Nose: Elegant citrus – grapefruit maybe, or bergamot. The 16 year-old official bottling, also subtitled ‘Diurach’s Own’ after the name for the people of Jura, spends 14 years in ex-bourbon, and then is transferred for 2 years into Amaroso Oloroso sherry casks to finish. Neither is peated, except for some peat that might be in the water used to mash and proof down the bottles. Jura is a little lighter in style and much more floral, while Dalmore is darker, sweeter, and more pungent. The whisky of each is surprisingly similar, with lots of sherry-derived flavor, and some citrus elements. The Isle of Jura distillery is owned by independent bottlers Whyte and MacKay, which also owns Dalmore distillery. Perhaps this harkens back to a time in Scotland when every community of 200 people required its own distillery? Sounds like a place I’d like to live! The tiny island claims only a few hundred inhabitants, and exactly one whisky distillery. Ah well.The Isle of Jura is within spitting distance of the eastern shore of the island of Islay, off of Scotland’s southwesterly tip. We were tired from the drive, and I didn’t have the wherewithal to remember snap a few photos. Tourist town, indeed.Īfter the quiet and ease of Arran, Islay, and Jura… Oban was a bit of a shock to the system.įorgot to mention: prior to dinner, Liz and I had some drinks at the beer garden, outside our hotel. One of the first shops we passed by, on arriving, had a streetside display of various fridge magnets that had “I heart Oban” on them.
I knew Oban was a tourist town, but really wasn’t expecting what we encountered. I was truly unprepared for what only can be termed a “throng” of people, milling about, going from shop to shop. And was able to change them out, once we got back to the car.ĭon’t let these photos fool you – the streets were packed to the gills with people on holiday. Luckily for me, I had a second pair of shoes packed. And I don’t know how loud I shrieked, but it was pretty damn loud. I literally stepped on it, fully and with intention. And I scoffed at every one of them.īut what I did? Mistaking one for a rock? I literally could not have submerged my foot any more had I tried. I have to say – during our walk, I saw a few cow pies that had footprints in them. The rock I spotted looked a little like this.Īnd though its exterior was dry and crusty, the interior was unfortunately still very… moist. I was neither aware nor dexterous.Īt a certain point, I was standing in a lot of grass… and thought that I might stand on a nearby rock to get a better vantage point for a photo. It took a lot of awareness and dexterity to avoid them all. A nearby farmer clearly had taken his herd through this area, or allowed his cattle to graze as there were a ton of cow pies everywhere. On our way to Oban, we stopped to do a bit of walking and exploring at Dunchraigaig Cairn.Īt a certain point, the main path dropped away and we were left to navigate the overgrown fields ourselves. And from there, we had another 1.5 hours to get to Oban for a 4PM tasting. We had an early breakfast, then made our way to the ferry at Port Ellen for the 2 hour journey back to the mainland. And then the ramp lifted a boat’s length worth of vehicles so that even more cars (and trucks) could pull on board (underneath the ramp).īig travel day today. Liz made fun of me a lot, when I told her what I thought it meant.Īn amazing thing about this larger ferry we took: the cars parked on an inclined ramp.
#Oban distillery to isle of jura drivers
They are, in fact, meant to be drams “to go,” meant for the drivers who would be irresponsible and potentially dangerous if they actually imbibed and then got behind the wheel. I don’t know where I got the notion that that was the correct definition. Here’s an embarrassing confession: up until very recently, I thought a “Driver’s dram” was a small amount of whisky given to drivers (meaning it was a lesser amount, versus the drams given to someone who was actually drinking at a distillery). Several of the “Driver’s Drams” that we’ve collected, since our arrival in Scotland.
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