LAPHROAIG—MAYBE IT’S THE ISLAY WEATHER, AFTER ALL.

LAPHROAIG—MAYBE IT’S THE ISLAY WEATHER AFTER ALL. The barrels that survived the tornado and were “REALLY good” are not the only indication that weather may be important to the taste of whiskey. For example, Curtis cites the “oft-noticed phenomenon” that barrels near the windows in warehouses contain better whiskey. Curtis describes some of the experiments distillers are conducting to try to find out the effects of weather on the aging process. In one, the master blender of Jefferson’s Bourbon lashed five barrels above deck on a Russian trawler and exposed them to “salt air, heat, sun, and constant rocking for three and a half years”. The result was “a remarkably smooth and supple bourbon”.

I posted earlier this year about the proposition that the location where Laphroaig is distilled cannot affect the flavor.I posted here that there was enough evidence “to enable me to to continue to experience Laphroiag as the product of what Jefford calls ‘the wind-harried, gale-prone island’”. I’m glad to have more evidence to support the romance of Islay.