Jura 16 Year (Highlands – Island) – 43% ABV – $96.20 CAD (LCBO)
Nose: Very sweet, but somewhat subdued. Honey, sweet toffee, candied fruit (apple and citrus), malt, and chestnuts.
Palate: Thick, rich mouthfeel. Sweet toffee again, right on the arrival. Fresh, sugared, tart red fruits (think red currants), caramelized brown sugar, honey, raisins, baking apples.
Finish: Definitely on the shorter side. The big fruit bomb from the palate dies away, leaving you with a honeyed-sweet nuttiness, and a little bit of an acidic, spicy bite.
Score: 82/100
Jura is just an intriguing distillery all around… The thought of distillery being revived successfully in such a small community, on such a remote island is damn cool.
I’d be lying if I said that every Jura single malt blew me away, but they do produce a consistently good product, and they aren’t scared of trying a variety of styles. As much as I like to see some of the old, traditional production methods in use, I also like to see distilleries that aren’t afraid to branch out an experiment. So points to them for that as well.
The Diurach’s Own (16 Year Old) is perhaps one of Jura’s more mainstream releases and it’s definitely worth a try. I can definitely understand why this has been deemed the Jura island’s residents’ favorite scotch, it’s just a flat out enjoyable. Rich, full, sweet and fruity, it would be a great post-dinner dram on a seaside patio. I’m never blown away by its complexity, but I consistently find myself pulling the Diurach’s Own out of the whisky cabinet when I’m after a relaxing, comforting, evening dram.
I think it goes without saying that every scotch fan would prefer to see their favorite whiskies released at cask strength and unfiltered, and this scotch is no different. In fact, there’s a quality to this scotch, a sense that it’s creeping up just short of the point of being amazing, that intrigues me for than usual. Something tells me that a cask strength release of this would blow some of my favorite sherry-bomb releases (Aberlour A’bunadh, Glenfarclas 105) out of the water. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll ever know…. Sigh!
Anyway, Diurach’s Own is good. Give it a try! Hard to find a more reasonably priced 16 year old whisky to boot!
The Green Malt 