Laphroaig has dedicated the second chapter of Strong Characters to Dugald Johnston, the founder’s son who inherited the distillery in 1847, aged eleven. Chapter 2 is a 35-year-old matured only in ex-bourbon casks, on sale since late August 2026 at £880, £80 less than the 2024 33-year-old. It comes in 5,500 bottles illustrated by Bill Bragg.
Release details
Laphroaig 35 Year Old Strong Characters Chapter 2 is bottled at 43.8%, the same strength as Chapter 1. Until 27 September it is sold only by launch partner JPHA at £879.95, and from 28 September 2026 it will reach other selected retailers. As of 7 September, it was already sold out on the Laphroaig website. No Italian shop lists it yet; Chapter 1 is sold at Spirit Italia for €1,224, so the new release, cheaper in pounds, could land around €1,100.
Maturation and casks
The whisky spent 35 years only in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels, with no finish. Chapter 1, by contrast, also spent time in European oak ex-sherry hogsheads. The official notes open with freshly baked pastry, apple and cherry; the palate brings peat and spice, then a creamy texture with a hint of raisin; the finish is aniseed and light pepper, fading back to peat smoke. Calum Fraser, master blender at Suntory Global Spirits, says very few casks this old are left and that each one had to deliver complexity, sweetness and smoke: the result is a softer Laphroaig than the standard bottlings, but a recognisable one.
Who Dugald Johnston was
On the sudden death of his father Donald, the co-founder to whom Chapter 1 was dedicated, Dugald Johnston was left in charge of the distillery. He spent the following years learning the trade and formally took over Laphroaig in 1857, on his 21st birthday, in a period of famine and depopulation on Islay. Over the following twenty years he expanded the distillery and built its reputation; the label carries the dates 1847-1877. The illustrations by Bill Bragg, who spent time on Islay before starting the artwork, cover the label, the box and the booklet.
With Chapter 2 the series goes down in price while going up in age: in 2024 Chapter 1 cost £960. For anyone looking for a very old Laphroaig, Chapter 2 is the cheaper of the two, provided the 5,500 bottles reach retailers on 28 September 2026 rather than selling out first.
