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Laphroaig’s legacy has always been written on the edge of land and sea. Perched at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the remote southern shore of Islay, the distillery looks out over the Atlantic’s restless waters, with the Kilbride Stream running alongside and peat-rich bogs at its doorstep.
‘Laphroaig’ means “the beautiful hollow by a broad bay” in Gaelic, and its landscape is as intrinsic to its whiskies as time and oak.
Its latest release, The Wall 39-Year-Old Rope Edition, is the second and final chapter in The Wall Collection – a highly limited series dedicated to the perseverance, passion and distinct character that define this world-renowned distillery.
More than simply a whisky, this new edition is a collectible piece of art in its own right. Each bottle has been painstakingly hand-painted, numbered and signed by London-based illustrator and ceramicist Laura Carlin. Using the very same paint that adorns the lettering of Laphroaig’s iconic Warehouse No.1, Carlin ties the whisky to its spiritual home.
Within The Wall 39-Year-Old Rope Edition you’ll discover some of the last spirit crafted in the image of old-style Laphroaig, evoking its earliest years and marking a defining chapter in the distillery’s history. With a strictly limited number of bottles available, The Wall 39-Year-Old Rope Edition offers a rare chance for collectors to secure a unique piece of Laphroaig’s enduring legacy.
Both its name and the art that adorns it pay tribute to the rope that once bound essential cargo aboard the puffer boats supplying Islay with everything from coal to barley – the very lifeline of Laphroaig.
Matured in Oloroso sherry-seasoned European oak hogsheads and finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry butts, the whisky itself is a study in contrasts: maritime salinity against sherry sweetness, bold peat smoke against velvet smoothness.
Rich tawny in colour, it opens with aromas of toffee, cranberry, dark cherry, polished leather and sweet molasses, lifted by a flash of mandarin orange. The palate weaves gentle smoke through treacle toffee, candied orange peel and hazelnut, before a long, warming finish of smoked orange toffee, oak and mixed spice.
Bottled at 42.4% ABV, it is layered, complex and brimming with Laphroaig’s signature coastal energy.
Calum Fraser, Master Blender at Suntory Global Spirits, explains: “With The Wall 39-Year-Old Rope Edition, we set out to capture the rich influence of sherry casks on Laphroaig. We wanted to honour their journey – travelling by sea, weathering the elements, and finally reaching Islay. This whisky holds that story. After 39 years, it’s layered, bold and unmistakably Laphroaig.”
Laphroaig’s The Wall 39-Year-Old Rope Edition is available in very limited numbers for £4,750 from hedonism.co.uk
