Even today, it remains arguably the most important whisky book ever written.īarnard describes Jura as… “ very romantic, the mountains rising precipitately from the sea, some of them to the height of 2,500 feet above sea level… Upon these majestic heights no trees strike root, and here and there beetling crags project, with no shadow to break their terrible ruggedness… It’s bays project all the charms of Oban in miniature, and the mountain lochs team with trout.” The result of his epic journey was a 500-page tome of technical information and beautifully descriptive accounts of distilleries and their locations. He visited an incredible 162 distilleries along the way. The best account of the early distillery is to be found in The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom by Alfred Barnard.īarnard was a journalist who set out to travel the length and breadth of the UK between 18. Locals often referred to it, however, as simply, Jura distillery. Originally it was called Craighouse but was renamed Small Isles Distillery before changing again to Caol Nan Eilean. It is a community that finds itself significantly outnumbered by the 5,000 deer that roam the island.Ī distillery was established in Jura in 1810. The Island is usually reached via neighbouring Islay, itself a two-hour ferry ride from the mainland. Taste: Earthy, heather, peat, savory, butterscotch, honey, vanilla, sweet orange, light smoke.Of all Scotland’s distilleries, Jura must surely be the most remote. Nose: Earthy, moist moss, heather, orange peel, butterscotch, light smoke. A highly enjoyable whisky indeed, and highly worth its price (under $46 in the UK). It’s not a perfectly balanced whisky then, in my opinion, but it is perfectly delicious. The finish is long, spicy and peaty, and throughout the whole experience – from nose to finish – is a thing veil of smoke, trying its best to unify the other qualities but not quite getting there. This is followed by a savory quality that I can’t quite put my finger on – before dipping into a pool of sweetness: that butterscotch is there again, along with honey, vanilla and sweet orange. On the palate its light yet a bit oily, and starts out with those same earthy, heathery, peaty notes that you find on the nose with the addition of a peppery note. I don’t know how many times I’ve said a whisky has a good nose on here, but I’m going to go ahead and do it again: it has a very good nose. Now then, Superstition – on the nose it’s earthy, reminiscent of slightly moist moss, heathery, peaty, and it carries a sweetness which brings to mind sweet orange peel and butterscotch. Will I tell you what this manner is? It’s more fun not to so no, no I will not.

Whatever its history, Jura superstition says that it brings you good luck – but only if you pour the whisky in the “correct manner”. Personally, I bet it has something to do with the Goa’uld (that one goes out to any Stargate fans out there).

According to Wikipedia, the Ankh is known as the “key of life” and is an ancient hieroglyphic character out of Egypt – though its origin remains unknown. That’s not the only superstition surrounding the bottle, however – there’s also the Ankh. One of them is that it is unlucky to cut peat before the beginning of May – I’m sure that one wasn’t invented by a group of laborers who prefer to work when it’s warm out or anything. The name, so the folk at Jura tell us, stems from the many superstitions present on the Isle of Jura.

It’s one of their standard expressions and will set you back somewhere between $29-46 in most shops. Today, I’ll be taking a look at Jura Superstition.

Superstition whiskey