Jura 18 yr Single Malt Whiskey 750ml

Whisky making on Jura dates back to 1810, when local landowner Archibald Campbell established the Small Isles Distillery in the island's main town of Craighouse. The operation fell into decline and was dismantled around 1901, leaving the island without a distillery for over sixty years. In the early 1960s, local landowners Robin Fletcher and Tony Riley-Smith rebuilt the site from the ground up, largely to create jobs and slow the island's shrinking population, with architect William Delmé-Evans designing unusually tall stills meant to produce a lighter, Highland-leaning spirit despite Jura's peat-covered landscape.

The 18 Year Old is drawn from that same tall-still spirit, matured in American white oak casks using water drawn from the island's own springs. After years spent developing in oak, the whisky is finished in Oloroso sherry casks, a step that layers dried fruit and depth onto Jura's naturally fruity, lightly smoky house style. The result is bottled at a strength above the distillery's standard 40 percent, giving it noticeably more body than younger expressions in the range.

The nose offers dried fruit, honey, and citrus zest, with figs, raisins, and a touch of dark chocolate from the sherry influence. The palate turns rich and warming, layering toasted oak and baking spice over that dried fruit core, while the finish stays smooth and lingering, with a last whisper of smoke.