Laphroaig is a distillery whose malts are massively individual and utterly distinctive. The distillery was founded in 1810 by brothers Donald and Alexander Johnston on what was originally a family run farm in a small bay on the southernmost tip of Islay. Laphroaig’s unique flavour comes in part from its vicinity to the coast and the high moss content of its peat, which is processed in the distillery’s own floor maltings.
Introducing the fourth release in the Ian Hunter series:
Ian Hunter is the man who made Laphroaig what it is today. He was an uncommon soul, with his own distinct manners and moods, not too unlike the whisky he gave to the world. His memory is honoured with this series of rare and collectable aged whiskies in his name. Book 4, the latest in our limited series, celebrates Ian Hunter’s establishing of our malting floors and his legacy as the Malt Master of Laphroaig. Ian secured the distillery’s lease in 1922, broke into America in the time of Prohibition, was the catalyst for a revolution in the use of American White Oak and is the reason why Laphroaig are still among a handful of distilleries to maintain our own malting floors today. He put his heart and soul into ensuring Laphroaig was a whisky like no other.
Ian Hunter Book 4 pays tribute to Ian Hunter’s dedication to Laphroaig with a whisky every bit as rare and distinctive as he is. This 34-year-old single malt was carefully crafted from floor-malted barley and aged in the American White Oak casks Hunter was first to procure. Matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished in Oloroso Sherry casks. Perhaps not for everyone, but for the discerning few, this will be a taste like no other. .
Rich honey gold in colour the nose is rich, with the classic Laphroaig smoke sitting beneath. On the palate flavours of pineapple and peach notes meld with a long, ashy finish.