Review: Jura Time 21 Years Old

On my last trip to Scotland, I spent several days on the famed whisky island of Islay. The rugged, low slung Paps of Jura, on the nearby island of Jura, were often just in the distance as I distillery-hopped along the northern coast. I even got as close as Port Askaig where a short ferry ride would have deposited me on that solitary Scottish rock with one road, one pub, and one eponymous distillery.

I didn’t make it to Jura, but as a consolation prize I picked up a bottle of the distillery’s 21-year-old Time in Duty Free on the way home. Time is the oldest age-stated expression in Jura’s Travel Retail lineup (and also available stateside at Total Wine). An almost identically packaged 21-year-old, dubbed Tide (somewhat confusingly, as both words appear on the bottle), is more widely available as the oldest age-stated offering in the core lineup. Production details are a bit sparse, but we’re told this single malt is aged in American white oak ex-bourbon casks before an unspecified finishing period in ex-peated malt casks. Let’s see how this souvenir tastes, shall we?

The nose is rich and earthy with notes of coffee cake, orange marmalade, toffee, and a lacing of subtle, creamy smoke. It’s a unique peat profile, not quite pipe smoke, more a drag off of a well-aged, mild cigar. The palate is unusually fresh and bright for such a mature single malt with notes of orange slices, tinned pears, and cocktail cherries. In fact, it’s one of the fruitier single malts I’ve come across but surprisingly not cloying, all that juicy sweetness balancing well against a subtle wood smoke that builds on the midpalate with notes of seasoned oak and toasted coconut before a light but lingering finish of chocolate, toasted marshmallow, and dark maple syrup. It’s elegant, unique, and very well-priced for the age statement. An easy recommendation if you plan to shop travel retail on your next trip.

94.4 proof.

A- / $200

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