Ardbeg’s new ‘Eureka!’ whisky. All photography courtesy of Ardbeg

THE YEAR IS 2000. Christopher Nolan’s Memento was released in cinemas starring our own Guy Pearce; the X-Men live-action franchise just kicked off, also starring our own Hugh Jackman and Sydney was hosting the Summer Olympics. Across the world, though, on Scotland’s Isle of Islay, it was a different story. While others drummed in the new millennium, Ardbeg, the single malt Scotch whisky maker, had faced an uncertain few years; they were considering closing up shop.

A eureka moment, the 209-year-old brand realised it needed feet on the ground, to spread the good word of Scotland-made whisky in this futuristic-sounding year. With the help of a few Ardbeg enthusiasts, the brand launched the Ardbeg Committee with the mission “to ensure the doors of the Distillery never close again”.

The committee is now a quarter of a century strong, its 180,000 members stretching far and wide. To celebrate this milestone achievement, Ardbeg marks the occasion by raising a dram of their newest Eureka! to their fans.

As its fifth Committee exclusive release, Ardbeg wanted to ensure the occasion felt extra special, so it invited 100 esteemed members from 15 countries to their Islay distillery on Ardbeg Day 2023, dubbing the assemblage ‘Operation Smokecsreen’. The task was simple: each guest tasted five different extreme versions of Ardbeg – matured in undisclosed cask types – and compared them to the brand’s benchmark Ardbeg Ten. The only person in the room who knew what was in those glasses was Ardbeg Head of Whisky Creation Gillian Macdonald. Followed by a healthy debate over each sample, the consensus reached that a smoky spirit matured in Pedro Ximinéz sherry casks was the clear favourite.

Macdonald took this finding back to Dr. Bill Lumsden, Head of Distilling & Whisky Creation at The Glenmorangie Company, Ardbeg’s parent company, and the two spent the following months experimenting. As part of this alchemic process (and as the name suggests), the duo finally had their ‘eureka’ moment. The result takes notes from the sample group’s penchant for dried fruit and subtle sweetness of sherry casks.

Offered at 52.2 per cent alcohol strength, Eureka! brings together PX sherry casks with roasted malt spirit matured in bourbon casks that makes for a complex dram. On the nose, a sweet toffee with wintergreen and wispy smoke and brine at neck pour; this is that juicy red apple and plump cherries with Ardbeg’s signature smoke and fresh coffee granules. The palate is where the Pedro Ximinéz sherry cask and oak barrel kicks in with that nutty feel, a drying effect from the initial bourbon sugar rush. The oakiness will stay, leaving a bitter finish though a smooth contradiction from the fruits.

And for those lucky few who played a hand in creating Eureka!, well, Committee members get first dibs on the $145 bottle as it becomes available in Australia on March 11. For those who are not yet members, this release is an excellent starter to making whisky a way of life. A sure collector’s piece to add to the shelf, Eureka! stock is, of course, limited.

Become an Ardbeg Committee member here.

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