![]() Nose: Apple pie filling with hints of cinnamon and hints of smoke, but not what I was expecting. This release is first aged in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels, after which it is “enhanced” by some time in six French Oak casks (Limousin, Tronçais, Allier, Vosges, Jupilles & Les Bertranges) making up Seven Woods and giving use the name of this 42% ABV single malt. They will be replaced by 3 new age statement releases (10,12 and 18 years old) and 2 non-age statement releases, Journey and Seven Wood. By April of 2018, there will be no more Origin, Superstition or Prophecy bottlings from Jura. Now other changes, perhaps more fundamental in nature, are afoot. Since 1985 the distillery has changed hands several times, having been part of Whyte & Mackay, which was purchased by United Spirits, which was then sold to Emperador in 2014. At that time, it was rebuilt and reborn as a modern distillery designed by the famed designer William Delme-Evans, who had also built Tullibardine and Glenallachie distilleries. The original distillery was founded in 1810, but their real story begins in the 1960s. The Jura distillery has had quite the up and down history. The fact that it has a larger population of deer than people might speak to the open, quiet spaces that attracted the writer when he needed solitude. Like that island known for its peaty whisky, Jura is home to its own whisky distillery, and some might know it as the island where George Orwell wrote the novel, 1984. I have not been able to say this much recently, but this malt is definitely worth the $65 or so that it retails for.The island of Jura sits next-door to a much more famous member of the Hebrides, Islay. It is not intense nor challenging, but it is complex enough to reward contemplation. Jura has a lot of ardent admirers, and I can see why. ![]() This would be excellent with a mild cigar. Flawless in execution, sweet and mild on the tongue, with a moderately perfumed aroma. Water is not needed here, but does add something interesting. With Water: Several drops of water draw out a bit more of the eccentric aspects of the sherry, namely a leather note, and some lemon peel, which continues through the palate and finish as extra tartness. A final wave of very mild citrus – just pith, maybe – and a ghost of bitterness. Ladylike, even.įinish: The heather notes return, with honey and a bit of oaky tannins. ![]() Candied orange peels, tawny fudge, blanched almonds, and marzipan. Palate: Slightly chewy texture, and quite sweet. The fruit is fresh and bright, and backed up by a capable maltiness with breakfast cereal and spongecake. If there’s any Island peat present, it’s in the form of a soft, ferny, heathery aroma in the distance. Nose: Elegant citrus – grapefruit maybe, or bergamot. The 16 year-old official bottling, also subtitled ‘Diurach’s Own’ after the name for the people of Jura, spends 14 years in ex-bourbon, and then is transferred for 2 years into Amaroso Oloroso sherry casks to finish. Neither is peated, except for some peat that might be in the water used to mash and proof down the bottles. Jura is a little lighter in style and much more floral, while Dalmore is darker, sweeter, and more pungent. The whisky of each is surprisingly similar, with lots of sherry-derived flavor, and some citrus elements. The Isle of Jura distillery is owned by independent bottlers Whyte and MacKay, which also owns Dalmore distillery. ![]() Perhaps this harkens back to a time in Scotland when every community of 200 people required its own distillery? Sounds like a place I’d like to live! The tiny island claims only a few hundred inhabitants, and exactly one whisky distillery. The Isle of Jura is within spitting distance of the eastern shore of the island of Islay, off of Scotland’s southwesterly tip.
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