9.3 Octomore 2012 1st fill Bourbon Barrel, 11 years old, 63.3%

This is the FINAL release of the Jim McEwan Signature Collection, and we have saved Jim’s favourite three casks until last.

Will there ever be a chance like this again? A whisky legend personally noses and hand selects the casks to create his own personal collection and tell his remarkable story in whisky. This (for us all) has been a once in a lifetime chance to buy bottles from casks that a whisky legend, from the start, earmarked for greatness.

As Jim said to us when this first came to pass ‘This is never to be repeated’, big words but TRUE!

Distilled on 15th November 2012 this whisky spent its whole 11-year life maturing in cask #4355, maturation taking place in a 1st fill Bourbon barrel from an unknown American distillery. The malt for this is recorded as being peated to a whopping 156ppm!

Another classic McEwan creation this Octomore does not disappoint, not sure what we can say about how privileged we have been to bottle so many of these rare whiskies and this sits up there with the best of them!

Bottled in January 2024 as Release 9.3 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 63.3% (Jim would have it no other way!), it yielded only 226 bottles.

70cl: £325 inc. VAT (£270.83 Rest of the World)

10cl: £62 inc. VAT (£51.67 Rest of the World)

Tasting notes from Jim McEwan MBE

Colour - Mellow Yellow

Body - 100% Islay, fresh & vibrant. No mistaking where this spirit came from. Its Islay at its very best, strong & packed with character that can only come from a single cask.

Aromas - Sweet & smoky it truly hits the olfactory system with the Islay DNA, add the spicy notes from the fresh Bourbon cask and you’re walking on Islay without a care in the world. 11 years by the Atlantic has left a DNA that is like no other.

Palate - Please do not add too much water, you will be walking on sunshine. Enjoy the smoke & the oak, add the sweetness of the barley sugar which creates a top note that underpins the marine influence, as I say its Islay at its very best with a sweet spicy overture from the bourbon soaked oak staves.

Welcome to the Island of dreams & drams!