Editing Ardbeg distillery (section)

==History==
The Ardbeg distillery has been producing [[whisky]] since 1798, and began commercial production in 1815.<ref name="Arthur">{{cite book|isbn=978-9057642364|title=The single malt companion|first=Helen |last=Arthur |publisher=Libero|year=2002|orig-year=1997|translator=Lisbeth Machielsen|language=nl|page=58}}</ref> Like most Scottish distilleries, for most of its history its whisky was produced for use in [[blended whisky]], rather than as a [[Single malt Scotch|single malt]]. By 1886 the distillery was producing 300,000 gallons of whisky per year, and employed 60 workers.<ref name="Arthur" />

Hiram Walker took full control of Ardbeg distillery in 1979. Production was halted in 1981, but resumed on a limited basis in 1989 and continued at a low level until late 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.masterofmalt.com/distilleries/ardbeg-whisky-distillery/|title=Hiram Walker era (under Historical Facts)|website=www.masterofmalt.com|language=en-GB|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> 

In 1997, the distillery was bought and reopened by [[Glenmorangie]] plc (which was subsequently acquired by the French company [[LVMH]] on 28 December 2004).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theglenmorangiecompany.com/about-us/history/|title=History — The Glenmorangie Company|website=www.theglenmorangiecompany.com|access-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714225913/http://www.theglenmorangiecompany.com/about-us/history/|archive-date=14 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Production resumed 25 June 1997, and full production resumed in 1998. The distillery was reopened by Ed Dodson in 1997 and handed over to Stuart Thomson, who managed it from 1997 to 2006. Michael "Mickey" Heads, an Islay native and former manager at [[Isle of Jura whisky|Jura]] who had worked at Ardbeg years earlier, took over on 12 March 2007. Colin Gordon has followed in his footsteps in August 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ardbeg - Colin Gordon tritt Nachfolge von Mickey Heads an {{!}} Der Whisky-Botschafter - Passion und Tradition |url=https://www.whiskybotschafter.com/news/details/ardbeg-colin-gordon-tritt-nachfolge-von-mickey-heads-an |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=www.whiskybotschafter.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 August 2020 |title=Colin Gordon wird neuer Distillery Manager von Ardbeg • CaptainScotch.de |url=https://captainscotch.de/news/colin-gordon-ardbeg-distillery-manager/ |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=CaptainScotch.de |language=de-DE}}</ref>

In July 2022, the distillery sold a 1975 cask to a private collector for £16 million, beating Macallan's record for the highest cask selling price.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Tom |last=Ambrose |date=9 July 2022 |title=Cask of scotch whisky bought for record £16m in private sale |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/09/cask-scotch-whisky-world-record-sale-ardbeg-distillery |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=25 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 July 2022 |title=Cask of rare Scotch whisky smashes world record with £16mn sale |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/10ff54be-e215-409e-ae4b-71e885ec03a8 |url-access=limited |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref>