Laphroaig

Region: Islay

Owner: Beam Suntory

Founded: 1815

If I had a pound for every time a customer said, “I really can’t stand Laphroaig” or conversely, “I really love Laphroaig” then I’d be a rich man! It is that tarry medicinal character that is sometimes described as tcp or band-aid that appears to divide opinion, probably more so than any other of the peated malts. I’ve even come across hardened Ardbeg drinkers who can’t cope with a bit of ‘phroaig!

Obviously, I’m in the love camp here. It is that medicinal character that makes it almost instantly recognisable when tasting spirits blind and of course it’s all down to the composition of the Islay peat. Another key to its character is that it has its own floor maltings which provide about 20% of the distilleries malted barley, with the balance coming from the Port Ellen maltings.

The bought in malt has a phenol specification of around 35-45PPM, whereas its own malt has a higher phenolic content of around 40-60PPM. For their own malt they source peat from the Glenmachrie Moss and one would assume that this allows the distillery to specify the depth from which the peat is cut because that will have an important bearing upon the ‘peatiness’ of the final spirit. Peat bogs have formed over thousands of years and consist of a number of layers. The upper layers are rich in carbohydrates and organic matter which means that when it is burnt it creates more smoke, but less of the phenols which is what generates most of the so called ‘peat reek’. The lower levels contain more of these phenols such as guaiacols, furans and creosols which give the spirit a smoked meat and tarry character, although Laphroaig exhibits more of the tarry characteristics than the smoked meat.

The other key to the uniqueness of Laphroaig and its difference to the other distilleries on Islay is in its distillation practice. Unlike Ardbeg and Lagavulin for example the distillery opts for relatively short and quick second distillation. The aim is to create a crisper, lighter and fresher spirit but curtailing a certain amount of reflux, which mitigates the fruity esters in the finished spirit. By also having, allegedly the longest foreshot run in the industry at 45 minutes, this increases the likelyhood of the higher esters such as ethyl acetate and ethyl formate, for example being run off and again reducing the fruitiness of the spirit.