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2008
June
1
- 2
May 1
- 2
April
1
- 2
March 1
- 2
February
1
- 2
January 1
- 2
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2004
December
1
-
2
November
1
- 2
October
1
- 2
September
1
August
1
July
1
June
1
May
1
April
1
March
1
February
1
January
1
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The
Malt Maniacs Monitor
(PDF,
printable, 2.7MB, sorted alphabetically, updated March 31,
2008)
The file
contains approx 250 pages.
At the moment, we have collected 31,116
ratings on more than 10,204 different single malts
and whiskies.
We are sorry, the html version is no longer
available, it got too heavy anyway.)
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Serge's
Statistics
Shack
The
data on the MMMonitor allows us Malt Maniacs to play around
with the numbers for our own amusement. Please note that only
the results and conclusions published on Malt Maniacs are
'official'. However, these statistics are often used as the
foundation for our 'official' opinions.
Top Maniacal Malts
Recent
bottlings version
Old
bottlings version
(All HTML, sorted by average score,
updated 16/01/2007)
For
these 'solid' Top 100 (or Top 50 for the older bottlings)
we've taken all the malts that have been sampled by at least
six different certified malt maniacs and simply ranked them
from 'best' to 'worst'. Please note that these results can
be very different than our Awards', the latter addressing
only malts that have been submitted by the industry, whereas
most of the malts on the monitor have been, yes... bought
by us!
Soft
Top 250 Maniacal Malts
(HTML,
sorted alphabetically, updated 16/01/2007)
Simply
a list of the 250 best Single Malts scored by at least 3 different
Malt Maniacs. The results are slightly less
'solid', but you should find 'the best of the best' here.
You just can't go wrong when choosing any of these bottles.
The
Malt Maniacs Soft RIBs
(HTML, sorted
by bottler and average score, updated 16/01/2007)
Another interesting feature. Find out about our Recommended
Independent Bottlings, meaning all the bottlings which have
been rated above 85 points by 4+ Maniacs. Here are the gems!
Strange
Bits on Bottlers
(HTML, updated 16/01/2007)
As
we already came up with around 20,000 ratings in January 2007,
we felt we could try to come up with an even better ranking
of the various bottlers. Nothing really official or too serious,
though, especially because the bottles' prices have not been
taken into account and because a bottler that specializes
in rare and expensive whiskies will be 'advantaged' anyway.
But if you're a number crusher, please go ahead and browse
the list!
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A Messy History
1969 - 1983
All
the bottlings
Well, almost...
latest
update
May 21, 2005
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Serge's
Tasting Sheet: Back
on this website by popular demand. PDF, printable. Click here
to download.
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All the linked files (mp3, video, html) are
located on free commercial or non-commercial third party websites.
Some pictures are taken from these websites, and are believed
to be free of rights, as long as no commercial use is intended.
I
always try to write about artists who, I believe, deserve
wider recognition, and all links to mp3 files are here to
show you evidence of that. Please encourage the artists you
like, by buying either their CDs or their downloadable 'legal'
tracks.
I
always add links to the artists' websites - if any - which
should help you know more about their works. I also try to
add a new link to any hosting website or weblog which helped
me discover new music - check the column on the right.
I
almost never upload any mp3 file on my own server, except
when dealing with artists I personally know, and who gave
me due authorizations, or sometimes when I feel a 'national'
artist deserves wider recognition. In that case, the files
will remain on-line only for a few days.
I
do not encourage heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages,
nor dangerous motorbike riding. But life is short anyway...
As
they say here: 'L'abus d'alcool est dangeureux pour la santé
- à consommer avec modération' |
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feedback |
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July
4, 2008 |
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| Let's
post a big, fat entry today because after that,
we'll be... |
 |
...
ON VACATION!
As a consequence of the very hot days we’re
having over here in Alsace, of a heavy cold that
we caught in Holland a few days ago and of exhausting
workloads that don’t seem to come to an end,
the management of Whiskyfun have decided to cut
back the production of whisky tasting notes until
all that settles, especially the cold.
The opportunity will be taken to go on vacation
somewhere down south until July 14, which may well
be the Frenchiest way of dealing with these kinds
of issues. We’re happy to announce that there
will be no staff redundancies, and that we might
well be able to post a few entries in the meantime,
should the wonders of mobile technologies permit.
If that’s not possible, see you around July
14! |
A
NEW RUBRIC ON WHISKYFUN!
“Traditionalist,
conservative, reactionary, grumpy, stubborn and
resisting innovation!” Yup, that’s
how some see us – as far as whisky’s
concerned. Indeed, it’s true that we don’t
see just any innovation as something worthy (remember
the helicopter-bicycle?), and that we prefer our
whisky ‘natural’ and ‘authentic’,
rather than premixed with wine, for instance.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not against
the concept in itself, it’s just that we
usually don’t like the end result, except
when the new mix has been given enough time to
nicely mingle in the cask. Like, two years or
more… It’s not a matter of politics,
it’s not a matter of traditionalism, it’s
just a matter of taste, punto basta. |
Authentic label, circa 1920-1930? |
Do
you usually like wine finishings? That’s absolutely
great! Perfect! Fine! Well done! Finished whiskies
are no underwhiskies, they are just different whiskies,
that usually happen not to match our tastes but
again, it’s only our individual tastes and
certainly not the tiniest gospel. Okay, I think
we made our point, but to give you further proof
of the fact that we’re absolutely not against
innovation as such, we just decided to create a
brand new rubric on Whiskyfun and invited our friend
Stéphane to these modest pages. Stéphane
is an excellent mixologist and used to have his
own successful website about cocktails a few years
ago. He dropped it when he got deep into Single
Malts (a shame, if you ask me) but never quite dropped
the practice, and that’s why we thought he
would be the ideal person to whom we should propose
to handle this brand new rubric about Single Malt
Cocktails. That’s right, cocktails made with
Single Malt Whisky. See, we’re not against
transgression either- and after all, the first Scot
we ever met in real life, back in 1978, used to
drown Glenfiddich 8yo into ginger tonic. Also, please
note that we couldn’t have handled this new
rubric ourselves, as the only Single Malt Cocktail
we know is the Tomato Lagavulin (drop a tiny tomato
into a glass of Lagavulin, drink immediately, when
the tomato comes don’t chew it but spit it
out right away and then down the rest of the Lagavulin
– easy!)
Anyway, Stéphane, whom we boldly nicknamed
“The Mad Malt Mixologist”, will now
start to grant Whiskyfun’s distinguished readers
with his great recipes from time to time, far, very
far beyond the usual Whisky Sours or Manhattans.
And why not start right today? So, drum roll….
Here we go! |
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STEPHANE
THE MAD MALT MIXOLOGIST
proposes
a new Summer malt cocktail
Cocktail
#1:
"Serge's Special Whisky
Fun!"
(what a weird name, Stéphane! –
S.) |
Pour
into a shaker:
- 6 cl Clynelish 14 yo OB 46%
- 1 cl white crème de menthe (Get 31)
- 3 cl pineapple and guava juice
- 3 cl limejuice
- 1 half-slice tomato
- 1 pickle and 1 little onion
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
Shake (very hard!) for 20 seconds, strain into a
cocktail glass decorated with one pickle, one half
slice tomato and one lemon slice.
Add a pinch of fresh chives, a pinch of powdered
ginger or white pepper and a few drops of Angostura
bitter.
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Comments: For those who do not
fear trying different tastes! Once the "very
special first taste" has passed, it is a very
appetizing thing which has a huge potential of variants!
You may substitute the 14 yo Clynelish OB with another
Clynelish, try also Brora. Vary the fruit juices.
And why wouldn't you try your favourite raw vegetables?...
carrot, cucumber, pepperoni, Tabasco, Worcestershire
sauce, celery salt, paprika,... You may also turn
it into a "Bloody Serge Special" adding
a splash of tomato juice. |
Serge's
comments: Gosh! I'll try this asap but as Richard
Paterson would say, "If you do this to Brora,
I'll kill you!" ;-))
Stéphane will propose us several other
crazy Summer cocktails after July 14 so stay tuned
(and stunned, I suppose.) |
MUSIC
After his excellent review of a CD by Dream
Theater, our young friend and malt maniac Luca Chichizola
grants us with another review of a band/CD we knew
strictly nothing about before, maybe simply because
we’re too old - or maybe because we aren't
into, err, 'Goth' music too much. Great! (so to
speak…) - S. |
CD
REVIEW by Luca
OPETH – WATERSHED
Roadrunner Records |
| One
of the most puzzling and disconcerting bands in
the rock/metal scene is certainly Opeth:
it’s hard for me to think of someone else
who manages to be just as brilliant by being at
the same time eerily menacing and gentle, outlandishly
brutal and delicate, spooky and tender, melancholy
and aggressive, adrenalinic and relaxing, headbanging
and “prog”. This Swedish band is getting
more and more recognition with each passing album,
and deservedly so: in fifteen years of career they
have made nine studio records, always pushing their
boundaries, deconstructing their sound and taking
unexpected twists. |
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| How
else than “surprising” would you define
a band that started in the early ‘90s with
bleak and ferocious death metal, full of heavy riffs
and a spine chilling growl singing style
from leader Mikael Åkerfeldt… and then
gradually started including in their songs jazzy
and progressive moments, delicate and extremely
sparse acoustic interludes (up to the point of releasing
an exquisite album, Damnation, consisting
entirely of soft and lunar classical
guitar-driven tracks, sung with incredible finesse
and melancholy by the same Åkerfeldt with
a beautifully clean voice and no growling at all)?.
Opeth’s style of today has not neglected the
savage death metal origins, but simply has included
in the cauldron every sort of evolutions and experimentations.
The result is that all their releases of the last
decade jump with dazzling fluidity from buzzing
distorted guitars and apocalyptic screams that seem
to come out of a black mass (although Opeth, while
certainly dark in their themes, are NOT Satan worshippers
contrarily to some other infamous Scandinavian death
metal bands), to moments of atmosphere, introspection
and finesse which wouldn’t be out of place
in a Radiohead or Pink Floyd album. Probably if
I had to describe Opeth with just a sentence, the
most fitting one would be: “A dark and menacing
death metal band with a strong influence of Radiohead,
Porcupine Tree and just a sprinkle of early Smashing
Pumpkins”, although this description would
completely miss to convey their originality and
unique approach. It’s truly a band that deserves
to be discovered and experienced with calm and repeated
listenings, not exactly your average radio-friendly
rock band. |
| In
spite of the recent lineup change (a new guitar
player and a new drummer), Opeth’s latest
album, Watershed, repeats the same successful
formula of the spectacularly brutal and spectral
Ghost Reveries (a peak of their career,
together with the earlier Blackwater Park and Still
Life, the extremely hard sounding Deliverance and
the delicate and introspective little gem Damnation),
but at the same times takes a further step forward.
While probably not as immediate and captivatingly
chilly as Ghost Reveries, this new album is even
more experimental and creative… jumping even
more frequently from beautifully atmospheric sonic
landscapes to unexpected sudden bursts of fury,
from jazzy moments to heavy riffing, captivating
the listener both with its sheer ear shattering
energy and its infinite layers of sophistication.
One can clearly feel that with each album Opeth
is reworking the genre from the inside, adding references
and nods (this time also daring to sound a bit like
Led Zeppelin at times!) without ever sounding even
just a bit derivative. |
 |
Opeth
|
| The
opening track, “Coil”, is certainly
a bit of a shock. Not only it is laid back and melodic
(almost a potential hit single… if Opeth were
a band that cared for these things), but it features
a female backing voice, too: a definite first for
the Swedish band! But metal fans should not worry,
as the loud grinding guitars come at full blast
with the second track (which is as dark as the darkest
songs they have released so far), and also with
“The lotus eater”. Once again anyway
the listener is in for some wild surprises, as this
song seamlessly switches from the growling voice
and the distorted riffs, to lively, progressive
and extrovert sections. The spectacular second half
of the song almost drifts towards pure jazz! Again
on softer territory with “Burden”: very
soulful, melodic hard rock, sung with a great clean
voice, and once more a jazzy acoustic ending (but
with the guitar getting slowly detuned…). |
| From
midway on, the album continues on a similar mood,
jumping from very raw and aggressive blasts, to
bleak, dark but acoustic landscapes. The usual Opeth
formula, very eerie and effective. One more track
which deserves to be mentioned is “Hessian
peel”, which clocks at over 11 minutes and
after a bluesy intro shows quite a few nods to Pink
Floyd or early ‘70s Genesis, with beautiful
and atmospheric flute and strings arrangements...
before the song takes another screeching U-turn
and all hell breaks loose, with the usual devastating
sonic fury we all love Åkerfeldt for. The
show is not over, of course, because after the storm
the mood becomes again progressive, jazzy and laid
back… The complexity and richness of this
track is the final confirmation (if it was ever
needed) that Opeth are not simply a metal band:
they never have been, and now they are even less
than before. |
| The
album closes on the only weakish track: a quiet,
eerie and atmospheric affair that would easily fit
into Radiohead’s repertoire, but lacks some
bite. |
| Overall,
a heartily recommended album: not for all tastes,
that’s obvious, but another solid and inspired
work by this great Swedish band. |
|
(The Special Edition includes a fine extra track
and two interesting covers, one of them sung in
Swedish - a language which I never thought could
be so melodic and musical!) Listen:
Opeth's MySpace
page. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
TASTING
- 23 JAPANESE WHISKIES
All
these notes have already been published last year
on Chris' wonderful blog Nonjatta. |
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A
SHORT KARUIZAWA VERTICALE
Nonjatta tells us that Karuizawa started distilling
in 1953 and is owned by Mercian. They started
to bottle single malt only in 1987. It seems that
Mercian was just merged (taken over?) with drinks
giant Kirin and that no more Vintage versions
would be issued, although there’s quite
some stock left – and a series bottled in
2007 does exist. The Vintage series is issued
in both 70cl and 25cl ‘sample’ bottles,
all the versions we’ll try come from the
small ones. Thank you Bert V. for having provided
us with these. |
Karuizawa
31 yo Vintage 1974 (65.7%, OB, cask #4578, 25cl)
 Amazing
strength at 31yo, let’s have a lot of water
on the table (on the side for now but...) Colour:
deep amber with brownish hues. Nose: a sherried
version, obviously. Rather rough, smoky, toasted,
with whiffs of walnut stain, plum sauce and strawberry
jam, but this one will destroy your nostrils as
surely as night follows day if you don’t take
immediate measures: add water. Ho-ho, but it got
quite superb in the process! Very leafy and leathery,
with a lot of Havana tobacco (new box of Partagas
– whatever – that you just opened).
Goes on with a little shoe polish, very old sweet
wine (Banyuls), whiffs of camphor and incense...
And a lot of plum jam and plum sauce (like the one
they serve with Peking duck. I like this a lot.
Mouth (neat): err, this is very rough. Very kirschy,
spirity and very hot... With water: oh yes it’s
superb whisky! It’s amazing how water worked
here (another Ian Thorpe – sorry, I don’t
know Japanese swimmers). Beautiful oak, beautiful
walnuts, beautiful sherry, beautiful plum sauce
and excellent dryness. Finish: long, maybe a tad
tannic and drying now but still beautifully sherried,
with hints of mint in the background and kind of
a pleasant savageness in a certain way. 91
points. |
Karuizawa
29 yo Vintage 1976 (63.8%, OB, cask #6719, 25cl)
 Colour:
deep amber with brownish hues. Nose: much more discreet
but the sherry’s well here. Water should wake
it up. With water: again, that worked quite beautifully,
even if we get more woody and resinous notes here,
and less sherry. Quite some coal smoke, tobacco
again, roasted almonds, incense again, ginger...
And old walnuts. Rather clean. I like this one as
well. Mouth (neat): more ‘acceptable’
when neat but still very kirschy. Water needed again:
my goodness, this is excellent again, even if a
tad more spirity and rough than the 1974. More fruits
and a little more rubber. Fruit eau-de-vie, walnut
liqueur and prunes. Great smokiness and quite some
toasted bread. Maybe the fruitiness is a bit excessive
here actually. Finish: long, with unexpected notes
of humus. Kind of a pleasant mouldiness. Very very
good in any case. 89 points. |
| Karuizawa
26 yo Vintage 1979 (59.5%, OB, cask #7752, 25cl)
Colour:
deep amber. Nose: more expressive than the 1976
but the sherry still is less dominant than in the
1974 at first nosing, sort of cleaner, the whole
being maltier and nuttier. But quick, water... Yes!
Kind of a blend of the 1974 and 1976. Maybe subtler,
less wham-bam. Antique shop, roasted nuts and various
herbal teas. And grilled tea (Ho-chicha, Japanese
indeed). Less jammy than the 1974 and less gingery
than the 1976. More straightforward I’d say,
but just as totally enjoyable. Mouth (neat): we’re
approaching drinkability at 59%. Lots of fruit jams
but also a huge vinosity and quite some rubber.
But water is needed again: it’s funny, this
time it got much mintier and more camphory. We have
also argan oil, tea, bergamot, kumquats... Again,
it’s more straightforward and less marked
by the sherry than its elder bros. Finish: maybe
a little shorter than the other ones’ but
slightly cleaner again, on smoked almonds and oak.
Good dryness. No reasons to rate this one lower
than 90 points. |
| Karuizawa
25 yo Vintage 1980 (58.1%, OB, cask #8185, 25cl)
Colour:
full amber. Nose: very, very clean, superbly malty,
nutty and slightly smoky. Less sherry influence.
Superb notes of chamomile tea and camphor and very
faint rubber. Marzipan. Will water work as beautifully
as with the older ones? Oh yes, it got even more
superb, very pure, very clean, very compact. All
on both old and fresh walnuts, vin jaune (or amontillado),
‘smoked marzipan’ (should that exist),
walnut stain, thyme, fir honey... Quite fantastic.
Mouth (neat): sweet, oaky, more drying than the
older ones and more directly fruity (plums, apples).
And very hot... With water: truly fantastic again,
albeit not the most complex of them all. Greengage
jam, resin sweets, cough syrup, mint drops, soft
curry... Finish: long and perfectly spicy, with
a lot of oak but a great one. This one really tastes
‘Japanese’ and it’s absolutely
adorable I think. 91 points. |
Karuizawa
21 yo Vintage 1984 (59.8%, OB, cask #7980, 25cl)
 Colour:
full amber. Nose: simpler, narrower and smokier
now. A more direct oakiness and whiffs of old roses
and pot pourri. With water: yes, simpler this time,
but still very nice, with quite some smoked tea,
walnuts and coffee-flavoured toffee. The most coffeeish
so far. Mouth (neat): all on fruit spirit this time,
slightly youngish, raw and spirity. With water:
not very far from the 1980 but still rawer and simpler.
All on fruits and oak. Finish: long but slightly
middle-of-the-road. Much less maturity. Very good,
flawless whisky but not particularly interesting
I’d say. 80 points (for being
flawless). |
Karuizawa
13 yo Vintage 1992 (59.5%, OB, cask #3432, 25cl)
 Colour:
full amber. Nose: oh, this is very exuberant again,
with the same kinds of notes that we found in the
1974. Excellent coal smoke, plum sauce, walnut stain,
strawberry jam... Something milky in the background,
though. The pros would say it’s a bit butyric.
Quite some rubber as well, but we’ve learned
that Karuizawa needs water anyway, so with water:
definitely younger in style, fruitier, with less
‘secondary’ aromas. The wood is also
less integrated, with more ginger, cloves, pepper
and something slightly varnishy. Slightly butyric
again but the whole is still enjoyable. Mouth (neat):
very dense, uberfruity and jammy, hot, almost brutal.
With water: all on candy sugar and fruit jam but
there’s also a better spiciness than in the
1984. A more active cask it seems. Interesting notes
of Japanese green tea, but that may well be my mind
playing tricks to me. Finish: long, more liquoricy
and candied now, very compact, with quite some kumquat.
Just a tad drying at the aftertaste. 85
points. |
Karuizawa
1994/2006 (61%, Full Proof Europe, cask #2221, ex-Glenlivet
sherry butt, 204 bottles) 
Colour: white wine. Nose: much rawer, milky and
mashy, leafy, with notes of tobacco ashes... But
we know Karuizawa needs water, don’t we? With
water: it got very farmy, herbal, leathery. Hints
of ‘clean’ baby vomit (which is not
bad, mind you), rotting apples... Definitely wild.
Mouth (neat): very punchy, with good oakiness and
spiciness. Definitely resinous and spicy but let’s
bring it down to our favourite tasting strength,
45% (all pros will tell you it’s much too
high – okkkkaaaaaay). Well, that didn’t
work as beautifully as with the officials but that’s
probably because of the much lower cask influence
here. Still a bit raw and hot, spirity, grainy...
Finish: long, fruity and mashy, with a little pepper
and paprika. A little youngish but it’s good
distillation, no doubt. Let’s just say this
one is less outta this world than the older OB’s,
which makes perfect sense I guess (despite –
or is it because of? – the ex-Glenlivet butt).
83 points. |
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