Jim McEwan returns to Islay whisky distilling at Ardnahoe

Islay Whisky News & LinksYes, it’s the first of the month. No, it’s not April. It’s February. In other words, this is not an April Fools. Some rather interesting news have come out about Islay and whisky legend (or is it whisky and Islay legend?) Jim McEwan in connection with the currently under construction Ardnahoe distillery overlooking the Sound of Islay. From the press release:

World-renowned whisky distiller Jim McEwan has been appointed Production Director of Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay – 18 months after he retired.

The Islay-born whisky industry icon, who has 53 years’ experience under his belt, has been hired by Hunter Laing & Co, the family-run Glasgow whisky company behind Ardnahoe, the first distillery to be built on Islay for more than a decade.

Ardnahoe is being built on the north-east coast of Islay and will become the ninth distillery on the island. It expects to start distilling whisky in early 2018.

As Production Director at Ardnahoe Distillery, McEwan is playing a pivotal role at the distillery for the Laing family – father Stewart and sons Andrew and Scott. From shaping its design and installing his preferred pieces of distilling equipment, to fine-tuning the production processes and selecting casks, he will influence every step of the whisky-making journey at Ardnahoe.

The distillery, which will include a visitor centre café, shop and tasting room, will produce traditional peated Islay single malt.

McEwan will also work on a number of other as-yet-secret creative projects that are sure to make waves across the spirits world.

Picture of Jim McEwan with the Laing family
l-r Stewart Laing, Jim McEwan, Andrew Laing, Scott Laing, Photo credit – Ralph Dunning

Many will of course know Jim from his roles at Bruichladdich and Bowmore in his previous lives. As Master Distiller at Bruichladdich he’s remembered for famous whiskies like the Octomore and the mysterious Black Art. Not to forget bringing gin to Islay with The Botanist. Before joining Bruichladdich he had spent 38 years at Bowmore distillery in almost every role imaginable after starting his career there in 1963 as a 15 year old apprentice cooper.

Jim is quoted as saying:

I had intended to ride off into the sunset, but I’ve known Stewart for many years and have always been impressed with Hunter Laing whisky. When the call came in, it really excited me.

It felt as though the stars were aligning; the amazing location, my history with Islay, my relationship with the Laing family, their passion for the project, the calibre of architect Iain Hepburn, plus my chance to get involved with the design of the distillery for the first time in my career, all made it feel like it was ‘meant to happen’.

Similarly Andrew Laing, Director of Hunter Laing & Co, said:

It’s hard to think of anyone better qualified than Jim McEwan to develop the character of the newest Islay malt whisky. Jim has lived and breathed Islay whisky his whole life and is bringing all of his passion and knowledge to Ardnahoe Distillery. The three of us are hugely impressed with the whiskies he’s produced in the past and can sleep easy knowing that he is in ultimate charge of whisky-making at Ardnahoe

For further news and updates you can follow @Ardnahoe distillery on Twitter, including expected announcements about their planned participation in the Islay Festival in late May.

Author: Armin Grewe

I blog about Islay.

48 thoughts on “Jim McEwan returns to Islay whisky distilling at Ardnahoe”

    1. Not sure I understand? What email list?

      If you’d like to subscribe to this blog you can do that yourself, there’s a field on the right where you can do that if you so wish.

  1. With a cold and wet weekend approaching (at least in West Berkshire where I’m writing this) I thought I should pull together something for you to read. Or in other words, write the follow up to the Islay Blogging Roundup NC #1 from almost a month ago. Here are a few Islay and Jura related blog posts I found interesting the last few weeks:
    Using a photo as inspiration Julia Garner created a nice oil painting of a view from Ardnave Point in the north west of Islay.
    On Malted a nice write up of the Bruichladdich #laddieMp5 live online tasting.
    Raptor Politics demands Stop the Scottish Government poisoning eagles through the Geese being shot on Islay, creating a lively debate in his comments. (I don’t know enough about this for any judgement, I’m purely reporting what is written out there)
    A little bit of Islay history related to Bowmore distillery can be found in James Mutter’s windows.
    On a Scottish Tour Guide’s blog we find a number of posts about the Islay distilleries, including Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Lagavulin and Ardbeg.
    For those looking for a nice wallpaper for their computer WhiskyExperts has one of the Loch Indaal lighthouse and Loch Indaal House.
    Many (including this blog) have reported on the appointment of Jim McEwan at Ardnahoe, WhiskyCast has it included in his podcast if you’d like to listen to it.
    I mentioned Scotch Cinema in NC #1, they have come up with another nice one, Lagavulin in Parks & Recreation.
    Explore Argyll has a few blog posts covering places and events on Islay and Jura: You don’t need to do the Jura Fell Race to enjoy the Paps of JuraDistilleries of Argyll and the Isles Map (most of them of course on Islay and Jura) and Everything you need to know about Islay Airport.
    Of course I have to mention the ever reliable Islay Birds blog. I’ve picked out a few posts with pictures: Stonechat, waders on the wing and Sanderlings.
    Ron announces that he has struck a partnership with Botswana Dave from the RSPB to provide regular updates.
    Sticking to the birds theme Holly reports from her bird project on the Our Learning Blog of Port Ellen Primary.
    I think that’s enough for this roundup, I hope you found something interesting to read this weekend. More to come whenever I’ve collected enough interesting entries, if you have one you think I should mention please get in touch.

    Share this:

    Email
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Google
    Tumblr
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    Reddit

    Related

  2. Two Islay whisky news links this evening, one I consider to be a good news, the other is more bad news. Pour yourself a wee dram of a good Islay single malt whisky and read on:
    Let me start with the not so good news: The Times (£ or registration required to read full article, sorry) reports Business Rates – Rises pour misery on island distilleries. For the big distilleries while not nice I should think they will be able to manage. For the smaller independent ones I think a 40% increase will be quite a bit tougher.
    Moving on to the good news, where I think this should have never gone to court in the first place. The consumer isn’t as stupid as some lawyers seem to think. The Herald reports (I also saw it in The Sun, but I won’t link to that rag) Whisky distiller wins trademark battle with makers of McEwan’s Lager. The whisky distiller in question is of course Jim McEwan, who is back in business.

    Share this:

    Email
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Google
    Tumblr
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    Reddit

    Related

Leave a Reply to Wild Islay Birding Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.