![]() Small Isles produced a heavy, smoky whisky similar to those made on neighbouring Islay and took its water from the dark, peaty Loch A-Bhaile Mhargaidh, 300m above Craighouse. Not short of a few bob, the largest landowner on the island created an engineering marvel using only gravity to move liquid between the production areas. In 1810, seeing a clear demand for whisky, local kingpin Archibald Campbell decided to build a distillery on the Island, initially calling it Small Isles Distillery in reference to the numerous small islands in Craighouse Bay where the distillery is located. The islanders, however, thought very little of the ban and many of the estimated 250 pot stills remained active after the imposition, and considering the island’s extreme unget-at-able-ness, it was going to take a very determined excise man to actually enforce the act. The Duriachs (as inhabitants of Jura are known) enjoyed a long period of unhindered home distillation before this was banned in the Excise Act of the 1781. ![]() Whisky making on Jura has a long history. Standing stones, ruins and manmade caves dot the landscape serving as a reminder that the island has been inhabited for a very long time. Carbon dating puts some of the earliest settlements on Jura at around 8000bc. It’s believed that Jura takes it’s name from the old viking word “Dhiura” meaning red deer, however, the Vikings weren’t the first people to inhabit Jura. There’s only one road, one pub, one shop and one distillery. The Isle of Jura lies off the west coast of Scotland and is eleven kilometers wide by 48 kilometers long, making it a bit smaller than Cairns. This is how George Orwell famously described his attempts to reach the Isle of Jura and amazingly, the island is as awkward to reach today as it was in 1946. This finish and long maturation subverts the Jura light and floral house style and gives Diurach’s Own the very rich and full-bodied character that’s made it so popular and sought after worldwide. It’s made up of whiskies aged for a minimum of 14 years in American oak casks and specially selected for their body and complex fruit notes, before spending a further 2 years in ex-Amoroso Olorosso sherry casks. ![]() In recent years heavily peated batches were reintroduced and these are run for a few weeks each year for the Prophecy and Superstition expressions.ĭuriachs’ Own, so named because it’s the islanders’ whisky of choice, is Jura’s flagship expression. ![]() This fruity character allows Jura whiskies to develop flavour and body in a relatively short space of time resulting in the full-bodied and very complex malts that the island has become known for. This ability to create a Jura for every palate has become the one of the distillery’s hallmark.Īnother Jura hallmark is the move away from the heavily peated malts made by Small Isles Distillery to a lighter, fruity spirit. These stills are unique, and set Jura apart from other distilleries because they give the distiller the flexibility to create a mix of whiskies ranging from sweet and mellow to rich and smoky. The current distillery is built on the ruins of the old, and all the equipment was built to a new design including the introduction of very tall stills. Jura is a relatively large distillery considering the size of the island, producing around 2 million litres of spirit per year, much of which goes to the popular Whyte & Mackay blends. Also know as “the nose”, Patterson is best known for his work with Dalmore and creating Whyte & Mackay’s award winning range of blends, and has been instrumental in turning Jura’s single malts into the sought-after delights that they are today. This was a significant moment for Jura because it brought production under the umbrella of Richard Patterson, third-generation master distiller and whisky industry legend, who this year celebrates his 45th year in whisky. Isle of Jura distillery is owned by independent bottler Whyte & Mackay, who bought it in 1993. ![]()
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