For more than two centuries, Laphroaig has stood out on Islay’s windswept coast, distilling a whisky that refuses to be anything but itself: smoky, medicinal, briny, and unmistakably bold. Now, the distillery has unveiled a partnership as distinctive as the liquid itself. Academy Award-nominated actor Willem Dafoe has stepped into the world of Laphroaig with a global campaign, a short film titled The Taste, and the promise of a limited-edition whisky.
The collaboration marks the first time Laphroaig has partnered with a Hollywood figure, and it sets the stage for a marriage of two entities long celebrated for their refusal to conform.
A Meeting of Bold Spirits
In a landscape where many whisky brands chase sameness, Laphroaig and Dafoe are embracing the opposite. The actor—best known for roles that explore eccentric, otherworldly characters—joins the distillery’s ‘Unphorgettable’ campaign, launched in 2024 to highlight the singular character of the Islay single malt.
At the heart of the project is The Taste, a whimsical short film that follows Dafoe’s quest to define the almost indescribable essence of Laphroaig. “It’s the flavors and how they come together,” Dafoe explains, recalling his first visit to Scotland as a boy, when the land felt oddly familiar—almost genetic, he muses, given his Glaswegian grandmother.
“The Taste”: A Cinematic Exploration
The film itself is both surreal and intimate. It begins with a childhood memory of Dafoe locking himself in a wardrobe for two days, hoping to experience space travel after watching astronauts land on the moon. That restless curiosity becomes a lens through which Dafoe tries to capture the enigmatic taste of Laphroaig.
Interwoven with his own recollections are fan-submitted descriptions from Laphroaig devotees, known as Friends of Laphroaig, whose colorful attempts at pinning down the whisky’s taste range from poetic to humorous. It’s an artistic take on the ineffable—exactly the kind of territory Dafoe thrives in.
A Legacy of Film and Firsts
While this marks Laphroaig’s first collaboration with an actor, the distillery has long had ties to cinema in more unorthodox ways. In the 1950s, when whisky was still a male-dominated world, Bessie Williamson—the legendary First Lady of Scotch—owned and ran the distillery. On an island with no cinema, Williamson transformed the malting floor into a makeshift theater, screening Hollywood films for locals.
That same sense of inventiveness continues today. With The Taste, Laphroaig bridges its heritage with modern storytelling, bringing the boldness of Islay whisky to a global stage.
Behind the Whisky: Sarah Dowling and Willem Dafoe
At the creative and technical center of this project is Sarah Dowling, Senior Whisky Maker for Laphroaig. She worked closely with Dafoe to shape both the film and the forthcoming whisky.
“When we tried to imagine Laphroaig as a human being, we immediately thought of Willem Dafoe,” Dowling says. “He is the very embodiment of our bold and distinctive spirit.”
Together, Dowling and Dafoe have begun developing a limited-edition expression, now quietly maturing in Laphroaig’s warehouses. Scheduled for release in 2026, the whisky will lean into the distillery’s signature peat smoke and maritime salinity, balanced by the surprising sweetness that defines its best bottlings.
Launching “The Taste” in London
To mark the debut of the film and partnership, Laphroaig has reimagined a classic London pub. From September 22–25, The Barley Mow in Mayfair will temporarily transform into The Barley Dafoe. Inside, guests will be the first to sample a bespoke cocktail called Opposite Island, designed to capture the paradoxical character of Laphroaig and Dafoe in liquid form.
This cocktail will also appear at select bars worldwide, extending the celebration of the brand’s “unphorgettable” taste well beyond Islay and London.
Looking Ahead
For Laphroaig, the partnership with Willem Dafoe is more than a marketing maneuver—it’s an alignment of philosophies. Both the distillery and the actor are known for their uncompromising individuality, their willingness to court the eccentric, and their devotion to craft.
With a limited-edition whisky set to arrive in 2026, fans can expect the collaboration to deepen, offering a liquid embodiment of this unlikely yet strangely inevitable pairing. Until then, The Taste offers a cinematic reminder that some flavors, like some performances, defy easy description.
Watch the film and explore behind-the-scenes content at the brand’s official website.
Earlier this month, Laphroaig introduced Elements 3.0: A Smoky New Chapter Born from Fire.
