People sometimes say that old Laphroaig tastes like Tarred Rope, an unexpected tasting note that accurately captures the combination of smoky salinity and a rich, oily mouthfeel.
The 'Rope' Edition is the second limited release in The Wall Collection: 200 bottles of 39-year-old Laphroaig distilled in 1985, matured fully in Oloroso sherry-seasoned European oak hogsheads, then finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry-seasoned European oak butts.
Each green bottle is hand-painted white by illustrator and ceramicist Laura Carlin, using the same textured masonry paint found on the walls of Laphroaig's iconic Warehouse No. 1, representing Laphroaig’s distillery character. The sherry cask finish is depicted by a painted black rope, also hand-painted by Carlin, which winds around the bottle like rope around the mooring posts that line the coastal distillery.
The rope is a fitting visual link to the flavours imbued by the cask finish: additional layers of sticky, sweet spice over Laphroaig's signature peat smoke and maritime salinity. It also recalls the historic puffer boats that carried sherry casks from the Scottish mainland to Islay. The puffer boats, often laden with coal and barley alongside the casks, were the lifeline that made whisky-making possible on the remote island.
Each bottle is numbered and signed by the artist, and because every one is individually hand-painted, every one is unique.
The Wall Collection is a series of highly aged Laphroaig whiskies, with each edition exploring a different cask finish.
Explore the first release of The Wall Collection, The Peat Edition here.