ABV 40%
What the professionals Say:
The nose has a freshness with notes of damp hay and soft, malty cereal notes. A touch of peat with gentle oak and arak with blossom tones. The palate is thick and full with more cereal, this time a barley fudge sweetness creeps in with creamy smoothness and a touch of aniseed. The finish is long with peppy winter spice.
• Gold medal at the Beverage Testing Institute 2012
• Three silver medals at The International Wine and Spirits Awards (2010, 11 and 12)What I think:
One of my favourite quotes I came across when researching this Whisky was this "There is only 2 ways to drink Jura, with your left hand or with your right" and for this dram, they are quite correct.
The distillery at Jura was built in 1810 by the Campbells, rebuilt in 1884 and dismantled and left to ruin in the early 1900's. Around the 1950's it was decided to rebuild it and this was completed in 1963. The distillery had larger and taller stills allowing it to create a mixture of malts.
As you can imagine, changing the stills so drastically changed the flavour of Jura, pre '63 it was a strong, peaty, bullish whisky, following the new stills and redesign, it has changed massively. Indeed, across the range of Jura there is some massive taste differences, one of my favourites is the 21 year old, however, this is becoming rare and rarer and is now selling at over £150 per bottle. Anyhow, I digress.
Jura Origin (10 Year Old) is a light Whisky, another good first timer, although not as delicate on the palate as some or to everyone's taste, I like this Whisky, which is aged in ex-Bourbon casks. Deep gold in colour, the nose is considerable, it is damp and soft, a bit earthy, some fruit in there as well, but with an underlying saltiness, not one of my favourite noses, but pleasant enough.
On the palate it is soft, a very slight spice to it. It is drying, some hints of fruit, aniseed maybe, and nuts with a slight honey sweetness which rapidly dissapears. You can taste the spirit through it though which is ok, but not my favourite experience.
The finish is quite long, with a salt and pepper dryness which subdue the sweeter notes even further.
6.8 out of 10. Easy drinking, not the most refined, but there is something about it... memories of nights with friends maybe clouding my judgement on this one....
