RECORD SETTING Cask to be bottled over five years
On 25th November 1975, Scotch history was created at the Ardbeg distillery on the Scottish island of Islay, unknown to the master distiller. In an era when the distillery still malted its barley onsite, a smoky, balanced spirit was laid down in two separate casks ̶ ̶ a bourbon and an Oloroso sherry. For 38 years the casks lay there till in 2014,
Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s director of whisky creation, decided to marry
the two casks. The whisky was transferred to a single refill Oloroso cask–
simply named ‘Cask No 3’.
THE SPIRIT WITHIN CASK
NO.3 WAS DISTILLED IN 1975
That rare cask of single malt whisky was sold on 11 July 2022 by Ardbeg distillery for a record £16m, breaking the earlier record of £1 million set in just April this year for a cask of 1988 Macallan. Ardbeg said, "Cask No. 3" was bought by an unnamed female collector based in Asia through a private sale. Experts said the sale surpassed all auction records for a single malt cask. The cask is the oldest ever released by Ardbeg, which closed twice in the 1980s and 1990s before being bought by the Glenmorangie Company in 1997.
The Ardbeg spirit, distilled in 1975, contains sufficient spirit to fill 440 70cl bottles, valuing each one at £36,000.
As part of the deal, over the next five years, Islay-based
Ardbeg will continue to mature Cask No. 3 in a secure location on Islay for its
owner. Every year, she will receive 88 bottles from the cask. By 2026, this
Ardbeg enthusiast will possess a unique vertical series of rare Ardbegs from
1975, aged 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 years old.
The spirit's tasting notes on its aroma say:
"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".
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.
Today Ardbeg is the world’s most highly awarded smoky single malt whisky. Since
2008, it has won more than 50 gold and double gold medals in key whisky
competitions.
The magic of selling old and rare whisky is that you
either have it or you don’t have it. You can’t turn back the clock and distil a
1975-Ardberg in 2022. This whisky has survived close to 50 years. It has taken
a lot of patience and care. In the case of this whisky, it’s not just that it’s
rare and old but it is also exceptional in quality.
Premiumisation is happening across many categories. People
want to drink either the cheapest or the best. Recent times have shown a requirement
for increased capacity, as demand exceeds supply. Old and rare whiskey is a
finite resource. It can only reduce. Every time someone opens a bottle it is
one less. Some people may buy it for an investment and that’s perfectly alright
but 99 per cent of what is sold is drunk.
However, there is no denying that rare whisky has
become an investment. In 2019, a 60-year-old bottle of a very rare 1926
Macallan single malt fetched nearly £1.5 million. Over the last decade, rare
whisky has been the top-performing asset class in the Knight Frank Luxury
Investment Index. The index which tracks the sale of rare bottles sold at
auction has increased in value by 428 per cent in the last decade and 9 per
cent in the last year.
CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL CAN BE INJURIOUS TO HEALTH
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