DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 15 July 2026

Laphroaig Brings Back the 15 Year Old — 46% ABV, £85, Ex-Bourbon Matured

Laphroaig has relaunched its 15 Year Old single malt, returning the expression to the core range after a 17-year absence. It was last part of the lineup in 2009.

The whisky sits at 46% ABV, matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, joining the existing 10 and 18 Year Old expressions. Tasting notes describe citrus and dried hay on the nose, with barbecue smoke. The palate delivers sea salt, smoke, cracked black pepper, cinnamon, and clove. The finish runs long, with juicy peach and grapefruit.

Dr Calum Fraser, Master Blender for Scotch and Irish at Suntory Global Spirits, said: "We've been waiting very patiently for our whisky to be ready to bring back the legend that is Laphroaig 15 Year Old. Alongside the 10 Year Old and 18 Year Old, we can now complete the set."

Laphroaig 15 Year Old is available via the distillery website and The Whisky Shop at £85 RRP, with wider retail from September.

Murray's take: A 17-year gap is a disappearance. Laphroaig pulled the 15 when stock couldn't meet demand, and the world moved on to younger peated malts and NAS expressions. Bringing it back at 46% in ex-Bourbon signals the stock pipeline is healthy enough to commit. £85 for a 15-year Islay is competitive. The tasting notes read like Laphroaig with edges softened — smoke, salt, pepper, then peach. The core range is complete for the first time since 2009.

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Horse Soldier Opens $200m American Freedom Distillery in Kentucky — 100,000 Barrels Target

Horse Soldier Bourbon has opened its US$200 million American Freedom Distillery in Somerset, Kentucky, on a 240-acre site near Lake Cumberland.

The distillery spans 50,000 square feet, with The Outpost retail store and event spaces. Once fully operational, Horse Soldier Farms aims to produce 100,000 barrels annually. Production currently takes place at Middle West Spirits in Columbus, Ohio, with transition to the new site scheduled for later this year.

The brand was founded in 2015 by retired Green Berets from the 5th Special Forces Group — John Koko, Elizabeth Pritchard-Koko, and Scott Neil — the detachment that entered Afghanistan on horseback on 11 September 2001. They trained at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Koko said: "In many ways, this feels like coming home. Our journey began in Kentucky at Fort Campbell. Twenty-five years after 9/11, we've returned to build something we hope will endure for generations."

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear attended the grand opening. The project received $29.9m in state support through the Tourism Development Act and is expected to create over 400 jobs. Horse Soldier has backing from Gallo, which made a strategic investment in 2022 and recently acquired Four Roses for $775m. Horse Soldier Farms will join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, now at 74 stops.

Murray's take: $200m is a serious build. 100,000 barrels is a serious target. The Green Beret origin story is real and compelling — but $29.9m in state incentives and Gallo's backing tell the business story. Gallo now owns Four Roses and has a stake in Horse Soldier. That's two Kentucky footprints. The Bourbon Trail adding its 74th stop says everything about how crowded that trail has become. The question is whether the story carries the liquid once production moves in-house.

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Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting to Retire — Succession Search Underway

Lawson Whiting, CEO and president of Brown-Forman, will retire upon the appointment of a successor. He has spent nearly 30 years at the Jack Daniel's owner and took the top job in 2019.

Whiting said: "It has been the privilege of a lifetime to lead Brown-Forman. We are entering this transition from a position of strength."

The search is led by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, chaired by Tracy Skeans, and will consider internal and external candidates. Whiting will remain in an advisory role to ensure a smooth handover.

His tenure covered a turbulent period. Brown-Forman posted flat organic revenue in fiscal 2026 and reiterated guidance for flat organic sales in fiscal 2027. Its Tequila brands have struggled. Canada's ban on American spirits has hampered sales. In the first half of the year, merger talks with Pernod Ricard broke down, and an alleged takeover bid from Sazerac was rejected. In June, whiskey production at its Irish distillery Slane was paused.

Chairman Marshall B Farrer credited Whiting with expanding Jack Daniel's into new international markets, growing Woodford Reserve into the world's leading super-premium American whiskey, and tripling Old Forester's volume while increasing net sales six-fold over the last decade.

Murray's take: Flat revenue, Tequila struggles, Slane paused, a failed Pernod merger, a rejected Sazerac bid — Whiting's last two years were defined by pressure from every direction. But the counter-narrative is real: Woodford Reserve as the world's leading super-premium American whiskey and Old Forester's six-fold sales growth are achievements that outlast the headlines. The succession timing is the story. Brown-Forman is a controlled company — the Brown family has say over who runs it next.

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IWSR: Gen Z Drinking at Average Levels — Boomers Are the Real Moderators

IWSR's Bevtrac survey across 15 markets shows 74% of Gen Z respondents of legal drinking age now consume alcohol — roughly level with the overall adult average of 76%, up from 66% in the first Bevtrac survey in 2023.

IWSR president Marten Lodewijks said: "The narrative that Gen Z is the generation of moderation is now conclusively debunked."

Gen Z accounts for 17% of the total drinking population, a figure expected to rise as more reach legal age. The cohort drinks cocktails more than any other generation — 84% reported doing so in the past six months — and 18% were accompanied by five or more people at their last drinking occasion. They remain the most likely to heed government health guidance, at 49%.

Millennials (29-44) reported the highest consumption at 81%, followed by Gen X (45-60) at 77%. Boomers (61+) posted the lowest at 71%, down 2% from 2023, with an average of 2.6 drinks per occasion.

Lodewijks said: "Boomer drinking has been tailing off for several years. These latest Bevtrac results show bigger than expected drops in Boomer drinking across all major metrics. If this trend continues, it may actually be the Boomers, not Gen Z, who deserve the title 'generation of moderation'."

Overall drinking frequency dropped across all cohorts, with respondents averaging 3.9 drinks per occasion, down from 4.4 in 2024 and 2025. IWSR characterised the decline as structural rather than cyclical.

Murray's take: The industry has spent three years panicking about Gen Z not drinking. The data says they do — at the same rate as everyone else. What changed is how: cocktails, social settings, five-plus people. The real story is Boomers moderating. The generation that built the Scotch whisky boom is drinking less, and the generation the industry feared is drinking at average levels. The structural decline in drinks per occasion — 3.9 down from 4.4 — matters more than generational headlines. Fewer drinks per session is a volume question the industry has to answer.

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Aberfeldy 24 Year Old White Port Double Cask — 252 Bottles, £350, Distillery Exclusive

Aberfeldy has released a 24-year-old single malt finished in white Port casks as the latest addition to its Exceptional Cask Series. Limited to 252 bottles, the whisky is priced at £350 per 700ml at 50.7% ABV.

The expression is available exclusively from the Aberfeldy distillery in Perthshire and its online store. Visitors can order a dram at the distillery for £13.

Stephanie Macleod, Aberfeldy's malt master, said: "The choice of white Port casks was a deliberate one. Port cask maturation is often known for bringing a lively character to whisky, but white Port offers something particularly fresh and vibrant. Rich in notes of citrus peel, stone fruits and delicate nuttiness, the casks complement rather than overpower Aberfeldy's signature honeyed style."

Previous Aberfeldy Exceptional Cask releases include a 22-year-old oloroso Sherry cask-matured single malt bottled in 2025 to mark the 25th anniversary of the distillery's visitor centre. Aberfeldy earned five gold medals at The Scotch Whisky Masters in 2024.

Murray's take: White Port is the quiet cousin of the Port family — less rich than Tawny, less heavy than Ruby, more citrus and stone fruit. Using it to finish a 24-year-old is a deliberate choice against the obvious play. Most distilleries reaching for Port casks go dark. Aberfeldy went white. 252 bottles at £350 is a distillery-exclusive premium, and the £13 dram at the bar is the smartest number in the release — it gets the spirit into glasses. Stephanie Macleod's note about complementing rather than overpowering the honeyed house style reads as the actual point. 24 years of Highland malt, then white Port adds brightness. It's a summer release.

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