I just got back from the Chicago Highland Games and Hiram Walker (distributor of Laphroaig in the US) had a single malt tasting booth set up (hooray!). Imagine my surprise when my beloved Laphroaig was flanked by Scapa and Glendronach on an ersatz rocky crag display. The literature in support of the booth was top drawer, apparently produced by the same people responsible for the great artwork on the Laphroaig website. I also filled out a card for receipt of a video, supposedly along the lines of the UD "Classic Malts" featuring Michael Jackson. Are any other countries marketing Laphroaig in this manner? How do others on this website feel about this kind of marketing? Do you think it diminishes the independent uniqueness of the Laphroaig brand name? Do you think that the potential for capturing a greater audience for Laphroaig compensates for this? Isn't this counter to the mystique of the Laphroaig whisky? I must admit that I am a bit ambivalent about the whole thing. One the one hand it seems a little like "me too" marketing. UD has the "Classic Malts", Seagram has the "Heritage Collection", now Hiram Walker has to have "Defenders of the Malt". In each case there seems to be one or two decent malts that carry the entire line. Does anyone really drink Glenkinchie over other superlative Lowlands simply because Talisker and Lagavulin have a marketing tie-in? The fact that I enjoy Longmorn doesn't make me want to run out and buy Glenkeith. I won't give up Highland Park for Scapa because Hiram Walker thinks Laphroaig drinkers will buy into their "Ultimate Orkney Malt" tag line. I'm all for promoting Laphraoig and having as many others as possible "see the light", but to my sensibilities, the individuality of Laphroaig should be promoted, not lumped in with some (in my opinion) also-ran whiskies. BTW, I was amused by observing the single malt neophytes at the booth. Overwhelmingly, the majority of males chose the Laphroaig as their favorite, the females liked the Scapa (please no pelting with stones, it's an observation not an editorial comment ;^)). Most tasters, male and female wanted a splash of water and all wanted water with the Laphroaig. The Hiram Walker people did a great job at the booth and steered tasters in the right direction by sequencing them from Scapa to Glendronach to Laphroaig. They also mentioned about the pending US release of the 30 yr old Laphroaig (only 200 cases) sometime this fall.