
January 19, 2021

STAY TUNED!

Tomorrow we'll celebbrate Whiskyfun's 18 years, 4 months and 7 days right here and do something we've never done before. Something that we may well never do again...

A 3-vertical of new old indie Jura

There's been a good bunch of early 1990s indie (probably ex-SV) Juras around for quite a few months. These batches are always either good or interesting, provided no official entity has ever decided to murder them with any Mathusalem sherry or multiple wood madness. Let's have a very short verticale…

Isle of Jura 28 yo 1992/2020 (49.7%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon barrel, 98 bottles)

Isle of Jura 28 yo 1992/2020 (49.7%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon barrel, 98 bottles)
A micro-bottling bearing a very Moony label. A good sign methinks… Colour: gold. Nose: I remember. Bidis, patchouli, camphor, pink pepper and old rose petals, a very hippy combo. All we're missing is Jefferson Airplane or Country Joe McDonald. Perhaps not Country Joe. Some fine woody notes start to rise to our nostrils after two minutes, fresh-sawn teak, or just pinewood. I always enjoy oak when it's become pine-y, same with rums or even tequilas, not saying I'm not a little unorthodox here. Mouth: more pine-y flavours, some oddish herbal notes (crunching fir needles), and some notes of small bananas covered with pomegranate syrup. I am not joking. Some liquid caramel too. Finish: rather medium, oaky, spicier. Huge cloves and cinnamon. Comments: I know quite some friends are wondering why I'm not totally ecstatic about these batches and wouldn't light candles and sing awe mantras for seven hours between two sips. I would answer 'because they're all over the place and are lacking coherence'. And that I don't have to defend myself to you and nobody, there. Well really!
SGP:552 - 86 points.

Isle of Jura 29 yo 1991/2020 (42%, Lady of the Glen, cask #1843, 214 bottles)

Isle of Jura 29 yo 1991/2020 (42%, Lady of the Glen, cask #1843, 214 bottles)
I believe Lady of the Glen have recently upped their game, but as always, that's only a personal feeling. These 42% vol. here are natural, as this was bottled at cask strength indeed. Colour: light gold. Nose: this one's rather tropical. One mustn't forget that they have palm trees in front of the distillery! Preserved pineapples, coconut wine, Australian chardonnay (nothing wrong with that, mind you), buttercream, mango ice-cream, crème de menthe… That's all a lovely cocktail, seemingly refreshing and, well, sexy. Okay, glamorous. Let's only hope the palate won't be, say flabby. Mouth: no it's not. When some malts are lighter like this you sometimes find notes of old grain whisky – old Cameronbridge, for example – with due coconut et al., but balance and, first and foremost, tightness and tension were preserved in this case. Coconut wine, mint cordial, Bellini (champagne and peach coulis)… That's all delicate and perhaps a tad fragile, but it would just work. I would add 'phew!' Finish: medium, yet fresh. Lovely fruits and Timut pepper. Comments: I believe this one's miraculously fresh and well balanced. I also believe you'd be forgiven for thinking this was an old pure pot still Irish from Midleton's. Seriously.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

No funky Juraness in sight this far, but this wee session ain't over yet…

Jura 30 yo 1990/2020 (49.7%, WhiskySponge, refill hogshead, 217 bottles)

A previous 'Patersponge' bottling by the inenarrable Sponge had been excellent, so statistically, this one should be pretty good too. Could be that 1990 was a better vintage, even if I remember the distillery's official 1990/2005 had been as bad as a Mélenchon speech (enough with US or Brit politics, on to the French!) As for the label on this Sponge bottling, I say buy a bottle, put it next to the TV set and no need for any German shepherds or alarms at home anymore, all burglars and robbers will leave instantly anyway. Colour: light gold. Nose: different for sure, as this one's got the trademark oils and greases that were not to be found in the others. Castor oil, Connolly polish, new magazine, shoe polish, razorfish… Yes, razorfish. Also cut cactus, grandma's linoleum and unusual spirits, not the least of which would be white slivovitz. Mouth: it sure is the most Jura-y of them all. Much drier, with some earthy mushrooms, inks, dusts, then orange skins, geneever, stout, 'chewing on your Partagas', Listerine, cod oil… This is a funkier Jura for sure, but on the other hand it's probably rather intellectual. I mean, stuff that you like because they're a little difficult, hence rewarding. See what I mean? Like reading Dostoyevsky. Finish: long, dry, earthy. The thing is, there's also an Old-Clynelish quality to this juice, which we just couldn't reject. Some saltiness in the aftertaste, as well as a glutamate-y echo. Comments: the finish was even more convincing than what happened before. Scores went like 86, 87, 89, 90.
SGP:362 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Jura we've tasted so far