Whisky Focus - Isle of Jura Relocates To London

Londoners can get a taste of Jura life and whisky this month at The Looking Glass.

Following a recent survey of Londoners where it emerged that over 70% of them had no idea where the the Isle of Jura was geographically the Jura distillery has decided to upsticks and head down to London and enlighten Londoners about the island of Jura as well as share with them the islands world famous export, Jura whisky.

The recent survey which prompted Jura to head down to London threw up some surprising results, while almost half of those surveyed knew of the island’s Single Malt Scotch Whisky, a massive 72.5% of 1,000 Londoners surveyed didn’t actually know where to find it on a map - with 12% thinking it is somewhere in England, 10% thinking it is in Hungary and 14% of those surveyed unable to guess at Jura’s location.

I am sure most of you here know where the island is, nestled in the Inner Hebrides just off the West Coast of Scotland, the isle of Jura is as beautiful as it is remote. It has just one road, one pub, one shop and one iconic distillery, which employs 10% of the island’s population to craft Jura’s single malt whisky. Jura is just over half the size of central London, except with a population of just 200 people, who are vastly outnumbered by over 6,000 deer which roam the island.

This isn’t the first time Jura’s location has caused confusion - in 2013, it made headlines as it fell off Google maps. And while the general population in London might be unsure of its whereabouts, Jura’s remote location and dramatic coastlines have certainly made an impression amongst the cultural community - author George Orwell wrote 1984 while living there and the KLF notoriously burned one million pounds on the island. Jura has also served as a writing retreat for a number of musicians, most recently the Glaswegian band Errors, which wrote tracks for the album Lease of Life there.

So if you are in London and fancy a taste of Isle of Jura life as well as Jura whisky from 13th October, "The Isle of the Unexpected" invites Londoners to join an interactive, mystery adventure to help a fictional film director, Eric, find the inspiration he needs to finish his script. The answer lies on the island of Jura, which ticketholders can access through a secret door in The Looking Glass bar in Shoreditch. Londoners can expect to discover the island over a dram or two as they are guided by audio headset through physical sets, experience virtual reality flight and hunt for clues.

The Isle of the Unexpected
13th-15th & 19th-22nd October
The Looking Glass, 49 Hackney Rd, London E2 7NX
Tickets are £5 plus 50p booking fee (includes two drams of Jura Whisky)

Tickets available now from: www./billetto.co.uk/discoverjura

If you cant make it along but still fancy a taste of Jura you will find the current Jura whisky range available from whisky retailers such as Master of Malt
 

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