Jura Tide 21 Year

Sydney Whisky Show May 20th 2023. Whisky #16 Nose: Crème brûlée, candied preserved fruits, honey, warm spiced cookies (powdered ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and caraway seed) straight from the oven. Dark cherries and boiled Christmas plum pudding appear after repeated sips together with a subtle maritime note and a puff of smoke. Palate: The arrival is chock full of caramel stroopwafels, milk chocolate and vanilla flavoured mascarpone (so yeah, I was hooked instantly). As it develops, stewed apples topped with cinnamon sugar and cream appear along with honey, tinned peaches and a gentle trace of smoke. The texture is oily and mouth-coating. Finish: Medium. Some grassy notes emerge in the late palate with mild spices, honey and a pinch of salt being the last flavours. This was one of a pair of confusingly branded Jura 21 year old releases that came out in 2019, jointly marketed and boxed as “Time & Tide”. The “Time” expression (which I have not tasted) was TWE only and the “Tide” variant was for retail distribution. I don’t know if there was a difference between them and I have no idea why the distillery did things in such a confusing way. Just how confusing is reflected in the postings for the two whiskies here on Distiller - look at the thumbnail illustrations and you will see that they have been swapped around. Anyway, this is a very pleasant whisky that I would happily buy were it not so outrageously expensive. It has complexity but is also very gentle and easy to drink, which may make it seem simplistic at first taste, but you need to persevere and get to know it. I returned to the Jura stand twice to get repeated tastings of this and it appealed more each time. It has the same sort of “complex simplicity” as very old grain whisky. If it was priced at AUD$250 I’d snap one up but for just under $400? No thanks. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

Jura used to be a lot better. In the past 5-6 years, its name has lost some popularity, and you can feel how the owners are incapable to stop the down trend they are suffering. Having said that, this 21 year old Release is one attempt to recover some of their good old fame. This is one of two 21yo expressions, that were released at the same time, called "Tide" and "Time" in a very confusing way. Even the marketing and the labels are super difficult to tell apart. This "Tide" has been matured in american Ex Bourbon barrels and then finished in virgin american oak casks. Bottled at 46.7% abv, it has an orange caramel color. It has a really amazing nose. Dark Christmas cake; chocolate cake with raisins and candied fruits. Very yeasty, lovely aroma. Recently baked brownies. Dark dehydrated fruits, figs and dates. After a first sip, it gave me an exact aroma of stroopwaffles. After more sips, out of nothing a salty sea breeze appeared. Great. On the palate, it starts with thick honey. Cough syrup, hot honey. A second sip gave me stewed apples, apple pie. It is hot on the palate, its been ages since i felt a hot note on a whisky in the palate. Syrup. Long flavor that never lost its intensity. Aftertaste has the aromatic peat smoke with hints of salt. Very well crafted, but not too long. Heathery, earth, grass. Smokey. Pepper and sea salt. Overall, this one is a delicious whisky, but It is not complex at all. The simple notes it has,  are very well delivered, and incredibly enjoyable. For a 21 year old whisky is way too safe, and easy drinkable but it lacks some emotion. I would definitively drink it if some gave me a glass, but i don't think i am buying it for myself. My score for a very good whisky that could be better, is 89 over 100.

Opened up my 3cl sample while watching Planets on Amazon Prime with my kids. As an aside, anyone even remotely interested in astronomy should watch this series. Tonight’s episode was “ Saturn”...of which our “ on my god” moment was learning that Saturn’s moon Enceladus is in the same formative state as when Earth formed billions of years ago. It has ice water and super-heated vents in its salty ocean ( which were the source of life on Earth ). In fact, Cassini which was launched to probe Saturn was destroyed on purpose when NASA learned of this, just so as not to interfere with Enceladus’ formative state of possible life. Unfortunately, this dram was no where as interesting as Planets. But fortunately...Jura is true to form for me again, and presents itself with another let down. If I ask you what do you think of having a 21yr Islander for a pour this evening, your mind would race naturally towards a 21 yr Talisker or a 21 yr HP. But then I bring this guy out. What a freakin let down. They’re not in the same category. This has a bit of a bite, as if it’s younger than it’s age. I’m also getting sherry, which is strange, since I think this was matured in American oak, and then finished in ex-peated casks. I’m not getting the classic Islander sea breeze and salinity. This is a hard pass. I paid about $10 for the sample. Not worth it...unless you’d like to check off having a 20-something Islander.

Another distillery I wanted to give a new attempt after I wasn’t convinced the first time I tasted something from them. (I had the 10y and ‘Superstition’ before.) This is a peculiar bottling. Jura has the regular age-statements including the 21y. But they also have two separate 21y bottling called ‘Tide’ and ‘Time’. Would have been interesting how different the two are but let’s see what it is in the first place. Highlandish fruit and honey notes on the nose with a very mild peat. There is a sulphuric part to it as well like fresh scrambled eggs. Also mustard. Strange. Some bitter walnuts, apple sauce and ripe gooseberries. For 21 years and 46 something % ABV this is surprisingly weak. But what you get is nice and not too sweet but sadly a little boring / simple. The palate is kinda the same. Nice and a bid weird. Malt, bitter pears, mustard seeds, apple vinegar. The finish isn’t great. Long and proper for its age and ABV but it feels off somehow. Water brings out some very nice features on the nose. Brown Christmas gingerbread with icing. The palate looses grip though. This was interesting but not very enjoyable. It really is weird and feels off on several ends. The strange side notes are odd and just don’t fit in. Not sure if this sample was off or had too much oxidation but this is the third dram of Jura that I didn’t really like so I will keep my hands of any others for the foreseeable future.

If this were a cologne, I would buy it. Deep rich scent. Dark, carmely, and just the right amount of peat. Almost a hint of bacon to it. First sip: I like it. Mid bodied entry, bordering on thin, even a touch thinner in the middle, but the back of the pallet and the finish exactly mirror the smell. Second sip: consistent with the first. I could do a dram of this on a regular basis. It’s not a daily drinker, too brash and burly for that. It’s pretty warm too. But that “rough around the edges” feel also makes it special. I want a bottle.

Sweetness on the nose with a hint of smoke and sea salt. It transitions to the palate incredibly well with the peat peaking through, but melding very well with the balanced body of this great whisky. Spice from the virgin oak makes a late but welcome appearance on the top of the palate, and as you would expect from Jura the finish is as poised and enjoyable as the rest of this great dram.