#ISLE OF JURA DISTILLERY FULL#

The new distillery's architect was William DelmГ©-Evans, who had previously been involved with Tullibardine and later went on to build Glenallachie. The result is an enticing, complex dram that I personally canвЂ™t get enough of.The present Jura distillery was built between 1960-63 by Robin Fletcher and Tony Riley-Smith (in partnership with Scottish& Newcastle's blending company Charles Mackinlay & Co.) on the grounds of a previous distillery (also called Jura) that had been founded in 1810 but closed and dismantled in 1901. Matured in a mix of bourbon, sherry, port and Bordeaux wine casks from the USA, Spain, Portugal and France respectively, and sold at airports all over the globe, this whisky has travel written all over it. Indeed the name is fitting, as this whisky is quite the piece of international synergy. Turas-Mara means вЂLong JourneyвЂ™ in Gaelic, and pays tribute to the many Diurachs who left their Scottish homeland behind as a result of the Highland Clearances in the 19th century. This particular expression of Jura is quite a special one, and is the sole member of JuraвЂ™s Travel Exclusives range.

Fortunately, this distillery produces far more than the islandвЂ™s 200 inhabitants could ever hope to consume, meaning there is lots left over for whisky aficionados like you and me. Located next to its more famous neighbour Islay, the Isle of Jura has only one road, one pub and one distillery. But itвЂ™s nice to reminisce over a whisky, so I poured myself a dram of Jura Turas-Mara and started writing.

#ISLE OF JURA DISTILLERY FULL#

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that I undertook this trip as much as three years ago, before I started this blog.

Suffice it to say, I liked JuraвЂ™s whiskies, and decided it was time I explored the island on which they are made. At any time you may expect to bump into one of the islandвЂ™s 5000 deer or see a golden eagle soaring overhead. Not that Jura is lifeless quite the contrary. Bleak, bare and boggy, Jura is the perfect wilderness, a truly remote piece of Scotland located just 10 miles from the mainland. Although Jura is the 5 th largest island in the Hebrides, it has a population of only 200 people. While this might make sense from a whisky perspective, there are plenty of reasons to give Jura a visit, particularly if you love the great outdoors. So inevitably, most visitors are drawn towards JuraвЂ™s more famous neighbour for finding out how the Water of Life is made. But hereвЂ™s the rub: while Islay boasts as many as eight distilleries, the Isle of Jura has just the one. And while the scenery is beautiful enough, when youвЂ™re on the west coast, you canвЂ™t help but shift your gaze across the Sound of Islay, where the Paps of Jura beckon on the horizon, tantalisingly close. On a previous trip to Islay, I explored practically all corners of the island. The only shame is the heavy caramel colouring thatвЂ™s needlessly been added to give Prophecy a more attractive look. The result is a captivating whisky, a good example that Jura gets their NAS bottlings very right. Clearly though, thereвЂ™s more than just bourbon barrels involved in ProphecyвЂ™s making. Jura is a bit secretive about the casks that Prophecy has matured in, saying only that Prophecy is crafted from a selection of the finest and rarest aged Jura single malt whiskies. But Prophecy is more than just that despite its relative youth, it displays layer upon layer of rich flavours. At the smokiest end of the spectrum we find Jura Prophecy, the island distilleryвЂ™s rendition of a peat monster. As you can see on their tasting wheel, expressions such as Origin and DiurachsвЂ™ Own stretch JuraвЂ™s range from light and delicate to rich and full-bodied. Most whisky makers produce either only peated, or non-peated spirit, but the Isle of Jura distillery has chosen to cover the entire spectrum.

Isle of jura distillery