NEWS
ASIAN FEMALE COLLECTOR ACQUIRED 1975 ARDBEG CASK AT RECORD-BREAKING USD19M
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
11-7-2022
Source: Ardbeg
An anonymous female whisky collector from Asia has acquired a 1975 cask of Ardbeg Single Malt Whisky for £16million (USD19m), setting a world record for the price of a single cask of whisky.
The previous record was reportedly set earlier this year when a cask was sold through private transaction for USD18m.
The highest auction price for a cask of whisky was set in April this year, when a bidder from USA offer £915,500 (USD1.09m) for a 1988 Macallan cask.
The 1975 Ardbeg cask, called Cask No. 3, is enough to make 440 bottles of single cask Ardbeg, costing £36,000 per bottle (USD43,180).
The new owner will receive 88 bottles each year over the next five years, giving her a series of 1975 Single Cask Ardbeg bottled at 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 years old by 2026.
Older Ardbegs are rare because most of the Islay distillery’s production was used in blends during the 1970s.
Established in 1815, Ardbeg’s operation was suspended in the 1980s due to the downturn in world whisky market, it was revived by Glenmorangien Distillery in 1997.
The spirit in Cask No. 3 was distilled at Ardbeg on 25 November 1975, it was initially filled into two casks – one ex-Bourbon and the other ex-Oloroso Sherry – for maturation.
The two casks were were combined in a refill ex-Oloroso Sherry butt, designed to give only a subtle influence, in 2014 after 38 years of maturing separately.
The tasting notes of Cask No. 3 said: “Brazil nuts in toffee fill the nose, followed by linseed oil, a suggestion of flowering blackcurrants, sweet, aromatic peat smoke and a hint of tobacco".
Ardbeg's CEO Thomas Moradpour said: "This sale is a source of pride for everyone in the Ardbeg community who has made our journey possible. Just 25 years ago, Ardbeg was on the brink of extinction, but today it is one of the most sought-after whiskies in the world."
Ardbeg’s owner Moët Hennessy has announced that it will donate £1m out of the £16m proceeds from the cask sale to good causes on the isle of Islay.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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