Jura distillery is a seeming cat of a distillery, founded in 1810 and possessed of nine lives, or at least a timeline of eight owners. The last major rebuild of the distillery was in 1963, from whence it has been producing a variety of single malts. The island of Jura is very difficult to reach, with the distillery being one of the few actual businesses on it (one road, one pub, one distillery). With approximately 200 Diurachs – the Gaelic name for the inhabitants – living on the island, most everyone there knows someone who works at Jura. In 2018, the complete core line of Jura was retired as the distillery decided to move in a new flavor direction. The Jura 10 is the cornerstone of that relaunch, aging in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished for an undisclosed time in ex-Oloroso sherry casks.
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2020 Port & Wine
The first Laphroaig Cairdeas (“friendship” in Gaelic) came out in 2008 and has been an annual release since then. The 2020 Cairdeas Port & Wine represents a way to introduce wine finishes to a smoky scotch, something that is not always successful given the strong elements of a typical Laphroaig. To solve this, part of the initial maturation was done in ex-bourbon casks and part in second-fill ruby Port barriques. These are then combined to finish in red wine casks. Specifics about the time spent in each process is not available but that is relatively common in No Age Statement whiskies.