Laphroaig 1996 Masterpieces 20 Year Old PX Sherry Butt Islay Single Malt For TWE 50.6%

Description

Laphroaig 1996 Masterpieces 20 Year Old Islay Single Malt For TWE

This Laphroaig was bottled as part of the Masterpieces series after 20 years maturing in a single Pedro Ximinez sherry butt. One of only 516 bottles at 50.6% ABV.

“2016’s Masterpiece bottling combines the popular elements of sherry-cask ageing and peated whisky. A hit at The Whisky Show, this has notes of tropical fruit, iodine, berry fruit and intense smoke.”

Laphroaig is the largest of the three heavyweight Islay distilleries in Kildalton, out-stripping the production capacity of neighbours, Ardbeg and Lagavulin, by over 1 million litres per annum. Despite its traditional appearance, Laphroaig was always a forward-thinking distillery. It was bottled as a single malt as early as the 1920s, an unfashionable option at the time, especially for a peated whisky. They were also shrewd in capitalising on post-Prohibition America to add trademark sweetness to their spirit through the use of imported ex-bourbon casks, and hired Scotland’s first ever female distillery manager, Bessie Williamson, in 1954. Laphroaig is one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland to still use in-house maltings, providing them with 20% of their annual requirements, and contributing to the distillery’s unique flavour profile.