Jura 16 Year Old

Isle of Jura Single Malt Scotch Whsiky

Diurach’s Own 16 Year Old

40% ABV

I’m on a little streak here with whiskies of the Scottish Isles other than Islay.  We’ve looked at Arran, Highland Park, and Scapa.  With 790 islands off the coastline on Scotland, it's not surprising that more and more are waiting out there:  Talisker (Skye), Tobermory, which used to be known as Ledaig (Mull), the soon to be bottled Abhainn Dearg (Lewis) and Jura.

I’m reviewing the 16 year old Jura today, known as Duirach’s Own, from the Gaelic name for the inhabitants of the island.  Jura is an island of the west coast of Scotland.  It’s separated from Islay by less than a mile.  Before you even crack the bottle, you notice something different – the bottle.  I love the shape of the bottle.  You’ll see the silhouette on the box in the store and it is distinctive.  Along with Glenrothes, I think the bottle of Jura is the easiest to recognize at any far away restaurant bar.  And that’s important, right?

When you open it, you may expect the peat ladled into your glass.  But, while the smokiness is there, it’s much more subtle than Jura’s Islay neighbors.  The color is lightly golden, and the aroma has a pretty complex combination of slight smokiness, sea air, and flowers.  The taste was something very different for me.  I tried to figure out how to describe it for the longest time.  I finally settled on the taste of those old candied wax lips we had when we were kids.  Kind of sweet, but with a slight waxy dryness.  Maybe a reach there? 

Putting words to the taste of these whiskies is definitely the hardest part of writing this blog.  I’m always amazed at how the great ones like Jim Murray and the late Michael Jackson (no, the other one) can do it so well.   Mr. Jackson has an excellent summary of Jura with which I completely agree, “For an islander Jura is often thought to be something of a lightweight, but it has hidden depths.”

Overall, I can’t say this is a great whisky, but it’s safely on the very good list.  It is something different.  It defies categories.  I have noticed something slightly different every time I’ve tried it.  I’ve learned something.  And most of all, I’ve enjoyed it.

Try some Jura.  It’s a good addition to the cabinet.  And the bottle looks sweet.

You know what would go with this?

Ah what whisky to have right now? Always a good question, and never really a bad answer. But, there are certain whiskies that lend themselves to certain times of day, or the year, certain experiences, or even meals.
I’m not ready to go down the whisky pairing route. There are whisky experts (and gourmet chefs) doing great work in the development of pairing specific whiskies with specific meals. Many distilleries now offer four course meals to their visitors, complete with an expertly paired whisky for each course. And there are chefs who are starting to develop delicious, elaborate, gourmet dishes with whisky as a key ingredient (which would be my favorite episode of “Iron Chef” ever).
No, what I’m thinking about are specific whiskies for specific occasions:

• The outdoor barbecue dram – I’d go with something lighter for this one, probably a Glenkinchie 10 year old. A nice Japanese Whisky, like Yamazaki, would also go well here, and would be a good conversation starter.
• Tailgate flask – let’s go with the late fall version of a tailgate here. Crisp, fall day, waiting to go into the stadium – this is the time for Highland Park 12 year old. Honorable mention: Bowmore.
• Golf course – if you don’t bring your own, and you're asking the cart girl, pick the Dewar’s over the Red Label, and add a lot of ice. If you’re bringing your own, one of the lighter Glenmorangies, like a Nectar D’Or or the original is the way to go.
• 19th hole – you cracked 100. Well done. If the clubhouse has a single malt, it’s probably Glenlivet. Enjoy it.
• Dessert (restaurant) – Lagavulin 16. Shut the dessert menu briskly. Hand it back to the waiter. When he asks, tell him you want it neat. Try not to laugh. You’ll be smiling soon enough.
• Dessert (home) – you have time to kick back and savor the flavor. Pour a Jura or Dalmore here.
• The evening, crackling fire – something beefy and a little smoky. How about we say Oban, here? Scapa’s always a nice option in this spot as well.
• Showing friends your whisky collection – give them an Ardbeg
• Someone likes the peatiness of the Ardbeg? Show them the Laphroaig Quarter Cask, or better yet, the Compass Box Peat Monster.
• Christmas whisky – A few come to mind for this special occasion. I mentioned in my last posting that Arran had a Christmas pudding nose, so that’s certainly a possibility. But two others stand out as truly special for a special day – the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban and Macallan 18.
• Wetting the baby’s head – A nice tradition of having a dram to toast your newborn baby. In my case, I chose the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist for both of my kids. I still have a bit of my son’s bottle left! But just choose your own memory here.

So, did I miss any occasions? Was I way off on any of my recommendations? Let me know . . .

An Island Whisky, But Not That Island

Arran (SMWSA 121.38)

7 Year Old, 61.6% ABV

Color: Dark deep sherry
Nose: Sweet, but in a dark chocolaty kind of way. I read something that compared it to Christmas Cake (fruit cake) and I like that analogy
Taste: Pretty strong, full flavors for a seven year old whisky. Sweet again with some cherry fruitiness.
Finish: Short finish, more what you would expect from a young one
Overall: A wonderful surprise with both the color and the palate, both of which bely this Arran’s age. The tasting notes from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society included this perfect drinking tip: “Find an excuse as soon as possible”. Thank you, I will.

So what about this Isle of Arran? Well, up until the 18th century, every island in Scotland made whisky. When the exporting of Highland Whisky was banned, bootlegging took over. But oddly enough only one legal distillery emerged on the island, Lochranza, even though Arran is located just off the Southwest Coast and not far from Glasgow. But that distillery closed in the 1830’s. It took until 1995 for a legal distillery to return to Arran, at Lochranza.

To help raise funds for the new distillery – and falling into the ultimate “wish I was there” category of a story – the owner issued $750 bonds to the public which would entitle them to five cases of whisky in 2001. The distillery face challenges. Every whisky must be aged at least three years, and even at that age, it’s typically only used in blends. However, Arran couldn’t the right party for their blends, so they had to wait. And wait. So, they opened visitor center, attracted tourists, and eventually bottled my sample (among others).

You may have noticed that the terms, “peaty” and “smoky” were not in my description of Arran, which is very unusual for an island whisky. That’s the route Arran has taken so far, and that makes it stand out a little bit among island competitors. For its distinctiveness, and it’s taste, Arran is worth a try.

Suntory Yamazaki

Yamazaki – 12 year old

When I try a whisky for the first time, I usually have a pretty good idea what it’s going to taste like – generally. I may be familiar with the distillery or the region. I may have read about it. You can also pick up some clues from the label.

When I poured my first class of Yamazaki, I had no idea what to expect . . .

Since the United States Navy steamed towards Japan in 1853, the country had been opening up to Western trade and Western tastes. Soon, Kirin beer popped up. The Japanese became fascinated with rugby and Sherlock Holmes. But attempts at making whiskey frustrated the country. Until the 1920’s, when Masataka Taketsuru attended the University of Glasgow and later worked for several Speyside and Campbeltown distilleries. He returned home to help Suntory establish its first distillery and later his own, Nikka at Yoichi.

For about 60-70 years, these distilleries, and several others, stuck to blends, even including some scotch in their expressions. About 20 years ago, Suntory finally decided to distribute some of its own single malt, from it's Yamazaki distillery. In 2001, Taketsuru’s Yoichi, won the coveted “Best of the Best” award from Whiskey Magazine. Japanese whiskey had arrived.

Back to the Yamazaki. The color was not surprising to me, pure gold. The nose was honey and vanilla. But the taste, was a very pleasant surprise. It was a very smooth taste, like sweet butter. But it’s not at all thin, like a weaker whiskey. Yamazaki has a nice long finish. It’s a lot more complete whiskey than I ever imagined.

I see this one as a summer whiskey, something for the deck after the cookout. Do a little investigating, try some pairings, and let me know what you think.

Let’s talk about Scotch, bourbon, and whiskey

There are a lot of different whiskies distilled around the world, prepared in slightly different ways, from slightly different ingredients that make them unique in their own way.  I received a great suggestion to try to highlight some of these differences:

• Scotch whisky – Made only from malted barley, the distillation and maturation (at least three years worth) must take place in Scotland.
• Malting refers to the steeping of a grain in water, allowing it to get just to the point of germination.  At that point, it is dried using heated air (this is where the peat comes in to play)
• All scotch is distilled twice, except for Auchentoshen, which is triple distilled (it’s a nice whisky too, if you’re interested in something smooth and lowland light, but I digress)
• Single malt scotch – the whisky used in a single malt scotch comes from only one distillery
• Cask strength whisky comes from a single barrel or “cask” from a distillery and typically contains a higher alcoholic content than most single malt scotches (cask strength whiskies will be labeled as such)
• Blended scotch whisky – the whisky used in blended scotch whisky comes from multiple distilleries
• Blends sometimes get a bad name.  And it’s true that there are many lower priced blends out there.  But keep in mind that Johnny Walker Blue Label is a blend.  Blends are what sustained the whisky industry for most of the 20th century.  Just think about the blender’s challenge as well – distilleries open and close every year.  Single malts’ taste change slightly from year to year, and even cask to cask.  Yet the master blender must balance all of those variables, and the changing ingredients at their disposal to create a consistent expression.
• Irish whiskey – conversely to Scotch, Irish whiskey must be distilled and matured in Ireland for three years.  Irish whiskey contains some unmalted barley, is distilled three times, and is rarely peated.  Better varieties of Irish whiskey are typically smoother than its Scottish cousin.
• Bourbon – must be made in America and is made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.  There is no aging requirement for bourbon, but it must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.
• Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark are well known bourbons
• Tennessee whiskey -  Bourbon produced in Tennessee is called Tennessee whiskey.   It typically goes through an extra step where it is filtered through maple charcoal before going in the barrel for maturation
• Jack Daniel’s is the most well known Tennessee whiskey
• Canadian whisky – has the same location requirements of the other spirits, without the grain requirements.  Historically, Canadian whisky had some rye grain added to the mash to add flavor.  While that rarely occurs in great quantity anymore (the primary grain is corn), Canadian whisky is still often referred to a “rye”.
• Crown Royal and Canadian Club are two common examples

I hope this quick outline helped highlight some of the differences and similarities among major whiskies of the world.  But there’s no substitute for trying them yourself!

Scapa Part Two–the actual drinking of a glass of Scapa

 

Scapa 16 year old

40% ABV

As I mentioned in a previous post, Scapa can be one of those “throw the cork in the fireplace kind of whiskies”.  Well, a few weekends ago, two friends and I scared the heck out of that cork.

Scapa is one of two distilleries on Orkney – the northern-most island of Scotland.  It’s located about two miles south of the Highland Park distillery, so it just barely misses out on that distinction.  Scapa is a good example of a moth-balled distillery that was brought back to life after ten years in 2004.  So what’s currently on the shelf was produced under previous management.  Now, on to the whisky:

Color – a nice, welcoming amber, with a little bit of noticeable oiliness

Nose – starts sharp, kicking your head back a bit, but after another sniff, you get some nice, fruity sweetness

Taste – a little medicinal, and a little oily with a thinner finish.  Malty and sweet.  I read another review that compares this one to an Irish Whiskey.  I think that’s a pretty good comment.

Overall – this one definitely acts like more of a Highland whisky than its island neighbor.  But it’s a good dram, outside of the top ten, but in the spirit of March Madness, maybe it’s “on the Bubble”.

Random, annoying complaint – this is a very tall bottle which doesn’t fit into my liquor cabinet standing up.  So I need to lay it down in an adjacent wine rack, something I don’t like to do (and my wife doesn’t like me to do either!)

Any Requests?

Are there any whiskies or topics that people have questions about?
If there's anything you'd like me to cover in this blog, please let me know either through a comment here or a post on Facebook.
A few topics I'm working on right now:

• A review of Scapa 16 y/o
• Good whisky reference materials (online or printed)
• Whisky regions I haven't covered (Speyside . . .)