Isle of Jura 1966 / 40 Year Old

Appearance:  Polished rosewood with magenta lights

Aroma: (straight)  Unusual nose: at first maritime (salt crystals, hot
sand, dessicated bladder-wrack). Overall rich and nose-drying, with
moist fruit-cake, maraschino cherries and dried fruits swollen in
liquor. Later almonds and almond oil, then cloves and boat varnish.

Reduced (@40%) Maritime and mineral notes persist. Water adds a
sewing-machine-oil note; cloves come to the foreground, and a
scorched-cloth (ironing board)  note behind, which also reminds me of
treacle toffee.

Flavour: (straight) Oily, unusually salty, with distinct cloves. 
Sweet and somewhat acidic; centre palate; dries slightly in the
medium-length, warming finish. Lively, and leaves a tingling sensation
and a mineral-like after-taste.

Reduced (@ 40%) Smooth and soft mouthfeel. Thick texture. Sweet start; dry finish. Cloves lingering in the after-taste.

Comment: Complex, unique and very interesting. It retains some of
Jura’s distillery character – or its spirit of place – while the wood
adds layers of depth. The finest Isle of Jura I have ever tasted!

Nose: Vanilla, raisins, gingerbread, rich and intense, plums and red fruit with a background waft of oak, then apricots and peaches.

Palate: Rich vanilla with peaches, apricots, raisins, with rich red fruit, carefully poised rich-dry balance, then a wave of digestive biscuit maltiness.

Finish: Malty, oaky, fruity.

Colour: Amber with pigeon blood.

Nose:  Fruity, almost PX like, but with a hint of the farmyard (silage) that you get from mature whiskies. Nutty (roast almond) with some spice (mace) and as it opens a balsamic/rancio note that brings to mind dried porcini mushrooms. With water, there’s coffee and liquorice and thick-cut Old English marmalade.

Palate: Lighter to start than you expect, but very open allowing you to see into the dram more easily. Sweet at the start and the finish and nutty on the centre with a lightly gripping almost peppery edge. Pungent and earthy. Armagnac like.

Finish: Softens into a mix of grass, nuts, bung cloth.

Colour – Rich golden amber with shimmering sandy bottom, glassy highlights.

Nose – Close your eyes and feel a gentle breeze of pine nuts, gorse and crushed apples drifting into play. Subtle hints of soft creamy fudge, pineapple and freshly baked bread swiftly follow through. A whisper of dried salty seaweed and lemon tea completes this breath taking experience.

Taste – Individual yet assertive the hand of time has made its mark on this exceptionally rare Jura. Complex flavours of dried fruits, hazelnuts and ripe bananas initially emerge and slowly give way to the elegance and charm of the great American white oak – Quercus alba.

[These tasting notes are by Richard Paterson, Master Blender]