Kategoriarkiv: Jura

Islands, Jura

Jura 18 YO

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ABV: 44 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and mild peat. At first, a mix of overripe dark berries and raisins create a top layer above a sweet core of vanilla and honey. There are baking spices and a slight dustiness within. A funky complex note is sitting in the middle of it all which makes this quite interesting even though it seems to lack some flavours from the long maturation. The peat is creating a nice backdrop. It feels like the red wine finish sort of creates a lid on top instead of being integrated with the rest of the content.

Mouth: It starts out with a nice and mild spicyness. The peat comes through as a mild bottom layer with a touch of sulfur, leather and tobacco. The main part is still a sweet honey and vanilla core with the ripe berries and raisins on top. The cinnamon is not detectable anymore. It does a better job in taste than on the nose to create a whole. After a second or to there’s a bitter coffee note coming up from the back. It still feels a bit younger than its age.

Finish: It picks up where it left off and the flavour profile is intact all the way through. There’s still a mix of vanilla and honey together with ripe grapes and raisins. The peat is still very mild and creates a nice surrounding layer of leather and tobacco as the oak starts to show up. It’s a very nice oakiness with a walnut nuttiness and a coffee bitterness to it and the late finish is the first time it feels like its age. This is a great whisky, yet it feels a bit manufactured to cover up less active casks used for the long maturation period.

Additional information
This whisky was released in 2018. It’s matured for 18 years in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-Premier Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux red wine casks.

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Islands, Jura

Jura The Sound

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ABV: 42.5 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and spirity. At first there’s a base of vanilla and butterscotch with some darker dried fruits floating around. On top there’s a mix of ethanol and slightly nutty oak. When it starts to settle the baseline becomes more fruity with a mix of fresh berries and a bitter lemon/orange freshness. It has a slightly tart character with a sweet and sour kind of thing going on. It feels young and spirity all the way through which makes everything feel a bit off. This is a decent nose with a nice flavour combination, which is brought down by a lack of age.

Mouth: It starts out with a bitter note in the back and a toffee sweetness up front. It takes a while but a fruitiness do appear around the edges and it consists mainly of oranges. It still feels young and there’s a bad ethanol note floating around. The bitterness merges with the fruitiness to create orange peel. Everything feels a bit chemical and fake at this point and it’s not a nice experience at all. The bitterness has a coffee note somewhere within and the oakiness peaks through but it doesn’t help.

Finish: The transition produces a slight, much needed, spicyness but it comes with the off notes as well. When they disappear it opens upp and produces a very nice orange peel and hazelnut finish. It becomes pleasantly fruity and a quite nice oakiness starts to take over. It’s slightly dusty and nutty and creates a nice balance to the bitter notes and the fruitiness. Luckily, the finish is the best part of the journey. This is not the best of whiskies. It’s a good enough whisky to have when the dram isn’t the main event, but it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Additional information
This whisky is a travel retail exclusive. It was first aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-PX casks.

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Islands, Jura

Jura Prophecy

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a leathery and slightly ashy peat dominating the palate. It’s quite rowdy but it doesn’t feel protruding or sharp. There’s a vanilla and honey sweetness which slowly becomes noticable. The same goes for a soft and mild, slightly ripe, red berry fruitiness. When it settles there’s a dry soil earthiness floating around somewhere within. There’s also a sweet liquorice note coming through towards the edges. This is a rich and full flavoured nose which has a lot to offer.

Mouth: It starts out with a hit of the dry soil peatiness with a peppery spicyness on top. The sweetness is still in there but it’s not as sweet as on the nose. The sweetness eventually creates a butterscotch layer on the edges. After a few seconds the leather note appears as well as a sulfuric background note. There are ripe red berries up front and a thin sour lemon note in the back. The whole is slightly astringent and sort of hard to reach with a rock-like minerality to it.

Finish: The minerality and the dry soil never budges through the transition. The other flavours take a slight dip before returning. The peatiness has become a bit more herbaceous at this point and the fruitiness is residing a long way back on the palate. This gives the oakiness room to be noticed and it brings a fantastic hazelnuts and old oak combination. The oakiness is joined by the peat a long way down the line and the late finish is the best part of the journey. This is a really good whisky with a not so commersial composition. This makes it stand out in a very good way.

Additional information
The Prophecy is aged ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and limousin oak. The whisky is unchillfiltered and more peated than other Juras.

Islands, Jura

Jura 10 YO – Origin

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is vanilla sweetness and ripe fruits. At first there’s a mix of ripe red apples and dark red berries with a honey and vanilla sweetness on top. There are floral notes floating around as well as a cinnamon note. The whole thing is very centered and it feels like there are flavours missing around the edges. The vanilla note moves forward with time and there’s a gritty complexity which kind of builds up in the background but never seems to spread out. This is a straight forward and pleasant nose, which really benefits from time in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out with a somewhat thick layer of honey. After a few seconds the fruitiness breaks through and it’s still ripe apples and berries. The vanilla is still in there and there’s a thin smoky note floating around as well. It feels a bit narrow and it still refuses to spread out over the palate. After a while the honey and vanilla becomes a toffee note. There’s a tiny hint of tropical fruits coming through from the back but it’s very subdued and miniscule.

Finish: A fresher tropical fruitiness pushes through in the start of the transition but it’s soon covered by the honey and vanilla sweetness. It takes a couple of seconds before the sweetness start to break down and for the tropical fruitiness return. It now sits together with a very nice and nutty oakiness. It’s mainly hazelnuts but there’s a mixed nuts quality to it. The late finish is by far the best part of the journey. This is a decent whisky which suffers from being to mild and quite narrow on the palate.

Additional information
This Jura 10 YO is matured in ex-bourbon american oak barrels for the entire aging period. It’s now discontinued.

Islands, Jura

Jura 16 YO – Diurachs’ Own

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and honey sweetness. At first there’s a center note of dark ripe berries and sulfur surrounded by a thick honey and toffee sweetness. Everything seem to be covered in a thin hazy smoke but it’s not a peaty smokiness. The sherry fruitiness feels a bit dirty and unrefined which is a good thing and that creates depth and complexity. The whole thing turns darker with time but somewhere in the background there’s a brighter red apple and citrus fruitiness peeking through. There’s also some baking spices creating a nice and warm experience. This is a very nice nose with a lot of layers.

Mouth: It starts out a bit flat with a vanilla and honey sweetness coating the mouth. After a few seconds the sherry fruitiness, now more leaning towards mixed dried fruits, and the sulfur note returns. An orange peel and coffee bitterness create a nice backdrop but the whole is not as rich and inviting as the nose suggests. There is a dry spicyness slowly arising but it falls short of being interesting or contributing to the sensations. A very thin aura of oak is slowly forming at this point, but it sort of hides within the bitterness in the back.

Finish: The orange peel and coffee bitterness quickly moves up front together with a sprinkle of cinnamon. The fresh and dried fruits make their way towards the edges and gently disappears. A small rise in sweetness occur shortly after. Then most flavours die down and leaves room for a fairly bitter oakiness. The coffee notes stay within the oak, otherwise it’s less than interesting but does the job competently. The finish isn’t very long and after a few sips it grows a bit astringent. This is a good whisky with nice flavours but it’s a but mild and muted overall. The nose is by far the best part of the journey.

Additional information
This whisky is maturated for 14 years in traditional american white oak casks and is then transferred to ex-sherry (Amoroso Oloroso) casks where it matures for at least another 2 years.

Islands, Jura

Jura Superstition

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in Collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity with a bitter tang. Up front there are oranges and grapefruits mixed with butterscotch and vanilla. In the back there are coastal notes like a salty ocean spray and a hint of seaweed. A thin veil of peatiness rests all over the other flavours adding an extra layer. The peat comes through as new leather. The whole thing is quite mild but all-in-all pretty well balanced.

Mouth: It starts out with some bitter notes surrounding the palate before the oranges and the grapefruits come through. The butterscotch and the vanilla comes through together with the soft leather note from the peatiness. Dark syryp is creating a small sweetness. There’s a tiny bit of spicyness but it lacks some power. It mirrors the nose very well and it’s quite dry from the start.

Finish: The fruitiness moves from the citrus fruits towards assorted tropical fruits. It’s still quite bitter, but in a well balanced bitterness. The butterscotch and vanilla is now residing in the back and the veil of peat is completely gone. When the oakiness arrives it really punches through and leaves most of the other flavours behind. It’s a very nice oakiness with hazelnuts and cacao. It’s nice dram but it lacks some intensity.

Additional information
This whisky is made from both peated and unpeated malt. It’s aged between 13-21 years in american ex-bourbon oak barrels. It was discontinued in april 2018.

Islands, Jura

Jura 12 YO

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is toffee and fruits. At first there’s a thick layer of toffee, honey and vanilla. Fresh red berries create a thin layer behind the thick sweetness. There’s also a whiff of smoke and a hint of nuttiness (with almonds as closest reference). It’s rather rich, but it feels a bit ”manufactured”. After some time in the glass the fruitiness turns a bit darker and raisins and dades start to come through in the back. The main focal point remains the toffee throughout. This is a nice and round nose, but it feels a bit uneventful.

Mouth: It starts out with a second without flavours but then everything comes rolling in like waves. The first thing to come through is an oaky bitterness with the toffee notes on top. Soon after a spicyness start to slowly rise. When it’s on its peak it’s quite intense. In the back there are citrus notes, as well as the same fresh red berries found on the nose. A darker fruitiness do come through for those who wait, but it takes a while for it to show up.

Finish: The transition is uneventful and it soon becomes a round ball of toffee and honey with a slightly dusty surface. The fruitiness is now leaning towards darker fruits and seem to cling to the background. The oakiness start to come through and it soon takes over. It’s a great, fresh and nutty oakiness with a hint of smoke to it. It becomes slightly astringent and dry in the late finish. This is a good whisky with nice flavours and a nice finish. It’s nothing less, nothing more.

Additional information
This expression was released in 2017 and is matured in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in oloroso sherry casks.

Islands, Jura

Jura 21 YO

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ABV: 44 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: A very dark and rich approach with an overlay of vanilla and honey. Raisins and ripe plums, sweet thick syryp and grey weathered oak planks makes it very dense. There’s also a brighter fruitiness with some red apples and berries. Dark chocolate sits between the oak and a dusty old leather note. It really shows its age. The sherry notes increases with time in the glass and black liquorice will show up after a while.

Mouth: It starts out mild with a fresh fruitiness but soon it turns very dusty and spicy on the tip of the toungue. This has a complex array of flavours. There’s a funky note of almost molten plums together with vanilla, honey and raisins. A hint of raspberries sits on top. The oak is astringent and the bitterness is just right to give this a nice balance to everything.

Finish: Quite surprisingly the tone changes and a big burst of tropical fruits suddenly appear. There’s mango and pineapple together with nice rich oak flavour with sweetened coffee. It takes a second or two before the dustiness and the darker notes reappear, but when they do, they stay way back on the palate. The wethered oak together with the dark chocolate keep the tropical fruitiness company all the way down this absolutely fantastic finish.

Additional information
First released in 2010 as a 200 year old celebration to the distillery. This 21 YO is a replica and a continuation of that expression. This is aged in ex-bourbon american oak for most of the maturation period and then finished in vintage european ex-sherry oak casks.