Review by: The Muskox

I’ve decided to team up with zSolaris to convince you that Jura is actually good.

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Distillery: Jura.

Bottler: The Bottlers.

Region: Islands.

ABV: 52.7%. Cask strength.

Age: 18 years. Distilled in April 1989. Bottled in August 2007.

Cask type: Cask #1107, an ex-bourbon hogshead.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 0.3, Pale gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Sweet-and-sour, very salty. Oysters and katsuobushi. Crabapples, underripe orange, lemon meringue. Lemongrass, cilantro, and raw green onion. Salted butter, soapstone, and chlorine.

Palate: Light texture. Arrives with chalk, more oysters, and yogurt. Develops stony and dark – slate roofs, asphalt, light soy sauce, and cold smoke. Salted licorice and parsley. Salt-soaked driftwood. Almond milk. Slightly medicinal.

Finish: Medium-light, briny. The smoke is light and cool. Burlap and river stones. Raw red snapper. Bubblegum and banana Runts. Vap-O-Rub. A hint of farminess.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Omakase at a Proto-Norse fishing outpost”

Conclusion: Super lean, salty and savoury, the most island-ish Jura I’ve had by a mile. For good or evil, Jura is always a little weird. In this case, it’s good. The flavours read cold and misty – it really placed me on a North Sea beach. I can see why The Bottlers are so respected if they’re putting out stuff like this.

Final Score: 87.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.