Jim McEwan Signature Collection - Octomore 2.3 2013

Bourbon first fill barrel, 7 years old, 62.3%

Distilled on March 28, 2013, this whiskey has spent its 7-year life maturing in cask #1872. This maturation took place in a first fill Bourbon cask from a mysterious American distillery. The malt used is registered as having been peated at 107 ppm!

Bottled in February 2021 as release 2.3 of Jim McEwan's Signature Collection, like all bottlings in the collection it was bottled unchill-filtered, with no added coloring, and natural at 62.3% cask strength. He only gave 256 bottles.

Tasting Notes by Jim McEwan

Body - Assertive with understated power.

Aromas and flavors - It opens with a super cool salty sea breeze and on the glide, peat smoke lingers like storm clouds on the Atlantic horizon. Its pure West Coast DNA shines like a beacon on a stormy night. Both graceful and strong, this blockbuster delivers on all fronts. I recommend a small drop of water to release the spicy opening of the bourbon, the first occupant of the cask.

On the palate, we find malt and hazelnut, pepper and lemon honey, sea spray and burning heather. Quietly sheltering, beautiful coastal openings of sea roses, shore marigolds, wild mint, and Islay-grown barley, sweet and smoky. For this young warrior, the time has come. No constraints. No turning back after seven years of solidarity. The spirit of Islay urges him to run free, embracing all who have the pleasure of his company.

When will we see such things again?