Signatory Jura 1989 Peated

I’m a sucker for peat+caramel. Any first fill/second fill bourbon barrel peated whiskey, to me, is my favorite flavor combination. There’s just something special about the way the vanilla and peat jive. So when I saw a bourbon barrel matured cask-strength heavily peated on the shelf at Binny’s, I figured why not check it out and bring it to my whiskey club; especially because it was on sale for 69 bucks. When I broke the bottle open and tasted it for the first time, I was kind of in shock. It doesn’t peat-punch you in the face with massive power, it just simply shoots a vanilla blowdart into your neck like a crazy scotch ninja. To make it even better, there wasn’t a single note that was out of line or more dominant than the others, everything was right where it was supposed to be. In summary: this is a fantastic pour by one of the best independent bottlers in Scotland.

Bottle Info

Distillery: Isle of Jura - bottled by Signatory Vintage

Barrel type: bourbon barrel

Age: 23 years old

ABV: 58.5

How this was acquired: Found it on sale at Binny’s

Cost: $69

Year purchased: 2015

Tasting Notes

Nose: mellow bourbon, light peppery peat-smoke, pepper, vanilla, caramel, salty, sea air, musty salt and dense vanilla, salted dark chocolate

Nose[water]: really opens the peatiness, vanilla, taffy and caramel, cream pudding, as it sits - a bit more smoke and malt

Taste: spice, peppered peat, vanilla, caramel, bitter dark chocolate, a bit of that medicinal peat note, sea salt/seaweed on the end

Taste[water]: seaweed and pepper, vanilla, caramel, smoke and cinammon, nice apple and pear notes, sort of light fruits, ooey-gooey butter cake

Finish: hay, caramel pudding, toffee, butter, chocolate, seaweed, vanilla, seaweed bourbon

Finish[water]: vanilla, seawater, brine, salt, peat-spice, pear, vanilla pound cake

Binary Score: 1

Value Notes

Would I buy this (or if already bought, would you buy this again): Yes

Would I order this in a bar: Yes

Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Yes

Value For Money: 5/5

My Scoring System

0 | I didn’t like it | It doesn’t mean you won’t

1 | I liked it | It doesn’t mean you will