Isle of Jura. A lot can be said about Jura but, as you’ll see below, I’ve got a shit ton to cover just with my tasting notes.
This said, let’s hit the highlights shall we?:
- The Isle of Jura is a small little Isle located east & north of Islay
- Isle of Jura distillery is the only distillery located on Jura- “On an island just 7 miles wide and 30 miles
long, there is but one road, one hotel and one distillery.“
- People from Jura call themselves Diurachs (Gaelic)
- Diurachs are a superstitious lot but they make some pretty tasty whisky!
Isle of Jura 10yo – 43%ABV – $35 | £25 | €29
On the nose — Soapy fresh nose, even surpassing a Bowmorian soapiness (slightly soapier than many Bowmore whiskies I’ve had).
Limon™ sweetness of 7UP™ soda with gobs of malt to boot.
Spider mums and an absolute hint of peat smoke.
On the mouth — A decent and slightly oily entry filled with malty notes and a touch of the soap I got on the nose.
Very sweet potpourri, aniseed and toasty oaken notes.
Finish — Peppery and spicy finish with more soap and malty sweet notes.
Isle of Jura 16yo – 43%ABV – $45 | £41 | €48
On the nose — Soft nose; sweet yet salty and strong with a note of licorice.
Soapy yet not as much as the 10yr Jura.
Threads of smoke and spicy citrus.
Candle wax, malty and hay.
Heide brand candy cardboard box (one which previously held Jujyfruits).
Plastic shopping bags too.
On the mouth — Spicy attack from the get-go.
Lipstick and eyeshadow (smell a make-up bag and this is what I’m tasting).
Light (ever so light) peat smoke and some of that hay I got on the nose.
Chewy wine gums, even Jujubees (another Heide brand candy) and fresh tobacco.
Finish — Short finish, slight spice and a touch of that wax from the nose.
Isle of Jura ‘Superstition’ – 43%ABV – $40 | £29 | €34
On the nose — Waft of burnt pricker bushes, peat smoke and rosewater.
Toffee, caramels and fizz candies.
Toasted, nearing burnt, apple skins.
Figgy pudding – there’s even a little mustard seed in here.
On the mouth — Very sweet and a viscous mouth feel.
Back to the fizzy candies and lemon sugar drops.
The peat does not seem to translate to the palate as much as I expected.
Finish — Peppery and sweet yet shorter than that dude from Ron Howard’s “Willow” (do you think Mr. Howard is happy about having his name on that crap movie?). Granted, that guy was great as Wicket, the fun loving Ewok from Return of the Jedi. But, Willow!? Come on folks. Oop, sorry. I digress….
Isle of Jura ‘Prophecy’ – 46%ABV – $65 | £50 | €59
On the nose — I like what I’m smelling here.
Smoke and seashells by the seashore.
Oak and soy sauce.
Very nutty with hints of wood shavings. A tad suphuric but it seems to add to rather than take from (as opposed to many other “match-stick malts” that will go unnamed here).
On the mouth — Sweet peat, peaty and sweet (I see you rockin’ that peat from across the street).
Sugar lemon drops, just like with the Superstition but there’s a general ashiness here that I didn’t find in the Superstition – very appetizing.
There’s more fruit as well.
Perhaps some golden delicious apple and hints of fuzzy peach (unrippened as it were).
Finish — Rhubarb pie, key lime pie, π. Good length.
And finally, in sum — While I found the 10yo to be a bit one dimensional with all of the soap and sweetness it was enjoyable and very easy going. One to keep on the shelves as a nice mid-summer dram. Nah, I take that back, there’s a slightly wintery feel to this as well. Enjoy in front of a fire perhaps with a good book.
The 16yo had a nice balance to it; more enjoyable than the 10yr. Obviously, it’s older than the 10yr but there’s a maturity there that seems beyond the 16yrs. Very enjoyable stuff. A nice mid-day, autumn dram.
I found the ‘Superstition’ to be an interesting one. Maybe not the whisky itself but my approach to it. I had a bottle of this a couple of years ago and found it quite one-dimensional; all peat smoke (and odd smoke at that). Being that this is a lightly peated dram, I’m not sure why I was unable to get past it at the time. Today’s tasting found it to be more one-dimensional toward the sweet side. So, where does that leave me (us). Not sure… I will say, this may be one that’s better to just enjoy rather than dissect…
The ‘Prophecy’ was really enjoyable, the star of the current range if you ask me. Can be enjoyed at anytime and in any situation. Dare I say, an everyday malt??
Special thanks goes out to Lyz Nardo for the generous samples!
Speyside region – 43%ABV – $65
On the nose – Scented candle shop filled with Christmas wreaths and holly berry scented candles.
Soy sauce and some potted house flowers (big begonias).
Hints of black licorice.
