DISTILLERY’S LEGENDARY FAVOURITE IS REBORN IN ARDBEG THE ABYSS
Rare 34-year-old Ardbeg is celebrated in fantastical graphic novel by acclaimed comic-book artist, Tradd Moore
Wednesday 5th June 2024: Ardbeg Islay single malt today shares an Ardbeggian icon reborn, in Ardbeg The Abyss. This richly powerful whisky emerges from the rare heart of a fan favourite – the original, limited-edition Ardbeg Corryvreckan released in 2008. Uniquely transfigured by time, extraordinary new flavours surface in this 34-year-old whisky, which is destined to become a legend in its own right. To bring The Abyss’s mysterious depths to life, acclaimed American comic-book artist Tradd Moore reimagines the legend of the Corryvreckan whirlpool in a fantastical graphic novel. Set on ‘Planet Ardbeg’, it is available in print exclusively with The Abyss’s 400 numbered bottles.
Deep at the heart of the original Ardbeg Corryvreckan was mature 1989 spirit aged first in bourbon casks, then finished in unique, ‘ultra-active’ French oak casks. These unusual casks, which were heavily toasted to an exact specification, gave that legendary limited-edition its hair-raising depths. While most of these unrepeatable casks were consumed in the 2008 limited bottling, a small handful were stowed away. Now, from those last surviving barrels, comes Ardbeg The Abyss – its raw power transformed. Encased in a sleek, silver capsule, which looks set for travel to other realms, this rich and unusually dark Ardbeg draws drinkers deep into swirls of toasted marshmallows and tea leaves, while notes of dark chocolate, pecan, leather and creosote circle nearby.
To celebrate the revival of a legend in The Abyss, acclaimed comic book author and artist Tradd Moore draws his reader into a parallel world inspired by Ardbeg Corryvreckan’s namesake. The whisky is named after the fathomless whirlpool that lies to the north of Ardbeg’s Scottish island home. There, the Viking prince Breacan is said to have anchored his ship for three days and nights to win the hand of the Lord of the Isles’ daughter – yet was lost to its watery depths. Emulating the whisky’s journey into new flavour dimensions, Tradd gives new life to Breacan in the pages of his graphic novel. The prince travels through space and time to emerge reborn on Planet Ardbeg.
Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s Director of Whisky Creation, said: “Ardbeg The Abyss is the stuff of Ardbeggian legend. Formed from the rare heart of that original, sought-after 2008 limited release of Corryvreckan, this 34-year-old whisky has been transported by time into a new world of flavour. Held in a tiny handful of those rare, heavily toasted French oak casks, its 400 bottles contain mysterious depths of toasted marshmallows, dark chocolate, pecan nuts and leather – a rare taste of an Ardbeg icon revived, and reimagined.
Tradd said: “When I visited Islay, everything felt holistic: the island itself, the people, the stories. From visiting the whirlpool to trying to swirl whisky in the glass, it all felt interconnected. I’m a big fan of mythology and as soon as I heard the legend of Corryvreckan, I just knew I wanted to reflect The Abyss’s mysterious depths through the story of Prince Breacan. On his own journey into mystery, he sees the abyss, enters the unknown and is swept up and surprised by what he finds…”
Ardbeg The Abyss will be available to buy via Ardbeg.com, at the Distillery Visitor Centre on Islay, and through the Moët Hennessy Private Client channel, across the world.
In celebration of the Ardbeg Corryvreckan’s role in the distillery’s liquid history, 1000 limited edition bottles of core range Ardbeg Corryvreckan are also to be released, featuring a label design by Tradd Moore. Four individual designs will be available, each taken from a frame featured in The Abyss’ graphic novel. These unique bottles will be available exclusively from the Distillery Visitor Centre on Islay from June.
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RSP: Domestic retail RSP: 25,000 Euro (£21,250)
Ardbeg The Abyss Tasting Notes:
ABV: Cask Strength 48%
Colour: Deep autumn sunset
Aroma: Rich, pungent and aromatic but mellow, deep and gentle at the same time. There are aromas of toasting marshmallows, aromatic tea leaves, roasted chestnut, baking sourdough bread and something altogether zestier, like lemon balsam. A lingering, background sweetness, like demerara sugar, and then a hint of antique leather. A splash of water opens up the bouquet, to revel more herbal top notes, with a whisper of lemon sherbet and some pine resin.
Taste: A wonderfully mellow mouthfeel with a hint of spiciness, is followed by bold flavours of dark chocolate, pecan nut toffee, old leather, clove, ginger and a touch of treacle and creosote.
Finish: The smoke is always there, but beautifully integrated with the oak tannins, hints of baked apple and aniseed.
Ardbeg
Ardbeg prides itself on being The Ultimate Islay Malt Whisky. Established in 1815, Ardbeg is revered by connoisseurs around the world as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all the Islay malts. Despite its smokiness, Ardbeg is renowned for its delicious sweetness, a phenomenon that has affectionately become known as ‘the peaty paradox’. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ardbeg suffered from an uncertain future, and it was not until the brand was purchased by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 that the Distillery was saved from extinction. Since then, the Distillery has risen like a phoenix and today Ardbeg is well-established as a niche, cult malt, with a passionate following. Today, Ardbeg is one of the world’s most highly awarded smoky single malt whiskies.
Ardbeg The Abyss
The original Corryvreckan was released in 2008 as a limited edition, created especially for Ardbeg’s loyal following, the Ardbeg Committee. It was crafted from a batch of 1989 spirit aged in bourbon casks for ten years, then partly finished in ‘ultra-active’ heavily toasted French oak barrels. While most of those French oak casks went on to play their part in forming that 2008 release, a few were set aside at the Distillery, to explore the intense new flavours which would emerge with extra ageing. Named to evoke the heart of the fathomless whirlpool, reflecting its origins in the heart of Ardbeg Corryvreckan, Ardbeg The Abyss is the deep and mysterious result.
Inspired by traditional diving and space suits, the bottle’s capsule fittingly hints at the other worlds of space and sea – reminiscent of past campaigns for Ardbeg Corryvreckan, which featured a diver setting off from the Distillery to take on the mighty whirlpool. A porthole-style window in the front of the capsule showcases the bottle and the graphic novel’s cover. On one side, a gauge measures the depth of flavours such as dark chocolate, toasted marshmallow and clove. On the other, the needle of another gauge points to the ABV. The capsule is opened through a hatch at the top, reminiscent of a space vehicle or submarine, to reveal bottle and graphic novel. The bottle is adorned with the image of a whirlpool and is topped by a silver cap etched with line drawings by Tradd. So dark is the liquid, that, when contained in Ardbeg’s trademark green bottle, it appears almost black.
Ardbeg Corryvreckan (2008 Committee release)
The original 2008 release was a Committee Reserve limited edition, finished in a one-off batch of ‘ultra-active’ heavily toasted French oak casks. It proved so popular that the decision was made to add Ardbeg Corryvreckan to the core range the following year. After various experiments, the Whisky Creation Team settled upon the whisky’s current recipe, which is formed of a marriage of Ardbeg fully matured in virgin French oak casks and bourbon casks.
What is an ‘ultra-active’ cask?
The ‘ultra-active’ casks used in the maturation of Ardbeg The Abyss and original Corryvreckan had undergone a unique rejuvenation process – enhancing their ability to impart flavour and colour. This patented cask treatment process used a deep toasting regime that rendered the oak far more powerful than a standard French oak barrique.
The Legend of Prince Breacan:
The original legend of tells how the Norse prince travelled to win over a princess of the Isles. Her father agreed, as long as Breacan could anchor his ship in the Corryvreckan whirlpool for three days. Breacan was confident that his three ropes would hold fast. But on the first day, his hemp rope snapped, followed by a cord made of wool on the second day. On the third day, the tether braided from women’s hair finally gave way and Breacan was swallowed up by the whirlpool.
Tradd Moore’s graphic novel:
Tradd’s comic reimagines the tale of Breacan being swept into the whirlpool. It shows Breacan travelling through space, into a whirling Abyss – being engulfed by the sea witch who is said to control the whirlpool – and emerging transformed on Planet Ardbeg, which is in fact, Islay. In this way, the story reflects the whisky’s transformation over time, emerging reborn as Ardbeg The Abyss.
Tradd Moore:
Tradd Moore is an American comic book artist, whose work has appeared in series published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics and DC Comics. His hyper-stylised illustrations, which combine sci-fi elements with psychedelia and original compositional style, have earned him the reputation as “the best artist in action comics today” from comicbook.com. His work on titles like Silver Surfer in Black and Venom for Marvel and The New World for Image comics has made him a fan favourite. The latter will be made into a major Hollywood movie by Warner Bros. written by playwright Jeremy O. Harris, whose credits include Zola and Euphoria.
Planet Ardbeg:
Released in 2022, Planet Ardbeg was a 40-page sci-fi anthology created by three cutting-edge artists. This limited edition publication was inspired by the unique flavours and ‘origin stories’ of three Ardbeg expressions – Ardbeg Ten Years Old, Ardbeg An Oa, and Ardbeg Wee Beastie – and features cameos from some of the Distillery’s best-known characters.
This initial graphic novel from Ardbeg was conceived by award-winning New York cartoonist Ronald Wimberly in collaboration with fellow artists Emma Ríos and Sanford Greene, each bringing their own distinctive voice and style to the project. Using Ardbeg’s Core Range as their creative launchpad, together they produced an anthology of otherworldly tales as bold and unique as Ardbeg itself.
Since 2022, Ardbeg has continued to explore this fantasy world, which inspired the theme for Ardbeg Day 2023. It has now been brought to life in another dimension in Tradd Moore’s work.
The Ardbeg Committee The legacy of the whisky was safeguarded in 2000 by the formation of the Ardbeg Committee. The Committee is made up of thousands of Ardbeg followers worldwide who are keen to ensure that “the doors of Ardbeg never close again”. Today there are more than 180,000 members of the Ardbeg Committee in over 130 countries. Committee Members are regularly consulted on new bottlings and expressions and are offered exclusive Committee bottlings. Members also receive invitations to special gatherings, tastings and events. The Committee, chaired by Jackie Thomson, is free to join at ardbeg.com.
Awards
Ardbeg is one of the world’s most highly awarded smoky single malt whiskies. Since 2008, Ardbeg has won more than 50 gold and double gold medals in key whisky competitions. Ardbeg has twice been awarded ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ at the World Whiskies Awards (2010, 2013). At the 2014 Global Icons of Whisky Awards, then Distillery Manager Mickey Heads was voted ‘Distillery Manager of the Year’. The following year, Ardbeg’s expressions took the top three spots in Whisky Advocate magazine’s review of the best single malt Scotch whiskies under US$100. Meanwhile, both Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Ardbeg Uigeadail have been awarded gold medals at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Ardbeg Ten Years Old also won the Best Single Malt Scotch 10 Year Old at the International Whisky Competition 2019, while the Ardbeg Distillery won the Distillery of the Year 2019. In 2020, the International Whisky Competition awarded Ardbeg Corryvreckan first place for Best Single Malt Scotch, Best Single Malt Scotch (No Age Statement), Best cask Strength (Over 57% ABV), Best Peated Scotch and Best Islay Single Malt. Ardbeg Wee Beastie also earned first place for Best Single Malt Scotch Under 10 Year Old and The Ardbeg Distillery achieved another Distillery of the Year award. In 2021, Dr Bill Lumsden was awarded Master Distiller of the Year for the fifth time, and Ardbeg Uigeadail won World Whisky of the Year in the International Whisky Competition. In 2022, at the International Whisky Competition, Ardbeg was awarded The Distillery of the Year Award, while Ardbeg Ardcore won first place in Best New Scotch Release, Best Peated Single Malt and Best Islay Single Malt. In 2023 to date, Ardbeg has been awarded four Gold and eight silver medals at the International Spirits Competition, Silver in the International Wine & Spirits Competition and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The Glenmorangie Company:
The Company is one of the most renowned and innovative distillers and marketers of Scotch whisky brands worldwide and is part of Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Company produces Glenmorangie Single Highland Malt whisky and Ardbeg Single Islay Malt.
Responsible Drinking:
Ardbeg and The Glenmorangie Company advocate responsible drinking and suggest that drinkers savour Ardbeg whiskies in moderation and in line with recommended daily guidelines for alcohol consumption.
