So @karanewman and @dr_whisky, I travelled to Islay to see if I could unlock the secret of @BoutiqueyWhisky's award winning, yet mysteriously labelled, Islay #2, a 25 Year Old single malt that first appeared in the market in March 2018.
This puts distillation around 1992/93

There were 7 distilleries on Islay in 1992/93, it was a difficult time for the industry from the mid 80s too.
I think we can safely rule out Bunnahabhain as they never started using peated malt until the late 1990s
Walk with me a while @karanewman and @dr_whisky

Bruichladdich weren't producing peated spirit at that time either, as far as I tell. For 6 weeks in 1998 (while it was 'closed') a distilling team from Jura came in to run the distillery and produced a heavily peated spirit. Too late for our Islay 25!

I've tasted it against similar aged Bowmore too, and there's a big difference. They use a lower ppm (25 ppm in the malt) so I think we can discount them too.
By my maths, that leaves us just four to choose from: Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig...with me so far?

Could it be from Caol Ila?
Plenty of unnamed Islay single malts are said to have come from Caol Ila, so logic suggests that it should be from Islay's largest distillery.
I've never thought so, and the whisky makers I shared it with that week, agreed with me...

With Caol Ila off of my list I headed to Port Ellen to continue my search for the truth. It was pishing down now, I wasn't getting out of the car in that weather, so I fished this picture out from sunnier times in 2018... #AnIslayStory

My first stop was Laphroaig. Could it have been distilled here?
It certainly wasn't my first impression with the initial sample I received. It's definitely a strong contender, especially after discussions with the Islay whisky makers that week. #AnIslayStory

The weather had deteriorated as I got to Lagavulin, but I did get a chance to talk to former distillery manager earlier on in the week.
I'd love it to come from Lagavulin, but I'd heard long ago that stocks of older Lagavulin were extremely limited. It's unlikely #AnIslayStory

So could it have been distilled here at Ardbeg?
Ardbeg closed on 25th March 1981 and remained closed until 1989.
However, between 1989 and 1996 it was opened for two months per year, by a team from Laphroaig. Malt from the Port Ellen maltings was used... #AnIslayStory

Had I gone too far?
Actually yes, so I turned around and went back to Ardbeg to dry out a little, and grab a spot of lunch...
Ardbeg's stills were silent again in 1996, but there would have been 2 months of 'fillings' from '89 to '96 sitting maturing somewhere. #AnIslayStory

During those dark years at Ardbeg, those two months of 'fillings' would have been thrown into any old cask, it's value just about zilch. The distillery was bought by Glenmorangie in 1997 and the stills ran again in June '97, but it wasn't an easy start. #AnIslayStory

Most of my initial research was carried out in this wonderful book.
Peat Smoke & Spirit by Andrew Jeffers.
I still love picking it up and reading a few chapters. You really should have a copy in your own whisky book collection. #AnIslayStory