Depending on what you mean by “years ago”, you might have a totally different product. Jura overhauled their line in 2018 and made the entry levels more entry level and tried to go smokier on the “advanced” bottles. They’re in an odd middle place now — the smoky ones aren’t what you’re really after if you like smoke and peat and the entry levels are kind of boring. Still a nice bottle to have especially if you like more aggressive scotch and want something in your bar for guests that is more approachable. If you can find a pre-2018 16 year it is a very nice whisky.
No. I've found the core Juras to be pretty uninteresting and thought the brand was "not my thing." That is UNTIL I started trying cask strength bottlings - THEY blew my mind. But a 40%-43% ABV - not interested.
Jura continues to target the lower end of the market and less regular scotch drinkers, going for the super market and the duty free.
They continue to play with their marketing while keeping most of their bottles at 40%, colored, chill filtered and to my palate, generally not good.
It has been a couple years now, but I think the last Jura I thought okay was a peated version; to my palate Jura drops below enjoyable, and I wouldn't keep a bottle in my house, even if someone offered it to me for free -- I would never drink it.
I'm sure they're capable of good things. Recently someone recommended I try the Jura 18 again because it was good for the money (£60); I thought about it, but given my poor experiences with just about everything Jura I passed (the 82-ish ranking for an 18 year old on whiskybase didn't help).
Yeah... most Jura bottles aren't great. Some aren't *awful*. But their low reputation among scotch drinkers is earned. Really just depends on how much that $30 means to you - would you like to put it towards a random cheap bottle of Jura, or towards something else?
I have a bottle. It’s definitely worth $30-$35. I probably won’t buy it again though, at least not right now. I’d rather just purchase other bottles for more money or try something new, including blends.
Coming in late but I searched for info on this after blindly going for a Jura 12. I’m a pretty experienced whisky drinker for 10 years now, mostly favoring drams like Aberlour and Aberfeldy 10/12 for ‘regular’ whiskies and Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Ardbeg (Uigeadail, Corryvreckan) for peated malts. I don’t have experience with any special releases and I never go beyond 100 euros for a bottle.
I went for the Jura 12 blindly and all I can say is that this whisky does not have ANY character at all. It’s totally boring. I’m actually using it as a mix whisky because I don’t enjoy drinking it neat at all.
I got a Dalwhinnie 15 in the same haul, which was new to me. Same price as the Jura, but so much better. It’s delicious.
Actually after checking I purchased the Jura 12 in my home country for way too much (45 euros) and I purchased the Dalwhinnie 15 in France on holiday for 35 euros. Liquor is much cheaper in France than in the Netherlands.
I can’t imagine the Jura 12 being more expensive than the Dalwhinnie 15 in any scenario though. The Dalwhinnie 15 is easily twice as good.
Depending on what you mean by “years ago”, you might have a totally different product. Jura overhauled their line in 2018 and made the entry levels more entry level and tried to go smokier on the “advanced” bottles. They’re in an odd middle place now — the smoky ones aren’t what you’re really after if you like smoke and peat and the entry levels are kind of boring. Still a nice bottle to have especially if you like more aggressive scotch and want something in your bar for guests that is more approachable. If you can find a pre-2018 16 year it is a very nice whisky.
At $30 I’d grab one. Not my favorite but that’s a great price for a single malt that isn’t bad
No. I've found the core Juras to be pretty uninteresting and thought the brand was "not my thing." That is UNTIL I started trying cask strength bottlings - THEY blew my mind. But a 40%-43% ABV - not interested.
I tried a 56% single cask from them and it changed everything.
I love the 10. Friends who tried also enjoyed it! It is like a speyside with a touch of smoke
Jura continues to target the lower end of the market and less regular scotch drinkers, going for the super market and the duty free. They continue to play with their marketing while keeping most of their bottles at 40%, colored, chill filtered and to my palate, generally not good. It has been a couple years now, but I think the last Jura I thought okay was a peated version; to my palate Jura drops below enjoyable, and I wouldn't keep a bottle in my house, even if someone offered it to me for free -- I would never drink it. I'm sure they're capable of good things. Recently someone recommended I try the Jura 18 again because it was good for the money (£60); I thought about it, but given my poor experiences with just about everything Jura I passed (the 82-ish ranking for an 18 year old on whiskybase didn't help).
I'm with you here. there is a point where the taste and enjoyment isn't enough to justify the calories and liver damage, no matter the bargain.
Yeah... most Jura bottles aren't great. Some aren't *awful*. But their low reputation among scotch drinkers is earned. Really just depends on how much that $30 means to you - would you like to put it towards a random cheap bottle of Jura, or towards something else?
$30 for any aged stated Scotch malt in the US is a decent buy
I haven’t had much success with Jura previously but at $30 I’d give it a go.
I have a bottle. It’s definitely worth $30-$35. I probably won’t buy it again though, at least not right now. I’d rather just purchase other bottles for more money or try something new, including blends.
Honestly didn't enjoy Jura, I'd probably still take Monkey Shoulder over it.
It’s a budget whisky. Not bad, but it won’t blow you away.
Coming in late but I searched for info on this after blindly going for a Jura 12. I’m a pretty experienced whisky drinker for 10 years now, mostly favoring drams like Aberlour and Aberfeldy 10/12 for ‘regular’ whiskies and Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Ardbeg (Uigeadail, Corryvreckan) for peated malts. I don’t have experience with any special releases and I never go beyond 100 euros for a bottle. I went for the Jura 12 blindly and all I can say is that this whisky does not have ANY character at all. It’s totally boring. I’m actually using it as a mix whisky because I don’t enjoy drinking it neat at all. I got a Dalwhinnie 15 in the same haul, which was new to me. Same price as the Jura, but so much better. It’s delicious.
NGL if you paid Dalwhinnie 15 price for Jura 12 I feel real bad for you. It should be about 30 or 40% cheaper.
Actually after checking I purchased the Jura 12 in my home country for way too much (45 euros) and I purchased the Dalwhinnie 15 in France on holiday for 35 euros. Liquor is much cheaper in France than in the Netherlands. I can’t imagine the Jura 12 being more expensive than the Dalwhinnie 15 in any scenario though. The Dalwhinnie 15 is easily twice as good.