Each year whisky fans - especially the die h-Ardbeggers - get served up a treat from the Ardbeg Distillery in the form of their annual limited edition, and more importantly, the Committee Release of that limited edition.

The annual limited edition is announced early in the year and launched to the general market mid-year. For Australia, those releases are available in stores for usually around $180 AUD and usually are quite well received by whisky consumers, with varying degrees of success of course.

However! Most people wouldn't even know that a special edition of each limited release is secretly made available only to Ardbeg Committee Members earlier in the year. Not only is this Committee edition even more limited, cask strength (giving it more flavour), but it's also priced much lower than the public edition, around $130 AUD. It's a bit of a 'thank you' from Ardbeg to the fans that support them the most, and it's always well-received!

This is Shortie, the official mascot of Ardbeg and the first Committee member

Ardbeg has just announced that this year, their Committee Release will be made available on 5 March. Not a lot has been announced about the release at this point, except that it's called the Ardbeg Drum, has been finished in ex-Rum casks and has been given a bit of a Caribbean theme. That's certainly playing up on the Rum cask, and evidently the salty, banana and pineapple notes in the whisky.

If you're not a committee member (and have read this far), you certainly should be and can join up here to get access to purchase the Committee Release. Otherwise, enjoy this sneak peak at the Ardbeg Drum labels!