Jim McEwan Signature Collection 1.1 Bruichladdich 2007, First Fill Bordeaux barrique, 13 years

Jim McEwan Signature Collection 1.1 Bruichladdich 2007, First Fill Bordeaux barrique, 13 years, 61.8%

Distilled on 2nd November 2007 this whisky spent its whole 13-year life maturing in cask #RO8/153-12. This maturation took place in a 1st fill Bordeaux red wine cask from a Château being one of only four châteaux to be awarded the Premier Cru (First Growth) status in the 1855 Official Classification. A classic Bordeaux paired with a classic of Islay!

Bottled in February 2021 as Release 1.1 of the Jim McEwan Signature Collection, like all bottlings within the collection, it was bottled un-chill filtered, with no added colour, and at natural cask strength of 61.8% (Jim would have it no other way!), it yielded only 265 bottles.

Jim’s tasting notes;

Opens beautifully on a combination of plump ripe grapes, sweet oak and hot-washed malt with an overture of rowan, birch and heather in bloom. The fruitiness with the oak is well-balanced and you will also detect a squeeze of honey & lemon and a slight nuttiness from the oak. I find this to be one of the most intriguing malts I have ever evaluated.

Its taste spectrum is amazingly broad, ranging from fruity to floral to wine-like citrus, to kiln dried barley to oaky overtures. It’s complex! The colour is absolutely beautiful proving that the quality of the wine grapes, the cask’s original occupants, add their influence. This provides a magical highlight that is very rare making for a terrific mid-palate experience.

The finish is harmonious and lingers long, like a good friend whose company is enjoyed. That is a true testament to the team who made this spirit in a distillery which could so easily have been lost forever!