Laphroaig lets Willem Dafoe choose his own whisky (Whisky in the Spotlight)

Some whiskies come with a sprawling flavor wheel, a technical deep-dive on cask maturation, and a list of tasting notes to hint at what’s in the bottle. With Laphroaig’s Willem by Willem whisky, it’s different. Time for a new spotlight.

Whisky is personal. What makes one person think of a beach campfire might send another to a rainy walk along the Islay coast. Someone else might taste bandages, iodine, or antiseptic.

It’s especially those latter notes, along with a hearty dose of peat, that Laphroaig whisky is known for. Glance at the average tasting notes for any of their Islay bottlings and you’ll usually find something spicy, medicinal, or smoky.

Willem Dafoe leans into that personal side by unveiling a surprising whisky. He joined forces with the Islay distillery to create Willem by Willem. The whisky follows a no-notes philosophy. In the film world, that means a performance is so good it needs no further direction.

According to Willem Dafoe, the same goes for whisky. Instead of an exhaustive description, the actor wants enthusiasts to discover what happens in the glass for themselves, without expectations or influence. With this bottle, you get only a handful of hints. The rest you fill in with your own sense memory.

Here are the clues at a glance:

That doesn’t mean the whisky was randomly pulled from an Islay warehouse cask. Dafoe made a selection of casks before choosing the final composition for this release.

He did this together with Sarah Dowling, Senior Whisky Blender at Laphroaig, guided by experience, intuition, and personal taste.

Exactly which casks were used and how old the whisky is remains largely a mystery. That might seem unusual in an age of radical transparency, but for this release, it’s part of the magic.

Aside from the few details that Laphroaig and Dafoe share, you can count on one thing: it’s a true Islay whisky, and unmistakably Laphroaig.

If you know Laphroaig, you know the general direction: peat, medicinal notes, and spice. But the specifics stay secret until you crack the bottle. What’s certain is that it’s bottled at 53.7 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).

That means this Laphroaig isn’t playing it safe. The higher ABV often brings more intensity and lets fans experiment with a few drops of water.

If you want to snag a bottle, you’ll have to move fast. Laphroaig is releasing Willem by Willem worldwide in limited quantities.

The initial sale will run via a lottery system, where interested buyers can register for a chance to purchase. Friends of Laphroaig will receive priority.

The recommended price is around 147 euros per bottle. Given the limited run, Willem Dafoe’s involvement, and Laphroaig’s popularity, chances are this release will sell out quickly.

Whether the whisky truly reveals its secrets once it hits the glass is something fans will have to discover for themselves.