ARDBEG is donating £1 million to charities on Islay after selling one of its casks for a record £16 million.
The sale price, which eclipses all previous cask records, was more than double the £7m that French luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) paid in 1997 when it bought the distillery.
The whisky inside “cask number three” was distilled in 1975 and is the oldest released by the distillery.
Ardbeg single malts from the 1970s are very rare because most of the distillery’s output during the decade was sold for blending.
The site was mothballed for most of the 1980s, making cask number three even rarer.
The cask’s new owner will receive 88 bottles from the cask over each of the next five years.
She will end up with a unique collection of Ardbeg from 1975, aged for 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 years.
Cask number three was created in 2014, when Bill Lumsden – director of whisky creation at Ardbeg and its sister distillery, Glenmorangie – poured the whiskies from a 1975 bourbon barrel and a 1975 oloroso sherry cask into a single refill oloroso butt.
Lumsden said: “Cask No 3 is an extraordinary taste of Ardbeg’s past.
“Its aromas are nutty, herbal and smoky, while its tastes of tar, espresso coffee and spearmint have an astonishing finesse for a whisky of such age.
“So little stock survives from this era, that this cask really is one of a kind.
“And its complex flavours are testament to the extraordinary skill of the Ardbeg team who have cared for it over the decades.
“I look forward to exploring how it continues to evolve over the next five years.”
Thomas Moradpour, chief executive at Ardbeg and Glenmorangie, added: “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.
“That is a reflection of generations of hard work: from those in the stillhouse who craft our smoky spirit, to the warehouse staff who care for our casks over decades, to teams around the world who build the reputation of our whiskies with fans, bartenders and collectors.”
Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s food and drink pages.
Plus, check out Blair Bowman’s whisky column in the August issue of Scottish Field magazine.
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