Jura 18 Year

Rich Carmel flavor. Mature and Carmel sweet.

WhiskeyLive Dublin 2018 I understand that Jura can be one of those divisive distilleries. I have only previously had two of their offerings: Superstition (sharp and salty which I liked) and Origin (briny pet food which I didn’t like). They have overhauled their range and those two are no longer available. At the Whyte and Mackay stand they had three from their new range: 10yo, 18yo and Seven Wood. We were told that the reason for the change was that whiskies from the previous range were very diverse, and so liking one Jura may not signify that you would like another. The feedback they received (presumably through Marketing) was that this led to an uneven, less favourable opinion of the overall output. Hence the need to create a new signature style with each whiskey in the range offering variations on a common theme. The 18yo is aged in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels before finishing in Premier Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux barrels. It is peated and that comes through lightly on the nose along with brown sugar, oranges, caramel and faint acetone. The taste is sweet dryness at first, which develops into light smoke and coffee. I did think that the red wine finish masked or dampened the “salty maritime flavors” described in the Distiller review. In my view that is a mark against it. I was quite happy with this on the day of the event but, having sneaked some out in a sample bottle, I lowered my view on a subsequent tasting.

Salty. Nice short finish. Not much too it.

Really good!