Isle of Jura Superstition

Review by: TOModera

Jura; has there ever been a more maligned distillery?

Well yes, it’s called Bowmore, and they’re generally not liked, however that doesn’t really help my opening line, as I reviewed Jura Superstition. So for now, let’s pretend everyone loves Bowmore.

Okay, stop pretending that, it’s scary, and we shouldn’t do that.

Back to the Scotch at hand; I was iffy about scotch for the longest time. Most restaurants don’t really carry that many smokey, peaty scotches. I was out at an Irish bar, a long time ago, and I ordered a random Scotch, which they were out of. The nice waitress offered me the new one they had in stock at a discount, and thus I tried Jura Superstition. And I loved the idea of peat and smoke.

After that epiphany, I started trying more and more, did some other stuff, and now we’re here. Hope you didn’t get lost. I may not always have a bottle of it on hand, however I still have a soft spot for the distillery that got me started on enjoying this great drink we all love.

Distillery: Isle of Jura Distillery.

Bottler: Distillery Bottling.

Region: Island (of Jura), Scotland.

ABV: 43%.

Age: Unknown

Cask type: Bourbon Casks.

Price: $62.95 (CAD)

Color: Sandy Orange

Nose: Lime, peat, sugar cane, salt air, oak, hard rock candy

This one is pretty simple. A little salt, a little peat, and some sweetness. Nothing too crazy here.

Taste: Corn, peat, chocolate, tomato, apple vinegar, salt water, peppercorns

The initial corn will throw you off on this one. It’s not going to completely go away, however the sweetness will evolve into a nice spicey dram. Again, nothing mind blowing, but nothing bad either.

Finish: Smoke, lime rind, sour syrup, chipotle, apple, charcoal

I love the finish on this one, and it does bring back memories. Can’t go home again? Poppycock! This is still nicely smokey and sweet. A good segue-way between Canadian whisky and Scotch. Again, it’s a medium, non-complex finish.

Conclusion: Nostalgia is a hard thing to buck. Part of me wants to rate this super high and be the savior that Jura wants. But I can’t do that. This is a good, not great, simple dram. It doesn’t really do anything powerful, it doesn’t blow you away, and it only has small parts of it that one would identify as an island whisky. Is it horrible? No. It’s not heavily, it’s my brother…. wait, no it isn’t. It’s my Scotch. Gotta take my meds.

Final Score: 79.

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.

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