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Hi, you're in the Archives, February 2006 - Part 1 |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| TASTING
- TWO 1966 BOWMORES |
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Bowmore
18 yo 1966/1984 (53%, Samaroli ‘Bouquet’,
720 bottles) 
Poured by Maniac Luc as the aperitif
at our latest Maniacal dinner in Oostende.
Colour: pure gold. Nose: starts very
fruity as expected but it’s
not the usual wham-bam tropical fruits
(1968, anyone?). More complex, with
quite some pink grapefruit but also
Williams pears and semi-dried figs,
the whole developing on unusually
farmy aromas (‘clean’
cow stable, fermenting hay, manure…).
It gets then rather maritime and very
fresh, with whiffs of freshly cut
horseradish and a little vanilla crème.
Definitely more complex than the usual
1968’s and others. It explores
all directions, getting even rather
smoky (smoked ham) and herbal and
flowery (grass, lilac). A catalogue
of aromas? Really, really stunning!
|
| Mouth:
the attack is nervous, fruity (lemon
and grapefruit, icing sugar), sustained
by a beautiful bitterness (herbs,
thyme, sage but also chilli, pepper).
Gets really boldly peppery and lemony
after a moment, which gives it the
kind of austerity and sharpness I
cherish. Quite some fresh walnut,
propolis, candied grapefruit skin,
bitter oranges, herbal tea, liquorice…
A very long development… Also
some Nori (Japanese seaweed), says
Michel. The finish is very long, focusing
on crystallised citrus fruits and
jams… Wow! Not an easy, sexy
old Bowmore at all, almost a ‘bugger’
and you have to sort of tame it, but
when you manage to do so, it’s
just splendid. One of the very few
total winners I’ve been lucky
to be allowed to taste. 97
points (and thanks, Luc.) |
| Bowmore
35 yo 1966/2001 (44%, Douglas Laing
OMC, 192 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: something
similar at first nosing, but this
one is clearly more a classical fruitbomb.
Lots of tropical fruits ‘of
course’, with the usual passion
fruits, guavas, pink grapefruits and
mangos. It makes me think of a multi-vitamined
mixed fruit juice. We have also a
little sandalwood, vanilla sauce…
And finally a little peat, rather
of the farmy kind (hay, cut flowers,
horse sweat) but it’s rather
delicate here. Not monstrously complex
but nicely balanced and, most importantly,
not tired at all, although there are
whiffs of oak. Mouth: the attack is
not too bold and a little dry, with
quite some oak now. Rather tannic…
It is fruity indeed but focuses on
grapefruit and lemon skin, with a
developing bitterness. Notes of over-infused
tea, burnt herbs, olive oil, apple
seeds and skin… Getting bitterer
and bitterer over a few minutes, but
it’s still bearable. The finish
is medium long, frankly too bitter
and drying now, with notes of mastic
and a little peat. I’m sure
this one was marvellous ten or fifteen
years ago… 84 points. |
 |
| CRAZY
WHISKY AD - WINTER SPORTS - A SHORT
HISTORY - Part 2 |
| |
Left, King Black Label,
1945: 'Be right - Drink light.'
Lightness starts to be the American
whiskeys' USP, and King's that light,
that you can even do some ice skating
after a dram or three. The ice won't
break...
Right, Seagram's V.O.,
1947. 'Another triumph... by Men
who Plan beyond Tomorrow - Pleasure
or Profit from Man-made Snow!.' This
ad was part of a series about technological
innovations, which was talking openly
about profit and about the fact that
tycoons were drinking Seagram. It
was tricky to invest in skiing resorts
at the time, because you could have
no snow some years... |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
THE WATERBOYS, Shepherds Bush
Empire, London, February 3rd 2006
|
 |
| It
would be easy to think that the
Waterboys have been treading,
err….water, since the release
of their acclaimed Universal Hall
in the summer of 2003, with only a
moderately well-received live album,
Karma to burn (2005) appearing since.
However that would be to ignore the
fact that the band have toured almost
incessantly ever since, both as an
‘acoustic’ three-piece
(see the review on this site from
October 2004) with Mike Scott being
joined by founder Waterboy, fiddler
and mandolin player Steve
Wickham and keyboards wizard Richard
Naiff, and more recently as a full
band, joined by a soul-infused rhythm
section of Carlos
Hercules (drums) and Steve Walters
(bass). If the three-piece gig was
an evening of crescendo-driven peace
and love, then the full band provided
a funk-tinged Celtic roots rock and
roll night, with Mike Scott –
truly a rock and roller at heart if
I’ve ever seen one – leading
the way with some piercing guitar
playing, theatrical poses and typically
cryptic interchanges with the audience.
Never doubt who’s in charge
when Scott is about. |
Mr Wickham Snr and friend |
We’re
upstairs at the Bush – and it’s
packed. I leave my seat for a minute
(well about ten really, as the bar-staff
were working to rule) and return to
find the photographer deep in conversation
with the two old boys next to us (she
seems to have a thing about older
men) who, it turns out, are Steve
Wickham’s dad and his pal. Cowboy-gear
clad Mr Wickham gives us a brief low-down
on the history of the Waterboys (more
of a collective than a band it’s
a long story that lasts most of the
interval, and of course features Steve
right at the start in the early 80s,
and then again when he rejoined in
2000) and what we might expect from
the evening. Useful because you never
can tell with Mike Scott – a
feisty soul who has single-mindedly
pursued his own path in a musical
world that often seems littered with
disappointing compromises. |
| It’s
a great set – with a couple
of new tunes (‘Everybody takes
a tumble’ and ‘Crash of
angel wings’) at the start and
then a roll-call of Waterboys classics,
with a few slightly less well known
songs from the back catalogue. The
band, it appears to me, is in cracking
form, with all the drive and power
you expect from them, but with just
a slightly different rhythmical feel
coming from the bass and drums. Steve
Wickham (and I don’t just say
this because of his Dad) was quite
outstanding – and prompted a
post-gig debate over a glass of tickle-tonic
as to who, between he and Fairport’s
ex Soft Machiner Ric Saunders deserved
the top fiddler’s spot (actually
for me it’s the slightly more
subtle and sophisticated Saunders,
but there you go). |
| ‘Glastonbury
song’, the wonderful ‘Peace
of Iona’ (definitely best heard
on the deck of a boat under the stars
in Scotland), ‘When will we
be married’, ‘The whole
of the moon’, ‘Killing
my heart’ (better known as ‘When
you go away’), ‘Long way
to the light’, ‘Song for
the life’, ‘The stolen
child’, a spine tingling ‘Red
Army blues’ (an odd and old
song from 1984’s Pagan Place,
as you might as first hearing dismiss
it as corny old tosh, but Scott seems
to inject enormous power, emotion
and sincerity into the lyrics that
tell of the hapless career of a Soviet
army recruit), ‘Medicine bow’,
‘The Pan within’ and to
end ‘Let it happen’, a
particular favourite of mine from
the sometimes overlooked 2000 album,
Rock in a weary land. There was a
surprising first encore of Bruce Springsteen’s
‘Independence day’, and
finally the crowd pleasing ‘Fisherman's
blues’. Actually that wasn’t
quite the end – the band came
back to the stage, but with no more
songs to play set about a pub bar
version of ‘Sergeant Pepper’
– at which point we took our
leave of Mr Wickham senior and headed
for the hills. |
Mike Scott |
 |
Actually
I have to say that I was pleased to
get the photographer out before the
end, because the most unfortunate
part of this gig was the outrageous
behaviour of a few drunks at the front
of the balcony. I can only offer my
deepest sympathy to those sitting
right in the sight line of the fou,
fat, foul-mouthed woman (they must
still see her bottom every time they
blink) who just couldn’t sit
down. And to those (including I have
to say, the stewards, who did their
best but in the end were just intimidated
by these frankly intimidating creeps)
obstructed, abused and threatened
by her two falling-over-drunk acolytes.
It was all getting pretty much out
of hand (I’m not sure if Mike
Scott could hear the continual refrain
from one section of the balcony of
‘Get your fucking fat arse out
of the way’ – but if he
did he must have been very confused)
and looked sure to kick-off big time
as everyone left. Such selfish and
boorish behaviour is very unusual
at the boisterous and friendly Bush,
and what was more surprising was the
suspicion that the culprits (do you
have a word for arseholes in French
Serge?) were there with the liggers
on the Waterboys Guest List. I hope
not. Peace and love from the Waterboys?
Are you listening Mike Scott? -
Nick Morgan (photographs by Kate) |
| Many
thanks, Nick! Just because you asked,
and because anybody needs a little
'unwinding' from time to time, here''s
a list of French expressions for 'arsehole',
(but may I suggest you use them parsimoniously
next time you come over here - all
that is very 'colloquial', to say
the least): trou du cul (abr:
trouduc), gros connard
(fem: grosse connasse, var:
pute borgne), pompe à
merde, sac à merde, anus bourré
de champignons, gros beauf (fem:
doesn't exist), bordel de pompe
à merde de brosse à
chiottes, capitaliste (used even
by French capitalists), cornefoutre,
cul de singe (fem: cul de
guenon), étron vernaculaire
(literary), face de cul, furoncle
ecclésiastique... And
many others, see here.
Phew! As for music by the Waterboys,
I think I already posted this one
but 'pleasure twice can do no harm',
so here's The
return of Pan.mp3 again. We have
also a live version of Fisherman
blues.mp3 (I don't know where
and when it was recorded, probably
a long time ago). |
| TASTING
- ANOTHER TWO SUPERB OLD LONGMORNS |
 |
Longmorn
36 yo 1968/2005 (53.8%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society 7.27)
Colour: full amber. Nose: wow, a very
animal sherry, like in some old Bourgogne
wines. Hare belly, game, notes of
old rancio… A very nice peat,
at that. Keeps developing after a
few minutes, on fireplace, ashes,
smoked ham… And hashish indeed
(I think, yeah, yeah…) No wonder
they called it ‘a Rasta malt’.
Mouth: very punchy, creamy and vigorous,
starting rather herbal and vegetal
and getting resinous, waxy, with quite
some camphor. Notes of mint flavoured
tea (Oriental indeed). The finish
is very, very long, very resinous
and maybe just a little drying and
tannic but nothing excessive. An unusual,
powerful, excellent old Longmorn.
91 points (and
thanks, Geert.) |
| Longmorn
36 yo 1966/2002 (50.7%, Premier Malts,
sherry wood, cask #611)
Colour: coffee. Nose: we have, once
again, a beautiful sherry here, very
lively and extremely aromatic. Lots
of liqueur chocolate, old rum and
cooked strawberries… Whiffs
of wood smoke, burning matchsticks,
getting then even more chocolaty and
also coffeeish (top-class espresso).
Notes of hot chocolate cake (hot brownies),
roasted nuts… And, ‘of
course’, all sorts of dried
fruits. Very, very classical but very,
very beautiful. Mouth: extremely fruity
attack (instead of the usual winey
flavours). Very ripe strawberries
and redcurrants, apricot jam, cherries
again (eau-de-vie soaked bigarreau
cherries), kirsch… Wasn’t
it rather a Chambertin cask? |
 |
| Something
rubbery in the background –
but it’s nice here – and
then a great mix of toffee, herbs
(thyme, mint) and spices (Chinese
anise, cinnamon). And again something
smoky! The finish is long as ‘a
day with no bread’, invading,
on fruit liqueurs and cake…
Really excellent, I think! Another
Burgundian Longmorn, but not a Rasta
this time… And yes, S., I must
dig deeper into Longmorn! 92
points. |
| TASTING
- TWO GLENTAUCHERS |
 |
Glentauchers
14 yo 1990/2004 (46%, Whisky Galore)
Colour: white wine. Nose: unexpectedly
exuberant at first nosing, very fruity
(fresh pineapples, pears, green apples).
Goes on with quite some varnish, paint
thinner, ‘industrial’
orange juice (Fanta) but it’s,
quite curiously, rather enjoyable
here. Notes of green gooseberries,
lemon balm, rubbed lemon skin…
Really youthful! Gets then quite grassy
and flowery (dandelions), with also
notes of mead. Whiffs of aniseed,
dill… |
| Mouth:
very coherent, which means lots of
white fruits (apples and pears plus
quite some melon) and again something
like varnish (not that I drink varnish
too often but I guess it would taste
like this). Gets rather gingery, spicy,
a tad drying but it’s all right.
Something sweet and sour… The
finish is medium long, on fruits and
maybe a little mint. Well, nothing
too special here, in fact, but this
Glentaucher is perfectly drinkable.
79 points. |
| Glentauchers
15 yo 1990/2005 (46%, Gordon &
MacPhail for La Maison du Whisky,
cask #14521)
Colour: amber. Nose: this one is completely
different. Very sherried, starting
extremely coffeeish and chocolaty.
Lots of sultanas, chicory coffee.
Develops on very bold notes of old
rancio (it smells almost like an old
Rivesaltes) and quite some cloves,
and then it gets rather hotter, with
quite some old red wine (maybe a little
tired), Grand-Marnier and whiffs of
soy sauce, getting very also very
mushroomy (dried Chinese mushrooms).
Not 100% sure the malt could stand
the heavy sherry but the palate will
tell… Mouth: a classic, sherried
attack, dry and quite smoky. Very
chocolaty, with a lot of ‘rough’
rum (Stroh!) and fruitcake. Gets really
vinous, also some honey sauce, liqueur-filled
chocolates, something herbal (thyme?)…
The finish is rather long but a little
drying now, like a 90% cocoa chocolate.
Not the best sherried Speysider ever
but not an unpleasant one either.
81 points. |
| |
| CRAZY
WHISKY AD - WINTER SPORTS - A SHORT
HISTORY - Part 1 |
| |
Turin's
Winter Olympics just kicked off and
I thought it would be funny to see
how winter sports and whisky have
often been associated in advertising.
At least when skiing was trendy and
part of the obligatory 'Western' lifestyle...
So, let's start our chronological
review today with...
Left, VAT 69, 1928:
'Quality Sells - This Brand has been
in the same family since its inception,
and is quite independent.' Note
the 'quite' and the beautiful graphics.
Right, Four Roses,
1940. America wasn't at war yet and
it was cool to have a few hot toddies
after a good day of skiing...
Cool cap and goggles! (which
reminds me, I have to post a few wartime
ads one day - very interesting, I
think.) |
|
MUSIC
– It's Sunday,
we go classical with Danemark's
Inger
Dam-Jensen singing
Schumann's Spillemanden
Op.40.mp3 (Christen Stubbe Teglbjaerg).
Please buy her records and go to
her concerts! (Photo Isak Hoffmeyer) |
 |
| TASTING
- TWO LITTLEMILLS |
| Littlemill
13 yo 1990/2004 (43%, Signatory, cask
#2374)
Colour: very pale, almost white. Nose:
starts very fresh and rather clean,
very grainy and feinty (mashed potatoes
and porridge, hot milk), getting then
nicely flowery (lily of the valley)
and a little fruity (sweet lemon,
boxed pineapple). It gets then rather
herbal on freshly mown lawn, tealeaves…
Whiffs of violets. Rather nice! Not
too complex but nice. Mouth: very
sweet attack – maybe a little
weak but not unpleasant at all. It
tastes just like a peppered apple
juice, with a little liquorice and
light caramel. That’s all folks!
The finish is rather short, at that,
but it leaves your mouth fresh as
a baby’s. I’ll save the
rest for this summer… It’ll
be nice on ice! 78 points. |
 |
| Littlemill
1977 (43%, Natural Color, France,
2005)
Strange that they call it ‘color’
and not ‘colour’ –
it’s not a bourbon, is it? So,
colour: white wine. Nose: certainly
punchier but also very oaky, extremely
vegetal and herbal. Lots of sour lemon
juice, getting then much nicer, with
an interesting mix of grapefruit and
violets again. Quite some apple skins
as well, cider… Again a nice,
uncomplicated Littlemill. Mouth: very,
very much alike, apple juice, white
pepper and liquorice – and maybe
also a little chlorophyll. Less sweat
than the Signatory, and probably bolder,
although just as simple. The finish
is rather long, in fact, on gin and
pepper… Getting quite drying,
leaving a very cardboardy aftertaste.
Almost 30 years in wood is probably
a little too much for a rather simple
Littlemill, but this one is far from
being boring. 79 points. |
 |
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - We have another peaceful
and quite piece, this time by Guggenheim
Grotto. It's called
A
lifetime in heat.mp3 and I think
it's rather beautiful. Please buy
Guggenheim Grotto's music - thanks! |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? BILLY
BRAGG AND COMRADES
The Barbican, London, February 2nd,
2006 |
| I
sometimes wonder what we did to deserve
Billy
Bragg. I mean don’t
get me wrong, I’m sure he’s
a nice guy (or should I say bloke?)
and I don’t question the sincerity
of his views, and I would be the first
to confess that he can write a decent
song or two, but doesn’t his
brand of simple minded and sanctimonious
schoolboy socialism just wear you
down after a while? It’s the
sort of naïve and haplessly enthusiastic
amateurism that would only be tolerated
in Britain, where (judging by his
audience tonight) he is held in high
esteem. But I’m sorry, and if
I may use a comedic metaphor, I have
to say that for me he’s the
Harry Worth of revolutionary socialism.
|
 |
But
then maybe I’m the sort of disenchanted,
middle-aged, comfortably-off cynic
that Dick
Gaughan (one of the stellar list
of performers who joined blokey Billy
in this BBC 4 sponsored evening of
songs of protest) sang about, preferring
an easy life of material pleasure
to one of continual struggle. Well
perhaps. But I don’t see why
I have to put up with patronising
primary school lectures from Billy
the Bloke about the p’lyikul
folk tradition, what it means to be
English (a subject which, god help
us. Billy Bloque is writing a book),
the English p’lyikul folk tradition,
Billy’s role in the p’lyikul
English struggle of the traditional
folk – well, I think you get
the picture. We’re here to listen
to some outstanding talent (on a good
day I might even put BB in the lower
quartile of that group) celebrate
the songs of Woody
Guthrie and Ewan
McColl in particular, not to suffer
the Blokeoid bouncing around the stage
like a podgy Leninist Labrador pup
with pitiable posture. Enough!
To be frank when I booked these seats
the line up was only about half complete.
So I was as surprised as anyone when,
after Billy and his two accompanying
blokes first kicked off with a couple
of tunes (including Florence Reece’s
‘Which side are you on’,
which gave the evening its title)
and then with Robb Johnson sang Woody
Guthrie’s ‘I guess I planted’,
Donovan walked on the stage. Looking
like a portly pixie who’d spent
the last thirty years in the magic
pie shoppe he briefly presented his
credentials - “It was out of
Glasgow that I came, and my father
was a socialist” – and
then, sadly, croaked his way through
his mega-hit, Buffy St Marie’s
‘Universal Soldier’. |
Martin Carthy |
But
the evening got better – Martin
Carthy, (who I have come to regard
as truly outstanding since I saw him
last year, having revisited some of
his old stuff that I had hidden away,
and explored his newer material) gave
us a master class in two short sessions
of how English folk music should be
played and sung. His well chosen songs
were MacColl’s ‘I’m
champion at keeping them rolling’
(yikes – a song about British
truck drivers?), the moving ‘Company
policy’, an angry lament for
the lost British sailors of the Falklands
war, and the even more moving ‘18th
June’ , about THAT famous battle
at Waterloo in 1815. If you haven’t
listened to Carthy
then you should – his droning,
picking guitar style is almost unique.
But it does remind me a little of
Dick Gaughan, son of Leith, with a
spine shuddering voice and an astonishingly
aggressive and staccato guitar style.
In addition to giving us complacent
ones a sharp dig in the ribs, Dick
sang ‘Outlaws and dreamers’
and Peggy Seeger’s ‘Song
of choice’. Frankly I could
have listened to him all night and
wouldn’t have got too cross
about his unyielding dialectic –
for a debunking of the romantic myths
of Scottish History as refreshing
as Michael Marra’s, try and
find him singing ‘No gods and
precious few heroes’. |
| We
got history of a sort from Maggie
Holland singing her award winning
composition ‘A place called
England’ (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
“Best Song of 1999”).
This England, so much admired by Radio
2 listeners, is one where freedom
and liberty is assured to all good
and true providing we set about growing
nasturtiums and runner beans on the
land occupied by disused steel works,
shipyards etc. Yes friends, it was
predictable that this had to be followed
by an ensemble performance (Bragg,
Gaughan, Holland) of ‘The world
turned upside down’, a celebration
of the short lived Digger movement
of the English Civil War, much feted
in a book of the same name by the
great Marxist historian Christopher
Hill, who like all good scholars never
allowed facts to get in the way of
an argument. It’s all Golden
Age nonsense really, and only goes
to confirm my suspicions that all
Radio 2 listeners live firmly in a
fantasy world. Ironically when I typed
‘The world turned upside down’
into Google one of the first references
I got was to a
popular song from the seventeenth
century lamenting the defeat of
King Charles at the Battle of Naseby,
and the subsequent suppression of
festivities (English good and true)
such as Christmas by the radicals
and Cromwell’s New Model Army.
Strangely this song of protest didn’t
get onto the set list. |
Left to right: Dick Gaughan,
Billy Bragg and Andy Irvine
|
|
But some cracking ones did. A real
surprise to me was the foursome of
Chris Wood, Karine Polwart, and Neill
and Callum MacColl – the two
sons of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger.
They performed three songs written
by their father, the stunning highlight
of which was Chris Wood singing the
touchingly cynical ‘The father’s
song’. I read that Wood’s
2005 album The Lark Descending is
a real cracker – put it on your
list, it’s certainly on mine.
But before these guys we had, in my
opinion, the star turn of the night,
Andy
Irvine of Planxty fame. Readers
may recall my enthusiasm for Irvine
from last year’s Planxty gig
at the same venue – apparently
Irvine is a great Guthrie scholar,
and much admired by Mr Bragg. This
evening his short performance alone
was worth the cost of the ticket.
With Bragg and Gaughan he performed
Guthrie’s ‘Do re mi’,
and solo, playing bouzouki and harmonica
a simply jaw-dropping version of ‘Tom
Joad’, followed by his own song
about Guthrie, ‘Never tired
of the road’. Just wonderful.
And Billy didn’t do too badly
towards the end as he sang his lovely
‘Between the wars’...
|
 |
| But
then of course it was time for the
dreadful bit when the stage was filled
(at least when Gaughan and half the
performers could be lured back from
the smoking room) and the assembled
cast stumbled their way through MacColl’s
‘Dirty old town’. Of course
by this time we were all bursting
to rush for the barricades, so as
soon as the fulsome and largely deserved
applause died down we scrambled for
the fenced-in taxi rank. “Anyone
like to share a cab to the revolution
in W4?” - Nick Morgan (photographs
by Kate). |
Thanks
Nick. Very interesting, now we (well,
I) know much more about the "conscious
English folk scene". I must
say you're very lucky, our own "conscious"
artistes are all dead since quite
a long time. OK, we still have a
few, breeding horses or geese in
the south of France but other than
that... I must say we sometimes
miss them (especially the ones who
died before the Berlin wall got
in shambles, or even before Soljenitsin).
But as Signoret said, even nostalgia
isn't what it used to be, even if
we can still watch Alice's Restaurant
or Costa-Gavras' movies on cable
TV from time to time... As for Billy
Bragg, I must say I knew him more
thanks to the few songs he sang
with one of my idols, the great,
great Natalie Merchant (another
conscious artist), but let's listen
to him now, doing (of course) NPWA.mp3
- oh, and Sexuality.mp3.
I'm sorry but I quite 'liked' that
one. Perhaps because it sounded
very much like a 10,000 Maniacs
piece? |
| TASTING
- TWO OLD STRATHISLAS
Strathisla
40 yo 1955 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail)
Colour: amber – Cognac. Nose:
not violent, as expected but very
expressive, with lots of dried oranges,
caramel and vanilla – lactones
at first nosing. Not ‘simple’
at all, in fact, because it really
takes off then, with whiffs of menthol
and eucalyptus together with lots
of candy sugar, soft brown sugar,
roasted nuts… Astonishingly
fresh and lively, not tired at all.
There’s something Irish in
the background (red fruits, Bailey’s)
and hints of pistachios and Chinese
anise. Super! Hints of curry as
well… Really complex, with
even some distant maritime notes.
More or less in the same vein as
the brilliant recent 30 yo for La
Maison du Whisky, even if the 1955
seems to be less sherried. |
 |
| Mouth:
good news, it’s not too tannic
nor drying. Rather punchy, in fact,
even a little prickly, which is ‘nice’
here. I guess they did not need to
reduce it a lot to reach the 40% vol.
It develops on caramel, espresso coffee,
herbal teas, lots of various herbs
and gets sort of waxy (propolis, chlorophyll)
and minty again, with also quite some
burnt cake (an enjoyable bitterness).
Sure there’s quite some wood
but it’s nicely integrated here.
The finish isn’t too long but
balanced, with soft tannins, green
tea, praline and caramel. A very,
very good one in any case, despite
the 40%. 90 points. |
 |
Strathisla
34 yo 1967 (46%, Hart Bros)
Colour: gold. Nose: less expressive,
certainly rawer and grainier at first
nosing but with some ultra-bold smells
of freshly opened Havana cigar box.
It gets then quite soapy (freshly
washed hands – no I didn’t
wash mine ‘lately’) It
gets also a little beer-ish (Guinness,
English bitter), mashy and malty.
Notes of chicory ‘coffee’,
American coffee… It’s
in now way as ‘perfect’
as the old G&M but it’s
still an enjoyable, yet unusual Strathisla.
Mouth: punchier again, with quite
the same aromas aas on the nose. Quite
some green pepper from the wood, liquorice,
cocoa powder, getting a little cardboardy.
Lots of tannins in fact, not as nicely
integrated as in the G&M but there
are also more fresh fruits (mainly
pears). A little ginger… And
a medium-long finish, maybe a little
too drying but the whole is still
quite enjoyable. Not a winner but
a good, serious and solid old Strathisla
with little sherry influence if any.
87 points. |
| TASTING
- THREE TEANINICHS |
 |
Teaninich
12 yo 1993/2005 (51.5%, Exclusive
Malts, sherry)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: really punchy,
powerful, starting on something very
winey, feinty, minty and sulphury
at the same time. Probably not very
academic, to say the least, but I
must say this strange mixture produces
rather interesting results. Notes
of rubber (band), hot milk, beer,
Indian yoghurt and these funny notes
of spearmint flying over the whole,
plus quite some apple juice and freshly
cut grass. Interesting, really. Mouth:
lots of vivacity and an attack that’s
much cleaner than I feared. Starts
on apple compote and cider, aniseed,
dill, getting quite ‘leguminous’
(celeriac, salsify). |
| It
gets much more bitter after a moment,
though (very strong liquorice, salmiak,
pipe juice - err…-, strong caramel…)
and has a long, ‘mentholated’
finish… Again, it’s not
very ‘orthodox’, and probably
a little perverse but don’t
we need differences from time to time?
Maybe some would say it’s a
little flawed but I quite like it.
85 points. |
| Teaninich
21 yo 1982/2004 (62.3%, The Bottlers,
refill sherry butt, cask #7202)
Colour: full amber. Nose: wow, extremely
sherried for a refill cask! Are they
sure it’s a refill? Lots of
coffee, rum and cooked fruit with,
again, some very bold minty notes
– it’s almost overwhelming.
Tell me about a sherry monster! Notes
of salted liquorice, rubbed orange
skin, turpentine, a little camphor,
eucalyptus (Vicks)… And maybe
faint hints of ammoniac. Something
odd here, but again it’s an
interesting whisky. Mouth: extremely
creamy, starting sort of similarly,
on ultra-bold notes of liquorice and
mint mixed with dried fruits and caramel.
Lots of cough syrup, salmiak again,
dried plums, pipe tobacco again…
Not lace, that’s for sure. Almost
monstrously liquoricy! Goes on on
fruitcake, strong herbal tea, mint
drops (again!) Now it gets a little
hard to enjoy, probably too extreme
for my tastes… And the finish
gets a little bitter, at that. Well,
it’s an interesting one again
but I feel it’s got less ‘charms’
than the ‘Exclusive Malt’.
83 points. |
 |
 |
Teaninich
22 yo 1957/1979 (80° proof, Cadenhead
dumpy)
Colour: pure gold. Nose: starts incredibly
fruity and as waxy as an old Clynelish,
with a very genteel peat. Loads of
grapefruit, mangos and guavas but
the whole stays beautifully fresh
and elegant. Whiffs of freshly grinded
white pepper… Just superb. Mouth:
takes off quite smoothly and a little
discreetly but it gets much more bodied
after a while. Peppery, spicy, gingery,
starting to display a wide range of
fruits (apples, grapefruits, pears,
peaches, gooseberries – probably
less ‘tropical’ than on
the nose). The finish is very long,
quite waxy, with a very enjoyable
bitterness (candied lemons). This
one is pure pleasure, this time! 91
points (and thanks, Michiel). |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - I can hear you thinking
from here, 'Oh no, Serge got completely
mad! He's posting about the new
Sing-sing!
Too much Brora?!' You're right,
I should hate Sing
me a song.mp3 but hell, I can't
help it, I like it! Maybe it's the
solid combo they have behind them...
Anyway, 'please buy their music'... |
 |
| TASTING
- A VERY SPECIAL GLENFIDDICH AND A
SIMPLER ONE |
 |
Glenfiddich
1955/2006 (53.5%, OB for Hans-Henrik
Hansen, cask #4221, 1 bottle)
Hans-Henrik is a famous Glenfiddich
collector from Danemark and the distillery
just made a one-bottle bottling just
for him. Thank God Hans-Henrik got
a sample bottle as well, so that he/we
co | | | | |
