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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 16: That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Jura 20 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

What does Day Number Sixteen in the 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar have for us? Today, we are leaving one island for another - heading from Canada back to Scotland and specifically to the Isle of Jura. Today's whisky is a 20-Year-Old small batch bottling of Jura from That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

This is the second bottle in this year's Whisky Calendar that has been sourced from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. This cool indie bottler is part of a larger company called Atom brands, which also operates a few different indie whiskies, rum, and gin labels including Drinks By The Dram, Darkness, and others. The company is responsible for the UK liquor retailer website Master of Malt, and also for making the first Whisky Advent Calendar that we had ever seen about seven or eight years ago. Atom Brands itself was bought by beer and drinks giant AB Inbev back in April of 2018.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company: Quirky Labels, Delicious Whisky

The Isle of Jura Distillery is the only distillery on the Isle of Jura (yes, I did read my previous sentence and no, I am not going to change it). The distillery site was originally founded in 1810 when it started its life under the name Small Isles Distillery. While it operated for most of the 19th century, it was shut down in 1901 and mostly dismantled. Jura Distillery was finally rebuilt and revived six decades later in 1963 when whisky production on the site started once more.

The distillery may not receive the amount of love from consumers that it should, currently. It is owned by Whyte and Mackay/Emperador and while the company does try to put focus on the Jura label, it is overshadowed by another brand in their portfolio. That is Dalmore Distillery, which has more of a following (and a lot more pretension in my opinion). It could be worse, though: Have you heard of Fettercairn or Tamnavulin? In Alberta, we just started to receive official bottlings from these two distilleries, but not much effort has been put into making them household names at this point.

Two woods ought to be enough for anyone.

While Jura whisky has a fanbase, the label and lineup have been a little scattershot and schizophrenic over the past decade or more. For years, it was tough to figure out what kind of whisky you were going to be getting from a lineup that carried both unpeated, lightly peated, and heavily peated whisky. I know they were trying to brand their peated styles with the mysterious names of 'Superstition' and 'Prophecy', but telling what was peaty and what was not in their range could be difficult for consumers.

The Jura brand was relaunched in 2018, though you can still find some of the older bottlings on shelves. The new range might not be much better for consumer understanding. One of my favourite Scotch Whisky bottle names to make fun of is the Jura Seven Wood - which seemingly tries too hard to wrest the crown away from The Balvenie Doublewood and the Auchentoshan Three Wood for 'Most Woods Used In A Whisky'. It reminds me of this hilarious (and in hindsight incredibly prescient) joke from The Onion.

The Isle Jura Distillery does make solid whisky, so enough of me poking fun at how its parent company manages the brand. Let us try this 20 Year Old Jura from That Boutique-y Whisky Company and see how it tastes!



That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Jura 20-Year-Old - 48.2%

Only available in 50ml mini bottles at this time.

A total of 901 500ml bottles of this Batch 5 of Jura from That Boutique-y Whisky Company were filled, and also some 50ml minis such as this one. Bottled at 48.2% ABV.

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: Some sort of subtly fragrant Alpine cheese - Compte perhaps, oatmeal with honey, sesame oil, pineapple Jolly Rancher candies, sliced cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, sponge toffee, and a touch of medicinal and coastal notes.

Palate: Lactic and creamy with salinity as well. Cheese again but let's say Asiago this time honeydew melon, Sesame Snaps candy brittle, cashews, chamomile tea with honey, a dash of apple cider and sugary lemonade.

Finish: Cashews and soft nuttiness plus fruits with more saltiness on the fade.

Comment: I must say, this one is right out of left field for me. Not in a bad way - I just can't wrap my head around it. Perhaps it is because I have not spent enough time with Jura single malt in general, but I cannot figure this one entirely out. I had a fun time trying, though!

Wow. This is one soft and subtle whisky for me. I am looking forward to revisiting it, as I truly wonder if I could get the same tasting notes on it a second time 'round. With tomorrow's whisky be as equally head-scratching? We will have to pick ourselves up and find our way to Door Number 17 to find out!

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

This entry was posted in Store, Whisky, Tastings, KWM Whisky Calendar 2020, Whisky Calendars

 

 

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