Jura Diurachs' Own 16 Year

When you read this i want you to feel my dissapointment. I know what to expect in an Islay or Island Whisky, i hope for it and i found nothing near of that in Jura's Diurach's Own 16 yo. More boring and simple than its very wonderful siblings, Superstition and Origin, made me wonder if Jura should sell the younger models at a higher price and this one at a lower price. Let me get this clear, it is a good dram, just not excelent. Superstition And Origin were amazing. On the nose is very elegant, with Vanilla in a beautiful way and macadamian nuts. Maybe some Caramel BUT ALMOST NO PEAT. No peat in an Islay or Island whisky is like playing soccer without the goal. Nothing else happens on the nose, i can tell you it smells sweet and delicious but no fireworks are fired here. On the palate it has nothing to do with the profile told on the box. It is Hot, rough, with dry brown grasses, woody, nutty, with a long hot finish, not easy to enjoy. The real problem here: it was kind of boring. I had to make it a little better so i tried adding 2 mini drops of water and it helped a lot. On the nose i discovered honey, Caramel and Chocolate, without firing fireworks either. On the palate it was most improved, releasing all this beatiful spicyness that dance all over your mouth, resembling like licking a "crazy dips" lollipop, but in this case the spices (ginger and black pepper) are the ones that "sparkle" in your tongue.There is also a tobacco note on the palate after adding water. Finish is long, full bodied. bottled at 40% but is very rough very oily, no Islay or Island profile at all. Its color is chesnut. Overall it is a good whisky, but not the ultra mega great whisky i was hoping it to be. Maybe its my fault for having great expectations, but it was because its two predecessors were amazing.

Diurachs are the inhabitants of Jura, and this whisky honors them. It's a higher-end expression from the distillery, aged a somewhat atypical 16 years. That age is immediately evident on the nose, which has a rosy musk that isn't present in the younger expressions. Leather, rosewater, grapefruit, and cereal. This would make a decent cologne. The first thing I noticed when sipping it is its oily texture, which is much fuller-bodied and flavor-packed than I'd expect at just 40% alcohol. It's lavender-infused oil, candied sweets, oak, and floral malt again. The finish features café au lait and caramel corn for a lovely coda. The three phases don't quite cohere for me, as the floral nose transitions into a very sweet and woody palate, whereas the finish seems like a great combination of sherry, ex-bourbon, new oak, and malt flavors. Those final notes are the high water mark of this whisky and, in my experience thus far, of this distillery's single malts. I wonder what the effect of upping the ABV would be, or perhaps peating this whisky.

I got this and two other Jura sample bottles on the travel retail market. As 2018 has ended this has been discontinued apparently. Matured for the first 14 years in American White Oak barrels and the last 2 years in ex-Amoroso Oloroso sherry casks. On the nose I picked up some of that American oak from a hint of caramel, I had to let the dram breathe a bit after nosing the first time. My first sip introduced me directly to oak notes that transitioned into new wood, which then was followed by all spice. It has a prickling burn to it, more than I would expect from a 40% ABV. The finish was rather swift with mixed nuts and lots and lots of malted barley. Topped off with the dry tannins from the sherry casks and a bitter chocolate ending. This dram from the island of Jura has won a few awards, but it was not very compatible with my palate this time around unfortunately. I'm tasting more Juras and it will be interesting to see the differences! Instagram: Mr.LJWhisky

I'm going through my batches of Drinks by the Dram (about 5 more to go). The last one (Yoichi NAS) was a disappointment, was hoping a bit better from this one. Personally, I love the Islands. Something about their briny, salty, yet sweet flavor. Probably my favorite region overall. First whiff does indicate a better experience to come than the Yoichi. I can smell salted caramel. No smoke or peat. Taste is more salt, less caramel. Also getting ripe bananas and chocolate, but really the salt is overwhelming anything else. Finish is sweet briny, tinge of bitter. Like dark chocolate covered with flakes of salt. Not bad...would I buy a full bottle? Probably not. It seems to be pulling its punches, and yet not complex enough to get away with it. If I want the salt briny profile, I'll go for the Talisker 10.

Side-by-side tasting review of a three sample pack - Jura 10 Origin, Jura Superstition and Jura 16Yr (Diurachs). Haven’t heard glowing reviews for this distillery but I got the three-pack sample for a measly $5 so I figured, why not. Here we go! Sample two of three Nose : Tropical fruit roll-ups, chewy toffee, roasted vanilla bean. Can barely pick up the sherry. Palate - Sherry rancio melding with vanilla, meshing with oak spice. Relatively balanced. A splash of filtered water and some time in the glass (about 25 minutes) brings out some sweeter sherry fruit notes. Not sure how but I also now get the tiniest hint of smoke. The agua really opens this up to richer, fuller fruity notes. Medium finish. Overall a decent dram. Side-by-side score = 1 of 3.

Nose - peach, apple, dry grass, caramel, vanilla, candied orange, honey, raisin, malty grain, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - peach tea, candy orange, apple, honey, cinnamon, brine, caramel, vanilla, clove, sweet barrel char, cocoa, raisin, dry grass, lemon, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with orchard fruit, tannic barrel char, and caramel flavors. This is my favorite of the three that came in my sampler pack (10 Year Origin and Superstition were the others). The sweet palate is much more rounded, the sourness is dialed down, and the bitterness isn’t quite as off putting. And the peach tea note is quite nice. So it’s not great, but definitely a step or two above the others for me.