Jura Distillery Story

let’s begin

The Isle of Jura is truly remarkable. It captures the rugged determination and incredibly beauty of the Scottish countryside. Here is the story of Jura Distillery.

The island is small, having only one road. The population are vastly outnumbered by the amount of deer on the island. This is probably where the island gets its name as well. Jura means Deer Island in old Norse. Jura Distillery is a big part of island life.

Size Doesn’t Matter at Jura Distillery

Regardless of size, it is beautiful, and is home to one of Scotland’s best distilleries, the aptly named Jura Distillery.

The distillery has played a big part in life on the island. It was first opened in 1810 by Archibald Campbell but unfortunately fell into disrepair.Back then it was called the Small Isles Distillery.

It was taken over by William Abercrombie who applied for a license to distil and renamed it Jura Distillery.

Unfortunately, things did not fare well for Jura and it was eventually taken apart and left in ruins.

Local Investment

It wasn’t until 1963 that some local estate owners, Robin Fletcher and Tony Riley-Smith, decided to revitalise the distillery to create jobs on the island.

They enlisted the help of architect William Delmé-Evans, who founded Tullibardine Distillery. He also worked on Glenallichie Distillery and was on the board for Jura until 1975.

The distillery was a great success and created jobs for around a quarter of the island’s population

Today it is owned by Whyte and MacKay and is an incredibly popular Whisky, both in Scotland and abroad.

Flavour Profile

Despite being very close to the Isle of Islay, and even taking part in Feis Ile, Islay’s annual Whisky festival, Jura malt has a very different flavour profile.

Rather than relying on peat, Jura has a more Highland flavour profile, with some softer, lighter bodied malts that have more cereal focused and floral notes.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below and let’s have a chat!

Tags: FeaturedIsle of JuraJurajura distilleryScottish countryside

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.