Laphroaig Live is now in its seventh year and this year's show was broadcast live from the city that never sleeps, New York. The venue for the evening was an original Hudson River Barge which, at over 99 years old, has seen cargo come and go into New York for almost a century. While the barge was taking its cargo into port, Ian Hunter - the last family owner of Laphroaig - was introducing the world to the now famous whisky. Legend has it he even introduced it to the USA during Prohibition by convincing authorities of its "medicinal" purposes! An expert panel of guests explore the strong ties between America and Laphroaig, stepping back in time to the era of Prohibition and tracing its heritage through to the booming whisky cocktail scene it helped create. We first look to the fastest growing Laphroaig expression, Quarter Cask, matured in barrels similar to those used in the early days of the distillery. To contrast this the panellists sample the latest expression, Laphroaig QA, which uses the American style of maturation. They compare it to the classic American bourbon from sister distillery, Maker's 46. The final expression is the remarkable Cairdeas 2013, bottled for the Friends of Laphroaig. This unique expression used Port Wood for part of its maturation, resulting in an extraordinary taste and colour. As the show is live from New York, the home of the cocktail, we have one of the city's finest bartenders creating some exciting cocktails using Laphroaig in a very different way. As always, we're be joined by Distillery Manager, John Campbell. This year he's accompanied on the panel by Bourbon Ambassador Adam Harris and the renowned Michael J. Neff, Mixologist and Founder of Ward III, and cocktail and spirit enthusiast Kevin Sintumuang, web editor of GQ. A studio audience of Friends of Laphroaig join the tens of thousands of Laphroaig fans worldwide that tune in to our live show every year.

• published: 07 Oct 2013
• views: 1493