The King can savour three special expressions of his favourite dram following a Scottish coronation gift by Huntly company Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky.
Evan Robertson, a director of the firm, presented Queen Camilla with three bottles of Laphroaig single malt – her husband’s favourite tipple.
The handover came at an event celebrating regenerative textiles – clothing made in ways that support the circular economy – at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh.
The Queen, in her first official engagement in Scotland since gaining her new royal title, met designers and artists before being presented with the special Laphroaig whisky set.
King Charles and Queen Camilla now own one of only 150 sets
Duncan Taylor launched its Coronation Edition in time for the King’s crowning in May.
Only 150 of the special edition cases were released, all sequentially numbered, and 147 were sold within a week.
The exclusive No.1 set was held back to be given to the King and Queen as a Scottish coronation gift.
One case has been kept for Duncan Taylor’s archives and another will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in October.
To present this coronation set to commemorate such a momentous year is a source of huge pride for the Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky team as we know it is the King’s favourite dram.”
Mr Robertson said: “It was an honour to meet HM Queen Camilla just a few hours before she and the King were given the Scottish honours at St Giles Cathedral.
“To present this coronation set to commemorate such a momentous year is a source of huge pride for the Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky team as we know it is the King’s favourite dram.”
Hand-selected by Duncan Taylor owner and chairman Euan Shand, the trilogy of Laphroaig whiskies are 18, 23 and 26 years old. They were finished in a sherry cask, which the Huntly firm said had added “exceptional flavour, colour and overall depth”.
A signed and numbered certificate of authenticity comes with each set, along with tasting notes and a pair of handling gloves.
The gift to the King and Queen came in a royal blue drawstring bag with gold lettering.
Laphroaig has been made on Islay for more than 200 years. Its distillery in Port Ellen is one of only a few that still use traditional malting floors, and dries and infuses its own malt with smoke from peat-fired kilns.
Royal seal of approval
The whisky brand was first granted a royal warrant, as a supplier to the then Prince of Wales, in 1994.
Duncan Taylor was founded in Glasgow during the late 1930s.
It started as a whisky broker and over the decades built up large stocks.
The business, along with its prized collection of single malts and grains, as well as aged blended whiskies, were acquired by Mr Shand more than 20 years ago.
