Hatches, Matches & Despatches. Jura Distillery Open Day Fun - Feis Ile Day One

Yes, folks. We’re here again. As yet another year rolls around, with the FA Cup Final out of the way and Glastonbury, Wimbledon and The Ashes on the horizon, what could be a better way to while away your time, than with the Feis Ile: Isle’s Festival of Music and Malt.

Usually, we’d be here right from the off, hitting the eight distilleries in row and then, if we had the time / weather / energy, hit Jura for an hour or so. But not this year. Oh, no. This year, we’ve come to Jura first.

Sitting off the coast of Islay, Jura is an island of ones (save for the TWO doctors): one road, one shop, one church, one hotel, one pub and one distillery. ~188 people live in an area the size of London, seriously outnumbered by 6,000 red deer. It is probably most famous for being the final home of George Orwell and providing him with the perfect isolation where he could write 1984, the piece which, according to some, eventually finished him off.

However, for some of us of a certain age, it also provided the backdrop for one of the most audacious pieces of ‘art’ (or PR stunts, depending on how you look at it) of the 1990’s, when hugely successful British dance outfit, KLF (known at that time as The K Foundation), burnt £1 million pounds. In cash. In 1995.

Even now, nearly 20 years on, it seems utter madness that someone, even in the name of art, could burn a million quid. But that’s exactly what the two members of the KLF, Bill Dummond and Jimmy Cauty did. Many myths and rumours surround this event, with the band claiming that only £900,000 eventually went up in smoke, with £100,000 worth of £50 notes simply flying into the air due to the intensity of the fire. The local police even found up to £1500 in charred notes, which were left for the two members to reclaim if they so wished.

So Jura is a place where interesting things happen and in 1810, a distillery was opened; the perfect place to hide from the excise man. By 1901 the distillery was closed to lay dormant for nearly 60 years, until it was rebuilt in the early 1960’s springing back to life in 1963. Housing the second tallest stills in Scotland, and the largest stills of any island distillery, it is now a single malt which you’ll find all over the world. Yet another piece of art from this small island making a global impression.

The venue for our Turas Mara tastings

This year, Jura held an ‘open house’, over two days running free buses and ferries across from Islay, hoping to attract many more of the folk who have travelled to the Feis Ile for their annual hit of smoky whisky.

With events ranging from warehouse tastings with the ever-energetic Richard Paterson, through to speedboat tastings in the Sound of Jura, (…hosted by yours truly) there were plenty of reasons to drive onto the small car ferry and make the short crossing between islands.  On top of all this, there is an annual festival bottling release from Jura, only available from the distillery during their open days. 

This year, the bottling was extra special, to mark the 50^th anniversary of the distillery reopening, a ‘boutique barrel’, containing whisky from a 1963 French oak cask, as well as containing some heavily peated stock, resulting in a whisky which is both fruity and smoky. 

Jura – Festival 2013 – 1963 French Oak + Heavily Peated 1999 stock – 663 bottles – 52.4% abv - £70.00

Nose: A real treat straight off the bat.  The aroma of a delightfully smooth, almost 70’s peat smoke swirls around the glass initially, followed by some rich notes of spicy sherry/wine tones, some oakiness and a fruity, almost jammy note. 

Palate: Initially dry and hot, with some oakiness delivering a wet wood note, which then fades into a spiciness – a hint of cinnamon and liquorice.  Given time in the mouth, the wine influence takes hold with some bold fruit and a distinct smokiness. 

Finish: The peat lingers alongside an oakiness and a rich fruit note.

Overall: The nose really defines this whisky:  elegant and refined, with a smooth smokiness.  A dash of water develops the fruitiness and direct nature of the spice.  At £70, it’s also very well priced against many of the other Islay festival bottlings.  Well done chaps.

Jura also have a new release, called Turas Mara, which means ‘long journey by the sea’ and is their new offering in Global Travel Retail. Made up from whisky matured in four types of casks (bourbon, sherry, French oak barriques and port pipes) it is priced at £45 for a litre. 

Jura – Turas Mara – GTR only - 42% abv £45.00

Nose: A departure from the festival bottling. Masses of fresh fruit, vanilla, a real sweetness and some subtle spices. Light toffee/peanut brittle, sliced pears and orange zest. Candied and very fruity.

Palate: Sweet and malty, with some herbaceous notes, crème caramel, some sour cherry notes and a hint of creamy oak. With water, zesty lime notes begin to emerge. 

Finish: Clean, with orange zest and a slight drying vanilla oak. 

Overall: Having used this as the main feature for our speedboat tastings, it has established itself as our favourite expression of Jura on the market today.  

Tea, you say?  Turas Mara and cake more like.

It has been a real pleasure spending some extended time on Jura, an island we have only fleetingly visited before. We had no idea as to the hidden beauty of the island and we would highly recommend a visit, and a drive all the way up the islands only road...

Tomorrow we head to Bunnahabhain and try the festival release from Lagavulin...

It's a Vintage Friday. Jura's new 1977...and Jazz

What a bloody full-on year so far.  With barely time to find to feed oneself, Caskstrength have this week been getting stuck into some of the recent samples to pop through the letterbox -  to be honest, trying to clear a path to our desks would be a big bonus.

One banger of a vintage that jumped out immediately is the recent 1977 release from Jura.  The distillery has a very healthy vintage collection on its mantlepiece now and the 1976 release, which came out back in 2011, made our BiG shortlist such was its succulence.

This year, we find the distillery offering up something equally interesting and hopefully as majestic on the palate.  The 1977 bottling is limited to 498 bottles and was originally matured in three first fill bourbon casks, before being finished for a further 12 months a ruby port pipe.   The additional port character is not immediately visible, but look closely and you'll begin to see the slightest tinge of sunset red... wondering what it has done for the nose and palate of this 36 year old.  

Wrapping up warm... and rocking' to a
1920's Jazz playlist... Lois Ridley. 

Today's review will be made in the company of miss Lois Ridley, who, it turns out seems absolutely fascinated with the trombone-heavy 1920's ragtime jazz of Tiny Parham and Jack Teargarden.  A recent discovery for me, thanks to the honourable Mr Sam Simmons, aka Dr Whisky.  In fact, the more she listens the more I am convinced she's destined to be a future heartbreaker and sultry Jazz chanteuse... Gulp.

Jura - 1977 Vintage -  498 Bottles - 46% - £600 RRP

Nose:  An intensely fruity aroma off the bat, with some big fat buttery vanilla pods, a faint whiff of some perfumed ruby port, oil of Olay, lip gloss and face powder (not mine, I may add), a little furniture polish and some restrained peat smoke (in the way only Jura knows how.) It's delicate, refined and very good indeed. 

Palate: Almost tropical on the first sip, followed by sweet vanilla, white chocolate, a similar restrained peat smoke as to the nose, coconut, Caramac bars and more of that Olay/face powder.  I imagine this is what its like kissing a 1920's jazz chanteuse, if they were nibbling on a Caramac between sets.    

Finish: A drying note, but the vanilla continues to sing through, backdropped by a trio of coconut milk, creamy oak and perfumed peat.  

Overall:  Well, they keep plucking 'em from the relative obscurity of the Jura warehouse and thrusting them into the limelight... and boy, this one hit the high notes yet again.  Who needs Stephen Poliakoff's 'Dancing On The Edge' when you can listen to this baby all night... 

Like A Rolling Stone: Jura 30 Year Old Whisky

It's once again that time of year when the drinks world goes bonkers for the Christmas rush. Easing out single casks, limited editions runs or new blends, it's a great time to be interested in whisky as we begin to see the fruits that the collective creative brains in the industry have been cultivating for months, possibly even years.

A lot of these expressions will be 'here today, gone (on eBay) tomorrow' bottles and as the balloon that is demand rises, so the cost of holding on to these offerings increases as the string gets longer. We only have to look at the effect of  supply and demand on the annual Port Ellen release to see this example played out in Technicolor.

But every-so-often around this time of year, someone sneaks out a whisky which will just sit quietly in the range and not make too much of a fuss over itself. And this is exactly what has happened over at Jura. Except this isn't just any average teenage newbie.

No, Sir. This is a 30 Year Old offering.

Named 'Standing Stone', the whisky takes its name from the largest of eight standing stones on the island where the whisky is made. Standing 12-foot high, it is all that is left of a 3,000 year old stone circle. That means this whisky, at 30 years old, is just 1% of the age of the stone which is depicted on the bottle. And we thought this hooch was elderly...

The whisky itself is matured in ex-American oak barrels and then finished in Oloroso Sherry butts from Gonzalez Byass. It will come housed in a display case, with the bottle being in-filled with copper wax and a matching metal plate containing all the details. It'll set you back 350 of your Great British Pounds.

Jura - Standing Stone - 30 Years old - 44% abv

Nose: The first aroma to hit the nose is like opening a fresh packet of high quality granola; this gives some cereal tones, a hint of coconut,  lots of raisins and dried fruits (esp. apricot). Beneath that is a hint of peat smoke and then the real finger print for me of Jura, which is a copper tone, like standing next to a blazing hot still in operation.

Palate: A big initial hit of apricot, which develops a meatier mouthfeel and gives off some light candy flavours, sweet cured bacon and toasted pine nuts. The smoke emerges along with a copper tone again, giving the big mouthfeel a surprisingly light undertone. With water the palate opens up to greater sherry elements and more polished oak. A lot of energy for a whisky this age.

Finish: Some spices and chillies, there are hints of liquorice powder, orris root and crystallised ginger. Lovely soft-smoky end to it all.

Overall: This is certainly a Jura but with the extra 'oomph' of long maturation and the finish in a very good sherry cask to really give the beast some additional energy and complexity on the palate. Belittles its age. If you like Jura, you'll be in for a real treat with this one. It Jura XO.

So there you have it. A whisky which has been added to the very top end of the Jura range, but just quietly gets on with being a really great example of a well-aged and complex Isle of Jura offering. Less of a standing stone, this is certainly more Mick Jagger than Oblix.

The Grand Jura

Some times I feel very sorry for the Isle Of Jura. There it is, sat next to Islay, not the poor relation by any means, but just not extended as many courtesies as its big brother. Groups of peat pilgrims travel from all over the world to Islay, to bask in the smoky glow of all those legendary distilleries. The Feis Ile comes around once a year and in spite of Jura putting on a fair old show of its own, it is criminally overlooked by the large majority of visitors. This year was no exception and the bloody awful weather put pay to any visitors who were that bit curious about what the distillery has been up to.

Well quite a lot, as it happens. A brand new shop and last year's Boutique Barrel collection have gone a small way to showing that the little brother can punch above his weight when he wants to. Now we have Feith A' Chaorainn 1976 vintage - part of the limited edition Rare & Prestige collection of older bottlings that Jura have been developing. We haven't tried the 1974 vintage, which yielded 658 bottes, but judging from the noise it made in certain circles it was a cracker.

Apparently the name means 'the lands around the rowan'. Catford in South East London has lots of Rowan trees growing in its vicinity, which are supposedly noted for bringing good fortune. Not sure I'm buying into that, knowing Catford for...well being Catford, but let's hope the Jura Rowan brings this dram a whole lotta' good fortune.

Isle of Jura- 1976 - 'Feith A' Chaorainn' - 46% - 500 bottles

Nose: Incredibly mossy, with a mineral-like dustiness, some seasoned pine, fresh mint, blackberry leaves and then comes the classic aged bourbon notes; vintage vanilla, tinned peaches and cream, more tropical notes nestling at the back, with a very harmonious and some what aromatic pipe tobacco note, with a deft note of smoke. This noses incredibly well from the outset, but give it a little time and it begins to explode with aroma.

Palate: Absolutely superb. Rich oily golden syrup notes grab your tonsils first, followed by some menthol cough sweets, a faint note of anise, a little blast of iodiny peat and some liquorice. The balance is perfect and the cask has given plenty to the viscosity of the spirit. There's not the faintest note of dryness or brittle oakiness, just wave upon wave of that liquorice and the syrup.

Finish: The spices linger, some burnt, smoky caramel notes develops and notes of soft fruit and cream come to the fore. Contemplative and extremely lengthy.

Overall: What can I say. This is unquestionably the best Jura i've tried and I've no doubt that there are probably some other sensational casks sitting there waiting to be bottled.

If there's one distillery that has constantly been in the shadows, compared to its more shouty, popular Islay big brothers, it's Jura. And I think all this is about to change - by a unanimous decision.

BIG Awards - Competition Winners Results!

Well folks, sorry for the delay in posting the results of our readers competition. As mentioned in an earlier post, Mike Aikman wins some tasty samples of our 10 BiG nominees. But there are also 2 runners up prizes to be awarded and those go to Richard Wood and Jonathan Bryant. Well done gentlemen!! A very nice, newly released collection of Jura Miniatures will be winging its way to you shortly - in case you're wondering what's in it- take a look below...

Also keep an eye out later this week for something a little Antipodean themed... and no, it has nothing to do with the ashes...

Judge and Jura

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"Me? I’m doing just fine, thanks."

Actually, I’m not. But why do we always say that we are?

It’s a very British thing to brush aside such a deep and probing question with a glib “yeah, I’m okay” bog standard answer. The truth is, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I tried, I really did. I got an early night. I had fresh bed sheets on. I even went to gym in the day to tire myself out. But (and this doesn’t happen very often), I just couldn't sleep. After a while I gave up and watched Sherlock on BBC iPlayer for 90 min, which probably didn’t help as every gust of wind which caught my curtains, I assumed was a ninja ready to attack me as they continued their search for a lost £9m hair pin. Anyway, I digress...

This morning, I’m shattered. Really tired and it’s only the middle of the week! What I need is a perk to get me going. Something to bring me back to life. Let’s have a look what’s in the cupboard. Options are thus:

Tea

Coffee

Tick Tock (rooibos tea)

Ribena (Hot or Cold)

Milk

I opt for a nice cup of tea. How very British of me!

A few hours later, however I’m flagging again. Bored of tea and almost certainly not in the mood for coffee, I’m wondering what wonderful remedy could wake me from my half-slumber. And then I get an email with the answer in it.

It simply read: “Did you hear the crazy Jura story that was on the radio on Saturday night? Have a listen and a giggle to this one...” and contained the following attachment (click here):

Luckily, in the cabinet downstairs I have a bottle of Jura Superstition and sitting on my desk are some wee little sample bottles, which were sent over last week. The contents? Some Jura whisky! If this stuff can bring a chicken back to life, then it must be useful on me...!?!

The three small bottles are samples of the Jura Boutique Barrel series which, their press release informs us, are three unique offerings A First Fill Bourbon, a Heavily Peated Bourbon cask and an Oloroso Sherry cask.

First off however, let’s have a look at a standard expression of Jura, the Superstition, a peated version of their whisky:

Jura – Superstition – 43% Vol

Nose: A whiff of smoke (a mix of peat of peat and wood smoke) and then notes of old oak and a big, sweet sherry hit. The sweetness of nose lingers over the initial hit of smoke with the headline fruit being apricot.

Palate: Not so much smoke on the palate, it takes a back seat allowing the wood notes (this time fresh pine), the fruit and some hickory notes to appear. Quite dry and oily, it almost seems to roll up into a ball on your tong.

Finish: Wood polish, some smoke, sweet cure bacon and hints of oak at the death.

Overall: A fine whisky with a good mix of smoke and oak, but a tad heavy on the sherry for me and a slightly artificial taste. At £26 this is a pretty decent dram for the money, if you want mild smoke and rich sherry.

Let’s move on to the new release Boutique Barrels and start with the Oloroso Sherry Cask.

Jura – “JI” - Boutique Barrel Series – Sherry cask - 1993 - 54% - £75

Nose: Ahhh! Now there is that “honesty” which you want from a sherry barrel. Immediately you get a rush of dusty old books, church pews, stewed prunes toffee apple, brewing coffee and ginger. A real, honest nose from a sherry cask with a hint of menthol on the back.

Palate: Rich and crisp with ryvita and brown bread. There is also a hint of copper as you swirl and chew- like a good rye bread with honey on.

Finish: warm and spicy but soft and chewy. Plenty of cinnamon and toffee with some light orange notes. Really lovely.

Overall: A fine expression of a well sherried whisky that does everything well. Dusty without being over-old, and chewy and oliy without being too sweet.

Next up comes the Bourbon Cask.

Jura – “JO” - Boutique Barrel Series – Sherry cask - 1995 - 56.5% - £65

Nose: Butterscotch. Red apples, vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce. This has taken a lot from the cask!

Palate: Oooh, some lovely spices and drying oak notes. Very lively and malty. Gammon in cider, baked in the oven with cloves in.

Finish: Dry, long and malty again with a slight hint of liquorice on the back palate.

Overall: What about this, huh? A complex dram that won’t be to everyones tastes. It’s quite up front with big flavours and will shove them in your face. Not a subtle dram at all.

Finally, let’s have a go on their “heavily peated” Bourbon cask...

Jura – “XU” – Boutique Barrel Series – Bourbon Cask – Heavily Peated – 55% - £55

Nose: Well, it’s peated but I’m not sure how “heavily”. I support Oxford United who, having won promotion from the football conference in to the football league last season could be called a “successful” team. But Man Utd they’re not. And this is peated, but it isn’t Supernova! Still, the nose is lovely – a kin to Lagavulin 16 (in fact.. let’s pour a dram of this to compare- Wow, they really are very similar. The Jura has more “musty” feel to it and is less sweet which must be due to an absence of sherry barrels). Really a very good nose which is both soft and inviting, yet peaty and warming. Yummy!

Palate: Peat smoke sits for a very long time and once this soft and delicate fire subsides there are elements of straw, hazelnuts and warm, fresh baked brown bread. Super, super flavours.

Finish: Just the right length being warming and lingering without outstaying its welcome.

Overall: this is my pick of the bunch. It’s the youngest and the cheapest, but I’d take this bottle any day of the week.

Feis Ile Day Seven: “Is That A Bearded Roy Orbison Driving A Kia?”

Day Seven: “Is That A Bearded Roy Orbison Driving A Kia?”

Today was the turn of Laphroaig, the choice distillery of the Prince of Wales who arrives on the island next week for a visit. This, along with the Feis Ile, means that the white walls of Laphroaig are shining brighter than usual to welcome us in for our morning tasting. On show, and presented with some traditional Scottish toasting by the North American Master Brand Ambassador, Simon Brooking, were the Laphroaig 10 YO Cask Strength, last years Feis Ile bottling and this years offering “Cairdeas”.

Laphroaig – 10 YO – Cask Strength – OB – 70cl – 55.7% Vol

Nose: Liquorice, lots of cereal, peat and classic Laphroaig brine.

Palate: An intense sweetness, cereal again, seaweed, iodine and more brine.

Finish: Long, more warming peat and apple sweetness.

Overall: Another big hitter from Laphroaig, a tad too abrasive in places and lacking in subtlety.

Laphroaig – 1989 – 17 YO – First Fill Bourbon - 5000 Bottles – Feis Ile 2007 Bottling – 70cl - 50.3% vol

Nose: Sweet, creamy, but backed with a real earthiness. A second nose gives a real underlying nuttiness; perhaps hazelnuts?

Palate: There’s those hazelnuts again. Almonds / Marzipan. Honey, oiliness and brittle sherbet.

Finish: A very subtle dryness, but more of the nutty flavours which means this dram develops incredibly well across the palate. Note: the amazing legs on this.

Overall: An excellent Laphroaig. Shame it only made 5000 bottles but well done if you secured one last year.

Laphroaig – Cairdeas – NAS – Feis Ile Bottling 2008 – 70cl - 55%Vol

Nose: Weak Earl Grey tea, sweet mint and cereal again, followed by freshly cut apples and hints of Darjeeling.

Palate: Coffee, sweetness, brown sugar and more cereal. Pretty darnn weak, especially for a whisky at 55%.

Finish: The best bit, with green apples, hints of smoke and grass. A firecracker finish of popping candy and gun powder.

Overall: Unimpressed. Nothing stands out with this bottling. This was blown away by the 1989, last years Feis Ile offering.

From Laphroaig to a hair-raising drive up to Port Askaig, in time for the lunchtime ferry over to Jura for their open day.

For anyone who hasn’t ventured this far on their previous Feis Ile trips, try and make the time next time around. The road through the island is a wonderful drive, passing some great, stop-you-in-your-tracks views and scenery.

Sadly our first cock-up of the adventure occurred – on arrival to the distillery we found they only took cash in payment for the blending and master class we were due to enjoy, leaving us in a quandary- turn around and head back, or explore the rest of the island. We plumped for the latter and it was clearly the right decision, as you’ll see from this picture....

In terms of whisky, Jura are doing a quadruple festival release this year- entitled ‘The Elements’ (Earth, Wind, Air and Fire, clever eh...) this is a limited bottling, encased in a leather holdall. Looks nice, but at £450 not something that really appeals to us at Caskstrength. (Rather like the ridiculous Ardbeg Double-Barrel, or a mini version of it).

This evening heralds a dance at Lagavulin. If the music is loud enough and the dancing wild, it may just be enough to distract the distillery workers while we nip into Warehouse no.1 and roll away cask number 4504... fingers crossed, huh!