|
Interview
with Isle of Jura Distillery Manager
Graham Logan.
Following the recent launch of
the new
Jura One
And All 20 Year Old limited
edition single malt whisky I got the
opportunity to put a few
questions to Isle of Jura Distillery
Manager Graham Logan about what his job
involves at the island distillery.
Graham, who has worked at the island
distillery for over quarter of a century,
took over the position of distillery
manager in 2016 when 39 year whisky
veteran Willie Cochrane retired.
William
Morrison: When and where did you start
work in the whisky business, and when
did you start work at the Jura
distillery?
The answer to those two questions are
one and the same - I’ve spent my entire
whisky career working at Jura. I first
set eyes on Jura aboard the deck of the
HMS Liverpool, when I was working as a
marine engineering mechanic in the Royal
Navy. At the time, I’d just found out
that my parents had moved to the island,
and our passing by through the sound of
Islay was purely coincidental. When I
left the Navy in 1991, I began working
at the distillery just two days later as
a mash / still man. There’s nowhere else
I’d rather be.
Describe your
career in the whisky business to date
leading up to you taking over from
Willie Cochrane as Jura Distillery
Manager?
When I joined Jura, I began working as a
Mash and Still Man, ensuring that each
drop of Jura Single Malt Whisky started
life in the best possible way, from
grain to still by monitoring the mash
tuns and the distillation in our copper
stills, and keeping a close eye on the
spirit safe. Working by Willie’s side,
and under his guidance, I worked my way
up through the ranks, to Trainee Manager
before leading the production team and
helping to represent the distillery at
both a local and national level. Taking
over from him as Distillery Manager in
2016 was a proud moment.
What are your
main tasks as Jura Distillery Manager?
Day to day, I am responsible for the
safe and successful running of the
distillery and the work of our team – I
also get to welcome visitors from all
over the world to Jura. No two days are
the same on Jura, we’re a remote island,
with one single track road and the
schedule of our operation is often at
the mercy of the weather and the little
ferry that connects us to our neighbours
on Islay. In my new role I hope to put
my own stamp on the distillery, while
keeping up the same level of
craftsmanship as Willie. Much like
Willie, I prefer to be more hands on
than sat behind the desk – although
there’s a bit more paperwork to contend
with as manager!
What do you
see as your biggest challenges as the
Jura Distillery Manager?
Stepping into the role of Distillery
Manager after 25 years at Jura was the
ultimate reward, today I’m excited for
the challenge to take all I’ve learnt
from the likes of Willie (Cochrane) and
Micky (Heads), and put my stamp on the
distillery as I take my next steps
developing the team and creating whisky
for future generations of whisky fans.
Obviously
each expression of Jura is different,
but how would you describe the character
of Jura single malt whisky?
An incredible amount of dedication from
our small and passionate team goes in to
making our award-winning Single Malt,
and it’s this that gives it such a
unique character. Our island home is
remote and unusual - and that’s not
without its challenges. The result is a
remarkable whisky which you can almost
taste our extraordinary island spirit
in. We chose to celebrate our home, our
community and our team with One And All
because we simply couldn’t exist without
them, and the passion that goes into
every bottle of Jura is, I think, is
very clear.
What would
you say is the big contributors which
make Jura unique? Perhaps the barley,
the strain of yeast, distillation
process, still shape, maturation?
Our unusually tall stills are a huge
contributing factor – each one stands at
over 25ft high – and they give our
whisky a very distinctive character. The
height of these stills helps us to
create a very light and pure spirit,
which allows us a degree of creativity
when it comes to crafting flavour
profiles through maturation.
Making whisky on the island of Jura
really isn’t an easy feat. Over the
years we’ve had a lot to contend with,
from extreme weather and the resulting
unpredictability of local services from
the ferries, to a new delivery of fresh
produce arriving… even the iconic shape
of our bottles was borne from the
difficulty of transporting our product
across the sea back in the day. I
genuinely think that this hard work and
overcoming of difficulties results in a
much more rewarding finished product.
This particular release, One And All, is
unique in that it’s been selected by our
staff – we wanted to celebrate the
distillery team and community who
dedicate their time to crafting Jura
whisky, and have helped shape it to
become what it is today, so we held a
tasting with the team here earlier in
the year. We can’t wait to hear what
people think.
What is the
PPM of the barley used to produce the
higher peated spirit you produce at Jura
and how does it compare to the PPM of
the standard spirit you produce?
We buy good quality Scottish barley. Our
suppliers change from time to time to
ensure we are using the best quality
barley that yields the highest results.
Regular monitoring of our distillation
and monitoring of the barley harvest are
key factors in deciding the phenol level
at which we buy our barley, as are
external factors such as market
conditions and seasonal quality. At Jura
we create both sweeter whiskies like
Origin and Diurachs’ Own as well as the
smokier Superstition and Prophecy, so
for us it comes down to the art of
balancing a number of variables rather
than the strength of the phenol on its
own.
I know you
have the deliciously peated Jura
Prophecy but given the increasing
popularity of single malts these days
and the increase in demand for peated
whiskies are there any plans to perhaps
add another profoundly peated Jura
whisky to the core range?
Jura has enjoyed increasing popularity
over the years, and we’re always
attracting new audiences and drinkers,
so thoughts of new products and
innovation is always in mind. It’s
something we’ll continue to review,
listening to our fans and looking for
opportunities to create exciting new
innovations. But for now, it is business
as usual at the distillery!
What is your
favourite core range expression of Jura
and why?
The 16 year old, Diurachs’ Own is a
personal favourite. It was named after
the locals as a celebration of our
community, and the combination of
flavours it evokes is something special.
Rich and full bodied, it gives off hints
of citrus and toffee, creamy chocolate
and a bit of cinnamon spice. I
particularly enjoy a glass of this
expression when it’s blowing a gale
outside – it’s really warming.
What has been
your favourite limited release
expression, past or present, of Jura to
date and why?
All bottlings are an achievement, and
I’ve helped thousands of casks of whisky
to be created and laid down throughout
my career. Tastival 2017 was a very
special release to me as it was the
first limited edition to be released
after I became Distillery Manager.
However, One And All will always hold a
special place in my heart. Being a 20
year old whisky, it’s humbling to know I
was involved in creating this whisky in
the early days of my career at Jura, and
now we’re sharing it with the world in
this great celebration of the team here
and all their hard work.
What other
whiskies other than Jura would you pour
yourself?
1. Tamnavulin double cask
2. King Alexander III
3. Bunnahabhain 18yo
What have
been the biggest changes you have seen
in the whisky business since you started
your career?
The whisky industry has changed over the
years, but Jura is known for always
having done things its own way and it’s
always paid off. As a brand, we’re
always looking forward and trying to get
new people involved in the world of
whisky, so it’s exciting to see it
evolve as more and more people are
discovering the craft and process behind
whisky making.
It’s been great to see so many people
taking an interest in whisky, and taking
the time to discover more about malts,
which have been growing in popularity
all over the world, with some even
making the pilgrimage to our island
home. I’ve noticed that, in recent
years, we’ve been attracting somewhat of
a younger crowd, which is fantastic to
see.
Given the
increasing popularity of single malt
whisky and the demand from whisky
connoisseurs for more innovative
expressions these days how involved are
you with new product planning and
development? And in what way are you
involved?
As I touched upon earlier, we’re always
listening to our fans. Whisky is an
industry borne of patience, and it’s my
job to ensure we’re creating and laying
down enough whisky for the future, from
ensuring warehousing capacity to the
safe arrival of casks and barley on the
island, planning for the future is
paramount in my role.
Tell me about
the Jura One And All, the new limited
release whisky has certainly been
created using an uncommon selection of
casks. I see that it contains American
White Oak ex-bourbon matured whisky
finished in Sherry wood, Sparkling
Cabernet Franc casks, Cabernet Sauvignon
casks and Pinot Noir barriques, can you
share some details of the process of
selecting, finishing and blending these
different casks together to create the
new whisky and who had the final say on
the percentage of each type of cask
which has gone into the vatting or was
it a team decision?
Jura One And All is a unique assemblage
of specially selected aged Jura, which
started its life in American White Oak
ex-bourbon barrels before being
separated and enhanced in four different
woods - Sherry wood, Cabernet Franc
casks, Cabernet Sauvignon casks and
Pinot Noir barriques ahead of being
married in freshly emptied bourbon
barrels. Our Master Blender worked
meticulously to create this highly
complex expression, ensuring that the
percentage and aging of each element is
perfectly balanced to create this
wonderful, rich whisky.
Many Thanks
To Graham.
Many thanks to Graham for taking the time to
answer my questions and for giving us an
insight into the world of the Isle of
Jura Distillery Manager.
If you fancy trying the
Jura Tastival 2017 which was
the first Limited Edition release
to be overseen by Graham in his
role as distillery manager or the
recently launched, deliciously rich,
limited edition
Jura One
And All 20 Year Old
or if you fancy
exploring the current Jura whisky range you will find them
all available
from specialist online whisky retailers such as
Master of
Malt
|
