Jura 19 The Paps & 1988 Rare Vintage Reviews

Hi everyone,

Back and in the airport again (cancelled flights rebooked) and back with two more Jura today. Both of these are pretty new but if you know me then you know I’m not a particularly big fan of this distillery. I tend to enjoy whiskies that are clean and crisp, complex whiskies, balanced and powerful whiskies.

Jura I find a bit flabby. Usually with these sour and doughy notes that don’t jive for me.

But these two are older. These two are at a sensible strength. And they are both using a sweet finishing cask…

Jura The Paps 19yo 45.6%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Cinnamon, gingerbread, ginger cake, rich, heavy, cakey, vanilla, orange, very nice nose. Heathery.

Taste: Heavy, rich, Sherry, sweet, cherry, vanilla, building spice and oak, ginger, nice mouthfeel, cinnamon. Not quite in balance.

Finish: Medium length. Cloying, sweet orange, more ginger and heather.

Travel retail exclusive. Finished in 40yo px casks (although the BOX says 30yo px) and interesting for it. The sweet notes aren’t crazy sweet but are quite cloying towards the end. The spices here help it balance out and bring something interesting.

75/100

Jura 1988 2018 Release 53.5%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Pastry and oak. Light sweetness from the Port, complex spices, cinnamon and nutmeg, ginger, not particularly balanced but classic Jura.

Taste: Full on, complex spices, ginger and nutmeg, spiced hot chocolate, cinnamon and clove, quite oaky, heather, better towards the finish.

Finish: Long length. The Port comes through more with some blackberry.

1 year finishing in Grahams Port barrels. Not my thing but fans of Jura with love this. Impressive packaging too although the price is probably crazy. I prefer this to the Paps but not by a lot and the Paps will be a lot cheaper.

77/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #685-#686

Whisky Network Reviews #819-#820

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Jura 1997 CC Review [When in Rome]

Hi everyone,

I’m not the biggest fan of Jura and it’s sour, pastry laden style. But then again, there’s plenty of other distilleries that I’m not a fan of the official bottlings that do great in other’s hands. I.e. the independent bottlers.

So, why not Jura? I thought, when confronted with this Gordon & MacPhail bottling.

 

Jura 1997 Connoisseur’s Choice 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A little sharp and sour, ethereal green apple, slight sour pastry. Apple strudel, slightly floral.

Taste: Sour arrival and development. Green apple, lots of salt, coffee, oak, quite dry, chalk and milk chocolate.

Finish: Long length. Coffee and dark chocolate, the classic Jura finish.

Bottled 2015. Not bad by any means, but I think I prefer the peated Jura’s I’ve had so far.

71/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #487

Whisky Network Review #563

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Jura 18 Premier Grand Cru Barrique Finish (Travel Exclusive) Review

Hi everyone,

Really quick review today of something I tasted recently. I believe this is quite a recent release from Jura distillery, exclusively for the travel retail.

Jura isn’t a distillery I’m very fond of, in warning. I normally find it quite doughy and weird, like if a baker was making a whisky. That style.

I only found out after tasting it that this is a red wine finish, and not only that but the ‘best’ Grand Cru Bordeaux stuff too. For me it didn’t really come through in the whisky, except the spicy notes from the French oak.

Jura 18 Travel Exclusive 42%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Fairly classic Jura with many little pastries and cakes (the cheap ones you get at hotel breakfasts), something sour, maybe orange, and dough, always the dough. Some heather.

Taste: Spicy arrival, ginger, clove, some dry oak makes the age felt, a little harsh for this age though, then a burst of sour orange juice and sour dough.

Finish: Long length. Ah, leans out too far and loses balance. Sour, harsh and a bit weird. Lemon pith wrapped in rising dough?

Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux barrique finish, French oak then. Explains the spicy notes.

64/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #364

Whisky Network Review #410

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Jura Reviews: 10 Origin, 12 Elixir, 16 Duirach's, Superstition & Prophecy

Hi everyone,

Got another multi-review dump today. It’s Jura. No, we’re not going to dump on Jura… Ok, maybe a little, but it hasn’t really got the best reputation. Maybe for good reason.

Anyway, it’s the only distillery on the Isle of Jura, just over the way from Islay. But unlike most Islay drams, they mostly make unpeated whisky. A smaller portion of peated whisky is made under other labels. Both are reviewed here.

Jura 10 Origin 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Light

Nose: Bit of salt, yeasty, flour, bread, butter, caramel, bit of floral, some honey, cereal, fruity note- Apple.

Taste: Light and sweet, oily, brine, salt, honey, faint spice, coffee, butter, heather bit of pepper, very mild citrus fruit.

Finish: Short length. Disappears with faint hints of oak.

Not the best, but quite cheap on deal.

61/100

Jura 12 Elixir 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Lots of caramel, nuts, spice, fruity- Plums?

Taste: Caramel, toffee, fudge, more chewy caramel, bit of spice, tiny bit of smoke.

Finish: Short length. Oaky spice.

Very simple, a one note whisky really. Just overwhelming caramel.

65/100

Jura 16 Duirach's Own 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Sweet and relaxed. Baking bread, yeast, raisins, apricot, rising dough, pastry, strudel, brioche, sherry, cinnamon and nutmeg. Burnt pastry.

Taste: Sweet start, sherry raisin, apricot bread, cinnamon, nutmeg, liquorice and some hay. A tiny bit of beach bonfire in the background. Bit of rough spice.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Sweet and syrupy ending with sherry and raisins.

A little bit better, but not really a fan of the burnt pastry style.

68/100

 

Jura Superstition 43%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Lots of spice, tonnes of cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, touch of smoke. Some sweetness with a cakey vanilla.

Taste: Fruity with lots of spicy cinnamon and some fruit and vanilla.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Spice with some smoke and salt.

Lightly peated, NAS. This is better, I like the cinnamon note on this.

70/100

Jura Prophecy 46%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Classic Jura, bready and malty, sour dough, sea spray, green oak, cinnamon, a little fresh ginger, Island-eque peat smoke, some lemon.

Water: More smoke and gingerbread. Seaweed and sea salt bread dough?

Taste: Sharp, some sour lemon and a little lime, then sea spray and Talisker-esque smoke, quite spicy with cinnamon and lots of spicy ginger, then more smoke into the finish.

Water: Softer arrival, a little medicinal note, bandages.

Finish: Medium length. Salty smoke then a baking note.

Islay peat smoked (Port Ellen) to 40ppm. Tasted blind I might have guessed Talisker.

73/100

Thanks for reading!

Reviews #296-#300!! Yay!

Network Average: 74.8

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just about OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent