Willem Dafoe Is Making a New Whisky With Laphroaig

For more than 200 years, Laphroaig has staked its claim as a whisky that truly stands out from the crowd — one of Scotland’s most distinctive and hard-to-describe single malts, with a unique flavor that’s been called everything from “dirt in a bottle” to “a smoky cornucopia of delight” by its admirers. 

So when the brand recently sought out a partner to represent its “Unphorgettable” campaign, it had to be someone as distinguished and unconventional as the whisky itself. That someone is famed actor Willem Dafoe, who, for the last four decades, has built a career defined by bold, unpredictable choices — and in the process, forged a legendary place in cinema.

The partnership between Dafoe and Laphroaig sees its first fruit with The Taste, a short film directed by Tim Pope, a groundbreaking director known for iconic music videos byfor the Cure, David Bowie, and many others. After recounting a story in which, as a child, he stayed in a closet for two days to try to comprehend the experience of the astronauts he saw going into space on TV, Dafoe tries to decipher Laphroaig’s distinctive smoky, maritime flavor. “How can I put it into words?” he questions. “Like kissing a mermaid in a rocky rowboat on a lively sea.” He then delightedly reads other descriptions by the Friends of Laphroaig, the community of enthusiasts who regularly submit their opinions to the brand.

Dafoe’s personal history with Laphroaig stretches back a half-century, even before his film debut. “When I was first in New York City,” he recalls, “I had a friend whose whole identity was a self-proclaimed expert on whiskey. He turned me onto Laphroaig many years ago — that’s 1976 or so. So that’s probably the start, and it meant something to me. I mean, I was familiar with Laphroaig when they approached me!”

For Kirsteen Beeston, senior global marketing director of Scotches at Laphroaig’s parent company, Suntory Global Spirits, choosing Dafoe was an obvious choice. “Willem Dafoe personifies Laphroaig — he’s a truly unforgettable character, inimitable, and impossible to define, much like our whisky,” she says. “His unwavering dedication to his craft resonates with our commitment to whisky-making, reflecting a shared ethos of uncompromising quality.”

Dafoe isn’t just acting in The Taste — he was a part of the entire creative process. “They had a great idea for a little movie that we were going to make, and it sounded like fun,” he says. “And of course, I use myself as material. And then when you get there, you really see what works, and you’ve really got to weigh in, and you’ve really got to be true, and you’ve really got to try to not be a jerk — work with them, but find a place that you know is helpful, where you can contribute something. And contribute something in a fun way that elevates what you’re doing. They were good partners in that.”

The distillery on the rugged, remote Scottish island of Islay has its own story when it comes to cinema. In the 1950s, Islay lacked a movie theater, so Laphroaig’s distillery manager, Bessie Williamson — one of the first women to run a distillery — would convert the malting floor to host film screenings after work, offering residents a rare glimpse into the distant world of Hollywood.

The Laphroaig-Dafoe collaboration isn’t limited to film. 

Dafoe is also collaborating with Laphroaig’s senior whisky blender, Sarah Dowling, on a new expression to be released next year. “I was very taken with [her],” Dafoe says, “and just loved how precise and how curious and how she dealt with the tasting. It was call and response — they gave me, I guess it’s basically a blind tasting. I’m not necessarily an expert. I tried to express what I was feeling and sensing. And they’d take it in. We’d go down the line, and then they started to notice a pattern. They designed something specifically, and I tasted it. I said, ‘Yeah, that’s it.’ So I was in a laboratory, basically, [and] I was the guinea pig.”

While enthusiasts wait for the Laphroaig/Dafoe whisky, they can try the recently released Elements 3.0, the newest addition to Laphroaig’s Elements series. This limited edition bottling is the result of a happy accident, where an unexpected fire in their kiln caused the peat used to malt the barley to burn longer and hotter than usual. The result is a distinctive dram with notes of chocolate and coffee. They can also watch The Taste on YouTube or view it along with extra behind-the-scenes content at Laphroaig’s website.

Dafoe hasn’t had a chance to visit the distillery yet, but as a Friend of Laphroaig (fans can sign up on their website), he’s been given a square foot of land there, which he hopes to see in person soon. “I’ve been a busy boy lately,” he says, “but I intend to [visit]. I like very much the pictures that they show me, and it’s kind of a beautifully wacky idea. I have a little certificate. It would be fun to have a little reunion and go back there.”