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The population of Jura will almost
double on 25th – 26th May as more than
150 whisky fans are set to descend on
the island for the 2011 Feis Ile.
The annual Feis Ile festival, which was
started by the Islay locals in 1986, is
run in conjunction with the distilleries
of Islay and Jura and Port Ellen Maltings. Each distillery has its own
open day, putting on special events.
Over the course of the two day festival
on Jura, the Distillery will be hosting
three tasting sessions for fans of the
island’s single malt.
- In the first session, Willie
Tait will be taking attendees
through a journey of the
Distillery’s core range single malts
and a very special sampling, for
Diurachs only, of its commemorative
21 year old, celebrating over 200
years of distilling on Jura.
- The second session will see
visitors taken on a tour of the
Distillery with Distillery Manager,
Willie Cochrane. The tour will end
in the filling store where
participants will work with Willie
to fill a special 2011 Festival
Cask.
- And last but not least,
participants in the third session
will take part in an island
exclusive tasting with Richard
Paterson. Visitors to the festival
last year helped in the selection of
a very special cask which has now
been bottled and will become
available, exclusively on the
island, at this year’s Whisky
Festival. The tasting will take
place at the Distillery’s Standing
Stone, which has been erected to
mark the 200th anniversary of the
Distillery’s opening.
Visitors to this year’s festival will
also be invited to take part in a
treasure hunt to win themselves more
than just a taste of Jura’s legendary
whisky. Jura has hidden five QR codes en
route from Port Askaig on Islay to the
Distillery on Jura, with each code
spelling out a different word that makes
up a phrase. Anyone who identifies the
winning phrase by collecting the clues
will be entitled to some Jura goodies -
ranging from a bottle of Jura Prophecy
to a delectable Jura truffle - by
presenting the winning phrase at the
Distillery Shop.
Those who aren’t fortunate enough to be
attending this year’s celebrations on
Jura will have the chance to savour a
taste of the Feis Ile experience
online. Jura will be hosting an
exclusive online tasting session on isleofjura.com once the festivities are
over, led by Willie Tait and Willie
Cochrane, who will take viewers through
the core range of Jura single malts.
Participants will be able to download a
tasting mat from isleofjura.com prior to
the tasting to assist them through the
online session. Anyone wishing to take
part should register at
www.isleofjura.com and keep an eye out
for more details.
Willie Cochrane, Distillery Manager at
Jura Distillery said:
"This is the 10th year we’ve been
bringing whisky fans over to our
beautiful island, and this year promises
to be bigger and better than any of our
previous festivals. We’ve got a packed
programme of activity taking place and,
more importantly, some wonderful
whiskies to savour - all set against the
glorious backdrop of Jura in May! And
for those who can’t make it….well you’ll
just have to wait and catch the
highlights on www.isleofjura.com."
Tickets cost £15, which includes lunch,
entertainment, a distillery gift and
free ferry travel for foot passengers
from Port Askaig to Feolin. Places can
be reserved by contacting Sue at the
distillery on 01496 820 385 or shop@isleofjura.com
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