Jura 1999 (Boutique Barrels – Bourbon XU)

This Isle of Jura 1999 is part of a series of three Boutique Barrels. The first remarkable thing is that it’s a single cask – there’s only a handful of official single cask bottlings from this distillery. The label states ‘heavy peat’ (30ppm) and a Kentucky bourbon cask maturation. Not sure what XU means.

Isle of Jura 11 yo 1999 Boutique Barrels (55%, OB 2010, Bourbon XU cask finish)

Nose: nice profile with obvious peat but also orange skin and lemon grass. Very enticing. A bit of camphor. Flowers and a hint of vanilla. A few sharp cider notes. Water brings out more lemon grass and citrus with a candied edge. Interesting variation on the peat theme.

Mouth: a mineral start with apples, quickly taken over by a big wave of pepper, peat and deep smoke. A faint nuttiness in the background. Oranges again. Lemon cake. Some sweet vanilla and liquorice. Interesting wood (pine tree), bigger than I expected it to be at 11 years. Takes water well.

Finish: ashes, sweet almond milk and vanilla, slowly getting drier. It takes a while before it has faded completely.

I especially liked the nose, which shows a nice balance between the oak influence and the fresh lemon grass. On the palate it’s a little less spectacular but still really nice. Modern and well crafted. Around € 60.

Score: 85/100