The festive season is now well and truly upon us. But for the first time ever, I enter the season with a tinge of sadness, because as we say hello to Christmas it means we say goodbye to our 200th anniversary year, which has been, for me personally, my favourite year here so far (and its had tough competition).

I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for helping make this year such a special celebration. I have travelled all round the world and the welcome I received, and indeed all of our brand ambassadors have received, in this momentous year has been amazing…. so thank you.

This year, we released four new expressions, received a visit from HRH Prince Charles, sought out your views through the #opinionswanted competition (with the winning opinions placed onto tiles which now form part of our distillery wall) and our annual Laphroaig Live broadcast attracted record views. Furthermore, we also unveiled a celebratory stone cairn, launched our Legacy Fund to support sustainability on Islay, and premiered “What do the locals think”, our 200th Opinions Welcome film!

None of this would have happened without your continued support and encouragement. It is why Laphroaig is so very special, and it’s what makes me and my team get out of bed every day. And regarding this, a special mention must go to James MacGregor who has been here man and boy for the past 40 years. James hit this amazing work milestone on October 20th this year. Well done James. In addition to keeping the distillery going 24/7 to meet unprecedented demand for our fabulous whisky, we have just put the finishing touches to The Legend of Laphroaig, a limited edition book that would make an ideal winter gift for any Laphroaig lover. Details can be found here.

We are also feeling extra festive this year as we are proudly wearing our new Christmas jumpers. It’s only taken us 200 years to finally create one, but I’m sure you’ll agree it was worth wait! To celebrate, I have hidden five in my office to give away. Just send me photos via our Facebook page of your most extreme or embarrassing Christmas jumpers, and the five most entertaining examples will win one of our very own woollen wonders.

A last word from me, I’m particularly excited about a stunning new expression which we plan to launch in Spring 2016. Let’s just say the most richly flavoured of all scotch whiskies is about to get even richer!

Once again I thank you all for making this year such a memorable one. It will be hard to beat but we will do our best.

Slàinte Friends, have a wonderful break, and here’s to the next 200 years and beyond.

John Campbell Distillery Manager, Laphroaig