Scotch

Jura 10

$55.00

OVERALL
RATING

Whisky Review: Jura 10

by Aaron Knapp
July 22, 2017

Tasting Notes:

About:

Appearance:

Darker, redder whisky, bordering on copper.

Nose:

Wafts into the nasal passages with a delicate, fruity aroma, characterized by orange, sweet apple and oak with faint touches of ginger, sea salt and light smoke. That gradually moves in a heavier, richer direction as the fruit gives way to a sweet, earthy vanilla and the oak takes on a peat smoke quality with touches of baking spices.

Palate:

The palate picks up unusually close to how the nose left off in this case, but amplified. A sip envelopes the tongue with a rich and mellow vanilla, slightly smoky like crème brûlée crust, but balanced by a subtly sweet flavor of golden raisins. The sip gets earthier from there as it gradually builds up while the few drops sit on the tongue, but never growing beyond a mild hint of peat smoke, sweet sherry, and coffee. Meanwhile the mouth starts to tingle lightly with the flavors of spices like cloves and nutmeg. Swallowing yields an unusual, split-second reset, in which an earthy vanilla flavor gives way to a rush of mild peat smoke, followed by a firm but not overwhelming burst of spice that flares up for next few seconds while leaving the tongue with that mellow, earthy vanilla coating.

Finish:

Comments:

Although I don’t find any of the flavors particularly remarkable in this whisky, I’m very impressed by the way those relatively common flavors interact with one another in a subtle give-and-take. Beyond that, I’m impressed by the journey a dram of this single-malt takes the imbiber, with moments of complex, sweet flavors that give way to contrasting but not overbearing waves of smoke and spice, and then back again. While I don’t think quite merited Jura’s apparent decision to get rid of all their other whisky “expressions,” Jura 10 Year Old is certainly excellent base around which to build their new brand.

If you’ve never visited the Isle of Jura Distillery’s website, the company’s emphasis on “one” – one craft, one island, one distillery, et cetera – may not seem very unusual.

The most unusual part is under “our whisky,” where you find just one “Jura 10,” as opposed to just a few months ago when you would have found at least four main whisky “expressions” by the island’s sole distillery.

While the four previous whiskies sought to cover points on the spectrum of delicate to heavy and peated to unpeated, “Jura 10 marries together the best of both” peated and unpeated malts, according an announcement of Jura 10 posted last month.

Situated just across a narrow channel from Islay on southern end of the Hebrides, Jura has been home a distillery since 1810. While the first incarnation of the distillery closed in 1901, it reopened in 1963 and remains the sole distillery on the island of about 200 residents, according to Jura’s announcement.

As the number suggests, Jura 10 is aged for 10 years in American white oak, ex-bourbon barrels and finished in ex-Oloroso sherry casks – which Jura’s website calls “the perfect marriage of Highland and Island styles.”

While the announcement of Jura 10 indicated it will be the first release in Jura’s new core line in the United States, it’s unclear what other changes Jura has in store.

Tasting Notes: Jura 10

Vital stats: Single malt aged 10 years, primarily in American white oak bourbon barrels finished in Olorosso Sherry butts. Bottled at 40 percent alcohol by volume in 750-milliliter bottles. Jura’s estimated price at about $55 per bottle, but I’ve seen it online for as low as $45.

Appearance: Darker, redder whisky, bordering on copper.

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Nose: Wafts into the nasal passages with a delicate, fruity aroma, characterized by orange, sweet apple and oak with faint touches of ginger, sea salt and light smoke. That gradually moves in a heavier, richer direction as the fruit gives way to a sweet, earthy vanilla and the oak takes on a peat smoke quality with touches of baking spices.

Palate: The palate picks up unusually close to how the nose left off in this case, but amplified. A sip envelopes the tongue with a rich and mellow vanilla, slightly smoky like crème brûlée crust, but balanced by a subtly sweet flavor of golden raisins. The sip gets earthier from there as it gradually builds up while the few drops sit on the tongue, but never growing beyond a mild hint of peat smoke, sweet sherry, and coffee. Meanwhile the mouth starts to tingle lightly with the flavors of spices like cloves and nutmeg. Swallowing yields an unusual, split-second reset, in which an earthy vanilla flavor gives way to a rush of mild peat smoke, followed by a firm but not overwhelming burst of spice that flares up for next few seconds while leaving the tongue with that mellow, earthy vanilla coating.

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