Thanks to /u/devoz for sharing this dram.
Still at a tasting. We’ve had some odd, new stuff. But it’s time to come back to a whisky we all know and… well, frankly avoid, if I’m being nice.
I say that as someone who likes peated Juras, by the by. There’s this problem though where the unpeated malt needs strength, cask influence, and time to really shine. Not to mention the peated malt doesn’t tend to get out to IBs. And they stopped doing the boutique barrels, because of the incident (I don’t actually know why they did, maybe I made too many dick jokes or something).
Enter Isle of Jura 22 1992 Douglas Laing Old Particular. When this came upon the market, and we, a group of people who split bottles and make uncomfortable eye contact, I pass. Why? Because it’s not peated Jura and it’s from Old Particular. I’m…not totally a fan of Old Particular either.
So duh, I didn’t buy this 22-year-old ex-bourbon from a distillery that I something like. Let’s see if I made a mistake, shall we?
Price: Sold out
Region: Island
Vintage: 03.1992
Bottled: 05.2014
Cask Type: Hogshead
Cask Number: DL 10362
Number of Bottles: 282
Abv: 47.9%
Colour: 5Y 9/8
Nose: Floral, fake berry jam, butter, cake frosting, cotton
Wow. Floral, some sweeter notes with generic berry flavouring #859, some cake frosting and butter. Really sweet and floral. Dessert dram nose all the way.
I… chose poorly.
Taste: Mint, cake frosting, orange, caramel
Some nice spiciness, some sugary/butter notes. Slows down on the floral, triples down on the sweet. Can get a bit strong at times, with the poor acid in there being somewhat of a bulwark, not really enough though.
Finish: Floral, mulch, tons of sandalwood, gravel, algae
Finish reads my mind and decides to go in floral/sandalwood direction. I think I blew an incense stick and it finished in my mouth.
Conclusion: I’m pretty sure this is just a hippie who died from too much meth and incense. Perhaps during a sugar high. No, definitely during a sugar high.
This has the earth elements we all… know in Jura, but works them in well. The sandalwood is super, super strong here and takes out a lot of the finish. It’s a brash mess of incense and sugar at the end of the day. I don’t feel bad anymore about turning it down, however, I think you should try it if you find it.
The reason is this is what Jura should go towards. It’s cask strength, it’s interesting, and it certainly not as bad as others out there. So try it at some point.
81/100
Scotch review #1175, Island review #133, Whisky Network review #1812
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