Jura Distillery Focus

There is evidence that some form of distilling has been going on in Jura for centuries. The current Jura Distillery can trace its history back to 1810, but after going through several name changes and ownership the distillery was closed and dismantled in 1901. The real story of Jura actually started in 1963 when Scottish & Newcastle breweries reopened the distillery and commenced production. The new stills installed were 7.7 metres tall (2nd tallest in Scotland), and with stainless steel washbacks and a relatively short fermentation time, the new style of Jura could only be described as quite light, salty, nutty and delicate. 

From the 1990s a small amount of peated whisky was produced and today they blend this in to just add a wisp of smoke to the modern Jura style. Whyte & Mackay took over ownership in 1996 and can be given a lot of credit for their investment, expansion and innovation of the brand. The core range today consists of a NAS called Journey, a 10-year, a 12-year, a Seven Wood and the very well-received 18-year which is finished in red wine casks. Besides this, there are now a whole plethora of limited-edition and Travel Retail special editions, and we think it's safe to say that Jura is now firmly established in the upper ranks of Single Malt brands. 

This is an opportunity to buy into a well-known established brand in which the owners are investing heavily (Dalmore is one of the sister brands). The whisky clearly ages very well in every type of cask imaginable and our advice would be to hold onto this cask until it is 18-years-old where the demand from the Independent Bottlers will be highest. Jura is a great addition to any portfolio.

Check out our Jura Virtual Distillery Tour here.

Fact File  

Name: Jura 

Founded: 1810 

Region: Highlands (Islands) 

Owners: Whyte & Mackay 

Capacity: 2.4m litres 

Stills: 4 

Fermentation: 54 hours 

Peated/Unpeated: Unpeated / 5% peated. 

Casks Used: Bourbon, sherry, red wine, chinkapin, port. 

Current Sales: N/A 

Recent significant awards: Isle of Jura 1988 – Gold Medal at 2020 IWSC awards 

Independent bottlings: Around 650 

Core Range: Journey NAS, 10-year, 12-year, Seven Wood, 18-year.

To find out more about purchasing Jura casks, contact The Masters today!

Find out about how to buy a barrel of whisky or sell a whisky cask and general whisky investment.