By the time you read this, Ardbeg Day 2024 will be a thing of the past. For future reference, it’s the first Saturday in June every year, a day where loyal Ardbeg fans and those who just love whisky gather to celebrate Ardbeg. Each year is accompanied by a special Ardbeg Day release. This year it’s the Ardbeg Spectacular.

In a first for Ardbeg, the Spectacular has been matured in port wine casks, then married with classic bourbon barrels, creating an extraordinarily smoky and balanced Ardbeg dram that imparts all manner of interesting notes and aromas. This is devilish sweet meets smoky peat!

Exotically aromatic, with fragrant top notes of lavender, vetiver and incense candles. Underneath, some deeper notes – a touch of leather, some almond nuttiness. A splash of water opens up the bouquet, revealing hints of woodsmoke, damp peat moss, menthol.

The mouthfeel is salty, but viscous at the same time, and leads into a burst of huge, salty, savoury, smoky flavours – eucalyptus oil, salted caramel toffee, smoked pecan nuts, fragrant woodsmoke and tar. There is also a background sweetness, like a smoky pear crumble and some fudge.

A lingering aftertaste offers leather, salted caramel and a cooling mentholic sensation. You’ll find Ardbeg Spectacular and the entire range at Auckland’s Ardbeg Embassy in our Jervois Road Spirit store, as well as online and in all Glengarry stores.

Ardbeg Whisky
Spectacular Islay Single Malt

A first for Ardbeg, this whisky has been matured in highly sought-after port wine casks, then married with classic bourbon barrels. Creating an extraordinarily smoky and balanced Ardbeg dram that imparts all manner of peculiar notes and aromas. This is devilish sweet meets smoky peat!

REGION / COUNTRY | Scotland

VARIETAL | Malts

ALC % | 46.00%

VOLUME | 700ml

$179.99

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Available online

Available in store

DELIVERY

Click and Collect, Delivered to you, Shop in Store

STORES WITH STOCK

Auckland Stores with Stock: (* = low stock) Victoria Park*; Jervois Rd*; Ponsonby*; Grey Lynn*; Dominion Rd*; Mt Eden Village*; Parnell*; Westmere*; Ellerslie*; Khyber Pass*
Wellington Stores with Stock: (* = low stock) Thorndon*

ARDBEG WHISKY

If Islay stands as the sacred sanctum of Scotland's rich, peat-smoked whiskies, then Ardbeg emerges as one of its prime ambassadors. Huddled within Islay's embrace, where the air itself seems steeped in the lore of peat-infused spirits, Ardbeg sits majestically; this distillery has not just withstood the test of time but has evolved to become the touchstone of Islay’s rich whisky narrative.

Its coastal location, near legendary counterparts such as Lagavulin and Laphroaig, evokes a profound sense of history. To truly appreciate Ardbeg, one must immerse in the transformative journey of peat, which imparts the signature essence that defines Islay whiskies.

A slow, millennia-long dance of nature, peat is not merely decayed vegetation, it's an alchemical transformation of mosses, heather and sedges over thousands of years, employed during the kilning process of the barley and drying the green malt. This process infuses the barley with that distinctive smoky flavour which is then carried through to the final spirit, making Ardbeg a true representative of Islay whiskies.

In Ardbeg, you don’t just find a whisky, you embark on a sensorial pilgrimage; a journey that celebrates the very soul of Islay. For those whose curiosity is piqued, Ardbeg offers a treasure trove with the likes of Uigeadail, Corryvreckan, the 10 Year Old, An Oa, and the vivacious Wee Beastie 5 Year Old.

LOCATION

Islay, Scotland