Bessie's Island Diary
The Long Sleep of Maturation

One of the first stories told to me at Laphroaig concerned the famous falling-out of Donald and Alexander, the brothers who founded our small distillery in 1815. Alexander removed his share of all they possessed and set up a rival distillery a mile down the road to drive his brother out of business. He took half the labour force, half the barley, yeast, barrels and peat. He even drew water from the same peaty hillside source. Yet his whisky tasted greatly different. His distillery was more inland - away from the storm-driven tides of Laphroaig Bay. It brought home to me the way whisky develops its character during the long sleep of maturation. How it acquires flavours from the wood and the very atmosphere surrounding it.

Bessie's Island Diary The sweet smoke of a peat fire The water on Islay tastes of whisky The heart of the distillery The long sleep of maturation The traditional malting floor

Copyright & Copy D. Johnston & Co., (Laphroaig), Laphroaig Distillery, Isle of Islay
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