Spirit Type: Single Malt

Country: Scotland

ABV: 40%

Bottle size: 70cl

Description:

The Jura distillery is located on the Hebridean isle of Jura and was founded in 1810 by Archibald Campbell. It was initially called the Small Isles distillery after the numerous islands located in Craighouse Bay, which the distillery sits on and overlooks. 

The color is a deep golden yellow, and the nose is instantly sugary and sweet. Aromas of icing sugar and butterscotch dominate with an underlying whiff of soft and sweet peat smoke. Depth is added by an almond-like nuttiness, dried orange peel, and warming spices (think of clove and cinnamon especially), plus hints of cranberry and potpourri.

This whisky has a rich, soft, and rounded feel on the palate. The early sweetness is present as on the nose with notes of milk chocolate, butterscotch, and barley sugars combining well. Then comes the sweet and gentle peat smoke that seems to underpin everything. This has a dry, dusty, and earthy feel, with hints of moss and dried heather. Then come further notes of rich barley grains, woody oak spices (cinnamon, all-spice, and clove in particular with a late pinch of white pepper), and a hint of yeast. The sweeter notes begin to increase as the finish approaches, and the dried potpourri characteristic from the nose develops again.

These florals carry on into the finish with a heather-like quality and the faint potpourri note never far away. The soft smoke fades as the sweeter notes come back to the fore. Butterscotch, sugary toffee, and milk chocolate come back and linger well.

Critics have scored this as one of the top 5 whiskies from the Isle of Jura, and this is the sixth most searched for among this region's whiskies. This whisky has been becoming increasingly popular over the past year, and the International Spirits Challenge also awarded it a Silver in 2019.