Laphroaig
Laphroaig (pronounced ''le-froyg'') is one of 9 working distilleries on the island of Islay, which is one of the southern Hebrides islands and one of Islay's, and indeed Scotland's, most respected and well known brands. It's a classic brand the distinguishing features of which are a slight peatiness and smokeyness, saltiness: a bit of iodine seaweediness brought about by the malting floors being close to the sea, a mossy tinge plus a fruity tones augmented by a light spice. It's caramelly with a hint of ginger.
Islay remains the nexus of distilling in the Hebrides region with whisky production taking place at Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bruichladdich, Bowmore, Kilchoman, Bunnahabhain, Ardbeg, Ardnahoe and Caol Ila, with a revived Port Ellen and a new Elixir distillery coming on stream in 2021/22. This revived energy gives one a good inkling of the rapidly rising global demand worldwide for Islay's whisky output. Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin are known collectively as the Kildalton distilleries as they are all distilled in the Kildalton parish on the southern end of Islay.
”Lag” is the Gaelic word for a hollow, alluding to what might be known as a gully or an area where a hillside first descends and then bottoms out to the sea or flatter land. ”Aig” means a bay or a sound and ”Pro” designates something large, so Laphroaig basically translates as ”Broad Hollow by the Bay” and that matches the lay of the land here, as it meets the sea. In fact, the sea that borders the distillery site is also known as Loch Laphroaig (ergo the Loch at the Broad Hollow by the Bay. Lochs don’t have to be inland: they can be inlets, known is sea-lochs. On the other hand “breidvik” is Norse for Broad Bay and so the name may in fact be a Gaelic take on the Viking term ‘hinn breidvik’ intimating a small inlet. Ironically there’s no record of the name anywhere until the 1800s, so around the time that Laphroaig came into being, but oral law predominated in the Hebrides so the term may stretch back in time for many centuries.
The reasons for the high concentration of distilleries on the island stem from Islay’s interesting situation during the highland and island ”clearances” which took place during the mid 18th to the mid 19th centuries. The clearances were essentially mass evictions by local landlords or ‘lairds’ of the mainly Gaelic-speaking tenant farmers off their huge estates, firstly into crofts, which were essentially small townships where the crofters could practice trades or grow crops and raise livestock on set aside pieces of land, and then, as the 19th century began, the lairds began to chase out the crofters, often paying them small stipends such as they would be able to move elsewhere, often, in fact, to emigrate as far as Australia, Canada or the US. The tenant farmers who remained were allowed to remain were invariably wealthier, professional farmers.
Laphroaig began because of an enlightened laird by the name of Walker Frederick Campbell rented out 1,000 of land to brothers Donald and Alexander Johnson on the southern end of the island, about 1.6 miles in order to the east of Port Ellen, in order to rear cattle, probably Aberdeen Angus, which were being introduced to Islay in the early 1800s. The Johnstons were involved in planting barley to feed the cattle and thus the barley could be put to a second valuable use in the distilling of whisky.
Campbell was a paternal landlord who was more interested than his tenants prosper and he actually encouraged them to distil whisky, something that had been happening on the site, apparently, since the 1740s at least at the hands of various tenants. Although we know that Donald and Alexander were definitely distilling from 1815, they might have actually built their distillery as early as 1810. Even then it was only registered officially in 1826.
The Johnsons derived themselves from evicted crofters: It’s most probably the case that they were from the MacDonald from Ardnamurchan in the West Highland Peninsula and had been giving their marching orders by the Campbells in the early 1700s. One might remember that 38 MacDonalds were massacred by the Campbells at Glencoe on 13 February 1692. The name Johnson is simply a choice to Anglicise and derives from an instinct for self-preservation after being on the ”wrong” side of the Jacobite rebellion. In any event, the first indications of the Johnsons’ presence on Islay date from lease records in 1776 where there’s a mention of Alexander Johnston who was probably Donald and Alexander’s father.
Ten years later after the registration of Laphroaig, Alexander decided to leave for Australia and in 1836, Donald bought out Alexander for the sum of 350 Pounds and Donald went on running the distillery until his tragic death in an industrial accident on the site in 1847. Islay was very much a place of feuding, especially between the distilleries over issues such as water resources and by his death, Donald had been in a six-year dispute over water rights with the neighbouring Kildalton distillery, which was only in use from 1849-1852. Whether he died by foul means or by accidentally is a moot point.
Donald’s son Dugald, only 11 years old at the time, inherited the distillery but, of course, was too young to run it, so Walter Graham from Lagavulin, literally just over a mile away, was appointed to manage Laphroaig until Dugald Dugald came of age in 1857. Graham immediately brought the two distilleries and one roof making Lagavulin the marketing agent for Laphroaig, something which constrained Laphroaig which now essentially was to become a source of whisky for inclusion in blended brands. The brand grew successfully with constant additions to the site, including the takeover of the nearby Ardenistiel distillery buildings in 1868.
The tie-up with Lagavulin was to last for almost exactly 50 years until 1907 when Laphroaig managed to obtain the right to terminate the agreement through the courts.
Peter Mackie was the sales agent for both distilleries at the time. Mackie used Laphroaig for inclusion in his White Horse brand. He didn’t want to lose out on Laphroaig‘s inimitable peaty flavour and quality lending itself towards his blends and thus he extracted or at least attempted to, his revenge in an unusual way: Mackie actually set up his own competing distillery to Laphroaig on the Lagavulin site which he called ”Malt Mill” and attempted to replicate the style of Laphroaig, even in so far as attempting to divert the water source the Kilbride Stream by damming it with stones in 1907. Then the next year, 1908, Mackie poached Laphroaig‘s head brewer in an attempt to clone Laphroaig at Malt Mill.
He tried to replicate the stills at Laphroaig, firing the kiln exclusively with peat fired kiln. He also tried adding heather to the mash erroneously believing that he was rekindling an old practice. There was some success (in fact Malt Mill lasted for another 57 years until 1960) but eventually, the distillery was forced to close.
Dugald had died in 1877 when the distillery was passed on to his sister Isabella and her husband, Alexander (”Sandy, who died in 1907) and thence on to Alexander’s sisters Catherine and Isabella and his brother, John as well as Isabella’s husband, William.
William and Isabella’s son, Ian, is a seminal character in the development of Laphroaig. He arrived at Laphroaig in 1908, the year after Alexander had died and taken over the company fully in 1928.
Hunter saw off Mackie and it was their feud that prompted the building of Malt Mill. It took some years but by the early 1920s Hunter had managed to reposition Laphroaig as a single malt. Things got busy and in 1924, the Hunter augmented the number of stills at the site to four. Hunter was a canny businessman who really was extensively responsible for creating the brand as we recognise it today. He got around the prohibition by convincing the US government to permit the import of Laphroaig for medical purposes. Also, whilst in the States, he began importing the finest oak bourbon casks he could find. He also brought in excellent Spanish Oloroso oak sherry casks. These considerably refined and heightened the smoothness and taste of Laphroaig.
Hunter died in 1954, leaving the management of the distillery to his former secretary Bessie Williamson.
In 1967, Laphroaig was bought up by Seager Evans, which itself was owned by Schenley Industries of New York, marking the end of almost a century and a half of Johnston ownership.
In 1975, Whitbread & Co purchased Seager Evans and in 1989, the distillery changed hands again, when Whitbread’s spirits division was taken over by Allied Distillers.
Laphroaig is ostensibly Prince Charles favourite whisky brand and the heir to the British throne awarded a Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1994.
In 2005 there was a further sale to Jim Beam owners Fortune Brands, owners of Jim Beam Brands bought the site and Jim Beam is the current owners. In 2014 Jim Beam became a division of the Suntory Group.