Welcome back to another installment of WhiskyFun Legends. This week, we take a look at one of the most sought-after Ardbegs on the market: the Ardbeg 1967 29 Year Old Kingsbury, cask #922. Serge Valentin awarded this whisky 97 points on WhiskyFun.com.
The Ardbeg 1967 29 Year Old Kingsbury Cask #922
Ardbeg has certainly gone through many ups and downs since its founding in 1815. With multiple ownership changes and two periods of mothballing, the distillery was reborn following its purchase by Glenmorangie plc in 1997.
The distillery must be admired for its duality. It is able to release both tongue-in-cheek novelty NAS bottlings such as the Ardbeg Scorch (famed for its dragon-charred casks) and older, rarer bottlings such as the Ardbeg 1965 (advertised with a hilarious Chanel parody).
Ardbeg is one of the pillars of Islay, and its chequered history only adds to the appeal of older and rarer Ardbeg bottlings, both official and independent. One such bottle is the Ardbeg 1967 29 Year Old Kingsbury from cask #922.
Kingsbury is one of Japan’s most famous independent bottlers. It was founded in Aberdeen in 1989 as Kingsbury Wine & Spirits Co. Then, in 1992, it was incorporated by Japan Import System Co. Ltd., owned by Katsuhiko Tanaka.
After sourcing many of its single malts from other firms such as Cadenhead, Kingsbury began investing in its own independent bottling ventures as the appetite for single malts grew both in Europe and in Asia.
This Ardbeg was distilled on 8th March 1967 and bottled in June 1996 at 54.6% ABV from single cask #922.
Serge Valentin’s Tasting Notes on the Ardbeg 1967 29 Year Old Kingsbury, cask #922
Serge Valentin sampled this iconic whisky on June 11th 2007, in conjunction with another 1967 29 YO Ardbeg Kingsbury, but from cask #923:
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“Colour: full amber.
Nose: less on honey but more on roasted nuts and coffee beans. Hazelnuts, black nougat… The sherry is also stronger than in cask #923, the whole getting fruitier (blackberry jelly, strawberry jam). Immensely elegant. Also humus, mushrooms, high-end sake, balsamic vinegar, Spanish ham (patanegra). This one simply leaves me speechless.
Mouth: similar to cask #923, really, maybe just a tad more peppery and even more assertive. A true monster. Enough said. 97 points.
Pure madness: a vatting of both casks. On the nose, it got much more organic, with more notes of dried mushrooms and balsamic vinegar. The mouth didn’t quite change but they were rather similar right from the start. Just between us, they should have vatted both at Kingsbury’s, maybe that would have given us the best whisky in the world (in my books).” – Serge Valentin, WhiskyFun.com, 2007
The Price of the Ardbeg 1967 29 Year Old Kingsbury Cask #922 at Auction
It will come as no surprise that this independent bottling sells for a lot of money at auction. By virtue of the vintage, age, and rarity (having come from a single cask), the bottling is highly sought after.
The whisky only sold twice in 2023, for £15,000 and £12,500 respectively. The auction record for this bottle is £25,024, achieved in January 2019.
If you have an Ardbeg 1967 29 Year Old Kingsbury that you are looking to sell, get in touch with the Mark Littler team and we will be happy to help.
Buy Ardbeg Whisky
We have a great selection of Ardbeg whiskies available on our shop, including this Ardbeg 11 Bottle Collection containing all Ardbeg Day and committee releases from 2021-2023.
We also have another famed Ardbeg 1967 from Signatory Vintage, matured in a sherry cask.
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