Scott_E
Jura Origin 10 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
March 6, 2017 (edited August 18, 2020)
A cold and crisp Sunday evening finds me in front of the wood stove where streaming 1980’s music is playing. And so, I find myself reminiscing about my days of yore with the Jura 10 in my hands, provided through a small group of mates on a scotch journey: the SDT (thanks Lee). The atmosphere is all perfectly set for a nice, complex, contemplative dram. Alas, this would not be the case.
The nose is rather faint. An earthy, mineral quality forms a soft aromatic foundation. Honey, sweet tea with a slight maltiness are most dominant; the qualities one may find in a Highlander, not an Islander. The liquid has a very thin mouthfeel with the simple flavors of honey, sweet tea, with oranges or tangerines. A small amount of maritime saltiness can be detected. All this simplicity leads to a short finish. Small amount of oak-drying tannins remain, with a touch of orange bitters and toffee.
This is a rather simple whisky that does venture much beyond the parameters of itself, from nose to finish, it is the same profile: tea, honey and citrus. This would possibly be slightly improved and a bit more complexity with a punched-up ABV, say 43% to 46%. It’s not a bad dram, just not a sophisticated one. It makes a nice summer sipper or an introductory single malt. [Dry Glass: Sweet tea with lemon][84/100][Tasted: 3/5/17]
*200th Distiller Note.
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I have had the Superstition which was decent and somewhat what I expected from an Island malt. I had expectations of a similar/parallel experience. @Lee: Experiencing "duds" is sometimes just as important as experiencing that Holy Grail whisky. Mainly for me, first, I know better as to where/what I may want to spend my money. But just as important, it contrasts what we find "good" in a whisky of our liking.
How is Jura still in business? Must have a small but dedicated fan base
Great review. I also found it quite lackluster and in need of an ABV boost. Congrats on the 200th review. As far as Dalmore goes, after everything I've seen lately I'm glad I didn't spend the $150 or whatever it was on the cigar malt reserve a couple months ago when I had it sitting in my cart.
The only other Jura I've had at this point is the Prophecy and I found it pretty tasty, especially for a NAS malt. Lots of Christmas-y spice and an excellent amount of peat. If it wasn't a 4-star for me it was darn close. Slainte- I hope you are wrong about Dalmore. I have bottles of the 18, Cigar Malt, King Alexander and the 25 hidden under the bar. I hope they shine a lot brighter than the 12 & 15 I've had so far. #fingerscrossed
In my opinion, the best official bottling of Jura is the 'Superstition'. It's not overwhelmingly exciting, but decent and with slightly elevated 43% ABV. Both Jura and Dalmore suffer from what I'd call 'overbranding' - you have to dive into independent bottlings to really find a Jura/Dalmore that is worthy of 4 stars+...
Sorry for the dud, my new friend. It wasn't until Paul questioned the accurate ABV that my frustration with this malt peaked. Like in my review, the Origins 10 was bottled at 43% while this new blend is further watered down to the minimum standard 40%. I think that may have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel- lots of the Origin 10 reviews are great and I'm assuming this was a last ditch effort from Jura to stretch the latest batches of 10 year old juice and lead them to blend it down to 40%. This may have killed it. I damn sure didn't help it. Oh well, I will pay closer attention to future SDT picks. Great review, anyway. Cheers, sir.