Jura Whisky 50th Anniversary Tweet Tasting - #Jura50TT

If I was to be completely honest, Jura has never been one of my 'favourites'. I love the distillery, I love the Island & the whisky does not offend me, but its a whisky that I've yet to find a love for. I think like 99.9% of whisky drinkers that visit Jura, I generally do so after doing the rounds on Islay, where heavily peated whiskies dominate. Your palate becomes accustomed to these flavours and so when you arrive to Jura, the whisky (unfairly) might seem a little tame? I was excited therefore to participate in the latest Tweet tasting hosted by Steve Rush from The Whisky Wire. This weeks tasting was in celebration of Jura's 50th Anniversary and so an excellent opportunity to sample what Jura had to offer and exclusively just that, nothing else getting in the way. Earlier on in the week the whisky fairy delivered an impressive and & very generous line up of Jura malts. Turas Mara, Delme Evans, 39¾, 1977 and 30 Year Old expressions.

---

Jura Turas Mara We began the evening with Jura Tura Mara, a Travel Retail Exclusive bottled at 42% vol. Aged in a combination of bourbon barrels, Bordeaux wine and ruby port casks. Gaelic for long journey, Tura Mara is inspired by the Diurachs who were forced to emigrate during the 18^thand 19^th centuries to countries including the US and Canada in what became known as ‘The Clearances’. Nose: Lots going on here, toffee, vanilla, sultanas, good sherry notes. Orange peal, wood, oak, black forest gateau, cherries dipped in chocolate, hints of ginger and marzipan. Taste: Sweet with lovely spicy notes; warming. Not as complex as the nose, but still carries well. More oak this time, molasses & rum notes. Over ripe granny smith toffee apples! Slight salty notes, sea air... Finish: Good flavours on the nose, decent length. Taste didn't disappoint after such a wonderful nose. Overall: Really enjoyed this Jura, great whisky to start the tasting with. Note to self: Must buy, when next travelling.

---

Jura 30 Year Old (Carnas an Staca) 44% Vol Second up was a 30 year old expression from Jura. The whisky takes its name from the largest of Jura’s eight standing stones which are scattered across the island. The stone in question, Carnas an Staca is said to be the only remaining stone of an earlier formed stone circle some 3,000 years ago. Nose: Harder to get the flavours out on this one. Spice cinnamon, oak, toffee & caramel, much heavier sherry notes. Over baked Christmas pudding, sherry soaked fruits, orange peal with dark chocolate. Opens up the longer you leave this dram to breathe. Taste: Very smooth indeed, lovely caramelised orange notes, but not as sweet as I expected it to be. Wood & spices, cinnamon again, hints of chocolate & sultana with a slight taste of tobacco to finish. Finish: Slight tobacco notes linger, hints of spice. Overall: Yes a lovely dram, very smooth, well balanced.

---

Jura 1977 (Juar) / 46% Vol / 498 bottles Up next on our journey of Jura, a whisky from 1977, named 'Juar' which translates in Gaelic to 'yew tree'. If you ever visit Jura you will notice that the yew tree is sprawled all across the Island. The whisky itself has been matured in first fill bourbon before being finished in a ruby port pipe for 12 months. Nose: Lots of fruity notes to start, wild berries followed with a touch of vanilla, boot polish? peppermint, liquorish notes, peaches, touch of dried apricot, ripe tropical fruits, pineapple. Taste: Great balance of sweet and spice - again lovely fruity notes. Back to spice, cinnamon, clove & white pepper mixed with juicy tropical notes. Mango, pineapple dried apricot. Overall: I liked the balance of fruit with spice, worked well together. A dram that that you want to explore a lot more...

---

Jura Delme Evans / 59.98% Vol / 586 Bottles Bottled at cask strength, aged in american white oak, finished in an oloroso sherry butt. Delme Evans was a tribute to the architect/distillery manager who not only introduced the tall elegant stills at Jura distillery, but also brought life back to the distillery around 1963. Nose: Rubber, wiff of smoke, chocolate, raisins, slight hint of sulphur but not in a bad way. Honey - fruit cake laced with ripe golden delicious apples at the back of the nose, orange marmalade lingers. Taste: Warm spice, orange & figs, sweet nutty flavours, almond, marzipan, wood, slight salty notes. Overall: A dram that 'plays hard to get'... Makes you work for it, but if explored can certainly open up and show some character.

---

Jura 39 3/4 / 51.4% Last up was the oldest expression of the evening. 39¾ to be precise. Matured in second fill sherry butt then transferred to amoroso sherry casks for the final year. The first ever tasting outside the Jura festival, due to be released in 2014 as Jura's standard, 40 year old offering. Nose: Wow, lovely nose, great flavours of nuts, walnuts but again some almonds, fig, prunes & leather. Oak at the back of the nose, but surprised that there is not more... Christmas cake coming through. Fruit stewed in alcohol, like your first taste of crimbo cake laced with alcohol as a kid! Taste: Spicier than I thought it was going to be, didn't get this on the nose... Orange, with hints of prunes, not as much fruit as the nose, but doesn't matter. Wood, oak & oily notes. Yip, I like this... Overall: Yes, I liked this dram, good balance of spice, nutty notes, oak & dark fruits...The oiliness coats the mouth well for a nice lingering taste.

---

I was delighted to be asked to take part in this Twitter tasting...it really was a pleasure and opened my eyes to what Jura distillery offers. Each dram we tasted offered exciting flavours & interesting profiles. Some drams took longer to explore but given some time they really opened up. We're due to visit a few distilleries on Islay later this year and will definitely be making the trip across on the ferry to visit Jura distillery & the rest of the Island. Big thanks to Steve @ The Whisky Wire yet again for another great evening and of course Jura distillery for sending out such generous drams... Slainte