Ardbeg announced Dark Reserve on 11 September 2026, a bottling at 49.4% reserved for members of The Whisky Club in Australia and New Zealand. On sale from 2 October 2026, with no European release planned.

Maturation and casks

The base brings together whisky matured in ex-bourbon casks and whisky matured in dark sherry casks. The final stage takes place in the casks the distillery calls the darkest and most intense it has ever used, all from a single bodega. The declared notes are molasses, nuts, dates, ginger and clove.

The reference point, named by the distillery itself, is Dark Cove from Ardbeg Day 2016, also built on dark sherry casks. Ten years on Ardbeg goes back to them, this time for Australia and New Zealand only.

Price and availability

Dark Reserve costs AU$150 and NZ$145, around 93 euros at the 22 September 2026 rate, and can only be bought by members of The Whisky Club. Anyone in those two countries who is also an Ardbeg Committee member can sign up for a dedicated tasting.

From Europe the bottle is out of reach, short of the secondary market at prices that have little to do with the AU$150 starting point. In recent years Ardbeg has leaned on wine and sherry casks more than on peat, and Dark Reserve goes the same way.