Distillery In The Spotlight: Jura
About Jura Distillery
Set on the isolated Hebridean island with which it shares its name, although often in the shadows of their southwesterly neighbour (Scotland’s celebrated whisky island of Islay), the whisky produced on Jura is nothing to be overlooked.
Originally established in 1810, Jura distillery was reborn in 1963 and with it a local community was revived. The historic site was reopened in part to provide jobs to what was a declining population at the time. With an island population of barely 200, it is no half-truth that the distillery is the beating heart of the Diurach community.
The rebuilding of the distillery was backed by blenders Charles Mackinlay & Co, and so it produced a spirit to meet the needs of their blends. Today, everything produced at the distillery is used to create Jura’s single malt.
An embodiment of their island home, Jura Single Malt Whisky is renowned as a rich coastal dram combining subtle smoke and sweetness.
Whisky-Making
On Jura, whisky-making runs through the island and its people.
The stills at Jura are especially tall at 7.7m (the second tallest stills in Scotland after Glenmorangie’s). The taller the stills, the purer the spirit and these stills allow Jura to shape their distinctive light, delicate and floral new make.
Unlike the pungently peated and smoky drams of their island neighbour, the whisky produced at Jura is primarily unpeated, however, some expressions do incorporate a little peated spirit.
Creating Jura’s single malt whisky takes time. Cask filling and maturation takes place on their island home. Ex-bourbon casks are a staple at the Jura distillery, however, they also source a number of different French and Spanish wood types.
In 2020, Jura pushed the envelope by launching 'Cask Editions', a new series celebrating the role of different cask finishes in whisky maturation. So far, releases have featured red wine, Spanish sherry and ex-bourbon finishes.
The island distillery is also celebrating after their portfolio scooped up 11 Gold Medal wins at the recent International Spirits Challenge (ISC).
Exclusive Charity Release
Distilled in May 2001, unpeated spirit was placed into Jura cask no.1708 to start its journey to creating this very special expression. After an exceptional 19 years in this ex-sherry butt, the whisky was selected by Graham Logan and Mark Bruce for decanting into 470 of Jura's iconic seafaring bottles.
Each bottle was filled at a full bodied cask strength ABV of 55%, hand-sealed, labelled and individually numbered in August 2020 at the distillery.
Combine the single sherry cask maturation, impressive age and cask-strength alongside its limited release, this Jura expression offers whisky lovers a unique island dram that won't be repeated.
Our new charity release is a fantastic 19 year old that has aged for its whole life in an ex sherry butt. The distillation from our fantastically tall stills gives the spirit a light floral character. Long summers and protection from the cold by the gulf stream in winter have really helped the maturation process over the years. Once opened the whisky noses wonderfully of fruit, vanilla and toffees, and reminds me of Christmas to taste. This is a classic Jura dram nurtured by our dedicated island team.
Graham Logan, Distillery Manager
The exceptionally rare 19 year old single malt has been bottled at cask-strength to fundraise for SAMH (Scotland's Association for Mental Health) as Whyte & Mackay recognise the extraordinary challenges people have been coping with during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting pressures on peoples mental health around the world.
Only available online through Whisky Auctioneer, 100% of the proceeds, including Whisky Auctioneer's buyer's commission, will be donated to SAMH. For the chance to get your hands on this exclusive whisky in our current auction, and support Scotland's mental health, place your bids before Monday 5 October 2020.
