Jura 12yo

The Maker

Jura is arguably Scotland's least accessible distillery as it requires two ferries from the mainland - via Islay. Despite this, and being on an island with less than 250 residents, Jura is currently the best selling single malt in the UK, accounting for almost 8% of market sales. How it achieved this feat is an interesting question as not that many people drink whisky, fewer drink single malt, and those that do rarely rate Jura among their favourites. The answer, seemingly, is the aggressive targeting of UK supermarket shelves with low strength, heavily coloured and filtered releases at the low cost that affords.

This has not always been the case. As someone who got into whisky alarmingly close to twenty years ago, I am old enough to remember when Jura was considered a decent entry level malt - if not a little more than that. It would be recommended to anyone looking to move beyond the likes of Glenlivet and Glenfiddich. The best example of this to my mind was the lightly peated 'Superstition' that I enjoyed several drams of over the years before it was discontinued in 2018. In the years since I have struggled to find a Jura to like outside the odd independent bottling.

This is a great shame as the distillery is, by all accounts, making the same quality spirit that it always has. It is simply that those in charge of it - since 2014 it has been Emperador Distillers who took over Whyte and Mackay - have worked out that the supermarket shelves are where the money is rather than making whisky for people like me.

That is fair enough and it is hard to blame them considering the sales success they have had with both Jura and Tamnavulin. The greater shame from my perspective is that they have chosen such a narrow market based around supermarkets and the dreaded 'world duty free' market, rather than offer something for everyone in the way distilleries like Bunnahabhain or Laphroaig have achieved. Maybe that will happen one day. Yet until then Jura is likely to remain a distillery I am gifted (as is the case here), rather than I actively purchase.

The Expression

This 12yo is part of the post-2018 core range reset and seemingly replaces the old 'Origin' release. On the positive side it now has that age statement, but sadly it is still at 40%, chill-filtered and artificially coloured. It spent most of its 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in ex-oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed period of time. In the UK the retail price is around £31 ($41US).

The Neck Pour

There is a musky smell to this which is rather out of character to its age statement. Indeed it is more like something over twenty years old. The musk is pleasant enough, not quite wet cardboard but heading in that direction. On top of that is lots of burnt sugar, a strong aniseed note and a hint of raw celery. This is followed by a good dose of furniture polish and leather. In all honestly I rather like it. There is a lot of complexity here that I was not expecting.

Sadly that promise crashes abruptly on the palate. Hopefully this will open up, but upon opening there is very little here. It is watery for the most part. But with a second sip the sugars, vanilla and oak char present themselves. Regrettably there is nothing more complex than that at this stage. It feels like an imitation of whisky.

The Body

A little change on the nose. The sugars have got darker. The polish and leather have got stronger. The musk is still there. I still rather like it.

Yet this pleasant nose makes it all the more disappointing when I taste it. There is just no body to this at all and it ends up having a texture like mineral water. The basic ex-bourbon whisky flavours are still there, but it is more like a budget blend than providing the satisfaction I have come to expect from a good single malt.

Final Thoughts

It has taken me a good year to get through this bottle and I cannot say I have enjoyed it very much, and neither has anyone I have given it to as a palate cleanser. The only change in the bottom third has been a hint of red throat sweet and chocolate coffee on the finish which add a touch of welcome bitterness.

But despite saying all this I can see how it works in the marketplace. If you are looking for an alternative to a budget blend then this is a first step. Yet to me it is much more boring than a grain based blend like Johnnie Walker Black. I would far sooner suggest someone wishing to explore what whisky has to offer looks to a Johnnie Walker Green or an Arran 10 than go to this.

A a final note I do have another Jura on the shelf, which is a 17yo sherry bomb from Little Brown Dog. So far the difference between this and that is like night and day. The LBD release only goes to show that Jura do not make bad whisky. It is simply the fault of the people who define what their core range must be.