Laphroaig has unveiled its first ever global campaign partnership, joining forces with actor Willem Dafoe in a playful and eccentric ode to the whisky’s unmistakable character. The collaboration sits under the banner of Unphorgettable – a bad pun, but one we’re prepared to let slide on the strength of launch film The Taste, directed by the ever-inventive Tim Pope.

In it, Dafoe wrestles with the impossible task of pinning down Laphroaig’s distinctive yet elusive flavour. He starts by recounting a formative childhood memory before reacting, apparently spontaneously, to evocative fan-submitted descriptions. One equates a sip of the famously peaty single malt to “growing a beard in your throat”, another imagines a “smoky cornucopia of delight”. Dafoe relishes them all.

The partnership is more than just a film tie-in. Alongside The Taste comes a new cocktail called The Other Island, a glimpse at a limited-edition release, and a global roll-out across digital, social, print and OOH. Bars in London, Tokyo and beyond will get a taste, with Mayfair’s The Barley Mow temporarily renamed The Barley Dafoe for the occasion (we can only assume whoever is responsible for these puns had one dram too many).

What is perhaps most interesting about this campaign is the timing. The whisky industry has been navigating choppy waters of late, with Scotch exports reportedly falling by 3.7% in value last year even as volumes edged upwards, a sign that consumers are less inclined to splash out on expensive single malts. In that context, leaning into what makes Laphroaig unique seems like a smart play for a brand that has always acted differently.

Dafoe himself brings a personal connection to Scotland into the mix, recalling his first trip overseas and the strange sense of familiarity he felt stepping onto Glaswegian soil; a nod to his grandmother’s roots. In the film he describes Laphroaig as an experience that can’t be neatly packaged into words – hence the appearance of a man made of barley and an alpaca named Honey – a taste as enigmatic as it is memorable.

The campaign also carries a hint of legacy building. Dafoe and Laphroaig’s senior whisky maker, Sarah Dowling, have together developed a limited-edition product set to drop in 2026. At the same time, mixologist Meaghan Dorman’s spritz-style cocktail invites a more contemporary drinking moment, reframing this notoriously robust whisky in a lighter, more playful guise.

Whisky has always been about storytelling, but too often that sense of heritage tips over into cliché and self-seriousness. Here Laphroaig has managed to create something that feels elevated, a little bit mischievous and utterly on-brand. If the wider industry is sweating over declining sales, Laphroaig appears to be shrugging it off with characteristic confidence and a wry, wholehearted slàinte.

laphroaig.com