How To Collect Ardbeg
Head of Valuations at Whisky.Auction, Scott Walker, explains how to collect Ardbeg at auction.
Are you looking to add iconic Islay whisky to your whisky collection? Our Head of Valuation, Scott Walker, is here to help, delving into the most collectable releases from Ardbeg so you can discover how to collect ardbeg at auction.
‘Unquestionably the greatest distillery on earth’ – a bold claim, but one made by Ardbeg themselves, and while this may be a strong statement, it is at least worth some consideration. This Islay stalwart has made a habit of doing bold things with both its whiskies and branding, and built a large and dedicated following through not only the image but the incredible quality of the whisky itself over the decades.
Like many Scottish distilleries, Ardbeg has endured an often unstable past, closing its doors more than a few times but unlike many less fortunate, it has always found a way to bounce back. Founded in 1815, the distillery has a fascinating history. Situated in a bay previously used by illicit distillers and smugglers, the original small distillery grew into the most productive on Islay with an annual output of 250,000 gallons by the time of celebrated chronicler Alfred Barnard’s visit in 1887. This changed in a turbulent 20th century that saw the distillery closed between 1932-1935, then during both World Wars, again between 1981-1989 not long after being purchased by Hiram Walker in 1977, and then one final time in 1996 before beginning its remarkable revival under the ownership of The Glenmorangie Company in 1997.
In just over a quarter century since almost closing for good, Ardbeg has become one of the most revered Scotch single malts and gone from strength to strength. In 2021 a new still house was added, doubling the capacity to four stills and in 2022 Ardbeg was breaking records when a private collector spent a whopping £16 million to become the owner of Cask No.3 and make it the most expensive cask of whisky ever sold.
The turn of the millennium saw the formation of the Ardbeg Committee, giving fans of the peaty malt a way to connect with the brand and other likeminded whisky fans. The Committee is free to join, giving members access to exclusive bottlings and events, and has grown massively since its inception. This ability to gain early access to exclusive committee releases, often bottled at higher strength to the standard bottlings, seems like too good an opportunity to miss for many fans and collectors of Ardbeg.
But for collectors and investors, how to collect Ardbeg at auction?
At auction collectors vie for bottles from legendary vintages, to mature expressions, to Ardbeg’s regular quirky, experimental Committee releases. Ardbeg is proud of its ‘weirdness’ and, while ultimately the quality of the liquid speaks for itself, the appeal of the Committee releases is backed by a fun approach to marketing and branding. The style and character of these bottles appeals to many collectors who will ultimately look to collect them all.
There are too many of these releases to mention here, but just a few of their more eccentric bottlings include the Ardbeg Blaaack, released for the twentieth anniversary of the committee. This New Zealand Pinot Noir cask finished malt celebrates Ardbeg’s place as the black sheep of the Islay distilling family. The 2022 release was the Ardcore, celebrating the punk ethic of a distillery ‘with more ups and downs than a pogoing punk’, using roasted black barley. For fans of more traditionally styled releases, the earlier Committee bottlings such as 2001’s 21 year old or 2002’s Committee Reserve will tick that box, but be prepared to get into a bidding battle should you spot these coveted releases at auction.
If the more serious side of Ardbeg is appealing then there are many single cask vintage malt releases including a few in our current auction. These rarities appeal to collectors and drinkers with a love for Ardbeg’s history and a desire to try legendary vintages. Personally, the historical side of Ardbeg holds most interest and hunting out vintage bottlings from this storied distillery is a big appeal of auctions. Older versions of core expressions, such as the 10 year old can appear relatively regularly at auction and while recent releases won’t break the bank, bidding on bottles from the 1970s or 1980s can require deeper pockets as competition can be fierce.
Bidding for Ardbeg can reach dizzying heights with plenty of examples of whiskies fetching into five figures. One of the rarest is a 1974 single cask #2742, one of only 36 bottles produced and originally released only to hotel bars. When one appeared at auction in 2022 it fetched an eye watering £35,000.
Another 1974 vintage, this time containing two single cask bottles housed in a handmade Purdey & Sons leather gun case and alongside eight Hamilton & Inches sterling silver goblets has sold for up to £25,000 at auction.
In terms of independent bottlings, perhaps the most sought after is the 1967 29 Year Old cask #922, a dark, enticing, sherry casked Ardbeg bottled by Kingsbury that has sold in the region of £25,000 and is the top rated Ardbeg on WhiskyFun with a score of 97 points, in addition to featuring in the top 10 of the Whiskybase top 1000 Whiskies list. There are however many great bottles from independent bottlers that can be be picked up at auction with the likes of Signatory Vintage, Cadenhead’s, Douglas Laing and more releasing some incredible vintage Ardbeg.
The enduring appeal of Ardbeg shows no signs of slowing and auction is a great place to start exploring this iconic Islay malt. Greatest distillery on earth? Well there’s only one way to test that claim. Sláinte.
Bid on Ardbeg in our August Whisky & Spirits Auction.
One of only 106 bottles, this Ardbeg 1974 Single Cask #2743, bottled in 2005 at cask strength, is a chance to own some rare mature malt. Given 92 points by Serge Valentin of WhiskyFun, he describes the lengthy finish as ‘the kind of Ardbeg you keep remembering for two hours.’
The Ardbeg Very Young For Discussion was the very first of the ‘For Discussion’ releases bottled for the Ardbeg Committee. The idea was to give committee members the chance to taste the ‘work in progress’ Ardbeg from the beginnings of the Glenmorangie ownership. This release was distilled in 1997 and bottled at cask strength in 2003.
This Ardbeg 17 Year Old was the first official release after Glenmorangie reopened the distillery in 1997. Due to the lack of stock from the distillery’s largely dormant years in the 1980s, there was no young whisky to release meaning the distillate that was used to make this release would likely have been taken from stocks distilled in the late 1970s to 1981 during Hiram Walker’s ownership.
The sixties is regarded amongst many whisky connoisseurs as a golden period for Islay malts. This Ardbeg 1966 32 Year Old bottled by Cadenhead’s for their Bond Reserve series would have been produced by Ardbeg at a time when they were still malting their own barley.
The Lord Of The Isles is a 25 year old Ardbeg originally released in 2001 and last bottled in 2007. The accompanying scroll tells the tale of the Celtic-Norse warlord Somerled, the original Lord of the Isles. Now regarded as a classic Ardbeg release, it is described by Andrew Jefford, author of Peat Smoke & Spirit, as ‘the most allusive and provocative of all the Ardbeg blends.’