This Jura 10 Year Old was bottled after the takeover by Invergordon Distillers in 1985. It marks the distillery’s arrival in the modern area, using the term single malt whisky for the first time instead of the confusing pure malt.
Despite its geographical proximity to Islay, Jura distillery produced an unpeated malt to meet the demands for blends like MacKinlay’s or Whyte & Mackay. In 1974 they started bottling on their own, with the 8 year old Pure Malt version which existed for some time alongside this 10 Year Old.
Isle of Jura 10 yo (40%, OB for Moccia 1980’s, oval label)
Nose: starts narrow, with plenty of dusty cereals and old books, as well as hints of hay and cardboard, but it opens up nicely. Light honey, custard and orange notes (marmalade and peels). Then a nicer fruitiness appears, slightly tropical even, on banana chips. A little caramel, light wax and hints of rope as well. Quite nice actually.
Mouth: a simple but fairly honest malt. Not very intense of course. Some hints of ale, with plenty of honey and sweet breakfast cereals. Sweetened tea and hints of cake. Whiffs of moist wood and nutty notes.
Finish: shortish, as often with whisky from this era. Vague honey sweetness and hay.
Quite different from what you’re getting from Jura nowadays. While it’s old-style and rather simple, it offers a certain natural charm. Worth trying if you have a chance, it’s a nice entry point into retro whisky. Auction material, although you can also find it at The Whisky Exchange for instance.