Ewan’s Cut

Leith rewrites the script with 240 bespoke labels for Ewan McGregor’s limited-edition whisky. Scotland has about 150 active whisky distilleries. That’s a lot of whisky. And a lot of whisky labels. Those labels can be traditional or modern or anything in-between. But rarely – if ever – are they bespoke. The norm is for each whisky to run with a uniform label design across all bottles in the release – be that a single malt or blend, limited edition or mass-produced. In 1998, actor Ewan McGregor was gifted a cask of single malt whisky for opening the new Isle of Arran Distillery. 26 years later he wanted to auction the matured spirit for charity. He needed a name and label design for the 240 bottles drawn from the cask, to create interest and drive bids at auction. We named the whisky ‘Ewan’s Cut ‘(a ‘cut’ or share of whisky from a film star). Then we wrote each individual label – across all 240 bottles – as a bespoke mini film script. drawing inspiration from Ewan’s life and career, and the life of the whisky cask itself. No two labels are the same. ‘Ewan’s Cut ‘is a one-off release (or ‘cut’) of 26-year-old single malt whisky: 240 bottles drawn from a cask owned by actor Ewan McGregor, auctioned off for his chosen charity, CHAS. Each individual label across every one of those 240 bottles is unique – designed, formatted and individually written as a bespoke mini film script, taking inspiration from Ewan McGregor’s life and career, and the life of the whisky cask itself. As no two labels are the same, it made each bottle highly desirable, helping to raise £135,000 at auction for Ewan’s charity. Well worth raising a glass to. Slainte.