Laphroaig

Brothers Alexander and Donald Johnston built Laphroaig in 1815, and it stayed with D. Johnston & Co until the 1960s. Ian Hunter, a descendant, ran it from the early twentieth century and sold it as a single malt by the 1920s. On his death in 1954 he left it to his secretary, Bessie Williamson, who had already managed it for years. The American distiller Schenley bought it outright in 1967; after several owners Jim Beam bought it from Allied in 2005, and Suntory took over Beam in 2014. Companies House shows the operating company controlled by Beam Suntory UK Holdings.

Laphroaig lies on the Kildalton coast of south Islay, east of Port Ellen and close to Lagavulin and Ardbeg. ScotchWhisky.com says it has seven stills and a capacity of more than 3 million litres a year, and that its own floor maltings still supply about 20% of its malt.