Wherever you are in the world, if the label on your bottle reads
‘Scotch Whisky’ then it must have been made and matured in some part of this
wonderful country we call Scotland. Blended or Single Malt Scotch, the spirit
in the bottle has made its way from, usually, a remote distillery, via a maturing
cask and warehouse, all the way to your glass. From Manchester (UK or NH, USA)
to Mumbai, this drink has been on journey and there are fewer places in
Scotland where this journey is harder and longer than from the Isle of Jura.
Just across the Sound of Jura, a fast-flowing strait which
separates Islay from its next-door-neighbour, and opposite Caol Ila and
Bunnahabain, Jura is home to less than 200 people, boasting one hotel, one pub
and one distillery, which makes the unsurprisingly named Jura single malt
whisky and was going to be our main destination for the day.
As we set off in the wagon which has become our home, from
our base on the southern side of Islay, we weaved through Bowmore and onwards
towards Port Askaig to the Jura ferry. As is tradition on Islay, especially
during the festival, three empty seats in car can usually be filled with any
waif-and-stray who has the gumption to wave their thumb at you as you pass.
Last year, this bought Neil a dose of good luck after kissing a German chimney
sweep (read about it here)
we had given a lift to, along with her boyfriend, sporting the now famous
Ardbeg tattoo.
Well, blow me down (which literally happened last
year) if, as we passed up the road from Bridgend towards the ferry, did we
see two thumbs waving in the air, looking for a lift to Jura. As we slammed on
the breaks of our ‘Japanese Mercedes’, it was only the bloody chimney sweep and
her partner whom we picked up almost one year ago, to the day. It seem the good
luck isn’t just with the giver of the kiss, but the recipient, too... either
that, or Neil’s kisses are magical. Certainly something the soon-to-be mum,
Mrs. Ridley can testify too, no-doubt!
Arriving at Port Askaig we joined the queue for the ferry,
nestled up behind Jim from The Whisky Boys blog (one of our favs) the ferry
over to Jura is, well, small at best. Squeezing on (at the first attempt) we
took the 14 min ride across the Sound to head over to the distillery. The road
is long and winding, scattered with wildlife such as deer and long-horned
Highland cattle which, along with the views back to Islay, make this one of the
most stunning drives I’ve ever done; the rolling Paps of Jura to one side,
cloud clinging to them like dust on old bottles of wine while the beautiful
whisky isle sits proudly on the other.
As we pulled up at the distillery, honking crowds out of the
way who were gathered around Master Blender Richard Paterson, delivering what
seemed, judging by his passionate body language and the undivided attention of
the gathered masses, yet another of his wonderful presentations on the subject
of Scotch, we eventually found a cheeky parking space, ready to go and explore.
The island was buzzing with people and, having visited a
couple of times before but never taken a tour of the facilities, we jumped at
the chance to look around, not least to get away from the elephant-sized
midges, devouring us with more relish than Heinz.
After a recent make-over, the place looks fantastic,
especially the Still House with four large stills working away, churning out
what will become either one of the core range (Original 10 Years Old,
Superstition, Diurachs Own 16 Years Old , Prophecy) or something a little more
boutique / vintage.
As you tour the facility, it is hard to not forget the
journey taken to get here. Not only does one have to get to Islay, but onward
on a tiny car ferry to Jura itself and then a long, winding road down to the
distillery. This is the very same adventure by which all the constituent parts
(except the water) have taken to allow the chaps at Jura distillery to make
their spirit. Once every drop of the liquid is produced, matured on the island
or otherwise, it too must take this long journey back, before it ends up
bottled, sealed and shipped off around the world.
This is one of the great things about single malt Scotch whisky;
it is not some clear, flavourless hooch, claiming to be made by some Russian or
Polish distiller, when really it was churned out of a factory-grade column
still at high speed in a location deemed easy for (inter)national distribution
by the brand-owner, probably in the country your sitting in right now, or at
least one adjacent to it. Of course, every single malt for sale has had a
magnifying glass held over its heritage and story by some marketing executive
somewhere but, at the end of the day, the facts still remain the same: hidden
away in rural Speyside or located on an island off the coast of Scotland, the
whisky in your glass has a genuine and real story to tell. It has worked as
hard as you have to get to you, so should make the perfect companion to your
down-time at home.
Having taken some time to look around the distillery, we
found ourselves in the filling store as our group was given a lesson in
maturation from the man himself, Richard Paterson. Those of you who have been
privileged enough to see @the_nose speak on whisky will know how passionate and
enthusiastic he is about the industry in which he has spent over 40 years
working (for the same company, no less). Holding court to an audience of around
forty or so (and that was just one ‘batch’ in a long line that day), Richard
brilliantly explained the different regions of whisky production in Scotland
(at one point commenting how the Mull of Kintyre “probably looks a lot like
Joel’s penis”) before moving on to cask development and maturation.
At the end of the presentation, three cask samples were presented
for nosing; a 1999, 2003 and 2004. Richard requested that everyone on a Jura
tour over the open day vote on which cask they liked the best. The winning cask
will then go on to be bottled. We were split on our choice with Neil going for
the 2004 and myself, the 1999.
Heading back to Islay, the evening was taken up with a
fabulous dinner cooked for us by the chaps (and chapesse) at Master Of Malt, who
themselves had been around the island all week visiting distilleries and
keeping a blog of their own about their exploits. One of the many bottles they
had managed to pick up during the week was the very limited edition Bowmore
festival offering from 1985.
Bowmore – 1985 – Feis Ile bottling – 200 bottles only - 53%
abv
Nose: Strong sherry with elements of some tropic fruit
(classic Bowmore) but a greater element of stewed prunes and dates with a
dusting of sugar.
Palate: Rich fruit cake, strong rum and sugars is
underpinned with a delicate smoky bite and then those classic Bowmore tropical fruits
again, followed by coffee crèmes.
Finish: Strong and Long with delicate smoke.
Overall: This was universally liked in the room but for the
price we all seemed to feel it was a touch expensive at £350.
The evening drew to a close with some wonderful drams (both
from Islay and other areas of Scotland) while watching the sunset over the
western coast of the island. All-in-all, a really wonderful day.
