Jura 18 Year
Whisky: Jura 18 Year
Country/Region: Scotland/Islands
ABV: 44%
Cask: Bourbon, Charred Red Wine Cask Finish
Age: 18 Years
Nose: Dried fruit and oak, a dance studio floor with polished wood, Tonka bean, dates and pomegranate syrup, hints of floral iris or rose in the background.
Palate: Medium-bodied and mellow, dried fruit, hints of leather, polished wood, Tonka bean, candied coffee beans, dates cakes, and just hints of a flower garden.
Finish: Medium-length and mellow with dried fruits and oak.
Score: 6
Mental Image: Flamenco Studio at Night
Narrative & Notes: This lovely whisky balanced carefully between sweet fruits and wood with garden floral accents. I initially tasted this malt blind and guessed it was a late-teens or early-twenties whisky with a big sherry finish. The even-keeled mouthfeel led me to suspect something around 46%; not the most complex whisky, but a competent and enjoyable one. I could imagine a glass of this disappearing unusually fast, and it felt well-suited for pairing with food or convivial conversation rather than standing as a tasting centerpiece. My final guess was something along the lines of Glenfarclas.
It turns out this was Jura 18-Year! Which was not on the list of possibilities my buddy provided to give me a handicap, though he did warn me not everything was on the list. So, a proper curve ball my way, and I was way off even on my blind guess. This whisky did not scream Jura at all to me. Some of the notes I love to find on Jura, namely those swampy mangroves and brackish coastal wetlands, were totally missing. However, even without those, I thought this was a lovely and very sippable malt. It may not have been my favorite style of Jura, but it was quaffable to a fault… the fault being that the glass empties a bit too fast.
Overall, in my mind, Jura rightly gets critiqued for its over-emphasis on cask maturation tricks to create its flavor profiles, especially when they drift into the arena of gimmick— looking at you, Seven Wood! They have also displayed a remarkable propensity to cut their whisky to 40% or smooth out color differences with caramel coloring. I am still slightly annoyed that they discontinued their peatier Prophecy and Superstition releases, which were bottled at a beautiful 46% and 43%, respectively.
In spite of myself, I do quite like Jura, even if it is one of those distilleries that seems to trip over itself when given the opportunity.
Image Credit: Scotch&Sheen (check out his review through the link)
