Ardbeg Eureka is a tribute to its most loyal drinkers. How does it taste?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

Most Scotch whisky is good Scotch whiskey. There are exceptions, certainly, but you can typically find something to like about a $20 bottle coming from the Highlands or a $100 bottle from Speyside.

There's a limit to this, certainly, but Scotland's finest export hasn't reached the level of hype and fatigue that currently plagues America's bourbon stock. Whiskey here tends to plateau at a certain point, making $200 bottles and $50 bottles significantly more similar than their prices suggest. Scotch's pricing feels more reliable; bottles that have been aged longer cost more and are generally smoother and more rewarding for that expense.

Ardbeg, a distiller of more than 200 years on Islay's southeastern shore, adheres to this but occasionally turns it on its head. Its 10-year is delicious and modestly priced. Its Wee Beastie is a viable Octomore alterative at a fraction of the cost. The Hypernova doesn't quite live up to its $200-plus price tag, but it's a high effort malt that brings a wild array of smooth, sippable flavor.

In between lies Eureka (stylized Eureka! on the bottle). In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee -- effectively the distiller's dedicated fan club -- Ardbeg quietly focus grouped 100 members of the committee to find out what tastes they preferred and would like to see in a malt. A little more than a year later, they released this sherry cask-aged spirit promising a wide range of flavors from cherry to brine to chocolate and raisin fudge.

At $85 per bottle it's cheaper than expected. It's also more expensive than most Ardbegs and just sorta expensive in general, though not out of the range of proper Scotch prices. Let's figure out if it's worth it.

Ardbeg Eureka: A

First off, this smells incredible. Picture Sean Connery showing up at your wedding and giving you a hug. That's what I imagine you're getting here. Rich peat, mild smoke, a little fruit, a little warm oak -- it's like the study of a house you visited once on a field trip long ago. It is everything I want from a proper dram.

As such, you get the smoke and the heat of a near cask strength Scotch whisky, though I'd never characterize it as burning. There's a little bit of the fruit you'd expect from a sherry barrel that shines through after the smoke gives way. It's a pitted fruit flavor -- black cherries, plums, something dark and juicy.

There's a modest sweetness that comes with that before a boozy finish. It's a little sticky. Maybe it's caramel, but there's a roasted sweetness that comes with that fruit underneath a classic layer of smoke.

You'll never mistake it for anything other than an Islay malt, which means it's bold but complex. There's a lot going on here behind a whisky that lacks the smoothness of an Irish malt but keeps you engaged throughout each sip and after it clears your tongue. That sweetness seems to clock back in with minor chocolate notes on the aftertaste, mixing with the oak and heat to create a unique and pleasant vibe. There's more to it than just peated smoke, and if you're willing to linger it gives you plenty to think about.

Ultimately, that's what keeps me coming back to the Islay malts. Ardbeg has once again distilled an outstanding example of a breed that's persisted more than two centuries with only minor changes. Maybe this is some old man stuff, but it's just about perfect to me.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?

This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Ardbeg Eureka over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Oh absolutely. This is a wonderful dram -- everything I'm looking for in a Scotch. But I also love Islay malts and the smoke and peat that come with them. If you don't, your mileage will vary.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Ardbeg Eureka is a tribute to its most loyal drinkers. How does it taste?