Day 2
Isle of Jura 21 year old
After the Day 1 treat I was certain that this whisky would not live up to the Glenfarclas offering I started this dynasty out with. But… a bad whisky is still whisky, which is better than most anything else after another long day at work. So, without much hesitation, and much excitement, I opened door 2 to find out what was in store.
Isle of Jura is another whisky that I am not familiar with. I am starting to like that, so far (heck, it’s only 2 drams), I have not seen a brand that I have known. This is exactly why I was so excited to see what the 24 days would hold. The label stated it was a single malt scotch (great news!) and that it was 44% alcohol by volume. Not much to go on. The fact that it was a 21 year old (is it weird that I felt a little odd telling my wife “thanks for the 21 year old tonight, it was wonderful!”) The scotch had a somewhat lighter shade of amber than the Glenfarclas and led me to believe that it may be a lowland scotch. While I think the color has more to do with the wood used for the casks it just seems like the lighter shades have lighter notes. Probably not but so it is. The initial smell after opening the dram was a slight sweetness which seemed to fit the lighter amber color and the watered look of the liquid. The first sip hitting the tongue was very light, nothing at all like the regions I am most used to. The finish was very short and not many notes lingered for long. After taking a few more sips there seemed to be a slight saltiness to the scotch. I wondered if the distillery may be near the west coast due to the saltiness present.
My impressions after finishing the Isle of Jura scotch is that it was a great scotch when I want something lighter on the palate. The light taste and minimal finish meant it would pair up with some other subtle flavors. This would not go well with a bold cigar or with a flavorful dinner as it would be overwhelmed but it would work with a nice Ashton or Davidoff. It was difficult for me to tell what affect the aging had on the scotch. It didn’t immediately scream out that it had the depth that I would expect with such a long aging. It seemed more in line with some of the younger scotches I have had from the lowland regions.
In my initial research I was able to find that an Isle of Jura 21 Year Old won a bronze medal at the 2005 International Wine and Spirits competition. That has to be good, right?! Master of Malt had this to say about the scotch:
“The nose is full and fragrant. Notes of toffee and fudge, a touch of vanilla with a spread of sweet nuts. There are honeyed notes creeping in with tones Tokaji and port. The palate is of good body with notes of winter cake, damson jam, marzipan and an uprising of cooked fruit with winter spice and fudge. The finish is of medium-length with notes of chewy oak tannins.”
I don’t know about the talk of toffee, sweet nuts and port but the overall sweetness of what I tasted matches up. The finish I experienced was much shorter than what I would term medium length.
Another set of taste notes, this time from the distiller:
“To celebrate its 200th anniversary, Isle of Jura distillery has released a limited edition 21-year-old variant, matured in vintage Gonzales Byass Oloroso Sherry casks, dating back to 1963. Distillery Manager Willie Cochrane says that ?At the distillery we are all extremely proud of this 200th anniversary expression. Not only is it an exceptional malt, it?s also an exceptionally rare malt with only a few thousand people being lucky enough to be able to enjoy this beautiful whisky that has been matured in a vintage Oloroso sherry cask. ?Each and every bottle will also contain a personal invite from me to join me and my team at the distillery for a private tour and to indulge in some of our rarest malts, but consumers need to be quick off the mark as there are a limited number of bottles and tours available worldwide.? Oranges, lemonade, nougat, wood polish, Sherry and salted nuts feature on the nose. Quite mouth-coating and initially richly fruity, with notes of coal soon developing. Medium length in the finish, spicy, with some Sherry and brittle toffee, plus lingering coal dust and liquorice sticks. 44.0% ABV, 70cl, ?85.00, specialist whisky merchants.”
It seems that the 21 year old is a special release which is fairly rare. I didn’t smell wood polish (really?! Wood polish??) although the sweetness of the orange and lemonade was there. The taste seemed more salty than spicy.
The Jura distillery has roots back to the late 1800’s but only recently (1960’s) was the distillery refurbished and brought back to a functioning distiller. Wikipedia entry
here. The Island of Jura lies along the West coast of Scotland, due west of Glasgow, and has a population of 200. Apparently there is one road, one pub and one distillery. The distillery is owned by Whyte and Mackay, a Glasgow company that was only recently (October 31st) purchased by a Philippine’s conglomerate. The distillery owns 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills and produces 2,500,000 litres a year. Compare that with Glenlivet which is at one of the highest production levels (7 wash stills, 7 spirit stills and 10,500,000 litres a year) and it seems the distillery produces a fair amount.
Additional thoughts: Jura seems to be closely associated with the islands (northern areas of the west coast) rather than with Islay (southern coastal islands). This makes sense to me as scotch originating from the southern islands tend to be bolder and more peaty (Lagavulin/Laphroaig). While I would have guessed that the lightness of the scotch would place it in the lowlands region, the salt that was present may have provided insight into the location of the distillery (west islands). It is also possible that I am making the whole sea/salt connotation up in my mind as there seems to be little evidence of the saltiness of the whisky being seen by others.
