Isle of Jura Seven Wood Scotch Review

By Kurt Maitland

Rating: B-

The island of Jura sits next-door to a much more famous member of the Hebrides, Islay. Like that island known for its peaty whisky, Jura is home to its own whisky distillery, and some might know it as the island where George Orwell wrote the novel, 1984. The fact that it has a larger population of deer than people might speak to the open, quiet spaces that attracted the writer when he needed solitude.

The Jura distillery has had quite the up and down history. The original distillery was founded in 1810, but their real story begins in the 1960s. At that time, it was rebuilt and reborn as a modern distillery designed by the famed designer William Delme-Evans, who had also built Tullibardine and Glenallachie distilleries. Since 1985 the distillery has changed hands several times, having been part of Whyte & Mackay, which was purchased by United Spirits, which was then sold to Emperador in 2014.

Now other changes, perhaps more fundamental in nature, are afoot. Jura’s entire line is being rebooted. By April of 2018, there will be no more Origin, Superstition or Prophecy bottlings from Jura. They will be replaced by 3 new age statement releases (10,12 and 18 years old) and 2 non-age statement releases, Journey and Seven Wood.

This release is first aged in American White Oak ex-bourbon barrels, after which it is “enhanced” by some time in six French Oak casks (Limousin, Tronçais, Allier, Vosges, Jupilles & Les Bertranges) making up Seven Woods and giving use the name of this 42% ABV single malt.

The Scotch
Color: Deep copper
Nose: Apple pie filling with hints of cinnamon and hints of smoke, but not what I was expecting. It was more of a sweet pulled pork scent than peat reek stings, and it stung my nose a bit, as if it was a much higher proof. I also get a bit of cherry cough drops and mint chocolate.

Flavor: An interesting rollercoaster of a whisky here. The taste is candy sweet at first blush, quickly turning lemon polish spicy before one gets to the slightly bitter end. I got hints of the wine casks that this release has been paired with, but you can tell it was a brief affair with each of the non-bourbon casks. The body of this is a bit short and I’d be curious to taste this with few more years in any or all of the casks mentioned above. The mouthfeel was semi-dry turning spicy and floral. Water pulls out some of the sweetness but the spiciness remains.

Finish: This is a little bitter/copper pennyish in the end, which certainly takes away from the overall impression.

This is an interesting release. From the barrage of casks, it appears as this is Jura’s version of an expression from their stablemate distillery, Dalmore’s King Alexander III. But I’ll need to taste the rest of the revamped line to see if this proves to be true.

The Price
The Jura Seven Wood clocks in at $79.99 in the US.