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Next Auction starts Friday 29 March. Bottle Deadline: 18 March.

Laphroaig 1989 SMWS 18 Year Old 29.63

Lot: 6143049

Laphroaig 1989 SMWS 18 Year Old 29.63

Winning Bid: £525

Currency Estimate

Important: Currency exchange rates are constantly changing; this feature is to be used as a guide price only. All final transactions occur in British Pounds (£).
Lot:
Distillery: 
Laphroaig
Age: 
18 Year Old
Vintage: 
1989
Region: 
Islay
Bottler: 
SMWS
Cask Type: 
N/A
Bottled Strength: 
54.6% / 95.5 US PROOF
Bottle Size: 
70cl
Distillery Status: 
Operational
product Details

Laphroaig 1989 SMWS 18 Year Old 29.63

'Big is beautiful'

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.

This whisky was distilled in November 1989 and aged for 18 years before being bottled in November 2007.

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.

Important Notice

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Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.