LAST BOTTLE WORLDWIDE

Svalbarði is a multiple award-winning Arctic iceberg water with an exceptionally low mineral content and the highest purity — selected by water sommelier Pat Eckert for a feature with Nick DiGiovanni, one of the world's largest food creators with over 50 million followers across platforms.

The Story

In 2013, Norwegian Jamal Qureshi collected meltwater as a gift for his wife while travelling on the Norwegian island territory of Svalbard — one of Europe's last great wildernesses. The pure water would make a delicious cup of tea, he thought. Four years later, that whimsical, selfless thought had transformed into an epicurean product redefining the very notion of pure drinking water.

With the approval of the Governor of Svalbard, Mr Qureshi chartered an icebreaker — the Ulla Rinman — and sought out the purest icebergs in the Kongsfjord, just 1,000 km from the North Pole at 79° North. As fresh as the day it fell as snow up to 4,000 years earlier, the Svalbarði crew collected 15 tonnes of ice. The ice was then gently melted in a specially constructed machine and bottled by hand, capturing the best drinking water in its cleanest form. To retain the water's natural composition and premium taste, no chemistry-altering filters are used — only micron filters and UV light to adhere to international standards. The last regular production run was completed in 2020.

The Source

Svalbard is one of Europe's last great wildernesses, where more polar bears than people live. It is located in the Arctic Ocean between 74° and 81° north latitude, 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole. The archipelago is 60% covered by glaciers.

Icebergs freshly calved into the fjords around Svalbard provide the source for Svalbarði's pure water. Svalbarði utilises icebergs that would otherwise be wasted melting into the sea. All operations are carbon neutral, the bottle is recyclable, and the wooden cap is sourced from sustainable forests. With over a hundred climate records, Svalbard is one of the world's most important locations for global warming research. A percentage of every bottle sold was donated to support polar and climate research.

Obtaining the water required an Arctic expedition — a search of up to a week at sea to find the right ice in sufficiently safe conditions. Individual iceberg pieces were carefully selected for the right properties, then manually lifted from the water by a specially equipped vessel. The ice was then brought back to the Arctic outpost of Longyearbyen, where it was melted and bottled. Each edition was limited to 1 tonne of glacier ice — strictly 13,000 bottles.

The Design

The bottle itself is a gift in its own right, designed to enhance any environment. Made from premium extra flint glass reflective of the source ice. The wooden cap represents the precious arctic driftwood that dots Svalbard's shores — carved with care in Spain from certified sustainable forests. The design stands out in fine dining environments, distinct from all other premium beverages. A wonderful gift for those who seek the finest rarities.

The Svalbarði designer water bottle is presented in a bespoke, award-winning packaging tube. Each tube underscores the journey of the water and is individually crafted like a fine champagne or liqueur. The packaging is fully recyclable.

The Taste

Svalbarði iceberg water, harvested, melted and bottled in the arctic outpost of Longyearbyen, is an exclusive fine water. With no nitrates or pollutants, the ultra-low minerality makes for a light mouthfeel with a slight bite and a natural sweetness. Svalbarði is an experience for the palate, much like a fine wine. With its unique terroir, it is the perfect companion to delicate dishes, chocolates, or beverages. It is considered the classic match for oysters — the water's purity does not overlay, it underscores. With dark chocolate, it works through contrast: it cleanses the palate so that every new piece tastes like the first.

Iceberg waters are among the rarest in the world. Svalbarði is the world's northernmost mineral water, recognised by the Fine Water Society as the world's best-tasting super-low mineral water.

Experience the taste of snow in the air from the icebergs of Svalbard.

The Last Bottle

Regular production ended in 2020. In 2026, Fine Liquids sold one of the last collector's bottles for €10,000 — a price not for water, but for time, provenance, and irreproducibility. One last standard bottle is currently available exclusively at Fine Liquids. The rare Blue Edition Arctic Night resides in Pat Eckert's AQAPOLIS archive. No further bottles are available anywhere in the world.

Read an article by A. Conrad in the Front Row Society magazine here. Photographs courtesy of @ FrontRowSociety.net, Andreas Conrad

Read the tasting note by independent Water Sommelier Pat Eckert.

Awards:

750ml Still