A Last Chat with Jim McEwan – to support Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance
Sunday, May 23rd @ 9PM BST/ 1PM EDT/ 4PM PDT
Come and help us raise a toast to Jim McEwan before he takes a step back from public life. An evening of Film, stories and conversation which will take you on a journey through the life and whiskies of Jim McEwan for one final event to support Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance
LOS ANGELES – APRIL 30, 2021 – Following his final tasting Masterclass on May 22nd join Jim McEwan on Sunday, May 23rd, for a farewell chat in aid of one of Islay’s most valuable services: Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
After a lifetime spent creating some of the world’s finest whiskies, Jim has decided it’s now time to take a step back and be a full-time husband and grandfather. Jim has inspired a generation of distillers, blenders, and fans. He feels that it’s now time for them to carry the message forward.
So, join us for one more chat with the man himself. One more night with Jim, his stories, insights… and a raise a toast to the man who has touched so many lives.
Over the past four months Jim McEwan’s story has been told through film in Blacksmith & Jones’ The Water of Life – a whisky film; through drams with Dramfool’s Jim McEwan Signature Collection; and in print with Jim’s biography, A Journeyman’s Journey, co-authored by Udo Sonntag and published by Plassen Verlag.
Today the companies who have helped share Jim’s story with the world have come together with Jim to help support Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
The event has two ticket options. Both tickets include access to The Water of Life Film for 48 hours (May 22nd & 23rd), a link to join a virtual online chat with Jim on Sunday, May 23rd, and tasting kits you can enjoy while watching the film (But make sure you save one dram so that we can send Jim off with a hearty and heartfelt “sláinte mhath!”). The Gold Collection ticket also includes a copy of The Journeyman’s Journey along with a personalised printed letter by Jim.
This is not a tasting or a masterclass. These drams are meant to be enjoyed while viewing the film or reading the book. Or kept as souvenirs. This event is a celebration of Jim, including a wee surprise or two.
Gold Collection Ticket – Available to purchase through Dramfool
Limited to 50 tickets – £185 (£25 from each ticket will be donated to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance)
With this collection you’ll receive access to The Water of life Film, a copy of The Journeyman’s Journey (German or English edition) along with a personalised printed letter from Jim, a Gold Collection tasting kit and access to a zoom link to join the chat with Jim McEwan on Sunday, May 23rd.
The tasting kit has 6 drams which are a liquid timeline of Jim’s career – from his era at Bowmore, through some of his unique Bruichladdich drams (including Jim McEwan Signature Collection Journey’s End dram and a rare Lochindaal), and ending with Jim’s newest and yet to be bottled single malt from The Cape Byron Distillery in Australia. This will be a unique opportunity to taste the dram that Jim says will be his final whisky. It’s not going to be bottled for at least another year, but he’s eager to share an advanced taste with you all.
- Bowmore 20 – 50.7% ABV – 20 year old David Simpson, Double Matured in Oloroso and PX Sherry Casks
- Bruichladdich – 46% ABV – Resurrection 2001/2008
- Bruichladdich – 40% ABV – 10 year old, 1990’s bottling pre reopening
- Jim McEwan Signature Collection – Journey’s End – Islay Barley 2010 – 55.9 ABV – 16/09/2010 1st fill Banyul Cask
- Dramfool – Lochindaa l 2009 – 62.1% ABV – 01/09/2009 1st fill Bourbon
- Cape Byron – 48% ABV – Cask #17, Ex Bourbon Cask
Please note: The German version of the book will be dispatched straight after purchase. The English version of The Journeyman’s Journey will not be dispatched until late June as it has not been released yet. Once printed, you will be sent one of the first 50 English versions of the first release – a real collector’s item!
Silver Collection Ticket – Available to purchase through Dramfool
Limited to 300 tickets- £50 (£10 from each ticket will be donated to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance)
This collection includes access to The Water of Life film, a Silver Collection tasting kit and access to a zoom link to join the chat with Jim McEwan on Sunday, May 23rd.
The tasting kit has 4 drams which takes you through Bowmore and some of Bruichladdich’s finest drams:
- Bowmore 15 year old – 43% ABV
- Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2012 – 50% ABV
- Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2012 – 50% ABV
- Octomore 11.1 – 59.4% ABV – 5 year old 136.9PPM
Click here for information about of The Journeyman’s Journey
Click on link to find out more about Dramfool
Click on link for information on the film https://www.wateroflifefilm.com/
Click on Link to see the trailer
About The Water of Life – a whisky film
The Water of Life is a feature documentary that focuses on the craftsmen, chemists, and renegades at the heart of the whisky revolution that turned the stagnant scotch whisky industry of the 1980s into the titan it is today.
Starting behind the locked gates of an abandoned distillery, Jim McEwan and Mark Reynier share their personal experiences of the risk-taking and wild experimentation they used to turn Bruichladdich into a creative and financial powerhouse.
The film also takes you on the journeys of visionaries like Gordon & MacPhail, Billy Walker, Rachel Barrie and David Stewart, whose mixture of talent, chemistry, hard work, grit, and a little sprinkle of magic paved the way for the next generation of innovators like Adam Hannett, Kelsey McKechnie, Liam Hughes, Iain Croucher, and Eddie Brook.
The Water of Life is a uniquely personal perspective on the evolution of whisky by those who lived it – the story of those who played a key part in rediscovering the crafting of the ancient spirit.
About Blacksmith + Jones
Blacksmith + Jones is a media production company that puts story first. Their primary focus has been in documentary style television and short form projects. Principals Trevor Jones and Greg Swartz have decades of experience and have produced shows for NatGeo, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. They have been partners for more than 10 years. The Water of Life is their first feature documentary.
About The Dramfool
Dramfool have been delighted to be chosen by Jim McEwan, an industry legend in and personal whisky hero, to bottle his personal collection of casks. Distilled at hi time at the helm of Bruichladdich Distillery the spirit an casks all chosen to represent the best of what he and his team achieved.
To raise a toast with not just with him but his personally selected ‘Journey’s End’ dram to mark this occasion adds even more excitement to this event.
Dramfool have been independently bottling cask strength, un-chill filtered whisky since 2015. The reputation that we have gained around the world for our bottlings gives us great and continued pleasure. With this in mind the founder, Bruce Farquhar’s, mantra from day one to ‘only bottle whiskies that I like’ is key. More so now than ever.
About Plassen Verlag, a brand of Boersenmedien AG
Since 2012, popular non-fiction books on exciting, current topics by well-known authors and proven experts have been published under the “Plassen” label. The label’s authors speak volumes: from George Soros to Michael Bloomberg to Nobel Laureates in Economic Sciences Robert J. Shiller and Paul Krugman, from bestselling authors Andrew McAfee to Scott Galloway. The topics: Business, politics, current affairs and much more. But personalities from the show business have also published their books with Plassen Verlag. Besides singer Roberto Blanco, Michelin-decorated TV star chef Alexander Herrmann is also one of the prominent authors.
About the Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
SCAA currently operates two helicopters, both EC135-T2is, and two rapid response vehicles – taking expert paramedic care to the scene of time-critical emergencies. SCAA then transports patients to hospitals all over Scotland to receive the most appropriate medical care.
Working in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), SCAA is an integral part of Scotland’s frontline emergency response network, responding to trauma incidents and medical emergencies across the country, covering an area of more than 30,000 square miles.
As Scotland’s only charity air ambulance, SCAA is funded by the people of Scotland, primarily through donations, fundraising, events and our life-saving lottery.
