Masterclass Jura 10 wows Indian single malt lovers
Spiritz and VBev together presented Jura 10 Year Old Single Malt Virtual Masterclass with some single malt lovers at the Spiritz Achievers’ Awards 2020.
Stephen Martin, Global Brand Ambassador, Whyte & Mackay, conducted Jura 10 Year Old Single Malt Masterclass virtually; straight from Scotland. Stephen took the participants on a virtual journey to Jura, an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland; located adjacent to and northeast of Islay.
He shared the story behind Jura and its characteristics very interestingly. He delightfully conveyed the significance of Scotland’s nature in developing single malts.
He explained that Jura was known to carry Scotland’s dram essence to satiate whisky enthusiasts across the globe. He also narrated how Jura distillery began, and then collapsed at the end of the 19th century and fell into ruin. Jura distillery was reopened in 1963, to help revive the small island community.
Jura10 is crafted in exceptionally tall stills and is matured for 10 years in America White Oak ex-bourbon barrels in fresh sea air and finished in the finest aged Oloroso Sherry casks from Jerez, Spain. In his interaction, Stephen explained how geographical settings of Islay have contributed to shaping Jura10.
He took participants to virtual tour of the Jura distillery during the Masterclass, which was enjoyed by single malt lovers.
He also offered to the participants of the Masterclass to have Jura 10 Year Old in their glass to experience its aroma and taste. Jura 10 comes across as a wonderful combination of ex-bourbon and sherry cask. “It is divergent, vibrant and lively,” he said. The liquid embodies a wonderful synergy between Scotch and sherry.
Spiritz team had invited about two dozen single malt lovers for the tasting and a sample size bottle of Jura 10 was delivered at their home before the Masterclass.
Jura 10 Year Old has aromas of fruit, cracked pepper and dark chocolate. Flavours include sherry sweetness, dark chocolate, and subtle smoke. During the course of live virtual tasting, single malt lovers rated Jura 10 as an exceptional drink in terms of aroma and palate.
Masterclass was very interactive as single malt lovers raised few interesting queries. Bishan Kumar, Editor-in-Chief, Spiritz Magazine, asked that what was the ratio of two different casks in the whisky and what was the proportion of ingredients used to make Jura 10. Martin responded that “Jura 10 is a balance of both the casks” and explained it a little bit further.
The interactive session also involved single malt lovers sharing their experiences of Jura 10. Sanjay Saraf who tasted Jura 10 first time shared, “The drink has impressed me a lot. I have decided to make it my favourte single malt.”
Another single malt lover, Shalabh Sharan, said he had found his staple malt now in Jura 10. Chef Umesh Matoo said, “Jura 10 can be paired well with Indian food because its smoky flavour goes very well with Indian cuisines.”
Many of them, including Capt. Riya Nehra, wanted to know from which shops they would get Jura 10. Nadima Sheikh, GM–Sales, VBev, updated her about the availability of the whisky.
Overall, Jura 10 attracted appreciation from all the participants of Masterclass and they observed that the product would go well in Indian markets.
Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO, VBev, explained, “We have seen very good traction for the product. Lots of people have mentioned that Jura 10 Years Old is fairly light in comparison to other Islay malts they have tried, which they found very interesting. I find great acceptability for Jura 10 here in India.”
Karishma Chandy, Senior Marketing Manager, VBev, shared with the participants that they were bringing in other variants of Jura to India in some time. She also informed that Jura 10 was presently available in 17 states in India; and its top markets in India are Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka and Haryana.
