I picked up a handful of Jura samples as I accumulated a collection since I noticed I liked island whiskies. They didn’t quite hit the low I’ve read so much about, but they all did hit below expectations with the exception of an IB that was quite medium. The specs of this make it look like it could be a better one, is it?
Jura Tastival 2017, Island (Jura) Single Malt, 51% ABV
Minutia: No age statement, but this was matured in Bourbon and finished in Ruby Port pipes, bottled in 2017 at cask strength making 12,000 bottles.
Color: Tawny, 1.4.
Nose: Nutty, honey, cerealy, malt. Winey wood.
Taste: Fruit, big nutty flavor, major pepper.
Finish: Some smoke, less pepper but there. Smokiness grows with sips. Salty on the tail end. Medium.
Guess: Talisker Port Ruighe. Pepper and a bit of smoke but still malty, with a bit of wine coming in. I could also see this being a Sherry or wine cask Bunnahabhain, maybe a French wine Mòine. Jura popped into my head a couple times as well, so that wouldn’t surprise me.
Well, I’m not surprised, though I wasn’t expecting to be right about that. Islandy, winey, and a tiny bit smoky, so that lines up with what I was thinking. Overall I thought this was pretty good, not as peaty as I like, but fine. It was unremarkable at first (but not poor), but the flavors were interesting and intense. Very glad to have had this blind, a relatively positive Jura experience (highest scored yet) to wash my tongue of the bias of disappointment for future tastings. And just in time, too. I’ve got a couple bottles of peated Jura on the docket and a well aged SMWS bottling I’m looking forward to and can now go into those without an expectation of a letdown or overcompensation with score to better meet my expectations.
Score: 82
Musical Evocation: Johnny Cash – “I Hung My Head”
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
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