The Missus of Laphroaig

How Scotch came to a secretary

By PINK LADY + HANKY PANKY

del.ico.us | digg it! | reddit!

print | email | 3 Comments

If there's one spirit that has a decidedly unladylike rep, it's single-malt Scotch whisky. Also known as "Liquid Smoke" and "The Peat Reek," Laphroaig particularly is not for the faint of heart. Yet for a generation, this Scotch-drinker's Scotch had a woman at the helm.

Bessie Williamson had just one suitcase with her when she moved to Islay in the early 1930s to take a temp job as a secretary at the Laphroaig Distillery. Ian Hunter, the distillery's manager and last in line of the family owners, was impressed by Bessie's intelligence and interest in whisky production. He offered her a full-time position, and she ended up staying 40 years.

After suffering a stroke in 1938, Hunter asked Williamson to join him on a sales tour in America. The trip was a success, and her trips became more frequent—from the Chicago World Fair to the New York Trade Fair, Williamson represented the Scotch Whisky Association as its international ambassador. After World War II, Bessie was promoted to distillery manager.

Ian Hunter was a notoriously secretive man, almost to a paranoid extent, but Bessie's passion and vigor won his trust. Over the years, he divulged the secrets of Laphroaig to Bessie, deciding upon his death that she was the only person he could rely on to carry on the brand's long traditions. When he died in 1954, Bessie took the reins and became one of the first women owners and distillers in the industry.

Ian Hunter's will bequeathed Laphroaig to Bessie Williamson with the stipulation that quality and high standards be maintained above all else. Until retiring in 1972, that's exactly what Williamson did. We raise a glass to those impeccable standards today.

Cin-cin!

THE SUMMER SECRETARY

1 oz Laphroaig

0.25 oz grapefruit juice

0.25 oz lemon juice

0.25 oz St. Germain

0.25 oz Green Chartreuse

Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker; strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

FOR MORE SMOKY, PEATY COCKTAILS, CHECK OUT LUPECBOSTON.COM.