AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Jura whisky origin12/16/2023 Thoughts: The Jura range is oft-discounted in UK supermarket chains but for me, even at such low prices, there are better alternatives. A soft, subtle dram that just falls a little bit flat for me. Taste: Honey and Caramel, Biscuit, Cream with maybe the faintest hint of Brine. Smell: Malty with Honey and Biscuit, Vanilla, Heather and a touch of Apple. Bottled at 40%, Jura Origin is available in the UK for around £30. There are four core expressions of Jura available today, including the lightly peated ‘Superstition’, heavily peated ‘Prophecy’ and 16 year old ‘Diurach’s Own’ but the most often seen is the entry-level 10 year old, dubbed ‘Origin’. In recent times, the Jura malt has established itself as one of the most recognisable brands on the market. Then, in the 1960’s, at the onset of a new decade, two local landowners named Robin Fletcher and Tony Riley-Smith set out to reinstate whisky production to the island, with hopes of creating employment and protecting the island from further population decline.īuilding on the site of the original distillery, they were in production by 1963, selling their spirit to the blending houses of the mainland, and by 1974, they were bottling whisky as a single malt. The population shrank to fewer than two hundred people from well over a thousand and the old distillery crumbled and fell into ruin. Over the decades that followed, the island’s population dwindled thanks to clearance and emigration. Though records from the time are scarce, it is highly likely that an island so remote as Jura, described by George Orwell as ‘extremely un-get-at-able’, would provide a safe haven from the authorities for those with an eye on whisky making.Įventually, an official distillery opened in 1810 and produced a Jura spirit for almost 100 years before it closed in 1901. This state of affairs only served to drive distilling underground and led to decades of now infamous cat and mouse games between smuggler and gauger. Excisemen were employed to travel the length and breadth of the land, seizing whisky and distilling equipment wherever they could find it. Still, it’s a reasonable price for an entry-level malt without any off flavors.The Jura distillery as we know it today dates from the early 1960’s but this small island off the west coast of Scotland has a far longer relationship with the national spirit than that…ĭistilling for personal consumption was commonplace on the isle of Jura until the UK government outlawed the practice in 1781. Because there are better options around the same price, I’m going to mark this as Not Recommended. At around $40 a bottle, I would probably choose Glenlivet 12 or Glenfiddich 12 or Speyburn 10 over this. The vanilla and green fruits, grass, and disappointing finish are hallmarks of a not-quite-ready-yet malt from (possibly) refill bourbon casks. Overall: A fairly standard ex-bourbon malt without much age on it. The palate, however, is markedly sweeter with notes of egg custard, vanilla pudding, and a thicker body. With Water: A few drops of water intensifies the green banana notes without contributing anything else. Raw sugar cane, plus some slightly bitter wood tannins, which fade quickly into faint dry woodiness. Palate: Moderately creamy body, with an initial wave of vanilla, followed by freshly-mown grass, unripe fruit, aloe juice, and dry wood notes.įinish: Short. Some sweet florals – honeysuckle – and a strong presence of green banana. Nose: Clean and crisp, with notes of green apple and fresh pears. This review is from a Jura tasting pack (50ml glass miniatures) with the 43% ABV presentation. It’s hard to tell from the information online, but the 40% might be for the domestic 700ml European market, while the 43% might be for the US 750ml market. Note that Jura appears to bottle the 10 year-old Origin at both 43% and 40% ABV. While there is a small amount of peat in the water used by Jura, I can’t discern it in the glass. As an entry-level, unpeated, and non-sherried malt, it showcases the “blank slate” that Jura’s house character is grown from. The much more reasonably-priced 10 year bottling (also labelled “Jura Origin”) is aged exclusively in ex-bourbon casks and is not peated. After liking Jura 16 and the NAS Jura Superstition, I thought I should explore the rest of the range.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |