THEDAILYWHISKY

The Murray McDavid Islay Exclusive Release is a six-bottle collection of Islay single malts, launched to mark the independent bottler’s 32nd anniversary. It spans two of the company’s ranges: the core Benchmark tier (a 5-year-old Bunnahabhain Mòine, an 11-year-old Caol Ila and a 14-year-old Leapfrog) and the prestige Mission Gold tier (a 17-year-old Ardbeg, an 18-year-old Bunnahabhain Mòine and a 33-year-old Leapfrog). Casks run from Oloroso and Amontillado sherry to first-fill Madeira, with ABVs from 45.6% to 57.2%. Every bottling is non-chill-filtered, natural colour, 700ml, and strictly limited by cask, from 89 to 383 bottles. It is available now through specialist retailers.

Six Islay single malts, two ranges, one island. Murray McDavid has gone back to where its story started.

The Speyside-based independent bottler has released the Islay Exclusive Release to mark its 32nd anniversary, a set of six Islay single malts drawn from its Benchmark and Mission Gold ranges. The names on the labels will be familiar to anyone who follows Islay: Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, and the bottler’s own long-running teasing name, Leapfrog.

The interesting part is not just the distilleries. It is the spread. This is not six peat bombs in a row. It runs from a five-year-old sherried Bunnahabhain Mòine to a 33-year-old Leapfrog that has spent three decades in a single bourbon barrel, and it takes in a first-fill Madeira-finished Caol Ila and an Amontillado octave finish along the way.

The key facts, up front

Every bottle in the collection is Islay single malt, 700ml, non-chill-filtered and natural colour, bottled in 2026. The releases sit in two tiers. Benchmark is Murray McDavid’s core range of mature, cask-driven single malts. Mission Gold is the prestige tier, reserved for older, rarer and vintage stock.

Here is the full line-up.

Distillery	Range	Age	Distilled	Cask	ABV	Bottles
Ardbeg	Mission Gold	17	2008	Oloroso Sherry Butt	57.2%	149
Bunnahabhain Mòine	Mission Gold	18	2007	Bourbon Hogshead, Amontillado Sherry octave finish	45.6%	89
Leapfrog	Mission Gold	33	1992	American Oak Bourbon Barrel	50.3%	243
Bunnahabhain Mòine	Benchmark	5	2020	Sherry Butt, Oloroso Sherry finish	56.8%	383
Caol Ila	Benchmark	11	2014	Bourbon Hogshead, first-fill Madeira barrique finish	56.5%	281
Leapfrog	Benchmark	14	2011	American Oak Bourbon Barrel	55.3%	223

The 18-year-old Bunnahabhain Mòine is the scarcest of the set at 89 bottles, having spent its final ten months in a 64-litre Amontillado sherry octave. The five-year-old Bunnahabhain is the most plentiful at 383.

The six bottles: Murray McDavid’s official notes

TDW has not yet tasted this collection. The tasting notes below are Murray McDavid’s own. We will update this piece with our impressions if we get the drams in front of us.

Ardbeg 17 Year Old, Mission Gold Distilled 2008, matured 17 years in an Oloroso sherry butt. 57.2% ABV. 149 bottles.
Nose: Orange oils, spiced currants, dark ginger 
Palate: Earthy peat, tamarind, fruity oak char 
Finish: Sweet hickory, nutmeg, chewy tobacco

Bunnahabhain Mòine 18 Year Old, Mission Gold 17 years in an American oak hogshead, then a final 10 months in a 64-litre Amontillado sherry octave. 45.6% ABV. 89 bottles. Mòine is Bunnahabhain’s peated make, in contrast to the distillery’s better-known unpeated house style. 
Nose: Toffee brittle, dried apricot, gentle peat 
Palate: Coastal smoke, sultanas, hint of nutmeg 
Finish: Mellow peat, old cigar box, moreish malt

Leapfrog 33 Year Old, Mission Gold Distilled 1992, 33 years in an ex-bourbon barrel. 50.3% ABV. 243 bottles. The oldest whisky in the set. 
Nose: Lemon peel, seaside chimney, pear drops 
Palate: Smoked barley, hint of cigar box, oily peat 
Finish: Coastal, apple pastry, lingering smokiness

Bunnahabhain Mòine 5 Year Old, Benchmark A sherry butt maturation with a final year in a fresh Oloroso sherry hogshead. 56.8% ABV. 383 bottles. The youngest and the most affordable entry point into the set. 
Nose: Baked orange, ginger loaf, sweet malt 
Palate: Fresh Islay, pink peppercorns, caramel 
Finish: Clove oil, chewy malt, dark chocolate

Caol Ila 11 Year Old, Benchmark A bourbon hogshead with a five-year finish in a first-fill Madeira barrique from Justino’s on Madeira. 56.5% ABV. 281 bottles. 
Nose: Stewed apples, marmalade, hickory 
Palate: Warm embers, grilled peach, salty peat 
Finish: Red apple, lingering smoke, sweet malt

Leapfrog 14 Year Old, Benchmark Distilled 2011, 14 years in an ex-bourbon barrel. 55.3% ABV. 223 bottles. The younger, more energetic counterpoint to the 33-year-old.
Nose: Sweet pear, salted butter, subtle iodine 
Palate: Fresh malt, oily smoke, creamy citrus 
Finish: Soft peat, mellow pepper, lingering char

The Leapfrog question: what is it, actually?

Two of the six carry the name Leapfrog rather than a distillery. That is deliberate. Leapfrog is Murray McDavid’s long-standing teasing name for an undisclosed Islay distillery it is not able to name on the label, a common arrangement for independent bottlers working with stock from producers who do not permit their name to be used.

The clues in the bottler’s copy are not subtle. Murray McDavid describes a distillery first established in 1815 on the hardy southern shore of Islay, an unapologetically peated make, and signs off the 14-year-old with the Gaelic phrase Clachan a Losgann. Islay regulars will draw their own conclusions from the location and the founding year. Officially, it stays undisclosed, and it has appeared under the Leapfrog name across Murray McDavid releases for more than 25 years, tied to the bottler’s own McDavid versus McGoliath origin story.

For collectors, the appeal is the same as it always is with a good teasing bottling: a well-regarded Islay distillate at a fraction of what the named equivalent tends to command.

Who is Murray McDavid

Murray McDavid is one of Scotch whisky’s established independent bottlers, known for adventurous cask work it brands as the Art of Maturation, essentially a house style built on secondary maturation and cask finishing.

The company dates its own story to 1994 and is marking its 32nd year in 2026. Its founding team, Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin and Gordon Wright, went on to buy and reopen the then-silent Bruichladdich distillery on Islay in 2000, which is the substance behind the collection’s “back where it all began” framing. Since 2013 the Murray McDavid name has been owned by Aceo Ltd, which runs it today from the historic Coleburn Distillery in Speyside.

That heritage is why an Islay set carries weight for this particular bottler. The island is where its people cut their teeth, even if the casks now rest in Speyside.

Price and availability

Murray McDavid did not publish recommended retail prices with the announcement, and pricing will vary by market and retailer. As a guide, the bottler’s previous Benchmark Islay releases have typically landed in the region of £60 to £95, while older Mission Gold Islay stock, especially anything past 30 years, runs well into the hundreds. Treat those as indicative rather than confirmed for this release.

The collection is available now through selected specialist retailers and whisky merchants. Murray McDavid distributes through UK stockists and a network of international distributors, so buyers in the wider EU, the US and beyond should be able to source bottles through their usual Islay-focused shops, subject to how the small cask outturns are allocated. With the rarest bottling capped at 89 bottles, the Mission Gold expressions in particular are unlikely to hang around.

Is it worth paying attention to?

For Islay drinkers, yes. The value in this set is its range rather than any single trophy bottle. If you want a broad read on what Islay can do, from a young sherried Bunnahabhain Mòine to a three-decade-old bourbon-matured Leapfrog, this collection puts six contrasting expressions on the same table.

The two to watch are the 33-year-old Leapfrog, simply because well-aged undisclosed Islay at 50.3% is a compelling proposition, and the first-fill Madeira Caol Ila, because a five-year Madeira finish on Caol Ila is an unusual combination worth tasting before you judge it. The 89-bottle Bunnahabhain Mòine 18 is the one collectors will chase on scarcity alone.

If you are new to Islay, the Benchmark trio is the sensible starting point on both price and approachability. If you are deep into the island already, the Mission Gold tier is where the conversation is.

We will follow up with tasting notes of our own if we can get these in the glass.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Murray McDavid Islay Exclusive Release? It is a six-bottle collection of Islay single malts released in 2026 to mark independent bottler Murray McDavid’s 32nd anniversary. It spans the Benchmark and Mission Gold ranges and features Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain Mòine and two undisclosed Leapfrog bottlings, all non-chill-filtered and natural colour.

What whiskies are in the collection? Three Benchmark releases (Bunnahabhain Mòine 5, Caol Ila 11, Leapfrog 14) and three Mission Gold releases (Ardbeg 17, Bunnahabhain Mòine 18, Leapfrog 33). ABVs range from 45.6% to 57.2%, and cask treatments run from Oloroso and Amontillado sherry to a first-fill Madeira barrique finish.

What is Leapfrog whisky? Leapfrog is Murray McDavid’s teasing name for an undisclosed Islay single malt it cannot name on the label. The bottler has used the name for over 25 years. Clues in the release point to a heavily peated distillery founded in 1815 on Islay’s south shore, but it is not officially confirmed.

How much does the Murray McDavid Islay Exclusive Release cost? Murray McDavid did not confirm recommended retail prices at launch, and they vary by market. As a guide, its Benchmark Islay releases have historically sat around £60 to £95, while older Mission Gold Islay bottlings run into the hundreds. Check specialist retailers for current pricing.

Where can I buy it? Through specialist whisky retailers and merchants. Murray McDavid supplies UK stockists and international distributors, so shops across the EU, US and beyond can carry it. Outturns are small, from 89 to 383 bottles per expression, so availability is limited.

Is Bunnahabhain Mòine peated? Yes. Mòine is Bunnahabhain’s peated make, the Gaelic word meaning “peat.” It sits apart from the distillery’s more familiar lightly peated to unpeated house style, and appears twice in this collection at 5 and 18 years old.