Jura 18 - one road, one hotel, one shop, one distillery

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One road, one hotel, one pub, one distillery, 212 people and 6,000 dear are a reflection of this remote hard to get to Hebridean Island. In fact the famous novelist, George Orwell, moved to Barnhill, on Jura which is considered a writers mecca today. He described the Island as "Extremely unget-at-able" and that is why he was there writing his famous novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four at Barnhill from 1947-48 (which I read when I was in my early twenties). Jura is not only a haven for writers but also for the making of whisky and that goes back to the seventeen hundreds where there was a lot of illicit distilling. It was perfect place because it was so hard to get to by the excise man. In 1810 the Laird of Jura, Archibald Campbell, built the first legally licensed distillery. It went through many name changes, Craighouse, Small Isles, Caol nan Eilean, Jura, as well as owners and struggled getting whisky off the Island to the big markets. It was rebuilt in 1884 by James Ferguson but by 1900 the Whisky industry was in a slump. By 1901 It fell out of use and was all but demolished. In the 1950s, two local property owners, Robin Fletcher and Tony Riley-Smith, wanted to revitalize the local economy because of the steady decline in the population and employment. Working with the distillery expert William Delme Evans they completely rebuilt the distillery. This remote distillery has some of the largest stills and washbacks in Scotland. They were obviously thinking ahead because it produces over 2.5 million liters per year and bottles of Jura can be found throughout the globe.
I have vague memories of a couple bottles that I have had but that is quite far back. I see bottles in liquor store regularly but have really forgotten the character of the whisky. So I am not the expert on Jura but I have learned a lot with the research I have done in the last week. The fact is I did have a little knowledge of geography and location of Jura from my knowledge of Islay. Let's not forget about the famous whirlpool off the northern tip of Jura called 'Corryvreckan', that the Ardbeg whisky is named after. Well enough babble. Let's go to the video and find out what this whisky is all about.
Slàinte Mhath
Please note that the contents of this video are my own personal opinion and perspective.

[@DavidUKesb]

Amazing island to visit. Cannot understand when some people travel to Islay without going to Jura while they are there.

[@noelsworldofwhisky8208]

Hi David, I definitely agree with you. I am really looking forward to my visit to Scotland next Spring and I would love to visit this gem. I was born on the Island of P.E.I. lived on Quadra Island in the Strait of Georgia and now Vancouver Island. I guess I am an Islander.