely sweetness for a second, then an unpleasant whiff of glue.
The bouquet burns your nose if you inhale too deep. More peat again after a few seconds. Hint of mint?
Softens up and grows more complex with water. Meaty. Uncompromising.
Taste: Just a tad thin in the start. It's sweet and fruity for a second, followed by a flash of peat. Hot.
Solid centre. Whiff of smoke? Yeah, and more and more peat. Nice! Gasoline in the finish.
Stands water VERY well - in fact, it brought out a magnificent and endless peaty finish. Magnifico!
Only after almost a minute it grows smoky and dry. Bigger and better integrated during my 2nd try.
Score: 93 points - Quite a brutal monster at times, but it does have its sweeter moments as well.

Laphroaig 15yo (43%, OB, Batch L00994 / L01241, Bottled +/- 2000)
Nose: Not very much as first. Sherry and a whiff of smoke. Then it powers up. Toffee?
Wow. Organics, but the sherry masks most of the peat. Hardly a trace of iodine this time.
It becomes extremely complex, although the nose of this batch seems less peaty than others.
Taste: Yes, this is very nice! A small adventure on your palate. Sardines? Very good. Feels natural.
Wood in the centre. Fruit and sherry followed by a peaty punch and a long salty finish. Hint of lemon?
It actually feels more powerful than 43% with a long, satisfying burn in the finish that lasts forever.
Score: 87 points seems about right - 1 point more than my score for the freshly opened bottle.

These were the 'regular' expressions that you should be able to find at most well-stocked liquorists.
You'll find some stores that are bound to have recent batches of these in stock on the Liquid Links page.
Here are my notes on two limited releases that both won gold medals in the Malt Maniacs Awards and one of the special Islay Festival bottlings that are released each year;

Laphroaig 31yo 1974/2005 (49.7%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, Sherry casks, 910 bottles)
Nose: Ooaaah! A serious sherry monster. Tea leaves. Spices. Hint of camphor? A cafe the morning after a party.
Then some strange vegetal notes. A nose to get lost in. It needs some time to reach its zenith, though.
Superb. A MONSTER! So much going on... Dirty and most complex, although it needs a little work.
Taste: Sweet but serious. Then a lovely fruity centre. Black currants. Fabulous tannins. Lovely mouth feel.
Smoke and wood. Good tannins. Hint of Tia Maria. Hey, is that some peat? The score kept climbing and climbing...
Score: 95 points - just what I like... The mouth feel is just SO magnificent! Smoke, peat and fruits on the palate.
This comes very close to perfection. Top dog at the 2005 edition of the Malt Maniacs Awards.

Laphroaig 27yo 1980/2007 (57.4%, OB, 5 Oloroso Casks) -
Nose: Oooh.. Wonderful wood. Wet dog. Spices. Tertiary fruits. Celery and other spices after 15 minutes.
Organics too - one of the reasons I prefer the 'dirty' Kildalton malts over cleaner Islay malts. Amazing complexity.
Taste: Brilliant mouth feel; smoke and candy sweetness. Coffee bitterness in the finish - and the smoke.
Score: 94 points - the 'ultra premium' 2007 MM Awards winner. Too bad a bottle will set you back £500...

Laphroaig 17yo 1989/2007 (50.3%, OB, 4000 Bts., Feis Isle 2007)
Nose: Clean peat with fruits and tobacco in the background. Leather and organics. Woohaah!
I almost didn't dare to add water. When I did, the last drops of whisky became minty and gentle. Odd...
Taste: Leather, liquorice, smoke and Lapsang Souchong tea. Wonderful complexity on the palate.
Quite unique - and not as 'clean' as the nose would suggest. Just as well, I like my peat 'dirty'...
Some sweetness as well that brings balance to the peat and smoke. Liquorice in the finish.
Score: 90 points - definitely a worthy bottling for Feis Ile, I'd say. A nice deviation from the 'Phroaig profile.
In fact, drinking this makes me feel like a friend of Laphroaig - although I never officially became a member.

During the late 1990's and early noughties many young 'antiques' that were bottled before, say, 1980 were more expensive than their siplings that were distilled in that year and bottled in their twenties. With bottlings like the two oldies I've just described, Allied seems to be changing that trend. Here are my notes for two 'antiques'...

Laphroaig 10yo 'Unblended' (43%, OB, Cinzano Italy, Bottled +/- 1985)
Nose: Aaaah! Peat, smoke and fruits all emerging at the same time. Tea. Wonderful.
Mango. No, peach! Or perhaps nectarines. Very distinctive - and it overpowers the peat.
Taste: Hmmm... A tad watery in the start, but then it grows more solid and smoky.
Medicinal as well, growing saltier towards the finish - a bit like salted fish. Hot finish.
Still, it doesn't seem to have quite the impact that the 'Phroaig 10 had in the early 90's.
Score: 84 points - it's just a tad thin on the palate but the nose is very intriguing.

Laphroaig 10yo (43%, OB, Hiram Walker, France, Bottled +/- 1990).
Nose: Aaah again... The profile seems quite similar to that of the 'Cinzano' bottling.
Well, it's a little sweeter and there are some more organics. It's 'farmier' too. Dust?
Rotting hay. Cow stable. Washbacks. Smoked sausages. What a lovely profile.
Taste: Hmmm. Chloride. Sweeter and fruiter in the centre. Then the peat emerges.
Smoke. Oh, this tastes just great - it shows more peat than the Italian bottle.
Score: 88 points - more of a 'peat' monster than the 'unblended' version from +/- 1985.

So, it would seem that Laphroaig is bravely bucking the trend of 'diminishing returns' lately.
As far as independents are concerned... As you may have noticed this page is getting fairly long, so I'll restruct myself to two fairly recent bottlings. Check out the Hot List and the Hit List in the mAlmanac for more recent releases.

Laphroaig 13yo 1991/2005 (59.1%, SMWS 29.40)
Nose: Light, sweet and fruity - maybe with the faintest hint of perfume. Developing organics. Meaty. Leather.
Interesting development over time - it makes a lot of stops along the way. At times it's almost a 90's malt.
Maybe some water melon in the nose as well during round two. Then the wonderful organics emerge.
Taste: Oy.... Soapy, perfumy and herbal start. But then a big, sweet and solid centre makes amends.
Hmm... In the finish it grows too dry for my tastes. Well, I like the smoke. A very 'stretched' malt.
Dry, peaty and magnificent on the palate during my 2nd try. None of the things that disturbed me earlier.
Score: 90 points - it was very touch to rate this malt, but it eventually manage to reach the 90's. 

Laphroaig 12yo 1994/2007 (46%, TWE Single Malts of Scotland, C#6380-6589, 705 Bts.)
Nose: Clean, fresh peat with some fruits. Starts off surprisingly complex, but then settles down.
It's fairly young in character in the nose. A good Islay malt, but not good enough for the upper 80's.
Taste: I wasn't overly impressed with the nose, but it works wonders on the palate. Strong peat.
This has everything a peat lover wants, although discerning connoisseurs might look for more.
Score: 82 points - reminds me a bit of the very affordable 'Finlaggan' bottlings of the 1990's.
 

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Laphroaig whisky I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the complete whisky list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most single malts I've sampled and scored, though. You can find a specific expression through the search box at the top of each distillery profile. The mAlmanac now contains (purely personal) selections of some of the best single malts and the worst whiskies I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value. But those tasting notes and scores only reflect my own, purely personal opinions. On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the whisky made at this distillery. Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.
 
 

These were just a few small tidbits of information
from the rich and diverse history of the Laphroaig
distillery. Dutch writers Marcel van Gils and Hans
Offringa have published a great book about it;
The Legend of Laphroaig. The massive book
(ISBN 9789089100276, published in 2007) is
a must-have for all true Laphroaig fanatics.
If you're interested, you can order it via the
official Laphroaig website (see above) or
through Marcel van Gils' on-line shrine
at www.laphroaigcollector.com.
It's beautifully illustrated!

But I'm getting side-tracked... The topic was Laphroaig distillery.
I visited the distillery with some other maniacs during 'Feis Ile 2005'.
The Islay Festival is great way to know the distilleries, the island
and its inhabitants - which included quite a few swans and seals
when we were there in May 2005. Every distillery on the island
releases one or more ' festival bottlings' each year, and those from
Laphroaig are usually excellent - and relatively affordable too...

As far as I know the book is the first of its kind; a detailed history of
a specific Scotch whisky distillery that was NOT written by their PR people.
Well, those can have their own quirky charm as well I suppose; I still cherish the
autographed copy of 'The Definitive Guide To Buying Vintage Macallan' that Indian maniac
Krishna gave me. I admire the boldness of charging £10,- for what's basically a brochure for expensive
bottlings (keeps the riff-raff from reading it, I suppose), but some of the proudly featured 'antiques' later turned out
to be fakes. A talented faker had convinced the PR people of Macallan to buy these bottles for their own archives...

And that's the 'general info' on Laphroaig so far...
There's a lot more to tell about Laphroaig, but the available space on this page is limited.
So, I kindly refer you to 'The Legend of Laphroaig' (by Marcel van Gils & Hans Offringa) for much more information about
the history of Laphroaig. The 'trivia' below are just a few tips of the iceberg - and the very top part of the tips at that...

The Laphroaig distillery is arguably the most famous distillery on Islay.
The island itself is famous for its pungent, peaty malts, so I guess that
sort of makes the Laphroaig single malt the most famous peaty whisky.
Laphroaig wasn't my first peated malt whisky experience, but if I'm not
mistaken it was the first other ' peat monster' I tried after my discovery
of the Lagavulin 16yo in 1991 - and I liked it a lot!