Review: Laphroaig Willem 14 Years Old

We’ve seen it plenty with tequila, a bit with bourbon and rum, and now Scotch brands are having their celebrity moment. Nick Offerman’s partnership with Lagavulin seems to have really kicked off the trend back in 2019. Harrison Ford’s team up with Dr. Bill and Highland darling Glenmorangie has gotten the lion’s share of publicity this year. Meanwhile, Laphroaig’s celebrity collaboration with actor Willem Dafoe, which has been in the works since late 2025, has been as understated and eclectic as the man himself.

The whisky that resulted from this unlikely partnership debuted this past spring. It’s a 14-year-old single malt initially aged in ex-bourbon casks before a nine-month finishing in oloroso sherry casks. Full maturation in oloroso has yielded some real gems for the brand, but finished expressions haven’t always been our favorite Laphroaigs. Mr. Dafoe freely admitted that he couldn’t quite articulate the flavors he’d found in this whisky and chose it as much for the curiosity it inspired as how it tasted. Keeping with that theme, Laphroaig didn’t even bother to provide their own tasting notes, describing it in the press release as “deliberately unexplained.” Consider our interest thoroughly piqued!

Laphroaig Willem 14 Years Old Review

Curious is a good way to describe the aroma. It’s at once classically Laphroaig with its brine and medicinal funk but then altogether meatier and fruitier in turns. On the nose, the coastal hallmarks of the brand are kept at bay beneath a sweet, mesquite smoke and dry, dusty minerality. The aroma is redolent with barbecue brisket, coal ash, and a bit of burned barbecue sauce. A slight salinity shows itself as it blooms along with some seaweed before giving way to grilled lemon and eventually overcooked berry cobbler and oxidized wine.

The palate showcases some of the same tension but with an unusual amount of sweetness for Laphroaig, beginning with rich Demerara syrup and holiday spice before adding currants and fig jam across the sip. The midpalate attempts to rein in some of the sweetness, introducing a nice contrasting salinity with undertones of mesquite smoke and oyster shells. That moderation is short-lived, however, as marzipan, coffee syrup, and sugary raisin arrive on the finish and linger with subtler, meaty (but still sweet) notes of candied bacon and barbecue burnt ends. Like Willem, I’m not sure I entirely know what to think of this whisky. It’s too sweet to be considered a classic Laphroaig, but it carries that sweetness far better than the younger Sherry Oak release. With the proper disclaimers, it’s certainly worth exploring for fans of the brand. And it could even be a good gateway into Islay whisky for the more peat averse Scotch drinker.

107.4 proof.

B+ / $156 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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