Isle of Jura - 16 years old of pure joy at the price of a 12 year old

Its Home : http://www.isleofjura.com/index.cfm

Price: RM150 (1 litre) - Langkawi

What they claim:

AGE – 16 years
COLOUR – Glassy golden highlights
NOSE – Full and rich. Each aroma beautifully structured to reveal harmony at its best. Silk and honey with a hint of ginger spice encompass this floral bouquet.
PALATE – Soft peaches and honey with a hint of citrus and marzipan will slowly arise, yet the backbone of its heritage continues to ebb away on the aftertaste, leaving the palate rewarded and satisfied.

BRONZE AWARD WINNER AT 2004 INTERNATIONAL WINE AND SPIRIT COMPETITION

This layman's version + how the evening went

It was one of those Wednesday evenings where i found myself at Ingolf's for a lazy, feel good talking "cock" session with one of my good buddies - Wei Lin (whose still famous for downing 4 - yes 4 flaming Lamborghini's in less than 3 hours and had numerous whisky shots in between, then calmly walked without wobbling after that). Ingolf's is one place where we constantly find ourselves with good food, good drinks and good company and it gets better on Wednesdays since they serve their special German pork knuckle. (plus their corkage for a bottle of whisky is a measly RM35!!!!)

That good chunk of meat, wonderful sides of sauerkraut, mash and secret sauce makes for a very good "value" meal - beats the crap out of the value meals you get at McDonald's.

Yes, that is wei lin at the corner of the bar in ingolf's kneipe. This shot was taken on a different occasion and he was probably getting it on with the broad hidden behind the plant and the bartender.

Anyway, back to the evening, wl was reluctant to cork the bottle since it was in the middle of the week and his claims of working the next day. In his defense, it was a 1 litre bottle that 2 guys, well past their prime toxicating days, were attempting to finish. But the lure of a highly recommended drink was too much to give up and after all, we thought we'd go back with half a bottle left.

As we were led to our seats, the waiter asked us if we wanted ice and water with the whisky. We acknowledged but we were a little confused as he took away our prized possession. When he came back, he had our bottle swimming in a tub of iced water!!! Shows you that they get patrons who are into wine more than whisky. Anyway, that was quickly remedied and we got our glasses and ice shortly.

So, cork the bottle we did and while the bottle looked simple and bland, its content was anything but ordinary. The colour was simply divine - really golden - way more golden than Macallan or the boring glen's that we've drunk so many times (it was affordable!!). One whiff of its aroma and my night suddenly perked up. I found it to be a little "citrussy" and "caramelish" while my dear friend assured me that there was a tinge of spice. While we're no connoisseurs, we did think it was a really sweet smell with a hint of spiciness that perfectly rounded off the bouquet.

The first taste was heavenly. It was fruity and had a wonderful not so cloying sweetness to it. What followed was a tinge of peatiness that was not too overbearing like the islay malts. Clearly it had a unique taste. If I were too put it as simply as possible, not as fruity and florally as the typical highland malts and not too peaty like the islay malts. I've been told that these island whiskys are really unique and I have to agree after tasting these whiskys from Islay, Orkney and now Jura.

(The Jura distillery - add this to the 1000 places to visit before you die!!!)

We did find it interesting though that the taste of this whisky kept on "developing" as we continued sipping it over the course of the night (yes we were sipping, contrary to many of you who think that Oceanites only gulp and swallow). It just kept getting smoother and more elegant, enriching and satisfying my palate with every mouthful.

As the night progressed and while we lamented upon the unfortunate situation our cricket club found itself in (that's a story for another day), we quickly found the bottle's content down to it's last quarter (sigh...so much for sipping). Truth be told, it was indeed a really good drink and i think we did it justice.

As the night wound down and the frequency of the phone calls from my immigration officer intensified, one good friend in the form of Nerang turned up. Good timing too as wl's initial intention of taking it easy and slow evaporated into thin air, as he drowned himself with the water of life. I said my goodbyes and left these two gentleman to what was left of the good food and wonderful whisky.

As I drove home (again, I don't endorse drinking and driving), my thoughts were about how good a drink this was and would it take the place of my fav dram - the ever potent abu'nadh. I really couldn't decide so i thought I'd just include it in my top 3. The one regret that i had that night was that i only bought one such bottle so I am now hunting for another!!!!

Slainte!