Cask of rare Scotch whisky breaks all records with £16 million private sale

On 25th November 1975, on a beautiful day at the Ardbeg distillery on the Scottish island of Islay, unknown to the master distiller, Scotch history was being created. 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 acclaimed 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’.

Fast forward to 2022 and this cask was sold to a private collector in Asia for £16 million, breaking the earlier record of £1 million set in just April this year for a cask of 1988 Macallan. The journey of this rare whisky has been full of ups and downs. The Ardbeg distillery was established in 1815. It found fame in the 19th and early 20th centuries primarily as malt for blending. However, a downturn in the whisky industry in the 1970s and 80s led to the distillery being closed for long periods. It was finally revived by the Glenmorangie Company (part of LVMH since 2011) when it bought over the distillery and all its stock in 1997.

“It is a matter of great pride for us that we have made the highest wine and spirits transaction ever. From a distillery that was almost shut to being the most sought after in the world,” says Thomas Moradpour, CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, talking to BT. 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,” says Moradpour.

So why did the sale take place now and not earlier or later? “We feel the whisky has reached its peak and it is the right time to bottle it and sell it. The sale couldn’t have happened earlier because the whisky did not exist and it couldn’t have happened later because we don’t think this whisky will taste better at 60 years,” says Moradpour.

As part of the deal, over the next five years, 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.

Moradpour says that they started a programme two years ago to sell casks to private buyers. “We have been selling younger casks at lower prices. In the past two years, we have sold casks from 200,000 euros to 2 million euros. This programme is extremely successful with private buyers around the world.” Casks of both Glenmorangie and Ardbeg are sold though it is Ardbeg that has a cult following. There is an Ardbeg Committee of nearly 150,000 members in 130 countries who are keen to ensure “that the doors of the distillery never close again”.

While the US continues to be the largest market for both Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, followed by Europe, Asia is fast catching up. “We are seeing a great market for Ardbeg in Asia – China, India, Japan being the most prominent. There is a great appetite in India for Scotch. We want to take more than our share of this big market so we are very active in India,” he says.

Moradpour points out that premiumisation is happening across many categories. “In fact, you could argue that people want to drink either the cheapest or the best.” He adds that they have recently increased capacity for 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 we sell 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.