Jura Tastival 2017

Review by: Raygun

Ah, Jura. I haven’t tried much, but based on the 10 and 12 its dubious reputation is pretty well deserved. Supposedly there are good IBs out there. This, however, is another OB, a limited edition from 2017. NAS but cask strength. Shouldn’t be boring, at any rate.  Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 20 minutes.

Distillery: Jura

Bottler: Jura  

Region/style: Islands single malt Scotch

ABV: 51%. Cask strength. 

Age: Unstated. Released in 2017.  

Cask type: Bourbon barrels and ruby port pipes, 12000 bottles.

Color: 1.5 auburn. Non-chill-filtered but apparently colored.

Nose: Grassy and young. Some berries and cream, along with sawn wood. Nice scent of freshly baked scones. A dusty room.                

Palate: A bowl of mixed berries with some orange zest mixed in. Scones with cream, similar to the nose. Starts off nice, but then there’s a solvent or varnish note that comes in. Grassy here too. Tastes young for sure. Improves with time, with the solvent flavor dissipating. Now it’s back. I don’t know what’s going on.  

Finish: Grassy is the main theme along with some woody influence. There’s a little bit of the solvent taste, but fortunately not much. Not a lot of the berries left either, sadly. The orange is more present, and so is the dusty flavor. Turns a little sour.    

Conclusion: It’s all right. Better than the 10 or 12, I can say that much. Enough potential that I won’t write off Jura entirely. It just tastes young. Given more time to shed that kind of solvent/varnish flavor, we might have something here. It wasn’t evident in every sip, but noticeable enough to affect the overall experience and score.

Score: 73

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
  • 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

Leave a comment