Distillery News 12.6.97

With Iain Henderson

Gold Medal for Original Cask Strength 10 YO Laphroaig The 1997 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) awarded 10 YO Laphroaig Cask Strength a Gold Medal, and the Ian Mitchell Memorial Trophy for ‘best limited edition single malt Scotch whisky’. The Original Cask Strength Laphroaig is barrier filtered only, to remove the small char particles from the barrel. Because it is not chill filtered (as with the 10 and 15 year olds), it may appear slightly cloudy. This is the natural condition for this full-bodied Islay malt, offering malt drinkers a depth of genuine peaty taste and texture normally associated with sampling Laphroaig at source. Distillery visits during the Silent Season Our silent season this year was again July and the first week in August. A point to consider when you are planning to visit Islay, especially if it is to see working distilleries, is that the majority stop during July. Although the Distillery is not producing during the silent season, we still welcome visitors. The tours are generally at 10.30 and 14.30 Monday to Thursday and at 10.30 on Friday. Remember, we generally only do tours by appointment, so contact us in advance to avoid disappointment. No 3 Spirit Still During the maintenance period this year we renewed part of no. 3 spirit still, and also the condenser attached to it. Many visitors ask about the renewal of stills, even whether we put dents in then if they were there before. The truth is that we copy faithfully the size and shape of the still, but we don’t go to the extent of putting something in that, after all, would be damage and was never intended to be there in the first place. Individual parts of the stills wear at different rates; the shoulders and the swan neck are the most susceptable to wear so they are changed more frequently. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons We have received many letters and phone calls regarding the press coverage at Christmas time on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s for short). In common with other food and drink products, Scotch Whisky does, from time to time, suffer from misleading claims about dangerous compounds lurking within it. This was the case at Christmas, when a Dutch laboratory announced the results of a study they had been commissioned to carry out on various whiskies, one of which was Laphroaig. PAH’s occur naturally or they can be manmade and are found throughoput the environment, in the air, water and soil. They are a major concern, particularly from automobile exhausts and municipal waste incineration plants. PAH’s are well known carcinogens and are found in a wide variety of foods, albeit in minute quantities, and there have been many studies which have failed to link any desease with the intake of food. Indeed, vegetables have a widespread incidence of PAH, but no one ever suggests that they might harm you. In 1991 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food carried out a detailed study of PAH in food, including whisky, and the results were quite revealing.

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