Sibling rivalry on Jura
8. Isle of Jura (Origin 10yo, 40%)
Despite being within spitting distance of Islay, the Isle of Jura produces whiskies that could hardly be more different. Being compared to your more fêted neighbours must wear thin after a while, particularly when most comparisons are not favourable.
Still, the Isle of Jura Distillery has plenty of history and tradition to call on - all the way back to 1810 when one Archibald Campbell first had the inspired idea to build it - although the distillery was dismantled in 1901 and not rebuilt till 1963.
Happily it was rebuilt on the same site and the rebuild was conceived mainly as a way to help boost the sparsely populated island's fragile economy. Hard to believe, but to this day there are only about 200 people on the island; Diurachs they call themselves.
As the presentation box points out, there's "one road, one pub, one community and one distillery". Which sounds like pretty much everything you need for a deeply fulfilling life, if you ask me.
The distillery is owned by Whyte & Mackay and has been since the early 90s, when it came under the purview of the inimitable and flamboyant whisky ambassador Richard 'The Nose' Paterson. A slew of expressions were launched over the next while as the company did its best to reinvigorate the brand. Whyte & Mackay itself was subsequently taken over by Indian giant United Spirits.
Tasting notes, after a fashion:
The bottle I have is the standard Origin 10yo expression, matured in bourbon casks and comes in what I feel compelled to rather unkindly point out is probably the ugliest presentation box I've come across yet on my journey. A throwback design the marketers clearly thought conveyed ancient tradition and wild nature - but only conjures up that brown and yellow flock wallpaper my gran had in her living room in the 70s.
But we're not going to drink the box, so let's get better acquainted with what's inside it. Rightly or wrongly, the 10yo doesn't tend to get a great press from the whisky loving illuminati, but who cares what they think?
On the nose, malty sweet and buttery with something crisp and fruity as it develops: pear? green apple? Whatever it is, it smells fine to me.
Get it in the mouth and it's quite light bodied but with a lovely crisp bite and more of that crisp pear / apple but coated in honey or maybe maple syrup. Bit of wood in there too but a fresh, lively, bright dram that doesn't disappoint at all. Good, firm, steady finish with maybe some coffee beans and more sweet caramely loveliness. It's not massively complex but it's plenty deep enough to take your time over.
Doesn't strike me as the the sort of malt that's likely to benefit from dilution and, indeed, on the nose it loses a lot of its bite and crispness with a drop of water. Goes a wee bit limp in the mouth at the front end too but let it sit there a second, two seconds, three seconds and it develops just fine into a much sweeter, smoother lightly syrupy concoction but still a delicate and light mouthful. The water robs it of a little of its depth and interest, but I could still see myself with a glass of it in the back garden on a balmy summer's evening, happy as a Diurach.
3/5
Despite being within spitting distance of Islay, the Isle of Jura produces whiskies that could hardly be more different. Being compared to your more fêted neighbours must wear thin after a while, particularly when most comparisons are not favourable.
Happily it was rebuilt on the same site and the rebuild was conceived mainly as a way to help boost the sparsely populated island's fragile economy. Hard to believe, but to this day there are only about 200 people on the island; Diurachs they call themselves.
As the presentation box points out, there's "one road, one pub, one community and one distillery". Which sounds like pretty much everything you need for a deeply fulfilling life, if you ask me.
The distillery is owned by Whyte & Mackay and has been since the early 90s, when it came under the purview of the inimitable and flamboyant whisky ambassador Richard 'The Nose' Paterson. A slew of expressions were launched over the next while as the company did its best to reinvigorate the brand. Whyte & Mackay itself was subsequently taken over by Indian giant United Spirits.
Tasting notes, after a fashion:
The bottle I have is the standard Origin 10yo expression, matured in bourbon casks and comes in what I feel compelled to rather unkindly point out is probably the ugliest presentation box I've come across yet on my journey. A throwback design the marketers clearly thought conveyed ancient tradition and wild nature - but only conjures up that brown and yellow flock wallpaper my gran had in her living room in the 70s.
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| See what I mean about the box? |
On the nose, malty sweet and buttery with something crisp and fruity as it develops: pear? green apple? Whatever it is, it smells fine to me.
Get it in the mouth and it's quite light bodied but with a lovely crisp bite and more of that crisp pear / apple but coated in honey or maybe maple syrup. Bit of wood in there too but a fresh, lively, bright dram that doesn't disappoint at all. Good, firm, steady finish with maybe some coffee beans and more sweet caramely loveliness. It's not massively complex but it's plenty deep enough to take your time over.
Doesn't strike me as the the sort of malt that's likely to benefit from dilution and, indeed, on the nose it loses a lot of its bite and crispness with a drop of water. Goes a wee bit limp in the mouth at the front end too but let it sit there a second, two seconds, three seconds and it develops just fine into a much sweeter, smoother lightly syrupy concoction but still a delicate and light mouthful. The water robs it of a little of its depth and interest, but I could still see myself with a glass of it in the back garden on a balmy summer's evening, happy as a Diurach.
3/5
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