Jim McEwan Festival Edition - Octomore 2008
Jim McEwan Festival Edition - Octomore 2008
The maturation of all casks of whisky is by no means the same journey for all. This first-fill bourbon barrel was filled with precious Octomore spirit at a whopping 167 PPM on 19th March 2008, and lain to rest in the warehouses of Bruichladdich.
Tides come and go, years pass and the cask works it magic on this rare and much appreciated spirit. Of course, we know the Angels are taking their share over this time.
However, on taking ownership of this cask from Jim’s personal collection it quickly became apparent we had had one of those casks the angels had taken more than their fair share!
After 12 years maturing (the second oldest Octomore ever bottled, only beaten by Jim McEwan Signature Collection 1.3) there was about 40% to 50% ‘missing’ – rather happy angels on Islay once again. The cask was tight, no leaks, no tampering, it was just one of those things.
So we can only imagine the angels knew what they were sharing with us and got greedy!
To save any more unexpected sharing, we all agreed they’d had their fill and we bottled immediately with no real plan of what to do. Getting just over 120 bottles we had a rare spirit on our hands but one that could only be enjoyed by a handful. Both Jim and Dramfool like to see whisky being drunk as well as collected, and surely this would only fall into the latter category due to the small number of bottles. It’s a great dram and this would be a great shame if it all sat on shelves and not some in glasses.
We sat on this for almost two years not sure what to do (the eagle eyed will have spotted that from the distillation, bottling years and today’s date). The idea struck us the only way to try and spread this amazing whisky further was to create more bottles, not easy on a half-full single cask!
So our ‘Wee Bottles’ were born, a first for Dramfool but surely the answer. To protect our rare spirit from greedy angels we have enlisted an Islay cowboy, who you may recognise, to stand guard over these bottles for us all. Our Wee Bottles are guarded by Wee Jim, a cowboy by the age of 5! A glint in his eye and determined look even then, he not only made the spirit, but looks after it still.
Tasting notes by Jim McEwan
Octomore 2008
Cask Type – 1st fill Bourbon
Cask Number - #898
Colour - Autumn Gold Body
Strength – 62.8%
PPM - 167
330 Bottles (250ml)
Nose - At 62.8% it needs a little reduction to release the most audacious adventurous, beautiful aromatic aromas of peat fires and toasted Islay barley together with sweet aromas fresh bourbon and spice. It’s a potent seductive unbelievable experience. The focus is clearly the coming together of two exceptional creations. I could write notes for hours on this spirit!
Taste - It’s super smooth. You would never believe it’s 62.8%. The voluptuous texture serves as the foundation for Islay to showcase its heritage of Celtic passion and honesty and the spirit delivers that message. The smokey marine moorland and the spiced bourbon flavours all provide a halo around the glass. The strength of the oak, the quality of sweet crisp malted barley, its maturation on the very edge of the Atlantic Ocean and the skills of the humble Island distillers. Utterly sensational!
Muscular, brawny, sculpted and absolutely sensational. A rare and unique spirit from a single cask. It’s very possible that you will ever taste a spirit like this again. I am so proud of this beauty and the beast love affair. Just close your eyes, fasten your seatbelt and enjoy an olfactory/taste experience like no other.