The Jura Sherry Cask Range Launch: Sobremesa, Accessibility, and…

Today we are reporting from the launch of the Jura Sherry Cask range.

The new series showcases single malt Scotch whiskies each finished in a different sherry cask. The name is pretty apt, then. 

Beginning with Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition

The first release is Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition. The whisky begins life on the Isle of Jura, so you already know what to expect. Light new make spirit with flavours of stone fruit and soft coastal qualities. Shaped, in part, by the distillery’s tall and spacious copper pot stills. 

Where this release differs is what happened next. It was aged in American oak bourbon barrels and finished in a combination of American and European oak oloroso sherry hogsheads, with a touch of PX in there too. Joe Ricketts, lead whisky maker at Jura, says this develops the distillery’s core flavours of peach and apricot to plum, and freshly cut grass to fruit blossoms. Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition was then bottled at 46% ABV (a few different strengths were trialled), natural colour and non-chill filtered.

The bottling strength, natural colour, and lack of chill filtration give you a clue of what to expect. Jura’s appetite to create more whiskies that aren’t just a supermarket-friendly first introduction to the concept has been on the cards for a while now. We’re seeing that vision come together here. 

Whisky made accessible

Which is not to say Jura is abandoning accessibility. Only last year, Jura began a mission to make whisky easier to understand. That means clear age statements and straightforward tasting notes. Those picking up Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition will find the ‘one of a kind’ tasting device on the back of packs that highlights Prune, Walnut and Dried Citrus as the three key flavours. Because everyone knows what to expect, it makes the whisky simple to share, enjoy or gift.  

The pack design features the distinctive bottle silhouette and logo, but also some Spanish shoutouts, like Andalusian mosaic tiles and the deep burgundy colour. Foiling and embossing for a tactile experience help raise this firmly into “premium” territory. But this is Jura we’re talking about, so the price is £50. Not too shabby at all. 

It’s striking watching Jura playing in that space beyond recruitment. Refinement and retention, perhaps. For some brands, this is the bread and butter, and they want to appeal to the entry level, converting people to Scotch, the thing Jura does better than anyone. The grass is always greener, I guess. Still, it’s worth remembering how important Jura is for that.

The Jura Sherry Cask Range small print

Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition Release actually won’t arrive in the UK until September. The same month, Jura 15 Year Old Manzanilla Edition will bolster the range. Also natural colour and non-chill filtered, it’s finished in Manzanilla sherry casks (shock) and we’re told to expect notes of zesty, aromatic citrus, almond, and delicate sea spray. In autumn of next year, a third will follow. I can’t really say anymore about it, you can probably guess the age progression, and it’s obviously going to be a variety of sherry cask…

For every edition, there is a specially selected stock recipe, which is always first-fill and refill bourbon, but the older the whisky gets, the less of the former is used to allow more and more distillery and cask character to play. The 12 is hogshead sherry, everything else butts. I’ve tasted all of them. Very, very good stuff here folks.

Soaking up the Spanish culture of sobremesa

This event comes on the same day that Deanston launches the Orange Wine Cask finish, a whisky inspired by its master blender’s personal connection to Spain. Jura turns to the same corner of the world to find value in the culture of sobremesa. This refers to the tradition of lingering at the table to savour conversation. The art of spending quality time together. At Opera Tavern, London, there is relentless and sublime tapas, and the company is equally as good.

To pull off what Jura is attempting here, the key is people. Whyte & Mackay master whisky maker Kirstie McCallum is a consummate pro, an experienced hand when it comes to shaping brand direction, and a cask whisperer to boot. The secret weapon is Ricketts, a whisky maker who has a perspective and informs his process with it. He talks us through the way that flavour develops as somebody who cares deeply about the spirit he is working with. How excited he is about that is good for this distillery, as the new Jura is about curiosity, seeing where the journey takes you.

Community means something when you’re a remote Scottish island nestled off the West Coast of Scotland with only one road, one pub, one whisky distillery and 212(ish) people. Jura’s is beautiful, but isolated. The distillery was established in 1810 and reborn in 1963 to revive the community. Sobremesa may be a Spanish word, but it’s a universal concept. This is only a one-road island in a literal sense. There are myriad destinations possible for the distillery that takes chances. 

Jura 12 Year Old Oloroso Edition Tasting Notes:

Nose: Floral and aromatic, with peach and apricot.

Palate: Stone fruit transitions to prune, while ripe citrus becomes dried and crystallised.

Finish: Dark chocolate.