An update from John Campbell, manager of Laphroaig Distillery
Thank you for all of your interest in this year’s Laphroaig Live. I’ve received several emails asking when and where it will be held and I am excited to tell you that this year’s show will be broadcast live from Brooklyn, New York – the city that never sleeps! Our venue for the evening is an original Hudson River Barge which, at over 99 years old, has seen cargo come and go into New York for almost a century.
While our Hudson River Barge was taking its cargo into port, Ian Hunter, Laphroaig’s last family owner, was introducing the world to our now famous Laphroaig whisky. Legend has it he even introduced it to the USA during Prohibition by convincing authorities of its “medicinal” purposes! Following in his footsteps, we’ll be bringing a fantastic selection of Laphroaig expressions direct from Islay to New York and exploring how our North-Atlantic ties are still thriving today.
You can join us live online on Thursday 26th September 2013 at www.laphroaig.com/live. The show will start at 8pm in New York, you can check what time that is in your own country here, we look forward to seeing you and answering any questions you might have.
We’ll look first to our fastest growing expression Quarter Cask, matured in barrels similar to those used in the early days of Laphroaig. To contrast this we’ll sample our latest expression, Laphroaig QA, which uses straight American oak, for a unique style of maturation. We will compare it to the classic American bourbon from our sister distillery, Maker’s Mark. Finally, we’ll taste the remarkable Cairdeas 2013, bottled for our Friends of Laphroaig. This unique expression used half Port Pipes for part of its maturation resulting in an extraordinary taste and colour.
We couldn’t visit the home of the cocktail without experiencing the huge renaissance of Laphroaig being used in the latest creations. Our bartender will be creating some of these exciting cocktails and the panel will get a chance to experience tasting Laphroaig in a very different way.
We’ll be sharing the cocktail recipes on Facebook and Twitter in the lead up to the event, so you can hold your own Laphroaig Live at home, and taste along with us.
As you know, I’ll be there to showcase our great expressions and I’ll be joined by Bourbon Ambassador Adam Harris, the renowned Michael Neff, Mixologist and Founder of Ward III and Kevin Sintumuang, Web Editor of GQ. I’ll send another email nearer the time, but for now please put September 26th in your diaries and bookmark www.laphroaig.com/live.
Slàinte,
John Campbell
Distillery Manager, Laphroaig
