BB&R Williamson [Laphroaig] 2013 Ex-Moscatel

The Maker

Berry Brothers & Rudd (BB&R) is one of the world’s leading wine merchants having been established in 1698 on St James’s Street in Piccadilly – an address they still occupy today. The original founder’s full name is lost to history, now known only as the ‘Widow Bourne’. Rather than wine, the shop’s origins are as a trendy coffee house for the power-brokers and celebrities of the day. In a nod to this period the shop still includes a traditional coffee press as part of its sign.

Over the decades and centuries since, BB&R has remained a family business, passing through several generations before focusing on wine in the early 18th Century. The bulk of its notoriety has since come from its connections to the British royal family, having been an official supplier to the monarch since George 3rd in 1760. Perhaps their most famous product is a whisky based tonic called The King’s Ginger that was developed to keep Edward 7th awake at the wheel of his new ‘horseless carriage’ in 1903. They still sell The King’s Ginger today. Now made with Glenrothes Scotch, grain spirit, ginger and lemon oil. Only it’s no longer recommended for drivers!

BB&R’s relationship with whisky is almost as long as it is with wine. In 1923 they developed and sold the famous Cutty Sark blended whisky which has become known around the world, and is often a favourite of various Murakami characters. They eventually sold the brand to Edrington (owners of the likes of Macallen and Highland Park) in 2010, but as part of the deal acquired Glenrothes distillery (presumably why The King’s Ginger currently contains it). Although it seems that running a distillery did not match their expectations given that it was sold back to Edrington in 2017.

BB&R has built itself a strong reputation as a high quality independent bottler which, at least for the most part, are still releasing single malts and blends at an affordable price point. They have also become the official distributor of Daftmill. Meaning that on each release day their website gets overrun, crashes, and most people end up without. Given that such releases end up across the internet’s whisky shops I’m not sure what additional status BB&R have in practice beyond everyone else.

In addition BB&R produce bespoke bottlings for independent whisky shops across the UK to mark special anniversaries such as being open ten years. This means that their releases are now available across a far wider range of shops than was previously the case, and as a result their brand recognition has surely increased in recent years.

As a final point I should also recommend them for their wine – not that they are paying me to say it. The vast majority of what they sell is significantly above my budget, but they do have a handy filtering system where you can only see bottles for under £20. I’ve been using them for a few years now and the quality of has been consistently above other online wine retailers I’ve tried. For the same price you might spend in your local supermarket for a weekend bottle, you’ll likely get something much better from BB&R.

The Expression

This is the third Laphroaig I’ve reviewed so I won’t replicate the history of the distillery, or the use of Williamson as a trade name in tribute to former Distillery Manager Bessie Williamson. Instead it suffices to say that Laphroaig is easily one of the most recognisable Scotch brands there is, and is widely considered a fan favourite for whisky lovers new and old alike.

One little talked about characteristic of Laphroaig is its colour. To me at least there’s often some surprise at just how lightly coloured the whisky is relative to the time spent in cask. Maybe that’s something exaggerated by the classic green bottle design, but when enjoyed in a line up of whiskies I’ve often found it to be the lightest on offer. While colour is no real measure of quality, despite the first taste always being with the eye, the first thing which strikes me about this BB&R expression is just how dark, red, and thick it is. This is one of the very few whiskies that you genuinely can’t see through due to the thickness of the cask sediment in there. The only time I’ve seen something similar to this was in a Raw Cask edition from Blackadder, but even that didn’t have the cloudiness of this. It’s really something to behold and made the final few drams thick enough to chew. In the end I resorted to muslin to ensure I got every last drop out.

This whisky spent the first eight years of its maturation in an American Oak Hogshead before a final 10 months to a year finished in a single ex-Moscatel (fortified sweet red wine) barrel. As far as I can establish it is one of several 2013 finished Laphroaig that BB&R have released over the past two years which suggests that they had access to a series of hogsheads that they have since been re-racking into different finishing barrels where necessary. For example I’ve also seen several sherry editions produced around the same time. This particular version has cask number 207 and is one of just 300 bottles produced for release over the Christmas 2022 period. It’s bottled at a hefty 57.9%, and is very obviously natural colour and unchill-filtered. At the time it cost me £105, but prices of similar bottles are still retailing between £95 and £120, depending on where you look.

The final thing to mention is that this might well be a ‘tea-spooned’ whisky, with a single teaspoon of non-Laphroaig added to each of the hogsheads. I’ve seen competition accounts of whether all Williamson releases are tea-spooned, so can’t say for sure.

The Neck Pour

Initially the smell is much more of a rich ruby port than it is a sweet wine. If anything this is not a world away from the Summer Fruits Port GlenAllachie I’ve reviewed previously. But overtime a more acidic note of red wine vinegar follows. Only then does the peat start to come through. Taken together the culmination is one of thick red berry jam.

The palate is very peat forward as you’d want from a Laphroaig. But it’s a rich and very sweet peat that’s very different from the oily coastal saltiness I’d traditionally associate with the distillery. Indeed the medicinal notes of waterproof plasters I normally get from Laphroaig are not there at all. Leather and smoked fish is still hinted at, but isn’t yet coming through as I would like.

I get the strong sense that there’s a lot more to unpack here that will reveal itself once this bottle has been open for a while. My last ‘Williamson’ bottle was much the same where I initially got a lot of peaky flavours but the body took a while to show itself. The finish is very long however, with rich bonfire and burnt sugar staying with you for a good few minutes after you’ve finished your dram.

The Body

With the benefits of oxidation there’s now lots of additional notes to be found. On the nose there’s plenty of spice. This is led by strong ginger notes followed up with some nutmeg and then finally freshly baked hot cross buns.

The pallet has maintained its intensity in terms of peat and sweetness, but there is also much more of the thick Islay oiliness coming through, along with more savoury coastal minerality of oyster shells and smoked fish followed by plenty of ash on the finish. But that medicinal peat still isn’t there.

Final Thoughts

The bottle describes itself as a ‘massive whisky with a monstrous palate’ and it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment. At times this has almost been too much in terms of flavour and has benefited with some additional water to free up the flavours a little.

Doing so delivers much more in terms of subtly with additions of dates, wine soaked raisins and even a bit of uncooked bread dough. But all of that is still dominated by the intensely smoky red berry jam and tannins which coat the mouth and linger until finally replaced by a thick ash.

While it’s now near impossible to replace this exact release, I’d strongly recommend seeking out one of the multiple variants that BB&R has produced for different shops over the last two years. While they seem to have slightly different finishes and bottling strengths, I’d be surprised if they weren’t equally good and are well worth getting if you can find them.