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Hi, you're in the Archives, April 2006 - Part 1 |
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| April
14, 2006 |
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CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
NEIL INNES Half
Moon Putney, London, April 9th 2006
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Readers
of these pages will not be too surprised
to know that I’ve been pinching
myself since that freezing cold night
at the Pickle Factory when I came
audience to stage with the remnants
of teen heroes and masters of musical
mirth, the Bonzo Dog Band. Suffice
to say that time has not stood still
for everyone else, and the word on
the web, and here in Putney, is that
the Bonzos are about to yield to the
lure of lucre and the fickle mistress
of fame, and sign up for a tour in
November. Not necessarily the right
move, in my very humble opinion, but
time, as they say, will tell. And
in the mean of time we are here at
the Half Moon to see Neil
Innes, the only surviving
Bonzo to have maintained a successful
career since those heady days of the
seventies. |
| He’s
the one, you may remember, who had
a minor hit with the album How Sweet
to be an Idiot, collaborated with
the Scouse poets collective Grimms,
became troubadour to a Flying Circus
(and as I’m sure obsessive enthusiasts
will know, played Boris Feinburg in
Life of Brian) and then created the
long-lasting Beatles spoof the
Rutles with Python Eric Idle.
This in turn led to a sustained spell
of BBC2 type TV work, and more latterly
scriptwriting and performing for BBC
Radio 4. |
| And
all the while he’s been writing
and performing music in a trademark
whimsical style, following his own
path from Doodahland. His most recent
album is last year’s Works in
Progress, and it’s a tribute
to Innes’ confidence in his
own material that he plays all (well
I think he does, but you know how
it is, Serge, someone spilt beer over
my notebook) of the album. It’s
funny, but a bit despondent too. Because
Innes clearly shares all those frustrations
with the Modern World that have come
to symptomise Grumpy Old Man syndrome.
So he shares his irritation at the
perceived lack of intimacy afforded
to this modern world by the dominant
forms of technology (‘Facemail
in the meat zone’) and the way
it dominates people’s lives
(‘Eye candy’). I didn’t
quite get ‘Hero of the motorway’,
but reckon it must have been about
the nutters who race on our roads
at absurdly high speeds with only
one visible destination in sight. |
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| ‘Charlie
Big Potatoes’ (I wrote ‘Meat
and Potatoes’ so must have been
getting beer-hungry by then) is a
wonderful piece of nonsense that might
have something to do with the shallow
state of modern male masculinity (well,
to be honest, fucking shallow state).
Then, ‘Friends at the end’
albeit perhaps partly back on the
theme of the impersonal nature of
the modern world (which I might have
confused with ‘All alone’
and ‘You’re never alone
…’ - get the picture?)
is also a sorrowful song by a man
who sees Old Mortality beckoning,
and like most of us, doesn’t
really like it. |
| |
| Rory
Motion and the Drainpipes |
| But
all of these songs are performed with
great sore-throated gusto by Innes,
who dashes between his glorious Gretsch,
several acoustic guitars and keyboards,
and bassist Tom Fry and drummer J
J Jones (who incidentally comes from
Suffolk – I wonder if he’s
ever met that culinary old sage Al
Diggins?). Occasionally they are replaced
on stage by the rip-roaring Rory Motion
and the Drainpipes, sponsored by Fiasco
Stores, who are promoting a number
of new and ‘tasty’ products,
notably the Cockadoodleato (well,
that’s what it says in my notebook,
Serge, but it could be another beer
stain) a potato with a chicken inside.
Now what would Al
Diggins say to that? |
| It’s
a well-structured set. Innes begins
with ‘a medley of hit’
- a short snatch of ‘I’m
the urban spaceman’ - and follows
with warm and affectionate reminiscences
about the Bonzos (“Viv was wonderful
but could be a nightmare to work with”),
how it started, how it ended, what
happened in the middle, and a very
funny story about meeting the Fab
Four at the famous Abbey Road Studios.
‘My brother makes the noises
for the movies’, ‘Sir
Robin’ (written by Innes for
the Pythons) and Eine kleine (a Eurovision
tribute, Serge, you’d love it)
amongst others were mixed in with
the new songs in the first set. The
second began with ‘How sweet
to be an idiot’, which was followed
by memories of Monty Python (“the
Bonzos liked hot curries and beer
but they would only eat Chinese and
drink tea, which we thought was very
wishy-washy – hang on, did I
really say that ….?”),
and more tunes from Work in Progress
with ‘Godfrey Daniel (eat your
heart out, Elton), a Rutles medley,
and as encores the complete ‘I’m
the Urban Spaceman’ and finally
the Rutles ‘64’. |
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I
suppose, thinking about it, that Innes
has spent much of his life thumbing
his nose, or as I prefer, cocking
a snook (do you have a phrase for
this in your French, Serge? Someone
suggested ‘pied au nez’
but I think they were almost putting
their foot in their mouth) at the
modern world, life and its mores and
pretensions. And that reminds me,
he’s got an almost secret society
called the Ego Warriors, dedicated
to fighting these mediocrities wherever
they may be found. In fact, I seem
to recall swearing their secret oath
at some point during the evening (all
I can remember is the “so help
me Rhonda, help help me Rhonda”
bit at the end) so maybe I’m
one now. |
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I’m sure grumpy Whiskyfun readers
would like to sign up as well, and
if you can’t you might at least
go and see Neil Innes (who’ll
sign you up himself) or buy his very
enjoyable records. - Nick Morgan
(all photographs by Kate) |
| Thanks
a bunch, Nick. Somebody spilt whisky
on my dictionary but I seem to recall
it's 'pied de nez' instead of 'pied
au nez', that is to say 'bottom of
the nose' rather than 'foot in the
nose' - which might be both much discreeter
and less painful. And more civilized.
As for Neil Innes' beautiful music,
he seems to be very keen on sharing
it with the public, as there's megabytes
of mp3's on
his website. But first, let's
not forget his own very worthwhile
piece of advice: 'Right-click
the link and "Save Link As"
or "Save Target As" and
save it to your computer. Just remember
where you saved it so you can find
it to play it!' See, he does
know a thing or two about modern technologies! |
| TASTING
- TWO JAPANESE WHISKIES |
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Hanyu
1985/2005 (57%, Gu Bràth, cask
#379, 139 360ml bottles)
Hanyu is a small distillery founded
in 1946 and belonging to Toa. There
main ‘brand’ is Chichibu,
but this is an independent bottling
that Olivier brought back from Japan.
Colour: amber. Nose: really powerful
but sort of delicate, with quite some
wood, caramel and smoke coming through
after a while. Quite some encaustic
as well, cinnamon, nutmeg, cigar box,
soft spices… Getting even a
little animal. Partly bourbonny, partly
‘oriental’, whatever that
means. Very good. |
| Mouth:
powerful but balanced, with lots of
oaky notes, Sechuan pepper (which
isn’t really pepper but a fruit,
as you may know) and fruits (kiwis
and pineapple). Gets more and more
peppery with time, the tannins getting
quite aggressive and the whole really
hot. A few drops of water bring out
waxy notes and liquorice as often.
The finish is long, ample and lacking
just a little freshness but the whole
is surprisingly good. I could also
try a 5 yo but that one was much less
interesting – I thought it was
too young. Anyway, 85 points
for the older version - but why put
a thistle on a Japanese whisky? |
| Nikka
12 yo ‘Yioichi’ 1991/2003
(64.8%, OB, cask #129484, warehouse
#8)
Colour: amber – orange. Nose:
starts very nicely, on cooked apricot
and lots of leathery notes, orange
peel, Virginia tobacco, wax polish,
getting quite spicy (clove, dried
ginger). Very bold and rather complex
at the same time. Very interesting,
I like this nose a lot. Mouth: really
powerful, very peppery and woody,
with quite some disturbing notes of
rubber and glue alas, and also lots
of orange marmalade. Gets woodier
and woodier, on boxed fruits (pineapples
and such). Long but spirity and oaky
finish. An interesting malt with a
great nose but the mouth is a bit
too simple and rubbery for my tastes.
82 points, still. |
And
also Nikka
10 yo ‘Single Cask’ (62%,
OB, cask #117598)
Very nice, powerful, with a sweet
attack. Gets a bit dry on the nose.
The mouth is very fruity, mainly on
plums. Hints of rubber… Quite
a beast! 84 points.
Yamazaki
12 yo (43%, OB)
Colour: white wine. Nose: nicely buttery
and flowery but also quite simple,
with lots of hay and dried flowers.
A little malty. Yes, nice but simple.
Mouth: a nice attack, fruity and slightly
spicy. Some nutmeg, cinnamon, cooked
apples… It gets quite woody,
and has a medium finish on cider apples
and wood. Maybe a little too sweetish,
in fact… 78 points |
| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - MODERN ART MAKES WHISKY
MODERN - Part 1 |
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Modern
art was much trendier in the 50's,
60's and 70's and the whisky industry
couldn't, of course, afford to hang
back. We'll post a few interesting
examples, starting with...
Left, Salvador
Dali for Old Angus,
probably early 1950's. Dali was said
to be very keen on money making, so
he appeared on many ads for various
goods, such as cars, chocolate, silk
stockings or... whisky. But Dali was
mostly keen on advertising himself!
Right, Leroy
Neiman for Dewar's,
1970. Many consider Neiman is more
an illustrator than a genuine artist,
and according to wikipedia, he's estimated
to be the highest earner of any living
american artist. Thanks to advertising? |
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| April
13, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- THREE SPRINGBANKS |
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| Springbank
10 yo 1968/1980 (59%, OB, Italy, cask
#1786)
Another one poured at the excellent
Lindores dinner in Limburg. Colour:
pale gold. Nose: very powerful after
25 years in its bottle but balanced,
starting on lots of flowers (mostly
lilac) and bunches of fruits (apples,
green bananas, pear) plus something
more maritime than usually. Quite
some liquorice as well, grass, peatiness,
but the whole is a little too spirity
for my tastes. Let’s see what
happens after a good twenty minutes
of breathing (the bottle had just
been cracked open)… Right, it
gets much peatier and farmier, hence
complex, and the spirity smells start
to vanish. Lots of smoke – it
got much better! Mouth (right after
opening): ample and powerful but balanced,
starting on apples again (both fresh
and cooked), fresh coconut (the trademark),
getting then very vegetal and almost
bitter… Little development and
the finish is long but quite drying,
lacking roundness. The wildest side
of Springbank, interesting but a little
too hard to enjoy. Let’s give
it a little more time… After
twenty minutes: it does improve indeed!
Orange zests, cinchona, bitter oranges…
Not exactly grand but much, much better
indeed, the whole being closer to
an old Clynelish than to a classical
Springbank, except for the coconut.
I had it at 86 points before breathing
but it now reaches 90 points. |
| Springbank
'Glens Extra' 8 yo (40%, Robert Watson
Aberdeen, 1960's)
A funny name for this old version
of Springbank for Italy. Colour: straw.
Nose: lots of light honey and caramel
at first nosing, very delicate and
elegant. Goes on with coconut milk
and overripe apples, getting then
quite vegetal (nice notes of fern
and moss) and buttery at the same
time. Something earthy as well, maybe
a little porridge, vanilla fudge,
wet chalk… and finally some
bold notes of strawberries together
with a little smoke. Very good, let’s
see how it behaves on the palate…
Mouth: maybe it lacks a little thickness
and body but otherwise it’s
got quite a presence, with sweet cider,
pastries, bitter caramel, the whole
getting alas a little too tea-ish
(camomile), dry and slightly bitter.
It’s good but it probably went
over the hill while in its bottle…
Good news, it takes off again at the
finish, with more oomph, on crystallized
oranges, quince, camomile and something
smoky… It’s still a very
good one again. 85 points. |
|
Springbank
14 yo 1991/2006 (51.1%, Whisky Galore,
sherry cask #290)
From the fairly recent Whisky Galore
cask strength range. Colour: pale
gold. Nose: more powerful and ‘of
course’ livelier. Starts on
interesting notes of overripe gooseberries
(yes, yes, really), apple compote
and honey, with also lots of cooked
fruits (like in North African cooking,
quinces, apricots, prunes and such).
There’s quite some ginger then,
ginger ale, beer, something waxy,
resinous and leafy, before some notes
of sherry start to come through…
Paraffin, cardboard. Maybe the whole
lacks a little definition but it’s
quite nice, in fact. Mouth: very,
very sweet and quite winey now, with
lots of body. Fruit sweets, pineapple,
jam, very sweet fruit liqueurs, a
little bitter caramel… It gets
then a little sour and woody, with
something rubbery that makes the finish
slightly bitter and sulphury. Nothing
excessive, though, the whole is still
enjoyable and worth the relatively
modest price. In short, not the best,
not the worst indie Springbank ever.
81 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Today we have Gov’t
Mule covering Englishman
David Gray’s hit My
oh my.mp3 with much soul and a
feeling that’s certainly rougher
and more ‘southern’, but
not less good. |
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| No
wonder, some of these guys used to
be members of the Allman Brothers
band. Please buy Gov’t Mule’s
music. |
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| April
12, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO INDIE MACALLANS |
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Macallan
1985/2005 (43%, Private Cellar, Forbes
& Ross)
Colour: gold. Nose: very fragrant
and flowery at first nosing, with
also whiffs of wood smoke. Quite lively,
grainy but less than the official
Fine Oak versions. Keeps developing
on camomile and caramel… A ‘nice’
nose. Mouth: starts a little sugary,
with quite some caramel and crystallized
oranges. Very little sherry –
there probably isn’t any and
a balanced but simple finish. The
nose was much nicer, but the whole
is still very drinkable. 78
points. |
| Macallan
14 yo 1991/2005 (46%, The Alchemist,
circa 2005)
A bottling by Gordon Wright. Colour:
straw. Nose: this one starts much
grainier, and also smokier. Notes
of nectar, flower from the fields,
ripe mirabelle plums… Hints
of orange marmalade and cooked butter,
hot croissants. Rather sharp, in a
very nice way, extremely different
from any of the OB’s. Keeps
developing on smoked tea and newly
cut grass… Quite complex. Mouth:
sweet but not sweetish, starting on
candy sugar and cake, with also hints
of apricot pie and again an interesting,
even if more discreet, smokiness.
Bold notes of quince jelly and fudge.
The finish is long, still rather nervous,
with just a little salt and quite
some liquorice. A good one that offers
yet another perspective on Macallan.
85 points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
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MUSIC
– Heavily recommended
listening - We're in 1996 and Patti
Smith makes a brilliant
come back with her CD 'Gone again'
(er...), on which we have this little
gem called Summer
cannibals.mp3 (composed with
her late husband Fred 'Sonic' Smith).
Please buy the great Patti Smith's
music! (picture: June 2005, Patti
Smith being presented with the insignia
of French Commander of the Order
of the Arts and Letters - well...) |
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| April
11, 2006 |
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TASTING
- TWO - OR RATHER ONE INDIE BLAIR
ATHOL
An
interesting experiment by Mario
& Hubert: they have bottled
one half of a butt at cask strength
and the other half at 46%. Right,
the C/S version should be better,
shouldn’t it? Let’s
see… |
Blair
Athol 1993/2005 (46%, M&H Cask
Selection, dark oloroso, 360 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one
starts relatively winey, with also
notes of flintstone, hot butter, getting
then rather meaty. Quite some smoked
ham, sausages, old wardrobe, Mexican
chocolate sauce (poble)… Very
interesting, definitely. Whiffs of
fireplace smoke, matchsticks…
Keeps developing on mashed potatoes,
Comté cheese, sawdust…
A rather unusual profile! Mouth: a
fresh attack with lots of liquorice
and dried herbs (thyme, rosemary,
sage…) and quite some rubber.
Quite some caramel as well, roasted
nuts, praline… Gets then quite
waxy, with also quite some chocolate
and a little mint and eucalyptus.
A perfect body. Nice sherry notes,
mocha, cappuccino… Yet it remains
pleasantly fresh and almost nervous,
with hints of icing sugar. The finish
is rather long and balanced, getting
fruity – and a pinch of salt.
A most enjoyable Blair Athol, with
maybe juts a little too much rubber
to make it to 90. So it’s going
to be 88 points. |
Blair
Athol 1993/2005 (55.7%, M&H Cask
Selection, dark oloroso, 300 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather less expressive,
more spirity as expected. Probably
more vinous, more vegetal and mineral
at the same time. Again a little smoke
but the whole is more discreet, no
doubt. The meaty notes are well here,
though, but the water seems to have
revealed more complexity (especially
the butter and mashed potatoes) Mouth:
more or less the same effects but
it’s now closer to the ‘reduced’
version. It’s probably smokier,
that is, with also some herbal tea
I didn’t get before and slightly
more icing sugar and dried fruits.
Hints of fruit eau de vie (kirsch
and mirabelle) and again quite some
salt. In short I feel the 46% version
still is a little more complex and,
above all, better balanced. I must
confess I liked it a little better.
86 points. |
| And
also: Blair
Athol 14 yo 1990/2004 (50%, Douglas
Laing OMC, sherry, 691 bottles)
Nose: rather vegetal, a little perfumy,
with notes of hay and quite some vanilla
fudge but that’s all. Mouth:
sweet and grainy, getting very malty.
Not too bad but rather uninteresting,
I’m afraid. Not much sherry
influence – if any. 76
points. |
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MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Time for a little Lucinda
Williams, don't you
think? So, today we have Right
In Time.mp3 (from Car Wheels
on a Gravel Road). Excellent! Please
buy Lucinda Williams's music... |
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| April
10, 2006 |
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| Mouth:
a better sensation now, with a full-bodied
and nicely sweet attack, mixing slightly
burnt cake, toffee and all sorts of
crystallized fruits. Notes of cooked
strawberries and red wine poached
pears, with also quite some liquorice
allsorts, sugared herbal tea (camomile),
getting rather salty. The liquorice
grows stronger then, almost invading…
And the ‘salty feeling’
as well. Yes, it’s hugely salty,
especially during the rather long
finish. And Glencadam isn’t
really coastal, is it? Anyway, a very
interesting whisky to make your friends
wonder whether there’s salt
in whisky – or not. 84
points. |
| Glencadam
1974/2001 (59.9%, MacKillop's Choice)
Colour: full gold. Nose: wowie! An
amazing nose, very fresh and superbly
fruity (mostly on crystallized oranges
and tangerines) at first but getting
rather much more unusual after a moment.
Something rubbery (tyre inner tube),
with also notes of grilled meat and
something I already got a while ago:
a mixture of orange juice, olive oil
and honey (I know that sounds weird).
Develops on strongly flavoured pipe
tobacco, leather saddle, mint syrup,
old rancio… Whiffs of wood smoke.
Sort of organic, very, very ‘different’.
Extremely interesting to nose this
one. Mouth: very creamy and very fruity,
sort of concentrated as if somebody
added fruit reductions to it. Lots
of punch of course, developing on
strawberry jam, armagnac soaked prunes,
fruit and chocolate ganache…
It starts then to taste like cough
syrup, sweet wine reduction, strong
grappa… Very unusual indeed!
And the finish is very long, coating,
on blackberry jelly and orange liqueur,
getting maybe just a tad too ‘sour
and bitter’. A sherry-treated
cask? Anyway, quite a beast, very
interesting. 88 points
(90+ without that slightly sourish
finish). |
| MUSIC
– JAZZ - Recommended
listening - It's not that the whole
is immensely innovative but I love
the bass line (by Christian McBride)
on Donald
Harrison's 1997 Nouveau
Swing.mp3 - and of course
Harrison's sax. Please buy Donald
Harrison's music! |
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| April
9, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO INDIE GLEN
MHORS
Glen
Mhor 21 yo 1980/2001 (43%, Signatory,
butt #878, 714 bottles)
Colour: full amber. Nose: it seems
to be very discreet at first nosing,
I’d even say extremely discreet.
Notes of flint stone, old white
wine, hints of cooked fruits (apricots,
orange jam) and caramel… Maybe
a little ham, tyre inner tube, vase
water… All that is almost
evanescent, even if it does open
up a bit after a good ten minutes.
|
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| Mouth:
the attack isn’t exactly weak
but it does lack body and oomph. It
starts very cardboardy and meaty,
which is weird if you ask me. I’ve
had lots of problems with Glen Mhors
before and except for some Rare Malts,
I’ve found many of them to have
this kind of odd profile. Notes of
infused herbs, caramel, weak cold
tea… And then nothing, maybe
just a little smoke. It’s almost
watery… Let’s jump to
the finish which is, by the way, almost
non-existent. Maybe rotten oranges
and gin? 65 points. |
| Glen
Mhor 1966/2004 (56.1%, G&M, cask
#3689)
Colour: amber. Nose: not excessively
bold either but starting on lots of
varnish, furniture polish and turpentine.
You have to like that but I do. It
gets then nicely camphory, with notes
of eucalyptus, before it switches
to cigar tobacco and leather. All
that is rather elegant, I must say,
with a feeling of ‘antiques
shop’. It keeps developing on
dried fruits (apricots, bananas, coconut
slices) together with quite some vanilla
crème (what we call ‘English
crème’), spices (white
pepper, nutmeg) and cocoa powder.
Something slightly meaty as well.
Very nice indeed, sort of different,
which compensates a certain lack of
expression despite the rather high
A.B.V. Mouth: it’s much punchier
now but also a little simpler I think.
We do have something sweet and sour
(overcooked wine sauce), dried fruits
(oranges, almonds), a little fructose
and liquorice but also quite some
cocoa and white pepper. It’s
really tannic and woody, in fact,
getting rather drying after a few
seconds in your mouth. Hints of cough
sweets, eucalyptus, mint drops…
The finish is medium long, quite enjoyable,
less drying than feared and with a
nice bitterness (strong tea and dried
coconut). An old Glen Mhor that does
show signs of old age despite its
oomph, but that’s very interesting
to try, with something that reminds
me of some old sweet wines that got
dry with age (Rivesaltes). Probably
not very consensual. 85 points. |
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| April
8, 2006 |
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CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
THE ROLLIN STONED Half
Moon, Putney, London, April 1st 2006
|
| Well
Serge, I have to say that it’s
all looking a bit ‘soixante-huit’
in your lovely France at the moment,
what with all your riots and things;
you know, flying cobble stones, masked
students throwing Molotov cocktails
(cask-strength of course), tear gas,
rubber bullets and so on. Of course
back here in good Old Blighty we really
prefer ‘soixante-neuf’.
So that’s partly why we’ve
come down to Putney to enjoy "The
Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Tribute Band
in the World". Of course
the other reason is that we had tickets
to see the Rolling Stones at our great
new Wemberly Stadium (ah – ‘soixante-six’,
I still remember it so well) in August.
But now the stadium will not be built
on time – I blame the Australian
contractors, revenge for taking their
Ashes from them I suppose –
and who knows if we will ever get
to review the grand old dames of rock
‘n roll for Whiskyfun. |
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Let me get this straight. I really
don’t get tribute bands –
apart from the fact that they are
so much fun, and sometimes (tonight?)
a bit better than the real thing.
And fascinating for someone like my
now 18-year-old son, who with great
bravura strides past the friendly
Half Moon bouncers to the bar and
buys us all vats of their very good
London beer. But the place is packed
– and obviously, and somewhat
alarmingly, even tribute bands have
stalker fans, a bit like a supermarket
own label malt having a Maniac I suppose.
But everyone is here to have a good
time and the band do not disappoint.
Against a dark and vaguely Moroccan
backdrop they took the stage promptly
at nine, Charlie, Keith, Mick (Taylor),
Bill, and Mick (and Nicky on the keyboards).
All wearing preposterous wigs, Bill
with a pair of groupie-girl panties
hanging from his base, Keith smokin’
and ready to go, and (Sir) Mick pouting
for England. They cracked into –
I think – ‘Start me up’,
but I’m no Stones fan so don’t
ask me, and then played ferociously
for two hours ‘till the Half
Moon’s 11.00pm curfew. And what
we got was for the most part classic
Stones from about 1965 to 1975, with
a respectful amount of humour. And
of course we couldn’t have that
without Brian, who joined after about
half an hour, apparently dropping
in from heaven with wings, sparklers,
gaspers, champagne and all.
I don’t need to give you a set
list, just make it up for yourself.
It was a gas, gas, gas. And according
to the Photographer (who IS a fan)
better than the Christmas ‘Hot
Licks’ thirty DVD set compilation
of their last tour (and believe me
I can agree, having had to watch all
of it, at least three times). But
‘though I had a great time I
couldn’t help wondering, “what
do these people do for a day job?”. |
|
I mean, does the wig come off and
Mick just goes down to the building
society where he’s an assistant
manager? And why, apart from the money,
would you really want to spend your
Saturday nights doing this? So many
questions Serge, and so few answers.
But whilst you’re pondering,
here’s a tribute you might like,
Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited, released
on April 17th, and put together I
think by that bright boy of Brit pop,
the not-so-young Jarvis Cocker. Now
that’s what I call ‘soixante-huit’!
- Nick Morgan (all photographs
by Kate) |
|
Thank you Nick! Regarding our ‘riots
and things’ and ‘soixante-neuf’,
I agree everything is a but upside
down here these days but don’t
worry, it’s just historical
reconstitutions we organize for tourists
(and for CNN), and as somebody said,
‘the kids are alright’.
Ah, April in Paris - please note that
I already fled to Germany, I'm in
Limburg just now! I’m wondering
what Mick is thinking while having
a Louis XIII in his castle in France…
Speaking of whom, I’m also wondering
why ‘Ronnie Wood’ wasn’t
on stage! ‘Brian Jones’
+ ‘Mick Taylor’ + ‘Ronnie
Wood’, that would have been
a hit! (and ‘Billy Preston’!)
By the way, here's Let's
spend the night together.mp3 by...
The Rolling Stones? Or is it the Rollin
Stoned? Your guess... |
| TASTING
- TWO OLD 1967 INCHGOWERS |
| Inchgower
1967/1988 (46%, Moon Import 'The Costumes',
butt #788, 556 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: lots of
vivacity right from the start, with
a little rubber but it’s soon
to vanish, like often with heavily
sherried malts. We have then notes
of torrefaction, dried fruits, (Xmas
cake) and chocolate. Also quite some
hot praline, cappuccino, as well as
quite some smoke. Gets then quite
meaty, on game, soy sauce, lovage,
balsamic vinegar… Very typical.
Gets then quite resinous, with hints
of beeswax, polished leather, bitter
oranges… Very nice and unusually
smoky (but I’ve already had
quite some smoky old Inchgowers).
|
 |
| Mouth:
not the clumsy kind of sherry at all!
Granted, there’s lots of orange
marmalade, crystallized fruits, old
rum - and it’s even smoky again
– but also something rather
nervous (icing sugar) to balance the
whole. There’s then quite some
cocoa, fruit liqueurs, marrons glacés…
The middle is just a tad weaker, lacking
a little body but that’s not
a problem here. And then we have coffee,
liqueur chocolates, mulled wine spices,
slightly burnt cake… The finish
is rather longer and bolder, on dried
fruits and something earthy. It’s
relatively drying because of the tannins
that start to appear but still very
enjoyable. In short, a classical ‘olorosoed’
malt, nicely balanced, somewhat similar
to some older Macallans Gran Reserva.
Very good. 90 points. |
 |
Inchgower
21 yo 1967 (46%, Moncreiffe)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: starts on
lots of chocolate, sherry and smoke
again, then candy sugar and biscuit.
Develops on cooked fruits (strawberries,
blackcurrants) with notes of maraschino
and a beautiful caramel, pralines…
Excellent! Mouth: a beautiful sherry
again and a wide, yet balanced and
powerful attack. Quite some kirsch,
getting again quite smoky. It’s
really powerful, with no sign of tiredness.
Lots of vivacity. A perfect old sherried
Inchgower, maybe not extremely complex
on the palate but most enjoyable.
Rather different from the Moon Import
(more caramelly, less drying) but
I feel both are just as good. 90
points. |
|
|
| April
7, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- THREE AUCHENTOSHANS |
| Auchentoshan
12 yo (43%, OB, square flat bottle,
early 1980’s)
Colour: pure gold. Nose: this one
starts astonishingly mineral, flinty,
with also notes of yoghurt. Gets very
grassy, feinty, with notes of hay,
light cheese (gouda), un-sugared herbal
teas, faint hints of cat litter…
Well, no fruitiness whatsoever in
there! Strange… Mouth: ah, now
it’s much fruitier, and even
slightly smoky. Lots of bubblegum,
‘chemical’ fruit sweets,
lemon marmalade… Lots of body
as well but there’s probably
too much caramel that sort of overwhelms
the usual – and expected –
freshness of Auchentoshan, and makes
the whole sort of bittersweet. The
finish is medium long, malty, sugary
and caramelly. Far from a disaster
but it really lacks freshness and
cleanliness. Was whisky always better
in the old days? Yeah, yeah…
68 points. |
| Auchentoshan
13 yo 1992/2006 (46%, Signatory Unchillfiltered,
cask #7362-63, 522 bottles)
Colour: pale white wine. Nose: definitely
more expressive and fresher, but we
do have more or less the same flinty
smells at the start but it gets then
very mashy, yeasty (porridge and muesli,
mashed potatoes) as well as grassy
(newly mown lawn, privet) and finally
a little fruity (grapefruits). ‘Funny’
whiffs of menthol that gives this
Auchentoshan a little extra-complexity.
It’s still simple, but enjoyable
(I can’t help thinking it would
make for a perfect poolside dram,
on ice – although I never add
ice to my whiskies). Mouth: compact
and very, very sweet, almost sugary,
with some big bold notes of lemon
sweets. Maybe notes of crème
brûlée, candy sugar,
plus something discretely waxy and
minty – and a rather long, simple
finish, on lemon marmalade and a little
green pepper. No particular thrill
but it’s flawless. A good Summer
malt. 80 points. |
| Auchentoshan
16 yo 1988 (58.9%, OB, cask #4445)
Colour: straw. Nose: this one starts
much grassier, on bold notes of newly
cut turf, with also something rather
cardboardy, hints of wet chalk, rainwater,
steamed potatoes… Maybe a little
coconut milk… Rather simple
but I’m sure it does need a
little water… Right, it does
indeed get a little farmier, but that
happens almost always when you reduce
a C/S malt. Other than that it gets
even grassier and waxier, with also
funny hints of fresh fish and incense
(what a strange mixture – very
catholic, that is), and finally a
few fruity notes (mostly pink grapefruit).
Mouth (undiluted): punchy and very
sweet with loads of coconut milk now,
notes of sugared avocado juice, crystallized
tangerines… And quite some alcohol.
With water: not much difference, except
that it gets a little fresher and
slightly minty, but the finish is
long, nicely balanced, with something
peppery and gingery. Good, but lacking
complexity, I think. 81 points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
 |
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - The great ex-Count Basie
vocalist Irene
Reid does the (too?)
famous Me
and Mrs Jones.mp3 with superb
late organist Charles
Earland, and adds quite some depth
to it, I think (it's on her CD 'The
Uptown Lowdown'). What a sound and
what a voice! Please buy Irene Reid's
music! |
|
|
| April
6, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
THE GHOST FLIGHT REVUE (ROBERT LOVE,
SANDY DILLON and JEFF KLEIN)
Dingwalls (Lock 17), London
March 29th 2006 |
| “I’m
sorry Nick”, said Serge, “but
I’ve never heard of Robert Love”.
Well I was confused too. And actually
it’s not Robert Love, it’s
Rob Spragg, aka The Reverend Larry
Love, of Whiskyfun favourites Alabama
3. But just to be sure I checked.
Was our Robert Love singer Larry
Love, who “frequently performs
for dances, parties, anniversaries,
class reunions, fund-raisers, funerals
and memorials, school assemblies,
corporate events, church events, fairgrounds,
and holiday receptions”? Or
could he have been the Reverend
and “Mad Larry” Love
of Cambridge, Mass., only recently
deceased? Or Larry
Love the dancing hamster? Or the
Larry Love sex doll (actually Serge,
you might not want to put in the link
for this)? [but of course I will,
Nick - there!].
Hmm, you see that’s the problem
with multiple identities – have
too many and soon no one really knows
who you are. |
 |
| We’re
late, and it’s partly my fault
(or should I say Serge, it’s
the fault of your wonderful Paris,
always so difficult to part from,
like a once forgotten lover, rediscovered
in the warm spring sunshine). It’s
a pre-gig Greek meal with Jozzer and
his good lady, Trizzer. The food is,
errr, Greek. And so is the service,
the long delay between the appetisers
and the main course being apparently
designed to force us to order (and
drink) vast quantities of (fairly
decent – or so it seemed at
the time) Greek red wine. This is
a challenge to which Jozzer and I
both rise with true British spunk.
As a consequence we arrive at Dingwalls
(which marketing git renamed it ‘Lock
17’ I wonder?) almost at the
end of the first act Jeff
Klein. By coincidence
the last time we were here was with
Jozzer and Trizzer, to see the Larry
Love Showband, that wonderful trimmed-down
and largely acoustic version of the
A3. On that occasion, as the four
of us comprised around a third of
the audience, we danced the night
away extravagantly in front of the
band (“here’s another
nice tune for you old folks to dance
to” I recall Larry saying),
until Jozzer, moved by the excitement
of it all (and vast quantities of
red wine) jumped onto the stage in
the middle of ‘Peace in the
Valley’ and testified, on his
knees, to all and sundry. Tonight
you can barely see the stage for the
assembled throng of arty Brixton low-lifers
who’ve made their way north
of the river to witness this metropolitan
stop in a UK tour to promote new albums
recently released by all three artistes
(who share the same band for the night)
on the Little Indian label. The nice
man selling t-shirts, who gives me
a handy promo CD for the tour, tells
me that this is the first busy night
they’ve had. |
| Se
we didn’t hear much of Jeff,
who from what I can gather is a very
American-sounding Brit, with a lazy
bluesy voice that falls, like the
other two performers this evening,
into the ‘whisky soaked and
tobacco stained’ variety. I’ve
never heard him before, and whilst
the tracks on the promo disc are a
little ho hum, he’s an attractive
proposition live. As is the fierce
and feisty Sandy
Dillon, with a vocal
style somewhere between Melanie and
Macy Gray, and a percussive keyboard
that sometimes makes her sound remarkably
close to Tom Waits. Well worth a listen
we thought (and I’m certainly
off to see her for Whiskyfun at the
next possible chance) – a view
apparently not shared by a large part
of the audience. |
 |
| Such
was their high-pitched faux working
class braying that in the end Larry,
or should I say Robert, strode onto
the stage and threw what can only
be described as a real folk-club wobbly:
“now shut the fuck up and if
you’ve got some fucking business
conversation to have then get the
fuck behind the fucking bar”.
Silence reigned, briefly, until Jozzer
added (so loud, yet with no amplification)
“Right on Larry, fucking artists
demand fucking respect”. Others
might have cringed, but I have to
put on record here that as the man
that introduced me to the Alabama
3 (over a rather nice Cantonese lunch)
I can forgive Jozzer for almost anything
(I said ALMOST anything). |
| So
next, I thought, was Robert Love.
But no! The stage was taken by two
girls on keyboards and a hidden guitarist,
who started playing and singing a
barely recognisable version of ‘Sympathy
for the devil’. For some reason
The Photographer shot to the front
of the stage, Jozzer started sweating,
Trizzer looked uneasy, whilst I sat
thinking that this very 1970s cool
alternative Brixton collective thing
was really running out of steam. |
 |
|
And then, as the smoke subsided, Robert
Love and his band. I
should say that I have the album,
Ghost Flight, and have largely been
disappointed by it, ‘though
it certainly gets hugely better once
seen performed live. Very derivative,
some cringe-worthy arrangements (the
pianist used to work at the Raymond
Revue bar, and it shows) and just
flat compared to his other works.
That’s the bad part. Live, with
Robert Love in a fairly belligerent
mood, the very C&W tinged tunes
took on a fantastic honky tonk feel.
People danced, Robert swore, the guitarist
in the band really started playing
well, the drink was flowing, and we
had a big fun time. I’ve gone
back to the album and found it more
enjoyable, but the tip here is that
Robert, or Larry, or just plain Merthyr
boy Robb, whomever he might be, is
an outstanding live performer. And
if you ever get the opportunity to
see him, in whichever guise he may
take (apart from the sex doll of course)
then please go. And if you don’t
want to buy his records, then you
might like to try Jeff Klein, or certainly
the very interesting Ms Sandy Dillon’s.
Nick Morgan (all concert photographs
by Kate) |
| Many
thanks, Nick! , I guess one
can never get too much Love(s).
But let's see what we can find regarding
all these nice people's music...
Robert Love has a very good tune
on his myspace
page. If the whole CD is like
this, it's still a good one, according
to my own tastes. As for Sandy Dillon,
we could find It
must be love.mp3 - more Serge
Gainsbourg than Tom Waits methink
but remember I'm French - and I
like her
history. And Jeff Klein has
four good tracks on his myspace
page as well. A nice bunch of
nice people... |
| TASTING
- THREE BEN NEVIS |
| Ben
Nevis 1996/2004 (46%, Eilan Gillan,
American oak)
Colour; white wine. Nose: fresh and
rather clean at first nosing, with
notes of almond milk and orange blossom,
cherries, getting then rather milky
and yeasty, thanks to its youth I
guess. Hints of honey and pollen,
developing on ‘simple’
fresh fruits such as apples and greengages
and finally quite some vanilla crème.
Rather harmless! Mouth: sweet and
rather malty, getting sort of sugarish
and rather caramelly… Candy
sugar, vanilla crème again,
tea… And that’s all folks.
The finish is medium long and rather
(too) sugary and caramelly again.
Well, it’s not bad whisky but
it’s far from being really interesting.
Typically a 78 points
malt in my books. |
 |
 |
Ben
Nevis 30 yo 1975/2006 (64.3%, Signatory,
cask #7447, 132 bottles)
A whopping A.B.V. at thirty years
old! Did this one mature in the Sahara?
Poor angels… Colour: straw.
Nose: extremely powerful but not assaulting,
with lots of coffee and litres of
olive oil. Very unusual! The more
we try to get other aromas, the more
we get olive oil… And nothing
else. Okay, this one will be hard
to tame. Let’s wait for a few
minutes and then try it with a little
water (a lot, actually)… zzz…
zzz… Well, not much happening
with just time, let’s dilute
it! Right, much more happening now,
with quite some wood smoke, milk chocolate,
hay, ashes, grass, cardboard…
Then fresh pineapple, maybe fern and
moss… what’s sure is that
there’s no sign of age here.
It could well have been ten years
old! |
| Mouth
(neat): lots of sweetness, caramel,
honey and liquorice but even if it’s
not exactly burning it does need water…
With water: we have pretty much the
same flavours, plus quite some marzipan,
lavender crème, violet sweets…
Very, very sweet, and the finish is
long but rather sugary… Well,
I’m wondering what this lazy
Ben Nevis has been doing during these
extra-twenty years! But it’s
good whisky, no doubt. 82
points. |
Ben
Nevis 40 yo 1962/2002 (40%, OB, blended
at birth)
This one is a single blend, blended
right in 1962, before filling. Must
be a different work to compose blends
with new makes… Colour: straw.
Nose: starts very fragrantly, almost
perfumy. Lots of marzipan, kirsch,
maraschino, rosewater… Nice
notes of orange-scented candles, salted
butter caramel, very old orange liqueurs…
Again something very ‘unusual’,
very interesting although clearly
different from a Single Malt Whisky
(unlike many old single grains the
profiles of which are closer to Single
Malts). Mouth: sweet and rounded but
more nervous than expected. Notes
of dried tangerines, sultanas, amaretti,
marzipan again – most enjoyable!
And a nice finish, unexpectedly vegetal…
An unusual and enjoyable whisky, but
don’t expect something close
to the excellent old Ben Nevis single
malts. 85 points. |
 |
|
|
| April
5, 2006 |
|
|
| Mouth:
a sweet, malty and caramelly attack,
with a smoky structure and lots of
cake and toasted bread. Very, very
classical, getting rather spicy (a
little ginger, quite some nutmeg and
a pinch of clove). Keeps going with
notes of fruit liqueurs, bananas flambéed
and praline, and a finish that’s
long and rather powerful, smoky, malty
and caramelly. A good middle of the
road malt. 80 points. |
Tomatin
1965 (50.7%, JWWW The Cross Hill,
sherry cask, 82 bottles, 2006)
Colour: deep amber, almost
brown. Nose: a very unusual start,
with gallons of kirsch and tons of
liquorice sweets. I love it, for it’s
so far from ‘just another sherry
monster’. It gets then extremely
complex, with a very wide array of
aromas (bubblegum, very old sweet
wine, rancio, strawberry jam, very
old Port, mint flavoured tea, black
nougat, chestnut honey, dried kumquats…
- note to self: beware maltoporn).
Superb notes of liquorice and mint
sweets (we call them ‘Batna’
here), old natural turpentine, walnut
liquor… And yes, hints of peat.
Just fab, as complex as, say, many
Springbanks from the 1960’s.
Mouth: oh yes, it’s fab again,
provided you’re not put off
by heavy tannins, sourness in whisky
and hyper-dryness. I’m not,
as long as the whole is as balanced
as here. The attack is on chocolate,
lots of balsamic vinegar, herbal liquors
(Jägermeister, Chartreuse) and
yes, wood. Lots of toasted bread as
well, old fortified wine, Grand-Marnier,
fruit eau-de-vie, liquorice (lots),
old rum… And armfuls of herbs
(parsley, chive, aniseed, rhubarb,
lovage…) A very, very interesting
experience! The finish is long, very
sweet and sour, herbal, and frankly
drying now… But the whole is
just fab in my opinion and, you got
it, most unusual. It’ll be 93
points as far as I’m
concerned, but it’s probably
not a very consensual expression. |
|
|
| April
4, 2006 |
|
|
 |
BREAKING
NEWS! – Did
you ever happen to wonder what’s
going on in Scotland’s busiest
Marketing Departments these days?
Whiskyfun could sneak a micro web
cam into one of them, and I can
tell you what we just brought to
light is really unbelievable. Click
here
to watch the video (it’s a
1.7 MB .wmv file). |
| TASTING
- TWO LINKWOODS
Linkwood
1989 (43%, The Pale and Rare Collection,
France, circa 2003)
A fancy decanter but will the whisky
be any good? Colour: yellow. Nose:
a rather fragrant start on lots
of caramel, liquorice, vanilla pod
and cake. Something malty in the
background, maybe faint whiffs of
smoke… Then we have nice notes
of apple pie… In short, a
rather enjoyable nose but nothing
too unusual. Mouth: sort of weak,
extremely caramelly this time, with
again quite some cake and liquorice,
candy sugar… In fact it really
tastes like liquorice drops after
a few seconds… Liquorice liqueur?
Does that exist? Also a chicory-like
grip… The finish is rather
long, at that, but very… liquoricy,
you got it. Not bad at all but very
MOTR. 78 points. |
 |
 |
Linkwood
1985/2006 (60.2%, Dewar Rattray, cask
#4544)
This one should be a different kind
of beast. Colour: gold. Nose: powerful,
almost pungent at first nosing; we’ll
probably need to water it down. Yet,
we can get a few aromas by putting
the nose at the top of the glass instead
of the middle. Nice caramel, fudge,
pastries, honey… Also a little
tea, hints of new sawn wood, Muscat
sweet wine, maybe roses (but I was
looking for that so maybe it’s
the mind at work) but the alcohol
is really dominating. With a few drops
of water: lots of grainy notes developing,
porridge, oat flakes… Also bergamot.
Very, very nice nose! |
| Mouth
(neat): yes, it’s a beast but
it’s incredibly drinkable, with
some enjoyable bananas flambéed,
ripe apricots, orange marmalade, Turkish
delights, citrus fruits (oranges,
tangerines), liquorice again…
Getting even minty. It’s really
sweet like sweets! With water: not
much difference except that the tannins
start to appear, also something waxy
and coffeeish, but the balance is
perfect until the end of the long,
sweet and flawless finish. A very
good Linkwood with lots of oomph.
89 points. |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Today we have a very
excellent singer from Massachusetts
called Amy
Correia and she's doing
a very refreshing The
Bike.mp3 (from her debut CD
Carnival Love). Doesn't she sort
of quote the Beatles somewhere?
Anyway, please her music! |
 |
|
|
| April
3, 2006 |
|
|
| 
|
MUSIC
AND WHISKY INTERVIEW
DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX
I think it's during a tasting session
we were enjoying with a few other
Maniacs (which means it could have
been anytime) that I first heard
Davin mention the fact that he had
played the bass guitar with Kris
Kristofferson. You know, Davin is
a very discreet person - anybody
but a braggart - and when I first
tried to know more about his past
as a musician, I really had to drag
it out of him - and it didn't quite
work out. So, I decided to try the
'interview' trick... Will Davin
be more loquacious?... |
Whiskyfun:
Davin, tell
us briefly about what you do - or
did, music-wise.
Davin
de Kergommeaux: Well
my days of making music are long since
over so this will be strictly a historical
perspective. Growing up in Ottawa
in the sixties it was pretty much
impossible not to hear a lot of good
original music. Besides Ottawa, Montreal
was just two hours away and back then
they had a very active and original
music scene too. That’s all
been lost to Toronto and Vancouver
now. That was also the height of Motown
and we used to listen to that late
at night on the radio.
Ottawa had a very active band scene,
in the British-invasion mode, and
it was often difficult to choose which
‘dance’ to go to. All
the churches opened up their recreation
halls and there were school dances
every Friday and Saturday and the
bands started making a bit of money
and investing it right back into their
music and it was all getting very
professional until some high school
principal added up how much money
was going to kids to make music and
they set a maximum $200 budget for
dances. Lots of groups just couldn’t
afford to keep going and the whole
thing petered out.
I had been driving the truck for my
brother’s band at that time
so was part of the scene and just
as the bands started to die off the
folk scene hit. I changed high schools
and at my new school got in with the
“folk club.” I played
bass and started performing with various
people at coffee houses – usually
in church basements. I was also a
regular in the audience at Le Hibou
– honestly the best club Canada
has ever had for cultivating new musical
talent. Anyway, one thing led to another
and soon I was doing guest sets with
a couple of other guys and then one
summer they asked us if we’d
like to be part of a show every Sunday
afternoon for the summer. We really
used that summer to hone our skills.
I knew we were doing something right
when two guys walked into the club
one Sunday with t-shirts they had
made with our faces on them. That
was back before screen printing and
merchandising so they had done them
by hand.
Once the summer was over my girlfriend
and I decided to move out west where
I got work right away as a sideman
playing with various jazz (lounge-type),
rock and folk acts. I also had a regular
gig with an Italian orchestra. They
were just about the nicest guys –
very genuine, no egos, just into the
music. I started doing demos of my
own tunes and eventually landed a
recording contract which lead to the
release of a single. I got some royalties
from CAPAC so it must have got some
radio play somewhere, but I never
heard it on the radio and the record
company said it didn’t sell
any copies at all. However, it was
a small company and just as my record
was released they had a big hit with
one of their other artists and I doubt
they put any effort into promoting
my record. Later when I was in the
record business myself I realized
what a lot of work it is to have a
record that’s selling and I
would focus my efforts on the ones
with the best chance of return.
It was when I was operating Savvy
Records that I really came into my
own, not as a musician, but as a producer.
I liked that a lot more than playing
music as I found it a lot more creative,
and I got a lot of good feedback and
for the first time made a little bit
of money. I did a lot of work on contract
– mostly choirs and ‘serious’
recordings, but the most fun was working
with ’63 Monroe. They were a
London (Canada) based glam/punk band
and just the most genuinely outrageous
musicians I’ve ever worked with.
They were like the Italian orchestra
in that the music was a given and
their whole life revolved around it.
They sent me a demo tape and I thought
it was pretty good, but I told them
I needed to hear more. I went to a
few of their shows, unannounced and
about 3 months later they sent me
another tape. I offered them an open-ended
deal and before long we were in the
studio recording “Stinkin’
Out the Joint” which is kind
of naïve when you listen to it
now, but back in 1985 it was really
something to be proud of. CHRW, the
local college radio has the whole
thing on mp3. So what do I do music-wise?
Mostly just listen and reminisce. |
WF:
Lol, didn't we say
'briefly'? But that was very interesting,
so... And we'll add the link to that
mp3 page at the end of this interview.
Anyway, Davin, which other musicians
did you play with?
Davin:
Well having become
a semi house musician at Le Hibou,
I often played with various acts that
came through. Guys like Billy Swan
who later had a big hit with “I
Can Help”; Eric Andersen –
the folkie from California; Bruce
Cockburn & Bill Stevenson –
home-grown Ottawa talent; Jerry Jeff
Walker – he wrote and was the
first to record “Mr. Bojangles”
and now he does nostalgia vacations
for rich, aging hippies in Belize;
and I was in the Dixon House Band
– at that time called the Ted
House Trio - for a year or so. The
best fun though was playing at the
Bitter End with Kris Kristofferson
because he was the latest great thing
at the time and all these celebs came
out to see him. I remember Carly Simon
was there. She had left the Simon
Sisters by then and was totally unknown
as a single act and she was embarrassing
herself trying to be noticed. Johnny
Cash also showed up, but he was afraid
to get out of his car because of all
the fans so he just sat in the car
outside and Kris kept going out to
see him. I’d never seen anything
like that before. |
WF:
Which are your other
favourite artistes?
Davin:
Well, I am fairly
open to just about everything, but
I especially like the raw, organic
stuff. I love raw African a capella
singing, I really love pow wow music
(the only downside of Feis Ile is
it coincides with a really good pow
wow over here), some classic old-style
country and western, Motown, and of
course British Invasion. I like Jaco
Pastorius, The Fugees, Boney M - “Rivers
of Babylon” for example, Dire
Straits “Down by the Waterside”,
everything BB King, the old Collectors,
Joni Mitchell “Blue”,
Tom Waits, and shockingly, because
it is so produced, in a manufacturingly
way, – Shania Twain “Feel
Like a Woman” (sorry). I also
like some of Leonard Cohen’s
most recent stuff – I really
like the voice. My dislikes: Paul
McCartney now. He was in Ottawa a
while back and I swear he wasn’t
really playing his bass and the voice
was way over the hill. I can’t
imagine an ego so big as to be able
to listen to tapes of those shows
and think you’ve still got it.
Rolling Stones now: Please guys, you
were the no. 1 band in world, but
Mick’s voice is now long departed.
Celine Dion. Whenever she comes on,
in an elevator or wherever, my wife
always says “Can someone please
help that poor woman get her hand
out of the door.” |
WF:
Which are your current
projects? (records, concerts, tours
etc.)
Davin:
Jeeze, I’d
love to get some money together and
go back and do a 63 Monroe album with
some real cash behind it. The guys
still are playing and I can’t
imagine that they’ve taken the
Paul McCartney route given how serious
they were about the music. My tours
these days are all about whisky –
Malt Maniacs Awards, Ardbeggeddon,
Victoria Whisky Fest, Feis Ile, Hamstergeddon
(a wimpy euro-version of A-geddon,
which Johannes and I are organizing),
more Malt Maniacs Awards... |
WF:
When did you start
enjoying whisk(e)y? Are there any
musical memories you particularly
associate with that moment?
Davin:
I remember Sandy
Crawley on a Sunday afternoon, when
all the bars and liquor stores were
closed, out begging people for a spare
bottle of Jack Daniels for Kristofferson.
I don’t know if he ever found
it, but I always thought Kristofferson’s
habit was more for effect because
I never saw him out of control. I
also remember sitting in Bert Block’s
office, and he was representing Janis
Joplin, and there were all these pictures
of her with Southern Comfort and I
realized that this was just a prop.
I did steal some Johnnie Walker Red
from my dad’s liquor cabinet,
on regular occasions, and I liked
it. I remember it being quite smoky.
Mostly though I didn’t drink
a whole lot of anything until I turned
50 and my doctor told me I should
start drinking in moderation as it’s
good for the heart or arteries or
something. |
WF:
What’s your
most memorable whisky?
Davin:
Well I think the
people you dram with are more important
to the overall experience than the
actual dram itself. Very top highlights
– dramming by the River Ness
with Krishna, Johannes and yourself.
Probably my best session ever, but
also Whisky Hill Dram Jam at Tom Borschel’s,
Springbank Local Barley at Dave Russo’s
place, any number of Highland Parks
at Olivier’s. Probably my most
memorable dram is the Black Bowmore
Olivier brought to Feis Ile last year.
|
WF:
Do you have one, or
several favourite whiskies?
Davin:
Without question
Black Bowmore is my number one favourite.
However there are many, many whiskies
that I enjoy. Right now I am nurturing
a Hazelburn 8 yo and it is just a
wonderful almost bourbony young single
malt. |
WF:
Are there whiskies
you don’t like?
Davin:
Loch Dhu really
is as bad as they say. I’ve
never had a good Allt A’Bhainne.
Most Canadian whiskies are not that
exciting to me, nor are some bourbons.
|
WF:
‘If the river
was whisky baby, and I was a diving
duck’ is one of the most famous
and well used whisky lyrics, from
sea-shanties to blues and rock and
roll. Do you have a favourite musical
whisky reference?
Davin:
Serge! I saw Taj
Mahal play Divin’ Duck Blues
live at Le Hibou, went straight out
and bought the record, then learned
to play the guitar licks on the bass.
It was really good exercise for the
thumb and fingers until I got the
hang of it. |
WF:
Music and whisky are
often thought of as being male preserves.
Should girls play guitars, should
girls drink whisky?
Davin:
My daughter bought
a Stratocaster then went out and did
a gig that same day using it. It was
her first electric guitar. |
WF:
In some ways you could
argue that tasting a whisky is similar
to listening to a piece of music –
you deconstruct the two in the same
way? Care to comment?
Davin:
That’s an
interesting question because the way
you make music in the studio, one
instrument at a time, you really spend
a lot of time analysing each part
and figuring out the best way to ‘blend’
it with the other components. We even
add ‘spirit caramel’ at
the end to knit it all together, that
is, lots of high frequency sound –
‘air’ - that you can’t
hear, but just makes the whole sound
that much better. Some folks also
used to add in white noise on the
early digital recordings to make them
sound warmer. Deconstructing the flavours
in a whisky has become a bit of a
fetish which adds a certain enjoyment,
but I think the real reason for describing
the smells and flavours is not to
one-up other tasters but to describe
the malt so others will either know
if they want to buy it, or will recognize
it in a tasting. It’s also a
way of assessing how well our palates
are developing. |
WF:
I once heard an eminent
whisky professional say that he tasted
whisky in colours. Do you taste whisky
in music?
Davin:
No, I really like
smells, even smells that my wife thinks
are stinky. To me tasting whisky is
a gustatory experience. |
WF:
If your favourite
whisky was a piece of music what would
it be, if it was a musical instrument
what would it be?
Davin:
Black Bowmore
would definitely be something Beethoven
would have distilled. |
WF:
There is a famous
passage in a book written in the 1930s
(Aneas Macdonald) where the author
compares different styles of whisky
to different sections of an orchestra
– how would you see that working
in a jazz or rock band, or in a classical
orchestra?
Davin:
I don’t
know the reference and don’t
understand it. Orchestras are many
sounds all working together in a predetermined
way. Whiskies are finished products,
like the whole orchestra and we enjoy
them as a whole. Unless you are thinking
of the whisky in the cask, in which
case I guess you could say the blenders
are like conductors. However, there
are Britney Spears whiskies –
like J&B; there are Muddy Waters
whiskies – like lots of old
Ardbegs; and there are good working
sidemen like Oban 14 and my old standard
Glenlivet 12. |
WF:
Do you have a favourite
piece of music to drink whisky with,
or better still, desert island dram,
desert island disc?
Davin:
I don’t
use music as background. If I turn
it on it’s because I want to
listen to it, so I would be sipping
a non-challenging dram, if anything,
if I had music on. I like to focus
on the music and let it carry me away.
At home I might even lie down to listen
to it. Same with good whisky: I don’t
need other distractions. I think by
having constant background music we
start to forget about it and we raise
the threshold of what actually stimulates
us. My son listens to music constantly
and I am sure he doesn’t even
hear it. The other day he was playing
his guitar and there was totally different
music in the background and I told
him he was teaching his fingers to
do what his brain tells them rather
than what his ears tell them. He said
he didn’t even notice it, but
does notice silence and doesn’t
like it. I like silence when I am
enjoying something else. |
WF:
Everyone thinks of
Jack Daniels as being the great rock
and roll whisky – why not Scotch?
Davin:
Cynically, because
Scotch doesn’t have the right
image to be useful to managers trying
to depict their clients as tortured
artists. Scotch (blended) is for hard-bit
potboiler detectives. Now Davinci
drinks only Laphroaig 10 yo and never
a word is said about it and the label
is 3/4 hidden most of the time, so
the cachet of single malts is definitely
making it’s way into popular
culture. It’ll always be JD
for rock though, as long as the South
is so influential in pop music. |
WF:
And if it was Scotch,
can you think of which brand? What
would be the Scotch equivalent of
rappers drinking Cristal?
Davin:
Well it would
have to be simple, available everywhere,
and not too expensive. Working man’s
Scotch that people could realistically
wince at as they take a desperate
swig straight from the bottle. Johnnie
Walker Red? Who knows. |
| TASTING
- TWO LONGROWS
Longrow
1987/2005 (45%, Samaroli, cask #113,
312 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: wow, this is
something different! Very far from
the current OB’s, starting
on a fab mix of clean farmy peat,
clean smoky coastality (!?) and
aniseed, dill and celery. Extremely
clean and fresh yet very complex,
getting very ‘porridgy’
after a moment. Soaked grains, dairy
cream, yoghurt, mashed potatoes…
|
 |
| And
then we have lots of mineral and ashy
aromas, like burnt matchstick, fireplace,
limestone… And always hints
of fermenting hay and ‘clean
wet dog’ in the background,
that give it sort of a welcomed wildness.
Also hints of vanilla pods and quite
some Cayenne pepper and even cloves…
Really beautiful, not exactly austere
but truly purebred. Mouth: what a
superb attack, at an ideal strength
here. I’m really glad it wasn’t
bottled at cask strength. First we
have a mouth filling sweetness, mostly
on crystallized orange zests (orangettes)
and then a great ‘peatiness’,
with lots of both smoky and fermented
‘stuff’, like high-end
Belgian beer (old Orval – thanks
again guys) or old pu-erh tea, notes
of chestnut honey, getting also quite
waxy and even gingery. Really excellent,
very compact, very satisfying. The
finish is rather long at that, spicy,
vegetal and peaty, with a peppery
afterglow. Just another excellent,
elegant and well-mannered 1987 Longrow
from the Samaroli racing stable! 92
points. |
| Longrow
8 yo 1997/2005 (59.9%, OB for The
Springbank Society, refill butt, 690
bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: we’re
very, very far from the 1987, I’m
afraid. Almost closed at first nosing,
with just something mineral and citric
at the same time… And then we
have invading notes of soaked newspapers,
Alka-Seltzer, gin-fizz, paraffin,
‘chemical’ lemon juice,
wet chalk… Rather bizarre and
not very enjoyable, I’m afraid.
And then it gets even weirder, with
something like old oysters and fermenting
grass. It gets even farmier with a
little water, but also very cheesy,
almost dirty (gym socks). Mouth: punchy
but very unusual again, with exactly
the same phenomenon happening. Lots
of chemical citric notes, cheap sweets,
icing sugar, Jell-O (the worst flavours),
aspirin, cardboard… And the
finish is rather long but bitter and
acid at the same time… Ah well,
I have no luck with the recently distilled
Longrows, I must say – and God
knows I’m trying hard! I guess
it’s me, because I know some
guys liked it – and not only
members of the Springbank Society.
I should add that I did let it breathe
for another half an hour and that
it got a tad better indeed (a little
less ‘chemical’ and much
saltier) but that wasn’t enough
for it to deserve more than 73
points in my books (whilst
water almost killed it). Now, it’s
really unusual whisky, and unusual
often means interesting… |
|
|
| April
2, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- THREE BURGUNDIAN GLENMORANGIES |
 |
Glenmorangie
'Burgundy Finish' (43%, OB, 2005 bottling)
Finished for a few months. Colour:
dark straw. Nose: light – not
weak – but rather lively, starting
on crystallized oranges and peonies,
light ‘breakfast’ honey
and ripe strawberries. Something slightly
winey indeed, a tad sourish…
Hints of rosehip tea, freshly baked
cake, pollen, vanilla… Not particularly
interesting but balanced and inoffensive.
|
| Mouth:
it’s a little more bodied now,
but slightly disjointed. Something
sugary and caramelly on one side and
‘something’ winey on the
other side (more like an everyday
sweet wine than like a Bourgogne).
Notes of cooked strawberries and rhubarb,
old wine barrel (slightly dirty wood),
icing sugar, sour honey, mead…
It gets then quite malty, as if it
wanted to go back to… Scotland!
The finish is longer than expected,
even a little hot, mostly on dried
fruits. Probably the best part (and
not only because it’s the end
;-)) Right, I must confess I’m
a huge fan of Burgundy wines –
and that I’m not into finishings,
but I can’t see what’s
‘Burgundian’ in there
– except the name. But it could
have been worse… 72
points. |
| Glenmorangie
12 yo ‘Côte de Beaune
Finish’ (46%, OB, circa 2004)
Finished for two years in barrels
that had contained red wine. The ‘Côte
de Beaune’ is one of the five
main parts of Burgundy (the others
are the Yonne/Chablisien, Côte
de Nuits, Côte Chalonnaise and
Côte Mâconnaise). Some
of the best Bourgognes come from there,
and they’re usually a little
lighter than the wines from the Côte
de Nuits, which is the best part as
far as reds are concerned. Colour:
pale amber. Nose: much more coherent
and also more fragrant, and certainly
more elegant. We have again this flowery
notes (peonies, maybe violets, heather),
quite some honey and pollen. Hints
of perfume (Chanel N°5), fresh
herbs, apricot jam, plum pie…
Much less winey than the ‘Burgundy
Finish’, and so better balanced,
fresh and elegant. A good ‘product’.
Mouth: again, it’s much better,
although rather sweetish. Very rounded,
with quite some liquorice (nice wood
extract), strong vanilla, ginger…
Quite some cooked fruits (mostly strawberries
and blueberries), probably from the
wine, but I feel they are much better
integrated here. The finish is rather
long, balanced and a little sweet
and spicy (quite some pepper). A finishing
that works much better here, no doubt.
81 points. |
| Glenmorangie
12 yo ‘Château de Meursault
Finish’ (46%, OB, circa 2002)
Finished for two years in barrels
that had contained white wine. The
Château de Meursault is a property
located on the Côte de Beaune,
south of the city of Beaune, and is
famous for its whites. Colour: pale
gold. Nose: it does start on some
rather nice notes of mirabelle plums,
with also hints of ashes but switches
then to ginger ale, Alka-Seltzer,
vase water, with something slightly
dirty (old empty barrel). Something
smoky as well… Rather prickly.
Strange… Maybe all experiments
shouldn’t be put on the market?
Mouth: ah, this is really weird now.
A very winey start (old, nearly stale
white wine) and then… almost
nothing, except a strange bitterness.
Really disjointed. Okay, there are
a few nice fruity notes (mirabelle
plums and apricots again) but also
quite some rubber. Sulphur from the
casks? What’s curious is that
the finish is rather long, almost
hot and quite bitter and sweetish
at the same time and, again, rubbery.
A finishing that quite failed in my
opinion. To all our friends from Burgundy:
please accept my apologies, we all
know you make much greater stuff than
what Scotch-only drinkers may sometimes
think. Maybe you should try to keep
your barrels? As for Glenmorangie’s
malt, we all know how great it can
be, when ‘natural’, so,
‘why?’ I’m sorry,
I’m just a simple self-styled
connoisseur but it slightly gets on
my nerves to see great names from
the wine world being associated to
such results. Please, INAO, CIVB and
other professional organizations,
try to do something! On the other
hand, Glenmorangie's recent experiments
with new oak seem to work much, much
better (kudos to them). 68
points. |
 |
|
|
NOTA
BENE - I got quite
a few reactions regarding yesterday's
entry and I feel I should remind
some of our distinguished readers
that April 1st was All Fools'
Day. According to wikipedia,
'The day is marked by the commission
of hoaxes and other practical jokes
of varying sophistication (indeed)
on friends and neighbours.' By
the way, Britney Spear's tune was
in fact 'The Magical 8bit tour'
by Japan's (of course) YMCK.
Please buy their music! |
|
|
| April
1, 2006 |
|
|
| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - NEW TRENDS REVEALED (Whiskyfun
exclusive!) |
| |
| It
seems that several big
brands are willing to use shock tactics
this year! Whiskyfun could get hold
of these new ads that should run in
several American and European lifestyle
magazines at the end of 2006, and
Willibald Schmitz (Schmitz & Smith
Advertising Worldwide, London) just
confirmed on the phone: "Yup,
all these trendy ads for vodkas like
Absolut or Skyy, you know, they started
to get on our clients’ wicks
and we told them they should get rid
of tartans, water running down the
hills and bagpipes and focus on more
modern themes. We showed them a few
ideas and they thought they were terrific
and, you know, once they are convinced
these guys are not backward in coming
forward and so these ads will run
from October on. We’re still
working on all that but we’ll
probably select leading US magazines
such as Swine Practitioner, Grassroots
Motorsports, Soap Opera Digest, Today's
Christian and Veggie Life and we’re
quite done regarding Europe, it’ll
be Whisky Magazine of course, but
also Psychologies, Horse and Hound,
The Scottish Farmer, Meine Familie
und ich, l’Echo de la Ménagère,
Escuelas de Misterios and Teddy Bear
Times. We have very strong expectations!”
It was about time! |
| |
| It's
youthful and lively but packed with
very complex aromas, such as belly
of a Russian hare having run in the
rain at five in the morning, Mongolian
leather saddle, high-end Balkan Sobranie
tobacco and aunt Marge’s maple
fudge. It keeps developing stunningly
on all sorts of fruits: capulin cherries,
Japanese persimmon, very ripe pitayas,
jujubes… Wow! And maybe also
cherries of the Rio Grande and rose
apples… And then we have the
flowers! Chilean bellflower, passionflower,
hedgerow blossoms, ginger lily, maybe
snowy lady-slipper (Cypripedium Reginae)
– or is it Sparrow-egg lady-slipper
(Cypripedium passerinum)? And it’s
not over, because we have also, in
no particular order: Jamaica Blue
Mountain and Kopi Luwak coffees, Madonna’s
armpit before the Pilates gym, boxwood,
Hershey's Kiss chocolate and small
dried Himalayan kumquats … In
short, it’s absolutely stunning!
But will the palate match that entrancing
nose? Let’s see… Mouth:
triple wow! This continues onto the
palate indeed, which is rapidly swamped
with deep, succulent, velvety fruit
flavours… Yet, the attack is
immensely refreshing and palate-cleansing,
exactly what we didn’t expect.
So we have fabulous fruity notes again,
such as Wrigley's Juicy Fruit from
a good vintage, New York rooftop mini-apples,
lots of berries (raspberry, blueberry,
blackberry, strawberry, cranberry,
huckleberry, loganberry, marionberry
but, most astonishingly, not halleberry
– oh, maybe also husk-covered
Cape gooseberry). It goes on with
English mulled claret, stew, grilled
Angus beef… And then West-Indonesian
saffron, Tellicherry Pepper, Bearnaise
sauce, authentic Chai spices, Cerranos
green chilli and yellow split mung
dal. And yes, umami. Really a marvellously
decadent and vibrantly fruity and
spicy palate, with extremely well-integrated
tannins. And the finish is very long,
savoury and fearlessly caressing,
with hints of capsicum and a fine-grained
tannic structure... A monumental whisky
in all ways, the future of which might
have been hanging on the deficient
olfactory sensibilities of inexperienced
self-styled connoisseurs who didn’t
do it justice when it was launched.
Too bad, because it’s probably
the best whisky to piss off all your
single-malt-snob friends, and if you
prefer old cars, Karl Böhm, a
vacuum tube amplifier or a phone that
is just a phone and not a media center,
then you should definitely buy cases
of (one-litre bottles of) Loch Dhu
– if you can afford it, that
is. And I’m sure that’s
the whisky they were drinking on Mount
Olympus - yes, the true ‘nectar
of the gods'! My rating: 98+
points. |
Brora
22 yo 1972/1995 (58.7%, Rare Malts)
Frankly, who would be so crazy as
to pass up the opportunity to sample
this legend again? But first of all,
let me extend a pre-emptive apology:
high prices and good whisky are different
things and a good buzz doesn’t
influence me usually (yeah, yeah)…
Quite on the contrary, especially
when a whisky gets hideously expensive.
Colour: Exxon-Valdez oil. Nose: Aaargh,
it starts with ‘about as much
reserve as a silk shirted big city
real estate agent expounding the kummunity
benefits of sub division to a Shire
alderman with the bum out of his King
Gees!’ (seen that on Jancis
Robinson’s website – liked
it). Rotting oranges, dried oranges,
orange marmalade, crystallized oranges,
orange juice, small oranges, large
oranges, bitter oranges, orange liqueur,
orange tree, orange honey… Much
too orangey, definitely! And what
a weird nose of vintage jelly babies,
Band-Aid (peat, they say!), Madonna’s
armpit after the Pilates gym, Brettanomyces
and 2,4,6- trichloroanisole! Gets
immensely mousy, with also huge notes
of nail polish remover assaulting
your nostrils, and also Walmart ‘best
deal’ vinegar, skunk and rotten
duck eggs. And the dreadful –
but true - litany goes on: backside
of a retired camel, decrepit potato-processing
factory, old carpet in a Vegas casino,
forgotten ashtray, hog farm, durian,
hooligans’ breath, cooked cabbage
(you could add asparagus and broccoli),
foreign politics, dead moose…
Really painful! Now, should we drink
some? Heck, why not, we can always
spit it out… Mouth: mum, what
a putrid swill! What am I doing drinking
this fluid? It starts on crank case
oil and tart-fuel, with a tinned peas
character… Well, there are plenty
of things to screw up when making
whisky, and it seems that some guys
have succeeded immensely. I’m
sorry, I won’t go on…
I just can’t stand this whacked-out,
crazy, rot-tastic monster that is
this kerosene-fuelled frenzy of a
malt. I know many aficionados would
love to taste it – and many
did, actually. I guess this must be
why the world is in such a state;
everyone is pissed. 1 point
(for the container).
Quote
of the day: “No
one is free from uttering stupidities.
The harm lies in doing it meticulously.”
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), Essais. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Did you know that an obscure
journalist just unearthed some very
rare, unreleased early Britney
Spears tapes? It's said
she recorded those using an Atari
computer and a few MOD files... Anyway,
Whiskyfun could get hold of a good
example of Britney Spears' stunning
early works, called Hiwal-biasta.mp3
(apparently, she was studying Japanese
at the time)... And please, well... |
 |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Inchgower
1967/1988
(46%, Moon Import 'The Costumes', butt #788,
556 bottles)
Inchgower
21 yo 1967 (46%, Moncreiffe)
Longrow
1987/2005 (45%, Samaroli, cask #113,
312 bottles)
Springbank
10 yo 1968/1980 (59%,
OB, Italy, cask #1786)
Tomatin
1965 (50.7%,
JWWW The Cross Hill, sherry cask, 82 bottles,
2006)
|
| |
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|
