Sometimes in life serendipity places something in front of you that you are uniquely placed to appreciate. At first glance this silver trophy cup was just another commemoration for something that was deeply significant to someone once, and yet was now consigned to an unremarkable auction lot.
Thankfully I have spent a large portion of my career working with both antique silver and whisky. That meant I quickly realized the significance of the engraving and the interesting story it had to tell about an icon of Islay whisky and the early whisky industry.
The Lagavulin Trophy Cup
This 19th century silver plated twin handled trophy cup was created by Sorley Silversmiths of Glasgow and is engraved “13th Battery 1st F.A.V. Corps Presented by P. J. Mackie Esq. Lagavulin 1890”. This unassuming cup represents a unique—if somewhat niche—piece of history.
It was presented in October 1890 to the winner of the 13th Battery, 1st Fifeshire Artillery Volunteers’ drill and carbine rifle shooting, by one Peter Mackie. The cup was part of an array of prizes offered by locals for the eight month long competition, and Mackie, who was a proud businessman and local, presented the cup to the winner.
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Mackie also specified that the cup would be awarded permanently to anyone who won the cup twice. So it was to be that the trophy would be awarded just three more times. In 1893 William Somers won the cup for a second time and the trophy disappeared from record for the next 130 years.
But Who Is Peter Mackie?
Peter Mackie is best known for his contributions to the scotch whisky industry, predominantly through his distillery and blended scotch brand: Lagavulin and the White Horse blend. Mackie’s father had been part of the 13th Battery Volunteers on its founding, but Peter chose a different route in his uncle’s industry.
Peter began with whisky in 1878 working for his uncle. He was assigned to the Lagavulin distillery to learn the art of distillation. By 1887 he had taken over management of the distillery, allowing him to focus on his recent diversification into blended whisky. In 1889 he inherited his uncle’s business, and by 1890 he launched the White Horse blend.
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He was an entrepreneur of his day, but like many who get labeled as such, public opinion on him was mixed. Mackie was often referred to as “Restless Peter.” The author, diplomat and secret agent Sir Robert Bruce-Lockhart once described Mackie as “One-third genius, one-third megalomaniac and one-third eccentric.” Which is certainly a mixed compliment.
Regardless of public opinion at the time, Mackie is remembered as one one of the leading figures of the early 20th-century scotch whisky industry. He was a pioneer of blended whisky, truly believing in, and working towards, consistency of product for the consumer.
Lagavulin, White Horse and the Infamous Malt Mill
One of Mackie’s most infamous moments in the industry came to a head in 1908. A long running dispute between Mackie’s Lagavulin and neighboring Laphroaig resulted in Laphroaig’s as then new owner, Ian Hunter, revoking Mackie’s position as sales agent. The decision meant no supply of Laphroaig for Mackie’s White Horse whisky.
Rather than try and fix the dispute Mackie proceeded to build an exact replica of the Laphroaig distillery. The infamous micro distillery was known as Malt Mill. Mackie’s copy never managed to truly replicate Laphroaig’s spirit, but Malt Mill ran until in 1962 regardless. Its whisky has become the stuff of legend; a Malt Mill miniature fetched £3,400 at auction in 2018.
The White Horse blend is no longer available in its native UK market, but continues to be a popular blended whisky in many export markets.
When Peter Mackie died in 1924 his company was renamed White Horse Distillers Ltd., and in 1927 it was taken over by DCL who would go on to become Diageo. Diageo still owns Lagavulin, and the single malt Islay distillery is considered a cult distillery by many.
Fans include a certain fictional ranger of Parks and Recreation fame.
Who’s Ron Swanson And What’s The Connection With Lagavulin?
Ron Swanson is a character from the show Parks and Recreation played by the actor Nick Offerman. Both Offerman and his character Swanson have a deep love of whisky from the Lagavulin distillery.
Offerman’s connection to the historic Islay distillery is not limited to the show. Offerman and the Parks and Recreation team reached out to Lagavulin to see if they were aware of the long running show. Apparently Lagavulin were, and in an episode released in 2013 Swanson visited his favorite distillery. Thus began the start of an ongoing relationship, and in 2019 Offerman released his first of three (so far) collaborations with Lagavulin.
Sending Whisky History Home
In early 2023 I first came across the trophy cup and recognised the name Peter Mackie for the whisky icon he is. As a collector of some of the more unusual whisky memorabilia I couldn’t leave the piece of Lagavulin history to be melted down. Mackie’s Trophy cup joined my collection of ice buckets, Macallan Marmalade and other forgotten bits of whisky history. But I didn’t feel it was where it was most appreciated.
After a deep delve into the history around this unique item I reached out to Diageo, Lagavulin’s parent company, to see if they found this slice of history as interesting as I. I’m pleased—and a bit relieved that my whisky enthusiasm does not exceed that of the biggest scotch producer in the world—to say that we have reunited Mackie’s trophy with its spiritual home. Nothing in the whisky industry moves quickly, and finally in 2024 I sent the Lagavulin Trophy Cup back to its spiritual home to become part of Diageo’s incredible archives.
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