1976. I am one year old. a wee baby, and at the same moment, some lovely spirit is distilled thousands of miles away on the isle of Jura. who would have thought i would be tasting it 35 years later ha? Lucky me!
The 1976 ‘Feith A’ Chaorainn’ vintage is the latest rare whisky to be released by the Jura distillery.
as we all know Jura is famed for its strong superstitions (see my earlier notes of the Superstition and Prophecy), mystical legends and of course its single malts. Many of the Islanders are superstitious in nature believing amongst others that peat should never be cut before May , that haystacks should only be built clockwise and that the rowan tree can bring good luck to them.
This new limited edition expression ‘Feith A’ Chaorainn’ is named after the rowan tree as the translation literally means ‘the lands around the rowan’. Bringing good fortune to the Islanders over the years, sprigs of the rowan are placed over doorways to ward off lightening, carried on boats to keep storms away and are even fixed to cattle sheds to protect livestock.
Willie Cochrane, Jura Distiller comments on the new release: ‘There has always been a link between the rowan tree and the islanders over the generations so what better way for us to commemorate that bond than bringing out a whisky. It is a special whisky that was first laid down in 1976 and has since been quietly matured in three fresh-run hogshead American White Oak casks which give us the continuity in spirit and taste that we are looking for’
If you are superstitious or not, this 1976 dram is very promising, and exciting, I love trying older Juras (the 21 year old i did was excellent). Ok, let’s try that baby.
Jura 1976 – ‘Feith A’ Chaorainn’, 46% , £499 , 500 btl.
Nose : old wooden closet, honey and traces of cinnamon and oranges and a light zesty lemon.
Palate: pomegranate , yes it’s holiday season but I insist! Bitter chocolate , stewed fruits , pudding and spicy liquor.
Finish: sugared orange peel, Xmas pudding. Spicy Zing. Wow. With a lot of milk chocolate.That is indeed a finish to savour. long, and on the spot!
Bottom line:
Great stuff.Really lovely stuff. So different than the Balvenie i tried before, but as classy. Spicy, zingy, with a great chocolate backbone. I like. Only problem : It’s rare,500 bottles for the entire market, and not cheap at £499 (but hey, it’s 35 years old,and we do not get a lot of such old Jura bottlings). If you’re a real jura man, get this one if your pockets are deep enough.
Score: 90/100
Many thanks to Jill for this lovely official sample.