Location: Laphroaig, stands in a broad depression on the south coast of Islay.

Visitors Centre:Open Aug to Jun, Tel: (Scotland) 01496 302418.
Daily opening hours:
Mon to Thur Tours 1030 & 1415.

Web Site: www.laphroaig.com

The Whisky
Laphroaig's peat bogs on the Glenmachrie Peat Moss and it's water source, the Kilbride Dam, combine in the distilling process to produce the characteristically peaty and full-coloured whisky that features in the top five best-selling malts today.
It's unique taste saw it prosper in America during the Prohibition (1920-1933) where its import was permitted as a 'medicinal spirit' - aqua vitae indeed!

The Distillery
Laphroaig (la-froyg)- Gaelic for "the beautiful hollow by the broad bay" - boasts, as its name demands, an idyllic setting for a Distillery, with its own sea loch and peninsula.

The distillery was Established in 1815 by the brothers Donald and Alec Johnston. Alas one of the founding brothers died in 1847 by drowning in a vat of fermenting wash, and it passed through the family, with much in-fighting along the way, until, between 1954 and 1972, it had the distinction of being run by a lady distiller, Mrs Bessie Campbell. However, D. Johnston & Co. the founding company still remains on the label as the declared Distiller and Bottler.

The Distillery Today
Many of the original buildings remain, including the traditional malting floors where the malt is regularly turned by hand to maintain an even temperature throughout the 7-day germination period.

Laphroaig goes from strength to strength as part of Allied Distillers' portfolio and received the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in 1994.