Laphroaig
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Laphroaig | ||
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| A distinctive "pagoda" style kiln chimney at Laphroaig | ||
| Region: Islay | ||
| Location: | Port Ellen | |
| Owner: | Fortune Brands | |
| Founded: | 1815 | |
| Status: | Operational | |
| Water Source: | The Kilbride Dam | |
| No. of Stills: | 3 wash 4 spirit |
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| Capacity: | 2,600,000 litres | |
| Laphroaig | ||
| Age(s): | 10-year-old 10-year-old (cask strength) Quarter Cask 15-year-old 18-year-old 25-year-old 27-year-old 30-year-old 40-year-old |
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| Cask Type(s): | Bourbon | |
Coordinates: 55°37′55″N 06°08′58″W / 55.63194°N 6.14944°W
Laphroaig is an area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of the Isle of Islay. Laphroaig is also the name of the single malt Scotch whisky made there at the Laphroaig Distillery (pronounced /ləˈfrɔɪɡ/ lə-FROYG[1], a Scotch whisky distillery.
The meaning of the toponym is unknown but a commonly suggested derivation implies the elements 'lag' (Gaelic: hollow), 'breid' (Norse: broad) and 'vik' (Norse: 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'.
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[edit] History
The Laphroaig distillery was established in 1815, by Alex and Donald Johnston. Tradition has it that these Johnstons were actually originally MacCabes. The MacCabes had been a sept of the clan MacLeod who had long before gone to Ireland as Galloglass mercenaries. Some later became linked to the MacDonalds of Antrim. Following their part in the failed Jacobite uprising of 1745-1746, some of those MacCabes changed their names and settled on the Isle of Islay, adopting the surname Johnston already present in Islay in order to hide their identity.[2]
Their descendants ran the distillery until 1887, when it passed to the Hunter family. They in turn ran the distillery until 1954, when Ian Hunter (who had no children) died and left the distillery to one of his managers, Bessie Williamson.
The distillery was sold to Long John International in the 1960s, and subsequently became part of Allied Domecq.[3] The brand was in turn acquired by Fortune Brands in 2005, as one of the brands divested by Pernod Ricard in order to obtain regulatory approval for its takeover of Allied Domecq.
Laphroaig has been the only whisky to carry the Royal Warrant of the Prince of Wales (the 15-year-old is reportedly his favourite scotch whisky), which was awarded in person during a visit to the distillery in 1994.
[edit] Taste
Laphroaig is considered one of the most strongly flavoured of all scotch whiskies, and is most frequently aged to 10 years, although the 15 and 18 year old varieties are common (the 27, 30 and 40 year olds however, are rare and expensive).
In an attempt to re-create the taste of historic whiskies, Laphroaig carried out experiments. Recently the Laphroaig Quarter Cask has been introduced. By using smaller casks and by avoiding chill filtering, the Quarter Cask Single Malt is supposed to taste like the type of whisky that was distilled 100 years ago.[4] Due to the smaller barrel used, the oak surface contact is 30% greater than with standard barrels. The Quarter Cask is also bottled at 48° ABV (or 20% stronger than standard).[5]
Until 2005, the standard 10 year old bottling contained an alcohol percentage of 43%, after which it was changed to the Scotch whisky standard of 40%.
[edit] Friends of Laphroaig
In 1994 the Friends of Laphroaig Club was established, members of which are granted a lifetime lease of 1 square foot (0.093 m2) of Laphroaig land on the island of Islay. The annual rent is a dram of Laphroaig which can be obtained upon visiting the distillery.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ OED; "Pronunciation of Scotch Whiskys". John Butler. http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jhb/whisky/pronounc.html. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
- ^ http://www.jenforum.net/johnston/messages/8571.html
- ^ "Laphroaig Chronology". Laphroaig. http://www.laphroaig.com/history/chronology/index.asp?expanded=our_history.chronology. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
- ^ "Laphroaig Quarter Cask microsite". Laphroaig. http://www.laphroaig.com/qc/index.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
- ^ "Laphroaig Quarter Cask". Laphroaig. http://www.laphroaig.com/qc/text/page_4.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ "Friends of Laphroaig". Laphroaig. http://www.laphroaig.com/friends/. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
[edit] External links
- Laphroaig official website
- Details on how to visit the Laphroaig distillery
- Collector displaying detail on over 100 different bottlings of Laphroaig
- Dr. Whisky on Laphroaig
