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Closed
09 Jun 2025
Bottle Details
Lagavulin 1978 Cadenhead's 15 Year Old
Lagavulin distillery is one of the quintessential Islay producers, built in the early 19th century before eventually finding itself in the hands of White Horse blenders and their infamous proprietor, Sir Peter Mackie. It has truly captured the imagination of the whisky world in modern times, with the 16 year old becoming an instant (if unexpected) favourite when introduced as one of United Distillers’ Classic Malts in 1988. The company had not expected the smoky flavours to be as popular as lighter offerings such as Dalwhinnie and Glenkinchie. Lagavulin was also home to the legendary (and near mythical) Malt Mill distillery in the first half of the 19th century. Lower production in the 1980s and 90s, coupled with huge global demand for the current product means that independent bottlings from all eras are particularly rare.
This Lagavulin was distilled in December 1978 and matured in oak for 15 years. It was bottled at cask strength by Wm. Cadenhead in December 1993 as part of their Authentic Collection series.
The Authentic Collection was launched by Wm. Cadenhead in 1991, and included whiskies from several rare closed Scottish and Irish distilleries, bottled for the company's 150th anniversary. It would later go on to become a mainstay of their portfolio, as the cask strength alternative to the Original Collection, which replaced their famous \"dumpy\" bottlings in the early 1990s. The Authentic Collection is now the flagship Cadenhead brand, and one of the most recognisable independent labels on the market.
Distillery
Distillery status
Operational
Age
15 year old
Vintage
1978
Production Type
Single malt
Region
Islay
Distillery
Lagavulin
An Islay malt distillery that is located between Laphroaig and Ardbeg on the south-east coast. One of two Islay distilleries in the Diageo portfolio, it is the island's representative in the Classic Malts of Scotland collection and its classic 16-year-old is one of the world's best-loved whiskies.
Founded
1816
Production type
Single malt
Brand
Cadenhead's Authentic Collection
*
Founded
1991
Production type
Various
Company
William Cadenhead
The oldest independent bottling company in Scotland and one of the earliest and foremost advocates for the single malt category, launching its iconic "dumpy" bottlings in 1977. Its flagship brand is the Authentic Collection, supported by a prolific outturn of additional releases each month.
Founded
1842
Company type
Independent Bottler,
Retailer
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Frequently asked questions
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Whether you’re selling rare vintages or looking for your next great bottle, our online auctions provide an effortless, trusted, and exciting way to buy and sell collectible whisky online.
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We use a structured bidding system to ensure a fair and smooth auction process.
Whether you set a maximum bid or manually place a single bid, the system will automatically increase your bid according to the following increments outlined in the table below.
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Our monthly auctions end from 7:00 PM (UK local time) on the closing date. If a bid is placed after 7:00 PM on any lot, the entire auction will be extended by an additional two minutes.
The auction will end once all bidding has ceased for two minutes. Based on previous auction activity, the auction will continue for several hours and is most likely to finish between 9pm - 11pm (UK local time).
