I hope my letter finds you well this festive season, and enjoying a dram of Islay’s finest, of course.

We have already had the first flurry of snow at the distillery, which is quite rare for us. We have been told that there is a lot more on the way.

For visitors coming to visit us next year, you will be welcomed by two magnificent dry stone walls at our entrance. They are being built by Jim Hanson, who also did the beautiful stone Laphroaig barrel that sits at the entrance of our visitor centre.

I am pleased to say (as I sit on the local committee) that a new ‘walking path’ from Port Ellen to our distillery will be complete by next year. It is three quarters complete now and there are already some superb views of our stunning coastline. It is almost 1 and half miles long, so a great walk for those who enjoy the fresh air.

Whilst we regularly win awards for our single malts, I was particularly proud of our Gold ‘Outstanding’ Award from the IWSA for our 18 year old. Being awarded ‘Outstanding’ is only at the discretion of the panel and is rarely awarded, so a great honour.

You will be pleased to hear we have had a record production this to year to make sure there is plenty of Laphroaig laid down for the future. We also opened up the top maturation floor of Warehouse Number 1 by the sea earlier this year, but more on this next year!

We also had a record year for visitors to your distillery – over 20,000 visitors! I always enjoy meeting new FOL’s coming to the distillery for the first time, so thank you for making the effort.

Like last year, we will be holding our Christmas Fair for the islanders on December the 8th, at the visitor centre. Here, all the arts and crafts people of Islay gather to sell their wares, many of which you will recognise in your online shop. By then, we will have put up two Christmas trees that come from the old wooded part of your FOL plots. One at the distillery, of course, and the other takes pride of place in our local town Port Ellen.

Final Dates for Online Delivery

If you’re looking to treat someone special this Christmas with items from our gift shop, remember that postal times vary so be sure to get your orders in before it’s too late.

• United Kingdom: 20th December
• Europe: 16th December
• Rest of World: 13th December

For more information on orders please visit the Laphroaig website.

Laphroaig Live USA

As most of you know, the 2013 Laphroaig Live event took place in New York, on an ancient river barge moored right in front of the Statue of Liberty in the old Brooklyn docks.

We received so many questions during the event that the panel and I were unable to answer all of them. Don’t worry though, starting this month we’re answering these questions on the Laphroaig Facebook page. If you want to see the answers in your newsfeed, just remember to Like us Facebook.

All that is left for me to do is to wish you Seasons Greetings from myself and all of us here at Laphroaig. I hope you have a great holiday and a superb Hogmanay.

Slàinte,

John Campbell
Distillery Manager, Laphroaig

Join the Friends of Laphroaig