Willem by Willem

Willem Dafoe Picked This LaphroaigSTAR IN A FILM WITH WILLEMOWN A PIECE OF ISLAY

This limited-edition Laphroaig was chosen by Willem Dafoe. Yes, that Willem Dafoe. He's got a partnership with the Islay distillery and having one of those without releasing your own whisky is an opportunity this A-lister was never going to miss. You know, he's something of a whisky drinker himself...


Laphroaig senior whisky maker Sarah Dowling worked with Dafoe to narrow down a whisky that suited his tastes and what they arrived at was a single malt that piqued his curiosity. Officially, it's It’s a 14-year-old single malt finished in oloroso sherry casks, bottled at 53.7% ABV.


What are the tasting notes? You tell us. Laphroaig wants drinkers to make up their own minds, then shout about it creatively. Write a poem. Sketch it. Film interpretive dance in your kitchen at 1am. Whatever gets the whisky out of your head and into the world. The best entry wins a role alongside Dafoe in the next Laphroaig short film.

A bottle of Laphroaig Willem Dafoe

Laphroaig 14 Year Old Willem Dafoe Limited Edition

Dowling travelled to Rome (where Dafoe resides and has an alpaca farm, a detail that explains why there's an alpaca in all the press materials) with a set of samples and let the legendary actor run wild. This is what he picked. Willem by Willem has all the classic Laphroaig DNA of big peat, iodine, salt, but a finish in an oloroso cask layers in darker sweetness and rich spice.

It's a good whisky for someone impossible to buy whisky for. A limited-edition Laphroaig chosen by Willem Dafoe, wrapped around mystery, creativity, and comes complete with a genuinely brilliant competition mechanic? That's a lot to talk about before you’ve even opened the cork.

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Taste is overrated. Interpretation is everything.

Continuing its long-standing celebration of people who think a little differently, Laphroaig is inviting fans to interpret the whisky in whatever creative form feels right. Perhaps a confusing Avant-garde dance. Who's to say you haven't nailed it when they can barely understand it themselves?


Think outside the box. A mad little sketch. A short film like that Mr Plow advert Homer Simpson accidentally makes. An unhinged voice note recorded after two drams and a crisis. Whatever works.


The most original and bold submission will earn the chance to star alongside Willem Dafoe in the next Laphroaig short film, set to be shot later this year. He's even going to select the winner. How cool is that? Certainly a better pub story than “I once won a branded Glencairn”.


Dafoe says: “It was a pleasure learning about each of the whiskies shortlisted to be ‘the one’. I made my final choice based on the whisky that evoked the most curiosity about its taste – something I still can’t put my finger on, but that's half the fun. For me, when I sip ‘Willem by Willem’ I experience...you tell me. For all who drink it, I hope the whisky will inspire discussion.”


Taste away, then send your entry to NoNotes@laphroaig.com or or tag @Laphroaig on Instagram. Submissions close on 2 August 2026.


For all the full Terms & Conditions visit laphroaig.com.

A bottle of Laphroaig Willem Dafoe

How to Participate.

The Judging Criteria

You can also own a tiny bit of Islay. Just as Dafoe is a Friend of Laphroaig, you can be too.

By signing up, Laphroaig will reward you with your own square foot of Islay land near the distillery. Technically you can even collect the annual rent (in whisky) when you visit. Claim your turf and enjoy the fruits of a gloriously eccentric tradition from a gloriously eccentric distillery.
Claim land on islay with a bottle of Laphroaig
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