Extremely unget-at-able”. This is how George Orwell famously described his attempts to reach the Isle of Jura and amazingly, the island is as awkward to reach today as it was in 1946. The Isle of Jura lies off the west coast of Scotland and is eleven kilometers wide by 48 kilometers long, making it a bit smaller than Cairns. There’s only one road, one pub, one shop and one distillery. It’s believed that Jura takes it’s name from the old viking word “Dhiura” meaning red deer, however, the Vikings weren’t the first people to inhabit Jura. Carbon dating puts some of the earliest settlements on Jura at around 8000bc. Standing stones, ruins and manmade caves dot the landscape serving as a reminder that the island has been inhabited for a very long time. The 18-Year-Old is matured in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Premier Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux barrels. Speaking of the distillery’s core range, I’ve had a couple of samples in the cabinet for a few months now. My recent visit finally inspired me to break them open.

If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.On the palate, it shows a more sherried side. This is a Scotch that starts with a sweet blow to slowly fade to bitter and spicier notes. Chocolate and charcoal notes blend with a touch of raisins and dry fruits. Some soft notes of candied lemon. The finish is a bit lengthy, with chocolate notes and a light touch of smoke.

In the glass, Jura 18 is honeyed, with some reddish tones. On the nose, it follows the style of the Signature Series range. It is quite light and herbaceous, with white grape notes. There are also sweet fragrances of milk chocolate and toasted coffee. With a splash of water, there are some slightly peated aromas and a cherry touch. Unfortunately, there still seems to be a reluctance to release higher strength versions, which is a shame because the few examples I’ve tried have come across rather well (see my review of the 21-year-old Tide here). Nevertheless, I find myself warming to the brand a little. It feels like Gregg Glass and his team of whisky makers are working hard to give Jura, an island full of character and personality, the product it deserves.The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. When compared to their old 10-year-old Origins release, there’s more life and vibrancy here, both on the nose and the palate. The addition of that little wisp of smoke and a short sherry finish has added layers of flavour that simply weren’t there before. You are responsible for all activities through your account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide to us in relation to your account, and for updating it where necessary. You are not allowed to create multiple accounts. We may terminate or temporarily suspend your account to protect you, ourselves or our partners from (suspected) identity theft or other (suspected) fraudulent (e.g. false, misleading, deceptive) activity. You have the obligation to keep your login credentials confidential. You shall not authorize any others to use or access your account. Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise.

Smell: Some honeyed malt to begin with. A little bit woody. Sawdust even. Then apple and citrus comes through. Walnut. Leather. A few gentle wisps of smoke. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates. The first of these unique elements are Jura’s stills. Some of the tallest in all of Scotland they tower at 7.7m producing a beautifully light, sweet spirit. The second element is the subtle smoke. For just 4 weeks a year Jura makes a rich, oily, heavily peated spirit that when blended with their unpeated spirit gives body and depth and just the faintest hint of smoke. Of course the third element is casks. Jura uses predominantly American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels, along with very high quality ex-sherry and ex-red wine casks to make one of the most enticingly balanced malt whiskies on the market today. Our trip took in Lussa Gin and Deer Island Rum but in truth, it was the whisky distillery I was most looking forward to. Sadly, tours aren’t possible yet but we were able to enjoy a few drams in their new tasting room. Which, it has to be said, looks absolutely fantastic. We worked our way through some of the core range and even tasted some of the sherry that had been used to finish them. It was an informative and enjoyable visit that reinforced my belief that Jura is making progress. Fast forward to 2018 and I was intrigued to hear that the brand was launching a complete new range with a new house style. I’ve spent the last couple of years getting acquainted with the new releases and while I haven’t become a member of the fan club or anything, I can definitely see the brand taking steps in the right direction.Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). Isolation and adversity can work together to create a drive unlike any other. In the case of the Diurachs, there’s a belief anything is possible, and they keep proving it. After all, there are plenty of easier places to make whisky. This same spirit goes into their whisky (though not literally) and combines with three key elements to create something truly unique – a whisky that’s sweet yet subtly smoky, balanced and accessible.