Laphroaig Non Peaty D Johnston and Co 1940s

A very old Laphroaig bottled by distillery owners D.Johnston and Co, the name of the company up until 1950. Perhaps the most interesting element regarding this bottle is that the label carries the words Non-Peaty.

Laphroaig is the largest of the three heavyweight Islay distilleries in Kildalton, out-stripping the production capacity of neighbours, Ardbeg and Lagavulin, by over 1 million litres per annum. Despite its traditional appearance, Laphroaig was always a forward-thinking distillery. It was bottled as a single malt as early as the 1920s, an unfashionable option at the time, especially for a peated whisky. They were also shrewd in capitalising on post-Prohibition America to add trademark sweetness to their spirit through the use of imported ex-bourbon casks, and hired Scotland’s first ever female distillery manager, Bessie Williamson, in 1954. Laphroaig is one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland to still use in-house maltings, providing them with 20% of their annual requirements, and contributing to the distillery’s unique flavour profile.

We estimate this bottle to be from the 1940s, a significant period in the history of Laphroaig as the distillery shut down production in the first half of the decade due to shortages during the second world war. Laphroaig continued all other aspects of the business, including bottling whiskies such as this, all the while also doing its bit for the war effort by housing The First Company of Royal Engineers following the battle of Dunkirk, and providing Laphroaig House as a base for the RAF. The distillery's sales actually to increased during this period as demand was high in the military messes they supplied to across the UK. The distillery re-opened in 1945 at the close of hostilities in Europe, and this bottle may just have passed through the hands of one of those brave individuals who made that happen.