Jura 18yo One For You
Official Distillery Release | 52.5% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Excellent whisky from a most unlikely place
They say there’s no bad whisky…
…only whisky that’s been treated badly.
Once, there was this young man who was developing a fondness for Scotch single malt whisky. He was willing to swear that the only decent, worthwhile whiskies out there were the heavily peated Islay beasts. The likes of Laphroaig, Ardbeg or Lagavulin.
Things like chill-filtration or colouring meant very little to him, as he routinely replaced one empty bottle of Laphroaig 10 with something like Lagavulin 16 – stuff easily found in his local supermarket. The best way to describe him would probably be like a young padawan stuck with a severe case of Dunning-Kruger.
Some fifteen years ago, as a birthday gift, a friend gifted him a bottle of whisky held dear: a bottle of 10 year old single malt whisky from Islay’s closest neighbour: Jura.
‘Wait a minute’, the young padawan thought: ‘this stuff is practically from Islay, but it’s not peated?! What gives?’ Nonetheless, he gracefully accepted the gift and keen, eager, curious - yet also perhaps slightly cautious - the bottle of Jura 10 year old was opened, glasses were poured and, it needs to be said, enjoyed.
From memory, the now not so young man remembers it to be dense and sweet with notes of syrup, citrus fruit and honey, almost rum-like in some ways. And given that at the time his go to drink during a night out would be (intensely coloured) dark rums, the slightly bitter, treacle-like touch E150 may add to a drink, this comparison was easily found and made.
That was my first encounter with Jura, and, hindsight being hindsight, perhaps to your (and my) surprise, it wasn’t a particularly negative one. If anything, it made for a nice change of pace for my go to peat monsters. But, crucially, I also felt very little urge to explore more.
It took another two years to cross paths with Benromach, making me acknowledge that there might be something to whisky apart from Islay. Then another three years for me to discover Ralfy and Compass Box’s Spice Tree, a combo which blew the gates to Whisky Infinity wide open. Since then, my views and opinions of Jura, by and large, evolved and could likely be described as ‘very much in line with what most enthusiasts think and feel about it’.
The few encounters I have had with Jura over the years offered me nothing that would change my mind: poorly treated, often subpar whiskies (at best), somewhat generic and aimed at less-discerning customers. Pushing profit by sales volumes rather than profit by margin and quality. And before I come off as a complete and utter snob, I’ll hastily add how that’s absolutely fine as there is plenty of good stuff elsewhere. To each their own etcetera… Official Jura is the number one best-selling single malt whisky in the UK.
Review
Jura 18yo One For You, Official Distillery Bottling, 2018 release, ex-bourbon and virgin quarter casks, 52.5% ABV
£62 at auction incl. fees & shipping
And yet, late last year while I was more or less aimlessly browsing through an auction website, I stumbled upon a bottle of Jura that had my spider senses tingling.
18 years old, natural colour, non-chill filtered and at cask strength (presumably), I sat up and paid it attention. The bidding on it was slow, so I placed an order and for some £49 (£62 after costs and shipping) it earned itself a place in Earie’s cabinet. I didn’t have high expectations – this was still Jura after all – but for the money I could hardly be disappointed, surely?
Nonetheless, I did hope this distillery exclusive might just be the one to prove me (and all the often right critics out there) wrong. Could it be?
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Excellent whisky from a most unlikely place
Nose
Fruity, yet subdued, as there is this funky-dusty note intertwined, not pushing the fruit back as such, but putting somewhat of a leash on it. Leaving it alone for a while with a bit of time and air in the glass and the fruit finally breaks free: peach, melon, apricot, pear… it’s all there with a whiff of wood, pencil shavings and a green, vegetal note. A spice-like note of ginger and perhaps even cinnamon closes the deal. Impressive.
Palate
From the get go, a woody touch betrays there’s some age to this, but while it's clear and present, it’s civilized and rather elegant. Immediately after, I’m getting dark, peppery chocolate and spices such as cardamon and ginger. The fruit is still there, but it’s a bit hidden and manifests itself more in the shape of stewed fruit notes. The mouthfeel isn’t what you’d call viscous or dense, but it’s medium with just enough depth to it. The party goes on into the finish, which echoes lots and lots of spices, chocolate and again that green, vegetal note.
The Dregs
Excellent stuff. Perfectly palatable as it is, so I never felt the need to dilute it by adding water. This is ‘busy’ and rich, but never ‘loud’ or shouting. I'm well aware I’m not in a position to comment or criticise Jura’s market policies, as clearly catering to big chain supermarkets and drawing the affordable card has paid off. And yet, this limited, ‘small batch’ release (possibly a distillery exclusive even) from eight (eight!) years ago, proves just what they are capable of.
I’m getting so many mixed messages from this one particular example. On the one hand, it’s as if they reluctantly put it out there, almost being shy about it. Did they read the room, thinking (knowing) the general opinion shared by ‘serious whisky enthusiasts’ and simply decided not to bother making a song and dance out of it? On the other hand, if this was a distillery exclusive: they deserve all the credit.
Treating visitors to something unique, something you can be proud of as it’s a worthy ambassador to what you create, at affordable prices (here’s looking at you, Glengoyne) with a dash of exclusivity to it, as a way of saying ‘thank you for coming out here to visit us’: that’s exactly what we want to see from any given distillery, surely!?
In recent times, we’ve seen other once ‘frowned upon’ distilleries – the likes of Scapa, Royal Brackla, Glenturret or a little further back in time Fettercairn - altering course and fully tapping into the enthusiasts’ market and it seems that, now that there’s a lot of stress and pressure on the global market, this may well be a way forward, rather than going in the exact opposite direction - chasing a spot in a completely oversaturated market (cough… Speyburn).
Jura has definitely stuck its nose at the window too in recent years with some decent releases such as their Perspective No.1 release (not all! I’m in no rush to plunder my local supermarket by any means). I’ll admit I am more than just a bit ‘fashionably late’ to this particular party. It would be fair to say after eight years all the chairs are up on the tables again, the confetti‘s been hoovered, the floor’s had a good scrubbing, and the cleaning crew is about to lock up. I will take from this that it’s all too easy to completely ignore or even discard certain producers, snubbing them more out of general principle or past encounters rather than recent, hands-on experience.
Still, I’m not about to put on my sackcloth and start doing penance, because as much as I could be charged with snobbery and bias, I still believe Jura and some of its peers are at least equally responsible. This one was a quiet release.
If you have the business model, stock and the capacity that puts you in a position where you can cater to various types of customers – anyone from occasional supermarket customers all the way up to discerning, critical consumers and enthusiasts - then maybe you should do so. And while you do, make a bit more fuss about it, by all means.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EA
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