I’ll come clean. I like single malt whisky. Over the years I’ve tried many malts from all over Scotland, but it’s the Islay malts which I like best. All other malts pale by comparison, in my opinion. My head-and-shoulders favorite is Laphroaig (that’s pronounced luhFROYG). Some can’t stand the strong flavor. I love it. And there’s one thing for certain—when you show someone a bottle of Laphroaig you’ll know right away if that person also enjoys it.

Earlier in the month I became a Friend of Laphroaig. With the purchase of a new bottle of Laphroaig came a small booklet embossed with a unique number which entitles me to the lifetime lease of plot of Islay land measuring a square foot. If ever I make it to the distillery in Islay I can claim my annual rent of a dram of their “finest,” and will be supplied with a pair “of size 12 Wellingtons (approximately one foot long), headgear against low flying geese, string to secure [my] trousers against inquisitive stoats and an anchor” against being blown out to sea. I can even go online to the FoL page and see who my neighbors are.

But it isn’t membership in the FoL which enticed me to swing for a bottle of Laphroaig. It’s the heady sweet and robust waft of aroma which greets the nose on lifting a glass to my mouth. That first flush of warm peaty smoke filling my nose and mouth as I swirl the full-bodied liquid around my tongue sets the stage for what’s to come. It slides down my throat as a soothing elixir that spreads well-being through my body. And then there’s the finish, a feeling of having experienced something exceptional, and a desire for more. Laphroaig evokes for me rich woodlands in the rain, early spring rivers in full spate, and a hint of wood smoke coming from a nearby cabin.

You must experience Laphroaig and enjoy it to understand what I mean. You may not like it. Lots of folks don’t. They think it tastes like bad medicine. I feel sorry for them.

Whether or not you share my taste in whisky, let me raise a glass to you today on the last day of the year and extend a hearty toast for a healthy and prosperous New Year from the whole team at Outside Up North. Sláinte!