Jura 16 Year Old

So here's the ridiculously hard to pronounce (and even harder to spell) Diurachs' Own 16 year old. Another trademark syrupy offering from Jura.

The thick Oloroso sherry comes screaming through on the back of toasted almonds, thick chocolate fudge and dark woody caramel. Mixed in with cereal milk and a seasoning of cloves and cherries the nose leaves little doubt to its' ancestry.

The palate is thick and syrupy with tangy dark chocolate giving way to a briny rock salt and pepper combination. It's a struggle if you ask me.

The medium finish is cloyingly oily with spicy clove.

Another one dimensional 'I knew what to expect' dram from this predictable distillery.

My German buddy Heiko brought this buddy as a gift from the duty free. The Isle of Jura 16 Year Old got nicknamed Diuriach’s Own, referring to the inhabitants of the island. This 16 Year Old has a weird color, probably due to E150a, for it is amber with an orange hue.

The first whiff is pretty alcoholic, despite the low ABV. Loads of caramel. Underneath I get a layer of breakfast cereals and hay. Some dark, candied fruit. A marmalade, sort of. Hints of citrus. Oranges, mostly. Hardly any spices. This is a pleasant enough nose.

It is oily and silky soft on the palate. Very sweet with loads of caramel and dark fruit. Icing sugar. Almost Turkish delight. Hay and grain. Some ginger and a bit of nutmeg. I had expected more, though, after the pleasant nose.

In the rather short finish, I get some more ginger and sweetness.

All together not a bad whisky, far from it, but certainly not the best from the range. I find it a bit underwhelming and much prefer their Elixir or the 21 Year Old.

Of the three Jura's i've tried this is by far and away the best and the only one i would recommend to buy a bottle of. It's very nice.

• Nose: a little closed you really have to go digging for this nose and honey, rich fruit almost fruit cake, bread dough (seemingly the Jura signature) and some toffee. With water bigger, slightly buttery even, other than that, all the aromas are still there, bread dough is more pronounced and has gone a little tequila-ery, touch of floral too.

• Pallet: beautiful smooth luscious body, immediately as you swallow there is some smoke or toasty-ness, milk chocolate, honey, toffee, dried fruits are still kind of there in the background I would say raisin and even a touch of sherry. With water milk chocolate first, then spicy fruit toast, with honey and toffee intermingling

• Finish: gentle restrained and short, toffee lasts from the pallet and some nutty tang. With water honey, really prominent mocha then it’s gone.

• Mark neat – 8.3, with water – 8.4.

Good stuff indeed nice light spirit, good balance between youth and age, lovely

I earlier reviewed the other 3 of Jura's range (10yo/Original, Superstition, & Prophecy). Now onto the 4th and final, the 16yo, which has the official title of "Diurach's Own" to signify that it is the drink-of-choice among the inhabitants of Jura. Aged 14y in oak and 2 in sherry.

Nose#1: Thick and sweet on first pour-- caramel fudge as it opens. Maybe a hint of pine.

Nose#2: Toning down to that idiosyncratic "Jura aroma" I described in the other reviews (dried-apricot/beer/cheese), except that it is now richly enhanced with honey butter. With more time, it develops elements of sweet grass and faint nectarine (citric peach).

Palate: Enters sweet with honey..., then a wave of gingery oil (with the honey); then becoming smoother and vanilla creamy-- still with ample honey.

Finish: Rather like the palate, with honey lingering gingerly. Joined softly by salty vanilla, and fades to grapefruit pith.

This warrants comparison with the 10yo/Original, the other non-peated sibling. Their aromas are similar, except the Original has more salt & soil, whereas the Diurach's Own has honey & grass. Their palates both evoke caramel (very smooth and somewhat sweet) but the Original's is more black pepper and apricot, whereas Diurach's Own offers more straightforward honey and a touch of vanilla. You might even call this one "uninteresting" if you're looking for complexity (the main reason for a lower score). Sweet and smooth, this one lends itself to dessert.

Aside from simplicity, my other reservation is that a couple years ago I was offered a sample of this in a Duty Free shop, and at that time I was less impressed with the 16 than with the 10. I recall finding the Diurach's Own rather like "hay and butter" (which I now find in the Superstition), whereas I thought the Original had more sweet complexity. My point is: if your bottle is open for a long time (presumably it was at Duty Free), then it is possible this might eventually tone down to hay, i.e. losing the honey effect. It remains to be seen....

Nevertheless, having now reviewed all 4 of the core range, I overall rate the Diurach's Own the highest, for the simple joy of it. If you're feeling more thoughtful, then reach for the Original. But for those hedonistic times, go for Diurach's Own.

This whisky is a nice one. It's quite smooth, gentle and tasty. But It's pretty uneventful. I guess it is for those moments when you don't feel like examining a dram for hours. If you just want to sit and have some nice drink this may be a nice candidate. Lack of complexity makes it a planned trip, not an adventure.

According to some, this Jura 18 Year Old is no longer being manufactured. But on the other hand, I read somewhere that it was introduced in 2007 to replace the 21 Year Old. So I cannot be sure. The label states that this is a Truly Magical Whisky. OK, Jura, work your magic.

The nose offers the typical Jura characteristics immediately. I get than rancid edge again, although that sounds a lot worse than it really is. Dandelions and malt with a hint of smoke in the background. After breathing it offers caramel and roasted nuts. A small amount of raisins and oak, as well as some tobacco. Spices? Yes, vanilla and candied ginger. Actually, this nose is getting better by the minute, so I will leave it for a while. After five minutes it has become super fruity. Apple, rhubarb and peaches – I kid you not – sprinkled with light brown sugar.

It is oily, mouthcoating and immediately very sweet. It reminds me of plum liqueur. And praline. OK, pralines filled with licqueur. Not bad, but not great either. Not a lot is happening on the palate. The spices do give it some depth.

The medium long finish remains sweet, but becomes somewhat spirity towards the death.

The nose needed time, but developed beautifully. That, alas, can not be said about the palate.

First of all, I am reviewing the 75cl bottling at 43% abv, as opposed to the 70cl European bottling which is only available at 40% abv … and as a welcome surprise, the States finally gets a whisky break :-) Can anyone make any sense out of this … not that I am complaining ?

It was difficult to find much information about this 16-year bottling, online or anywhere else, other than, according to the bottle, it is of the Vintage Collection, and that it was distilled in paradise :) Jura 16 did however, win the Gold Best in Class at the 2010 IWSC Awards. And whether it has anything to do with the whisky or not, the Isle of Jura appears to be a facinating island; among the many other morsels of interest about the island, it was home to George Orwell, where his book 1984 is said to have been created.

Jura 16 is in the non-peated, non-wine-matured single malt category, which are characteristically light, and to many connoisseurs, usually uninteresting. But this one is different, and stands at least a shelf above … read on please.

Bottle Nose: Very lovely and enticing deep, caramel, toffee, totsie roll candy, fudge and dried fruit … quite a sensuous solicitation.

Glass Nose: Grassy, a little citrus and generic chemicals, with a hint of peach or orange … nobody home. Now add a drop of water, and we get a bit of a miracle of sweet, creamy aroma, maybe like bananas-foster with brown sugar butter syrup.

Palate: During the first sip, you are flooded with a burst of lucious sweet, creamy, honey, mild spice, and some peppercorn. No water needed here. It is really good to savor this for a while, before going on to the finish.

Finish: Pleasantly warm and satisfying medium and moderately spicy finish … ummmm.

Conclusion: This is a sweet, smooth, creamy, buttery malt, with a good bit of depth, character and complexity. This medium-bodied whisky is assertive and confident, and not a light or wimpy entry-level malt. I feel that when I approach Jura 16, I’m going to be wined, dined and pampered.

I had difficulty finding anything in my cabinet with which to compare. I adore my Glenmorangie Original 10, but Jura 16 is sweeter and creamier … same goes for Glenfiddich 15. Balvenie 15 Single Barrel is a very close contender in other ways, but not as buttery and luscious. And of course, Jura 16 is a shelf above all of my other 12-year malts. I have not tasted anything in this category that surpasses Jura 16 … but OTOH, I have not tasted all that many 16-year Speyside-type whiskies. Any recommendations ?

The final problem is that Jura 16 has become on of my favorite malts and is already half gone. Also from Jura, their Superstitution expression, has for some time, also been a favorite … in the luscious intriguing mild-peat-balanced category. It seems that, so far, the Isle of Jura seems to distill my kind of malts !

Score 88/100 in its non-peated, non-wine-finished category.

Old gold in colour (Cockspur Old Gold colour for those with a familiarity with rum). Buckwheat honey sweetness on the nose and through to the palate. Starts with a little heat from the alcohol but finishes like a mead with honeyed sweetness and a touch of iodine in the nose.