Jura Superstition

The island of Jura is located north east of neighbouring Islay. The whiskies produced there although peated tend to be less so than their neighbour. The Superstition expression is described on some of the packaging as being lightly peated. I have had this attractive bottle for some time and I recall when I first tasted it appeared to me to be sweet and malty. Later tastings produced notes with an aspirin like medicine taste that I was not particularly fond of. I have recently been revisiting this bottle and have been enjoying again. I suppose this is evidence that the passage of time really does affect the whisky in the bottle once it is opened.

I have recently been plagued by certain superstitious thoughts and this gave me the inspiration to introduce this whisky. It sometimes seems to me that all of the sports teams I follow tend to lose when I watch them. This is of course nonsense. The Toronto Maple Leafs have always suffered from terrible slumps and Hull City has lost more games when I haven't watched than when I have. All the same every once in a while I find this pervasive superstitious train of thought creep into my mind that the poor results of the teams I cheer for is directly linked in some way to my energy, karma or luck. I know I'm not the only one who thinks this way from time to time, and always find it interesting to hear how people seem to share that level of connection with their teams.      

As for musical accompaniment I instantly found myself considering Stevie Wonder. That seemed a bit too obvious though and so I decided to play some Gospel music. Religions from around the globe describe miraculous events that defy the laws of science, at least as we know or understand it. The music that is based in these tales and cultures is often so beautiful and powerful that it can move even the biggest doubters. The album is BB Kings Swing Low Sweet Chariot. It is a collection of 9 gospel songs performed by BB along with various others. The sound quality of this album is quite poor. This is really unfortunate but it does not entirely destroy the passion in the music. Perhaps a little superstition will fill in the rest?

Nose: The slightest whiff of smoke is hidden behind a layer of sweetened grains. The sweetness seems to remind me of black cherries coated in dark honey. I also detect a note of white pepper.

Palate: The whisky has a nice full mouth feel. A spicy kick like white pepper hits first this is joined by a honey sweetness.

Finish: Rather long the spice hangs on for some time as it fades in a cereal grain direction. Slight notes of smoke can also be detected.

This whisky is rather simple. This simplicity makes it approachable and able to match the music in theory but it lacks the complexity to compliment the passion of the music.