Ardbeg 1975 James MacArthur Fine Malt 17 Years Miniature

James MacArthur & Co were founded in 1982 and are a no-frills independent label, focussed bringing lesser-seen and often closed distilleries to the market. Their simple approach and fine selection of cask strength and single cask whiskies has earned them an army of fans amongst connoisseurs across the world.

You would not think it to see it now, but Ardbeg had a difficult time of it for much of the 20th century. The distillery was bought in a joint venture between Hiram Walker and DCL in 1959, both intending to supply their blends. The subsequent years were very successful, but DCL backed out in 1979 (closing many of their other distilleries a few years later), and Hiram Walker then struggled in the 1980s era oversupply when interest in blended Scotch was waning. They closed it down for the majority of the decade. It re-opened briefly in the 1990s before being revived for good by Glenmorangie plc in 1997. The lack of demand in the period prior to this, thankfully, saw a lot of casks sold to independent bottlers, many of which have gone on to become legendary releases.

One of just 36 bottles.