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Hi, you're in the Archives, August 2006 - Part 2 |
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August
31, 2006 |
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TASTING
- THREE NORTH BRITISH + FIVE OTHER
SINGLE GRAINS
North
British 25 yo 1964/1990 (46%, Signatory,
casks #10451 – 10454) 
Colour; straw. Nose:
extremely typical, with lots of
grain, vanilla, apples and nuts
and quite some varnish at first
nosing. Goes on with bananas and
then some rather huge oaky notes
(fresh sawdust). Something faintly
milky in the background. Smooth
and not unpleasant. |
| Mouth:
the attack is a bit soapy and cardboardy
as well as extremely sweet, almost
sugarish. Lots of tea and vanilla
with hints of Turkish delights and
quince jelly. Some tannins but nothing
unbearable. Long, sweet and woody
finish with notes of caramel and nougat.
A nice single grain, for sure.
80 points. |
North
British 1974/2000 (50%, Scott’s
Selection) 
Colour: straw. Nose: rather similar
but much more closed, getting then
quite sourer (apple skins, cider)
and probably even oakier than the
Signatory. A whole carpenter’s
workshop for oak freaks. Interesting
whiffs of lemon balm arising after
a minute or two. Mouth: almost the
same as the Signatory’s, just
stronger, with maybe also a little
fructose and more biting tannins.
Pineapple liqueur. Long finish, smooth
but tannic, again on caramel and vanilla
plus a little salt from the wood.
Not bad at all but much less drinkable
than the Signatory, I’d say.
76 points. |
| North
British 19 yo (59.9%, Cadenhead, US)
No vintage stated on this one - and
why it's a 'world whisky escapes me.
Colour: white wine. Nose: pretty much
the same style as the Scott’s,
maybe a little rounder, with more
vanilla. Rather nice notes of gentian
spirit and ginseng, getting more and
more earthy and rooty. Quite some
wood as well. Not overpowering despite
the high strength. Nice, this one
has something more to say. Mouth:
again, we’re in the same league
(of course) but with more oomph and
this enjoyable earthiness. Also something
of a mix of white and dark rum. Quite
some fruits as well (apples, strawberries)
and the expected vanilla plus wood.
The finish is long, earthy, with notes
of cornflakes and a little nutmeg.
This one is really good: 81
points. |
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Invergordon
40 yo 1964/2005 (48,1%, Dewar Rattray,
cask #57633, 105 bottles) 
Colour: gold amber.
Nose: starts on lots of caramel, lots
of vanilla and lots of oak, not unlike
many bourbons. Amazingly young! It
gets rapidly more complex, though,
displaying a fine range of fruity
notes such as coconuts, ripe bananas,
cider apples and guavas and then quite
some spices (mainly nutmeg and white
pepper). Also quite some cellulose
varnish… Keeps developing on
old roses, a little incense and sandalwood…
Rather complex and most pleasant.
Mouth: oh, lots happening now! A firm
but balanced and appealing attack
on old rum and mulled wine spices
(Chinese anise, cloves, cinnamon etc)
with also lots of ‘natural’
vanilla. Develops on praline and caramel,
liquorice, strong honey (chestnut)
and something of an old white Bourgogne.
Rather impressive considering it’s
‘only’ a grain, especially
the sweet, vanilled and spicy finish
that’s really Caribbean. A great
surprise, especially on the palate.
89 points. (and
thanks Michel) |
Dumbarton
32 yo 1962/1994 (49.9%, Cadenhead)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: ah, this
is even more complex it seems. It
starts right on bananas (truckloads)
mixed with cereals and vanilla. Bold
notes of nougat, light honey, pollen…
And then we have almost the same incense/sandalwood
notes as in the Invergordon. Really
superb, developing on ‘rhum
arrangé à la banane’
(rum soaked bananas in fact). Also
hints of cologne but nothing offending.
But I think the old grains’
strong point isn’t really their
noses but their palates so let’s
see how this one tastes… Mouth:
oh, it’s just fantastic! Pure
banana juice at first sip but then
it does the peacock’s tail with
lots of high-end rum, sugared avocado
juice, fresh pineapple (pina colada,
eh) and lots of spices such as white
pepper and nutmeg. And what a fine
oaky structure, with just a slight
sourness that keeps it playful. Amazingly
good, really. Long finish, quite peppery,
with loads of bananas again and just
a small pinch of salt (probably from
the cask). A winning single grain!
91 points. |
| Port
Dundas 32 yo 1973/2005 (59.3%, Duncan
Taylor, cask #1258315)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: ah, there’s
quite some sherry in this one, it
appears. Starts on some huge notes
of hot praline, honey and milk chocolate.
Just like when you open a chocolate
bar… Goes on with notes of mocha,
Guinness, old sweet white wine, roasted
peanuts and finally cornflakes plus
dried figs and dates. Quite some wood
as well but it’s nicely integrated
– and no need of water despite
the high ABV. Mouth: an excellent,
sherried and roasted attack. Lots
of coffee beans, cappuccino, bitter
chocolate, praline, dark nougat, reduced
honey sauce… And then, again,
we get bananas and rum, the same dried
fruits as on the nose (dates, figs,
maybe pears). Gets more and more coffeeish
(high-end Kalhua if that exists),
honeyed and chocolaty with time and
the finish is long, slightly peppery
but also very fruity (cooked strawberries
and blackcurrants). And still very,
very coffeeish. I like coffee: 88
points. (and thanks Herbert) |
| Strathclyde
31 yo 1973/2005 (64.2%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #74060)
Amazing ABV for a 31 yo whisky. Colour:
dark straw. Nose: we’re in simpler
territories now, with something obviously
very spirity. Quite some caramel,
vanilla, grains and hints of manzana
(apple liqueur). With a little water:
gets much more pearish but no actual
further development. Mouth (neat):
very sweet and very fruity (green
apples, lychees, pears) and quite
drinkable at such high strength (must
be me). Slightly cardboardy as well…
But let’s not be intrepid and
add a little water: too bad, it didn’t
quite work, the whisky getting quite
cardboardy (even after a good fifteen
minutes) and bizarrely fruity (strawberry
drops, Jell-o and such things). The
finish is quite nice though, still
fruity and caramelly, maybe a tad
drying now. In short, this one isn’t
too bad but the three grains we had
before we’re in a completely
different league. 76 points. |
Grain
Nikka 1992/2005 (62%, OB, Coffey Grain,
cask #11020/116399)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather spirity,
almost aggressive at first nosing,
with notes of ashes and stones and
then notes of distillation, apple
spirit. It does open up after a while,
starting to give off hints of apple
pie, rosewater, cigar box and newly
cut grass. Still a bit hard I must
say. With water: it gets frankly more
vegetal but in a very nice way, with
notes of Japanese green tea (no wonder),
green apples this time and finally
quite some incense and just hints
of mothballs. It’s quite complex.
Mouth (neat): extremely bourbonny,
with heavy oak influence (lots of
vanilla) and a little varnish. Very
sweet and rounded despite the strong
backbone, and very enjoyable I must
say. Like sweets for big boys. With
water: less improvements than on the
nose, maybe just more pears but the
whole is great, with a medium long,
sweet and very fruity finish (apples
and pears, strawberries). A very good
surprise. 85 points
(and thanks Fred). |
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MUSIC
– Highly recommended
listening - Some pretty excellent
and clever electronic music, very
minimalist but very swinging (it
does mean a thing): it's Germany's
Lomov
and his Ripples.mp3
(nothing to do with Genesis). Please
buy Lomov's music! |
CRAZY
WHISKY 'ADS' – Do
you know this
parody? It makes me roar with
laughter each time I watch it (it's
on google video - hope it works). |
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August
30, 2006 |
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THE
MALT MANIACS MONITOR UPDATED! |
Now
almost 18,500 ratings
compiled and 6,600
different whiskies
scored! But beware the html
version, it's grown awfully
huge and browsing it may mean
a nice PC/Mac and quite some
time. Maybe you'd better dowload
the PDF
version, much easier and
quicker to handle while containing
exactly the same datas. Good
luck! |
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| TASTING
- TWO LAGAVULINS AND A POSSIBLE LAGAVULIN
(?) |
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| Lagavulin
12 yo (43%, OB, green label, Montenegro
Italy, early 1980’s)
Colour: amber. Nose: really expressive,
starting on a rather meaty sherry
and whiffs of eucalyptus and getting
then rather maritime (oyster shells).
Lots of liquorice, a very fine oakiness,
hints of gentian spirit... Gets oakier
and oakier with time, really full-bodied.
Goes on with smoked tea, wax polish,
a little coffee, funny notes of celeriac…
Just superb although it’s probably
not as complex as the earlier ‘white
label’ version. Mouth: sweet
and peaty with quite some cocoa, getting
closer and closer to the current 16
yo (not the older ones – please
see below). Lots of liquorice, wine
sauce, dried ginger (speculoos), orange
marmalade, lemon marmalade…
Gets then slightly toffeeish and caramelly,
with a rather long finish on peppered
orange marmalade and smoked tea. Most
enjoyable but probably not as stunning
as the earlier 12yo, and as the new
16 yo to be launched later on. 89
points. |
| Lagavulin
16 yo (43%, OB, sold 1988)
So, here’s one of first batches
of the 16yo. Colour: full amber. Nose:
this one starts fruitier and even
more expressive, with also added waxy
notes (paraffin). It’s also
got something superbly vegetal (fern,
moss, wild mushrooms…) as well
as hints of lamp oil, linseed oil,
old pu-erh tea… And then we
have that eucalyptus, white pepper,
shells, kelp… We’re closer
to the old 12 yo white label now,
which means it’s just fabulous
whisky. Mouth: a magnificent attack
on all sorts of wax, smoked tea, refined
peat, liquorice roots and hints of
ginger. What a great compactness!
Goes on with orange marmalade, black
pepper, dried kumquats, hints of curry,
horseradish… Superbly sharp
and mouthfilling at the same time.
The finish is long, spicy, peaty and
on all sorts of dried fruits. A star.
93 points. |
| Wild
Saxon 6 yo (40%, MacMalt, 60 bottles,
2005)
Colour: gold. Nose: much simpler but
nicely sharp, mineral, flinty at first
nosing. Celeriac again, peat, fresh
ginger, fern and moss, gentian…
Most enjoyable. Mouth: maybe a tad
weak at the attack, especially when
compared to the two glories, but nicely
earthy and leafy, with lots of gentian
now, getting then bolder on ‘peaty
roots’ and liquorice sticks.
Maybe also a little too sweetish but
otherwise it’s a very nice one,
with a very compact, earthy and slightly
spicy finish. I like it but I think
it's probably Caol Ila instead of
Lagavulin in fact, despite what I
had been told. 85 points. |
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MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: I've been told not all
Whiskyfun readers bought Maria
Taylor's fantabulous
CD '11:11' yet, which is (almost)
a shame. Okay, here's my last attempt:
Nature
Song.mp3. Now you know what
to do... Too sweet? C'mon! |
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August
29, 2006 |
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CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
THE ROLLING STONES Twickenham
Stadium, London, August 20th 2006. |
| I
had better be clear about a few things
from the start. I’m not a Stones
fan. Way back when I was in the Beatles
camp (my Mum thought they were so
much nicer) and by the time I knew
better it was really a bit too late
to try – not that I haven’t
since, but apart from a few high points
I generally fail to see what the fuss
is all about. And I’m really
not a stadium rock man – this
is only the third that I can remember,
along with the Stones at Hampden in
1990 (this was when Keith Richards
played with a badly cut finger –
his grimaces were remarkable - it
was septic by the time he finished
the gig) and REM at Murrayfield a
few years later (no comment). Half
built Hampden was ok, but modern Murrayfield
a nightmare, and tonight we’re
in modern and expanding Twickenham.
We should have been at unbuilt Wembley,
but as Mick Jagger tells us “Yeah,
they’re going to finish it for
the Arctic Monkeys’ farewell
gig”. Actually we’re in
great seats (thanks) and after a great
lunch (thanks) and a breeze in the
corporate hospitality zoo (no thanks)
even I’m rather looking forward
to the evening. |
So
for those of you that don’t
know, Twickenham is a huge Rugby Football
stadium, just outside Richmond in
West London, where with some sense
of poetic justice, the Rolling Stones
started back in 1962 playing at the
Crawdaddy Club above the less than
glamorous Station Hotel – “Yeah,
like it doesn’t matter how many
times you go round the world you always
end up coming home”. There’s
been talk that the Stones aren’t
selling like they once did, that the
price of the tickets is too high,
and that what with Keith falling out
of a tree, Ronnie having to go back
into the Priory, Charlie still recovering
from illness, and Mick having laryngitis
it’s a bit of a dodgy bet for
even the most loyal fan. “Panic
for Rolling Stones as tour tickets
go unsold” said our wonderful
Daily Mail, reporting that the ‘seniors’
lifestyle organisation Saga was even
trying to sell tickets to its largely
geriatric members. Well the capacity
of the stadium is around 75,000 –
and I’m not sure if that includes
pitch seating, and I have to say it
looked pretty full to me.
And of course I had to ask myself
what we were all really doing here.
I mean, let’s be honest, if
it’s quality music you’re
after then you probably need to look
elsewhere. ‘Primitive’
was one description of the Stone’s
music that came to mind, even with
Chuck Leavell on keyboards, Daryl
Jones on bass, a brass section that
included the great Bobby Keys and
a gaggle of backing singers (including
one who was helping out on guitar).
And I should add that a regular warned
me, not without reason, that “the
sound at Twickenham’s normally
crap”. Compared to today’s
school of rock guitar slingers Keith
and Ronnie look like cowboys who should
have hung their guns up many years
ago. And even I know that they haven’t
written a decent song in years, or
recorded an album of any great merit
since 1978’s Some Girls –
so when the new Bigger Bang was described
as “their best in years”
(the good old Daily Mail again) it
didn’t really mean a thing.
Hence I can really only assume that
it’s the idea of the Stones
that we’re all here for (or
dare I say it, the brand?) –
and whilst I’m sure everyone’s
got a slightly different idea in their
head (or dare I say brand perceptions?)
I have to put on record that as far
as I’m concerned, no matter
what the caveats, these marauding
band of old rhythm and blues buccaneers
certainly delivered it at 110%.
It seemed to me that Richards was
taking it easy – or at least
that the Ronster was doing a hell
of a lot of deliciously messy guitar
work – perhaps it’s therapy...
But needless to say the entire audience
melted when ‘Keef’ stood
in front of the microphone, lit a
cigarette (of course he did this a
few nights later in Glasgow and now
faces a fine from the smoking police
– rock and roll!) grinned through
wisps of smoke, and said “I’m
pleased to be here – really,
you don’t know how pleased I
am to be here”. Stones veterans
were putting in their earplugs as
he began to sing ‘Slipping away’
and ‘Before they make me run’
– but I have to say it was really
rather agreeable, and even I was on
my feet, arms waving, when he sauntered
to our side of the side, and close
enough to touch, held his Gretsch
in one hand and feinted a Jack Sparrowesque
bow. I can still hear Charlie Watt’s
precise de-snared snare drum beat
– not one missed. And love him
or hate him, Jagger delivered a remarkably
energetic performance, not singing
like a man who’d just had a
bad throat, working the audience into
a frenzy with his (frankly absurd)
histrionic strutting and posturing.
In fact Serge I have to report with
regret that it was on only the second
of his many trips to our side of the
stage that the Photographer entirely
deserted her post, wriggling free
from her seat screaming and squealing
“oooh Mick”. And she wasn’t
the only one. |
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| And
then of course there was the spectacle
– a three tiered stage set (with
a small audience standing on the upper
balconies) marvellously lit, long
walkways extending to the left and
right. And as they broke into ‘Miss
you’ a mini-stage carried the
six piece band into the heart of the
auditorium (although they must have
still seemed like midgets to the people
in the furthest away seats). We were
surprised, shocked and singed by the
flaming jets of gas that shot into
the sky at the start of a red-soaked
‘Sympathy for the devil’
– probably the best set piece
of the evening. And of course pyrotechnics
aplenty as they finished on ‘Brown
sugar’ and encore ‘Satisfaction’.
|
Sympathy for the Devil |
And
for the musically inclined Richards
certainly got his act together for
that solo on ‘Sympathy’
and ‘Midnight rambler’
was just a very classy performance
all round (unlike some). And I even
wondered if the marvellously entertaining
‘Senior moment’ wasn’t
part of the show too – “Yeah,
alright, yeah, err…. London,
yeah London, now here’s a song
we don’t normally play, it’s
from, errr, hang on, anyone know which
album it’s from … (collective
shrugs from Ronnie and Keith) yeah,
well anyway it’s called Sway”.
And that was that. Whether it was
worth all the fuss I can’t say,
but thoroughly entertaining it was.
The world’s biggest, best and
loudest pub band. Only a shame we
weren’t seeing them in a pub
I suppose. - Nick Morgan (photographs
by Kate) |
|
Thanks Nick. Well, I guess the Stones
are part of our lives anyway and just
like a mother loves his son, a 45+
rock fan has to like the Stones. Except
for that bloody (but marvellous) Sticky
Fingers LP that was destroying all
its neighbours’ covers on our
shelves, for the hours we spent queuing
in front of crappy cinemas just to
watch Gimme Shelter, for the hundreds
of French francs we had to pay out
to get an inaudible (but recorded
in Paris) Some More Girls bootleg
LP and for the litres of turpentine
we had to pour onto our small motorbikes
to soak off all these faded Lips and
Tongue stickers before reselling them
to younger daredevils. Oh, by the
way, did they dare to do this
one? (pretty awful musicwise I
think). |
INVERLEVEN
DISTILLERY PROFILE by Robert
Karlsson |
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Operational:
1938-1991
Region: Western
Lowlands
Neighbours :
Loch Lomond, Littlemill, Auchentoshan
Address:
2 Glasgow Road, Dumbarton,
West Dunbartonshire, G82 1ND
Owner: Allied
Distillers Ltd. (now Pernod
Ricard) |
This
distillery has a lot in common
with some of the other closed
distilleries of the Lowlands.
It was relatively short-lived,
existed within a huge grain
distillery complex and another
single malt was made on the
same premises. This is almost
identical with the history
of for instance Glen Flagler
and reminiscent of Ladyburn
(made at Girvan) and Kinclaith
(made at Strathclyde). It
is though possible to try
Inverleven at a reasonable
price as is not the case with
the others mentioned above.
Dumbarton was once the biggest
grain distillery in Scotland.
Founded in 1938 by Hiram Walker
Ltd. the huge complex was
built using red bricks in
a victorian style. The location
is on or veery near the border
between the Highlands and
Lowlands. The water source
is the lake Loch Lomond. The
complex buildings are very
imposing indeed and is housing
apart from the grain distillery
also, from the start in 1938,
the malt distillery called
Inverleven. In 1956 another
malt distillery was started
within the complex, this distillery
used Lomond-stills and was
simply called Lomond. This
still has now found a new
home on the island of Islay,
at Bruichladdich. One can
only speculate what will be
done with it – I’m
sure they will think of something
– they usually do!
Lomond was shut down in 1985
and Inverleven followed suit
and turn off the heat in 1991
after being sold to Allied
in 1988. The Dumbarton grain
distillery itself survived
until 2002 and was thereafter
also closed. Both Inverleven
and Lomond are dismantled
but the fate of Dumbarton
I haven’t been able
to find any information about.
Both Inverleven and Lomond
are somewhat special in the
sense that they have never
been bottled as single malts
by their producers, hence
no official bottling exists.
Inverleven is though available
from several independent bottlers,
such as Gordon MacPhail, Signatory,
Duncan Taylor and Douglas
Laing. Lomond is probably
one of the most difficult
malts to get your hands on,
however.
An interesting anecdote is
that the warehouses of Dumbarton
are famous for ”The
Scotch Watch” which
consists of no less than 100-150
geese, which have been there
since 1959 (old geese indeed).
Difficult animals to sneak
up on evidently. These warehouses
are supposed to contain in
excess of 80 million liters
of grain and malt whisky.
A lot of responsibility lays
on the shoulders of those
geese.
I have myself not tasted many
Inverlevens but have found
it to be a light and refreshing
malt with citrusy and fruity
tones, and a lingering malty
after taste – not at
all far from the typical lowlander.
The bottlings I’ve found
haven’t been exceptional
but worth their price every
time. - Robert
Karlsson |
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| TASTING
- FOUR OLD OFFICIAL GLENTURRETS |
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| Glenturret
5000 days old (40%, OB, 80’s)
I suppose somebody once thought 5000
days old would sound much older than
13 years old, or that ‘13’
was too negative a figure. Colour:
straw. Nose: rather expressive but
very grainy and mashy at first nosing,
with also notes of wet cardboard and
ginger tonic. Gets then nicer, with
hints of bitter oranges, newly cut
hay and tea. Lots of paraffin as well
and lots of roasted chestnuts, together
with hints of lavender flowers and
overripe apples. Rather unusual. Mouth:
a little weak at first sip, even watery,
with just hints of apple juice, tea
and cereals. And it gets then quite
cardboardy. Add to that just a little
vanilla and maybe a little crystallized
ginger and that’s it. Too bad,
and the finish is even weaker, which
means almost non-existent. What a
pity, the nose was very interesting.
70 points. |
Glenturret
15 yo (40%, OB, 80’s)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: this one
is very different, starting on overripe
apples right away. Goes on with regular
tea, green tea and bananas (something
Irish here), getting grassier with
time. Probably more balanced but also
more ‘mainstreamish’ than
the 5000 days. Gets then much more
coffeeish, malty and caramelly, with
even notes of chicory… Lots
of toffee as well. Rather pleasant
in fact, with a long development that
goes back towards mashy, milky notes.
Maybe more ‘commercial’
than the 5000 days but good. Mouth:
much more body, much more oomph than
with the 5000 days, which still means
a little weak. We have the same malty,
toffeeish notes as on the nose, with
also hints of dried oranges, cornflakes
and candy sugar. The finish is rather
short but balanced, grainy and caramelly
like with many blends. Certainly better
than the ‘5000’ but not
a winner either. 78 points. |
Glenturret
1967/1988 ‘Limited Edition’
(50%, OB) 
Colour: deep amber. Nose: this one
is a bit bizarre at first nosing,
with an obvious sherry but also these
notes of lavender we already had in
the ‘5000’. Something
like peat in the background (maybe
more beech wood smoke), dried oranges,
something distinctly perfumy (rosewater)
and then lots of chocolaty and coffeeish
notes. It reminds me of some rather
recent sherried Glen Gariochs (not
the ones from the 70’s or before).
More and more ginger as well, old
rancio, smoked meat, orange juice…
Sangria? Yes, it’s almost like
a high-strength sangria after a few
minutes. Funny… Mouth: ouch,
it’s really weird now, starting
on lots of soap (scented soap, at
that). Shampoo? Lots of Turkish delights
as well, dried lychees, Smyrna raisins,
something like a poorly made Muscat
wine… Goes on with rotting oranges,
cardboard, cologne… Yes and
I don’t think I’m exaggerating.
A very strange whisky – or something
went wrong with the sherry. Pajarette?
The finish is long and a little better
I must say (or I’m getting used
to it), gently caramelly and winey.
Really an oddity, a little perverted
I think, but maybe some do like it?
65 points. |
| Glenturret
10 yo ‘100° Proof’
(57.1%, OB, 80’s)
Colour: straw. Nose: closed like a
fortified castle at first nosing,
getting then rather close to the ‘5000’.
Lots of cardboard, paraffin, motor
oil, lamp oil… Not uninteresting.
Then we have flowers (lily and again
a little lavender, even geranium)
and finally the ‘mashy cavalry’
(porridge and the whole caboodle).
Quite some ginger tonic as well. Not
really sexy, to say the least, but
not unpleasant. Mouth: nice and bold
attack on apple juice but it gets
then again quite soapy and cardboardy,
although it’s much more bearable
than with the 1967. Heavily sugared
porridge with bananas, dried pineapple…
Gets then quite spicy: quite some
pepper, cinnamon… Vanilla…
and a long finish on a little cardboard
and quite some fruit eau-de-vie (pears
and prunes). Not unpleasant at all
but no wonder it’s the cat that
was stealing the show at Glenturret
at the time. Now, we had some much
better ones before… 79
points. |
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August
28, 2006 |
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TASTING
- TWO FRUITY BEN NEVIS |
Ben
Nevis 26 yo 1973/1999 (52%, OB, cask
#720)
Colour: gold. Nose: this one is very
‘Ben Nevis’ right at first
nosing, with tons of roasted nuts
mixed with orange liqueur and hints
of peonies. A tad spirity but there’s
also a very nice vanilla, carpenter’s
workshop, wax polish… Whiffs
of smoke, coffee, apricot pie, pastries.
Keeps developing on herbal tea (camomile),
tea, ripe strawberries, spearmint…
Most enjoyable despite the relative
spiritiness. Mouth: quite punchy,
extremely fruity (lots of strawberries,
tangerines, ripe bananas), with also
quite some praline, nougat, Turkish
delights, earl grey tea… Lots
happening here. Goes on with crystallized
angelica, apricot jam, quince jelly,
caramel. Almost extravagant, just
a tad rough? The finish is very long,
slightly bubblegummy, getting fruitier
and fruitier. Almost like strawberry
liqueur. I like it very much despite
its exuberance. 90 points.
(and thanks Antoine)
Ben
Nevis 34 yo 1966/2001 (53.7%, OB,
German Market, 209 bottles, cask #4276)
Colour: pale gold.
Nose: this one is quite different,
starting on dried flowers, old cupboard,
wax polish, old varnish, antiques
shop… It really smells ‘old’
but not too old. Develops on something
milky, with quite some vanilla crème,
nutmeg and also bold notes of fresh
truffles. Goes on with fresh mint
leaves, lemon balm, verbena…
Unusual and most enjoyable. Mouth:
again, lots of fruits mixed with white
pepper, nutmeg and ginger. Bananas,
coconut from the wood, strawberries,
peaches, melon… Amazingly lively
at such old age. Gets maybe a little
cardboardy and drying (the wood again)
but nothing excessive. Develops on
more and more ripe bananas, very old
rum… A Caribbean malt whisky?
The finish is quite long, fruity and
vanilled with a nice oaky structure
that keep the whole on the tracks.
Very good, not tired in any way. 91
points. |
| And
also Ben
Nevis 34 yo 1971/2005 Sherry Finish
(50%, Douglas Laing OMC, 466 bottles)
A very 'Irish' Ben
Nevis again, with lots of banana,
coconut and strawberry pie. Extremely
sweet, fruity andaromatic. The palate
is just as fruity, with also a little
vanilla crème. Rather young,
a little less mayure than the OB's
but just as fruity. 86 points. |
MUSIC
– BLUES - Recommended
listening - Somebody wrote that
Al
Lee was James Taylor
but with more balls. Well, I'm not
too sure about that but his rendition
of Rainy
changes.mp3 is quite good I
think. Please buy Al Lee's (and
James Taylor's) music. |
 |
|
|
|
August
27, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- A TRAVEL THROUGH TIME OR SEVEN OLD
BLENDS (for a change) |
 |
| Bellows
& Company ‘Choicest Liqueur
Blended Scotch Whisky’ (86°
US proof, OB, Portal Dungwall &
Norris, US, bottled 1930’s)
Colour amber. Nose: this one isn’t
weak at all and starts on quite some
caramel, roasted nuts and something
delicately resinous. Quite some peat
in there, it appears. Grows bolder
by the minute, getting rather malty
and liquoricy, with also a little
chocolate. Not grainy at all, I guess
there was lots of malt (maybe around
70-80%). Very nice, that’s for
sure. Mouth: sweet and creamy attack
with quite some oomph. A slight bitterness
(cork?) but nothing excessive. Develops
on caramel again, apricot jam, caramelized
peanuts, pastries… And an unexpectedly
long finish on cake and coffee plus
a little mint and maybe strawberries.
And pepper. An excellent surprise,
we’ve had many recent blends
(and malts) that were much blander.
86 points (and
thanks Konstantin) |
| Haig
& Haig ‘Pinch’ 12yo
1932 (86° US proof, OB, US, bottled
1944)
Colour: amber. Nose: much less caramelly
and nutty and more phenolic. Quite
some mushrooms, moisture, old wine
cellar, freshly crushed mint leaves…
Completely different, I guess there
was much more Northern Highlanders
or island malts. Just superb, with
also notes of camphor arising after
a while. Mouth: now it’s a little
weaker than the Bellows but again,
much peatier, with notes of paraffin,
dried herbs, eucalyptus, cough syrup…
It grows bolder with time, though,
and the finish is, again, longer than
expected, slightly toffeeish, minty,
peaty, tary and mushroomy. Another
great surprise. 85 points
(and thanks Sukhinder –
great Valentino sweater, by the way
;-)) |
Chivas
Regal 12 yo (86° US proof, OB,
US, bottled early 1950’s)
Colour: amber. Nose: rather more discreet
at first nosing and probably grainier
although there’s quite some
oomph again. Notes of hay, dried flowers,
tea and roasted nuts. Once again,
it gets bolder with time, with a profile
that’s between the Bellows and
the Haig. Alas, there’s a little
cork (but it was much more corked
when I opened the bottle a few weeks
again). Gets also smokier and meatier
after a moment. Mouth: no cork left
now, rather a mix of fruit jam (apricot
and plums), smokiness and pastries.
A great mouth feel! Goes on with quite
some liquorice, smoked tea, cough
sweets, light toffee… Keeps
improving, with more mint, even more
liquorice, getting rather tary like
the Haig but also a little salty.
The finish is longer and bolder than
both the Bellows’ and the Haig’s
but also maybe a tad rougher. Lots
of malt in there, in any case. 84
points. |
| Ye
Auld Toun (43%, OB, John Gillon, 1960's)
John Gillon owned Glenury Royal and
was distributed by Clynelish’s
Ainslie & Heilbron. Colour: deep
gold. Nose: rather close to the Chivas
(both caramelly and smoky) but more
phenolic altogether. Notes of rubber,
lots of wax (Clynelish?), wet stones,
ashes, coal oven… More austere
but also with more personality than
the three we had before. Hints of
fresh strawberries and even kiwis.
Gets even smokier with time: superb.
Mouth: great attack with a lot of
presence, quite peppery. Lots of dried
herbs, crystallized lemons, smoke,
ripe pineapple, roasted nuts…
Really bold! Gets then quite meaty,
on ham, even sausages… Very
complex and very far from being MOTR
for a blend. Very long, smoky and
quite spicy finish, with again quite
some rubber. Wow, this one had something
to say! 87 points.
(and thanks Marc) |
| Glen
Urquhart 8 yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail
for Giaccone, Pinerolo Import, bottled
1973)
Colour: amber. Nose: maybe a tad dustier
at first nosing but it’s quite
smoky again. Lots of ashes and stones,
whiffs of lily of the valley and aniseed,
smoked ham, getting more and more
expressive. Hints of gooseberries
and tea, charcoal. Very nice again,
getting very, very expressive after
a while. Lots of malt in there again,
obviously. Mouth: very expressive
again, sweeter than the Ye Auld Toun
but really full bodied again. Caramel,
pastries, Turkish delights, rose water,
dried oranges… And always that
great smokiness. Long finish, coating,
smoky and malty wit something quite
maritime (oyster juice, salt). Excellent
– and this is a blend! 89
points. (and thanks Giuseppe) |
| King
Henry VIII 5 yo (43%, OB, Highland
Blending Co., 0.78 litres, 1970's)
I don’t know this company but
the bottle looks like Ainslie’s
Very Old 12yo. Colour: gold. Nose:
a much grainier start, more caramelly
but again quite smoky with notes of
dried oranges and roasted nuts. Something
that reminds me of Johnnie Walker.
Quite some vanilla spread and a few
malty notes together with a little
wax. Nice but closer to most current
middle range blends (okay, not J&B).
Mouth: okay, that’s nicer! Quite
youthful, caramelly, fruity (cooked
strawberries, jam) with again something
smoky, grilled. Lots of roasted nuts,
oriental pastries, orange liqueur,
hints of liquorice allsorts…
Really playful, with a rather long,
smoky and fruity/caramelly finish.
Too bad the nose was a little below
par. 78 points. |
| King
Alfred 10 yo (43%, OB, Michael Blending
Co, 1970's)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: now we’re
back to something smokier, ashier,
probably more austere. The whole isn’t
too expressive, alas. Gets quite vegetal,
with some disturbing hints of hot
rubber but also interestingly meaty
(ham). Maybe not a winner, this one…
Mouth: extremely fruity and waxy,
almost invading. Again, the palate
is much nicer than the nose. Lots
of spices (pepper, cloves) and huge
notes of peat arriving together with
bursts of salted liquorice and black
nougat. Probably the most powerful
of all on the palate, congrats Michael
(who were you?) Long peppery, fruity
and smoky finish. Superb palate, too
bad the nose was a little so-so again.
83 points. |
| |
|
August
25, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- FIVE OLD BRORAS |
|
|
Brora 1972/1992 (40%, Gordon
& MacPhail CC, old map label)
I already had the 1993 version and
I loved it. Colour: pure gold. Nose:
right, it IS stunning, with that kind
of complexity and mellowness that
you can find almost only in old bottles
(added glass maturing like in the
best old cognacs). Ranks immediately
amongst the old Ardbegs from the 60’s
– or the famous 1972 Ledaigs.
Superb ‘matured’ peat
mingling with small bitter oranges
and candlewax plus wet dog (not just
any mongrel, that is). Goes on with
pu-her tea, old cigar box, old books
that hadn’t been opened for
years, then hints of tropical fruits
such as green mango, plantain…
Then whiffs of ginger, a little soft
curry, faint hints of turnips and
celeriac… Amazing. Sure it’s
probably a little ‘weak’
because of the low ABV but it’s
rather a subtle weakness. Well, you
see what I mean…. Mouth: sure
it’s not extravagantly bold
(the 40%) and maybe a tad cardboardy
at first sip but Brora’s class
and oomph manage to make this an aromatically
powerful whisky. Quite some tea, resins,
wax, orange marmalade… gets
then rather salty (oyster juice, salicornia)…
Notes of liquorice roots, ginseng,
cough syrup… And of course a
beautiful peatiness. Keeps developing
but OK, we haven’t got all day
so let’s quickly comment on
the finish (amazingly long considering
its strength – very waxy and
smoky) before we come up with a rating:
92 points (it would
have been higher at 43 or 45% - and
thanks, Luc). |
| Brora
30 yo 1972/2003 (49.7%, Douglas Laing
Platinum, 222 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: very coffeeish
and very farmy for a start –
it’s a sherry cask, obviously.
Maybe not as immediately complex as
the G&M but superbly bold and
compact, you feel that the development
will be long right at first nosing
despite the heavy coffee (that will
then keep in the background). And
then it goes: bitter oranges, wet
dog (same breed), wax and paraffin,
tar, maple syrup, ‘good’
manure, camphor, bandages, whisky
flavoured fudge (that’s obvious,
I know), smoked venison, new tyre,
very old rum, clean horse stable,
chocolate… Well, it IS endless.
And just fabulous. Mouth: just like
at first nosing, it’s a little
simple at very first sip but then
it’s a true explosion, the peat
and other ‘endemic’ flavours
mingling extremely well with the sherry
(probably refill). That does create
kind of a 3rd dimension, with lots
of salted butter caramel, liquorice,
ginseng again, chestnut honey, cough
sweets, fir tree honey, very old pu-her
tea (I’m saying this because
in case you don’t know, the
Chinese use to let pu-ehr age in cellars
just like wine)… Then dried
tangerines, mastic flavoured sweets,
a little chlorophyll… Funnily,
it’s decreasingly sherried and
more and more ‘Brora-ish’.
(…) Finish: long, probably a
tad drying now but superbly chocolaty
and waxy. 94 points
(looses 1 point because of the relative
dryness).(and thanks, Johan) |
| Brora
29 yo 1971/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, 210 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: superb but
more closed and maybe less peaty/smoky
than both 1972’s. More like
an old Clynelish in fact, very waxy
and probably more vegetal and less
‘super-Islay’ than the
1972’s. Don’t get me wrong,
I love this profile just as much.
A great austerity and ‘rectitude’,
with notes of flints, apple skins,
orange zests, fresh walnuts, almond
milk… Gets also slightly yeasty
after a moment. Mouth: a little sweeter
then the 1972 but a fab compactness,
starting on lemon marmalade and green
pepper and developing on bitter oranges
and grilled tea (hochicha), bread
crust, ginger… gets richer with
time and also more maritime, with
notes of peppered clams and then lots
of salmiak. Also a ‘nice’
dryness (grape skin)… (…)
Finish: long, straight, peaty and
waxy. Another excellent Brora that
offers interesting variations when
compared to the legendary 1972’s.
93 points. |
| Brora
30 yo (56.3%, OB, 3000 bottles, bottled
2005)
I never published any notes on this
Brora 30 ‘2005’ but it’s
time to do it, before the ‘2006’
comes out. Colour: deep gold. Nose:
keyword ‘austerity’ this
time, at least at first nosing. Whiffs
of chocolate and coffee that suggest
they used one or more sherry casks
in the vatting but I could be wrong
of course. No roundness, no sweetness,
no sluggishness whatsoever, rather
kind of a relative sharpness and huge
smoky notes (not only peat, also coal
and wood). It’s not very expressive
in fact, until it gets kind of a second
life consisting in a huge farminess
that goes from horse dung to wet hay
through straw and grain barn. And
then we have whiffs of eucalyptus
leaves. Then overripe apples. Then
tar and heating oil. Then peppermint.
Then, then, then… Mouth: bang!
Most amazingly, everything arrives
at the same time now: the peat, the
liquorice, the gentian, the dried
oranges, the spices, the mint, the
pepper, the aromatic herbs, the horseradish,
the smoked tea, the wax, the ginger,
the mint… And no sherry-alike
flavours this time – I was probably
wrong. Not much development because
we already had ‘everything’
right at the attack, except that it
gets a little earthier, rootier after
a moment. And the finish is very long
and just as compact and full as the
attack. Just excellent – if
not as totally stunning as the ‘2004’
in my opinion. A 94 points
malt in my book (95 for the ‘2004’). |
| Brora
34 yo 1970/2004 (56.7%, Douglas Laing
Platinum, 157 bottles)
At 34 yo this one is probably the
older Brora around but that may change
in the future. Colour: pure gold.
Nose: this one is probably more discrete
at first nosing, more restrained than
all the other ones. It’s also
the first one that shows signs of
age although it’s very far from
being tired (almost 57% at 34 yo is
quite a lot anyway). There’s
also kind of a maritime freshness
mixed with notes of almonds like in
the very old Caol Ilas (from the 60’s)
but we also have quite some fresh
mint right at first nosing as well
as notes of iodine, wax, marzipan,
linseed oil, maybe hints of turpentine,
old apples, wine cellar… Something
that reminds me old amontillados (well,
I had that only once in my life actually).
Oh, and now there’s a little
incense, cedar wood, burning herbs
(thyme and such)… it gets more
and more complex with time…
Old books, wax polish, peanut butter…
And then we’re back to almonds
and walnuts… And mint! Again,
just superb. Mouth: ho-ho, lots of
oomph now, with an attack on fresh
walnuts, almonds and grape skin plus
something camphory and minty again.
Goes on with candied lemon, green
tea, mastic, argan oil, not too sugared
nougat, marzipan… And the kind
of superb ‘evolved’ peatiness
that you can get in the very old Ardbegs,
Caol Ilas or Lagavulins distilled
in the 60’s or before, I think.
Okay, agreed, enough maltoporn –
this one lacked just a little backbone
when compared with all the other ones
but hey, it’ll still defeat
many old Islayers in fact. Head and
shoulders. 92 points. |
| |
MUSIC
– JAZZ - Highly recommended
listening - She's not very well
known within the general public
but most jazz musicians revere Consuela
Lee and her superb
piano playing. Let's listen to her
piece Jefferson
Street Joe.mp3 and find out
why... And please buy Consuela Lee's
music! (via the great Mappleshade
records) |
 |
|
|
|
August
24, 2006 |
|
|
 |
Laphroaig
16 yo 1988/2004 (46%, Signatory Unchilfiltered,
refill butt #3613, 819 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: rather fresh
and slightly immature at first nosing,
on lots of porridge, grain, mashed
potatoes and, of course, quite some
smoke. Rather close to newmake, with
very little wood influence. Gets also
a little milky, yoghurtish, with some
nice notes of wet chalk and flint
stone and hints of ‘natural’
lavender. Quite enjoyable in fact,
especially if you like young Islayers.
|
| Mouth:
rather rounded, sweet, fruity (apples)
and, again, relatively close to a
newmake, with quite some backbone
and a nice peatiness. Not much development
except a little pepper and hints of
liquorice but the whole is rather
flawless, with a rather long, compact
finish. Not really interesting but,
again, flawless. A rather MOTR but
good Laphroaig. 83 points. |
| Laphroaig
14 yo (46%, Kingsbury, Valdespino’s
Coliseo Amontillado)
Colour: gold. Nose: wow, this is quite
unusual, starting on a great mix of
dry sherry (taste of ‘yellow’,
neo-oxidation) that mingles perfectly
well with a very sharp and very ‘rigid’
kind of peat, the whole being full
of ‘rectitude’. Lots of
ashes, coal oven, vegetables (interesting
notes of celeriac and raw turnips),
developing on wet dog, old chardonnay,
crushed mint leaves, wine cellar (elegant
moistness, mushrooms). Highly interesting
and hugely enjoyable, especially if
you like a little austerity in your
whisky. Mouth: again, a superb attack,
maybe a little softer than on the
nose but the mix of Amontillado and
Laphroaig works very well here. It’s
quite earthy and gingery, with lots
of pepper and notes of cloves, black
toffee, cooked mushrooms… Gets
just slightly sour but it’s
no problems. Goes on with coffee fudge,
old red wine (Burgundy), hints of
Turkish delights, blackcurrant leaves
tea, mint, cough syrup… The
finish is rather long, ‘wide’,
very rich but not ‘sluggish’
at all, with funny hints of raspberry
jam. Very excellent and very unusual,
although I’d have loved to taste
this one after ten more years of maturing.
92 points (and thanks
Marcel). |
|
| Flo
sends us this picture of a beautiful
street advertising campain for some
sort of state or city council from
some sort of (English speaking, obviously)
country. I believe what's written
below the main teaser is 'Dont drink
and drive - arrive safely'. We couldn't
agree more, despite what some may
think. (and thanks, Flo). |
MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- Perfect weather these days for
listening to the Velvet
underground doing Who
loves the sun.mp3 in 1970 (from
Loaded, Doug Yule is singing, not
Lou Reed, and John Cale's gone).
Probably not their best song but
we've heard worse... Please buy
their music. |
 |
|
|
|
August
23, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
THE
PIRATES The
Borderline, London, August 19th 2006 |
 |
It’s
pretty cool to be a Pirate these days,
what with Captain Jack Sparrow Johnny
Depp and all that. Why thanks to that
rascal Johnny Depp there’s even
a new album of piratical ballads and
sea-shanties, Rogues Gallery, featuring
as unlikely a crew as Whiskyfun favourites
Richard Thompson, Nick Cave, Bill
Frisell, Martin Carthy and David Thomas
(amongst others). |
| But
I don’t notice any of these
new to the world pirates in the Borderline
– this is strictly hardcore
brigand territory, and the place is
pretty packed with some shifty looking
fellows I can say. The Pirate’s
Code forbids women being brought onto
a ship, and it’s clear that
no one wants to breach the rule tonight
– the Photographer only gets
in because of her piratical headgear.
Now let the man at the bar do the
talking: “See I first saw them
in 1963. Fucking fantastic. Nothing
better, even after Johnny got topped.
And that Mick Green he’s just
the bollocks – always has been.
No guitarist better, but of course
no one gave him credit for what he
done, and then all the punks copied
him. But he’s settled down a
lot now; I mean in the old days he
could be really quite aggressive but
he’s almost fucking serene now…” |
|
Johnny
Spence and Mick Green |
Johnny
Kidd and the Pirates
are probably best remembered (in fact
quite possibly only remembered by
people other than those here tonight)
for their 1960 smash hit ‘Shaking
all over’ (and that riff), for
their fantastic name (Kidd was actually
called Fred Heath and his band The
Five Nutters – who came up with
the name seems to be a bit of a mystery)
and for their Hollywoodesque buccaneer
costumes. Kidd split from the Pirates
in the spring of 1966 as he struggled
to keep his career alive – sadly
he died a few months later in an accident.
Actually the guitar work on ‘Shaking’
was done by session man Joe Moretti,
but by 1962 the
Pirates were Mick Green,
Johnny Spence and Frank Farley, the
classic line up that was rediscovered
in the early 1970s and which flourished
briefly (striped trousers and all)
during the Punk era. Recently the
band have played sporadic gigs and
earlier this year released their first
album for 18 years, ‘Skullduggery’.
But apart from being a beery Saturday
night out the real reason for coming
is to see Green, who is acknowledged
by many (the man at the bar included)
to be one of the most influential
British rock guitarists of all time.
Readers may remember that he’s
the man who influenced Wilko Johnson
who influenced Gang of Four’s
Andy Gill who in turn inspired the
current round of British guitar bands
such as (the apparently out of tune)
Franz Ferdinand. He cuts an unusual
figure for a rock legend, chubby,
benign, with a bashed up Fender Telecaster
and apparently more concerned that
he’s just become a grandfather
than with his worldwide fame (he’s
big, as they say, in Japan). Actually
he collapsed on stage a couple of
years ago (he was playing in Brian
Ferry’s band) and ended up having
a quadruple heart bypass, so maybe
there’s a reason for the serenity.
Anyway it doesn’t seem to have
affected his playing – which
if not exactly note perfect certainly
stood out as still being quite remarkable
and still unique – imitators
notwithstanding. It’s a stuttering
lead and rhythm guitar sound combined
with staccato riffs and shuddering
chords. It’s easy to see where
Wilko got his style from, and how
the influence has worked through to
bands today. |
|
The band are pretty tight –
new drummer Mike Roberts (Farley having
retired through ill-health) powers
his way through the songs, and is
clearly one of those drummers who
cares as much about the end of songs
as the beginning. Spence’s bass
playing is never going to set the
world on fire, nor will his singing
to be frank, but he has a fearsome
grimace (actually I think he was having
problems with his false teeth) and
a fine line in saucy patter (“We
had to have a break to take our pills.
Course we’re taking even more
pills now than we were in the sixties,
only now we get them from the Health
Service for nothing”). There’s
a selection of old material ‘Please
don’t touch’, ‘Gibson
Martin Fender’, ‘Honey
hush’ and ‘Drinking wine
spo-dee-o-dee’, and of course
new like ‘Ugly millionaire’.
And there are a few really outstanding
moments, ‘I can tell’,
the inevitable ‘Shaking all
over’ and an almost traumatic
guitar solo on encore ‘Baby
please don’t go’ which
was worth the price of admission alone.
On stage at nine, off by ten-fifteen,
in accordance with article thirteen
of the Code, “all old pirates
shall be abed afore the hour of ten
and thirty’. Arrrrrrrr! - Nick
Morgan (photographs by Kate) |
| Thanks
Nick, mighty good guitar indeed, I
love it! But let's listen to the current
Pirates doing Honey
hush.mp3 right away... (recorded
in 2002 at the BBC). And because we're
prepared to sacrifice everything for
coherence... Drumroll... |
| TASTING
– TWO PIRATICAL 'GERMAN' WHISKIES |
 |
Schwarzer
Pirat 1995/2004 (40%, OB, Germany,
cask #1) 
Made by Fleischmann, Schwarzer Pirat
means Black Pirate. Colour: deep amber.
Nose: almost exuberant at first nosing,
extremely fruity, with something of
a fruit eau-de-vie mixed with caramel.
I know that sounds awfully piratical
but it isn’t, this nose is quite
nice. Notes of orange liqueur, flowers
(peonies), mirabelle plum spirit,
then something toasted or grilled…
Barbecued beef? Something Irish as
well (bananas). A rather good surprise
I must say. |
| Mouth:
maybe a little weak but the attack
is really okay, with quite some wood
and, I must say, lots of caramel (slight
bitterness) and a little pepper. Alas,
it quickly falls apart and there’s
almost no middle, not to mention a
finish. A toothless pirate - it’s
a pity because the nose was pleasant.
51 points. |
| Jack’s
Pirate Whisky 8 yo (55%, Jack Wieber,
cask #26703, 347 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: we’re
on Islay, obviously, with lots of
youth (very fruity, pears, pineapples
and apples) plus a distinctive smokiness
and quite some minerality. Lots of
ashes, burning matchsticks and a faint
feintiness (wazzzat?) plus notes of
coal oven. Quite some Caol Ila in
there, probably. Gets then a little
buttery, and finally quite maritime
(lots of iodine – Laphroaig?)
Mouth: exactly what you’d expect
from a young Islayer, with a temporary
fruitiness (golden delicious apples)
and then a sudden peat blast that
takes no prisoners (like all pirates).
Lots of pepper as well, a certain
saltiness, liquorice roots, hints
of gentian and ginseng, oyster juice,
lemon zest… Not too original
but flawless, I’d say, with
a (very) long, salty, peaty finish.
Piratical indeed. 86 points. |
 |
MALT
MANIACS NEWS
AWARDS
2006
- UPDATED LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
|
Adelphi,
The Alchemist, Ardbeg, Jean
Boyer, Angus Dundee, Arran,
Bar Metro, Benriach, Berry Brothers,
Blackadder, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain,
Bushmills, Celtic Whisky Company,
Chieftain's, Compass Box, Cooley,
Corman Collins, Dewar Rattray,
Diageo (several distilleries),
Duncan Taylor, Edradour, Full
Proof, Glencadam, Glenfarclas,
Glengoyne, Glenmorangie, Glenrothes,
Gordon & MacPhail, Douglas
Laing, Loch Fyne Whiskies, Ian
MacLeod, Laphroaig, La Maison
du Whisky, Murray McDavid, Nikka,
Royal Mile Whiskies, Signatory
Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky
Society, Scotch Single Malt
Circle, Sun Favourite Taiwan,
Taiwan SMWT Association, Vintage
Malt Whisky Co., Whisky-Doris,
The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky
Fair, Tomintoul, Wilson &
Morgan...
... And probably more
to come! While praying for our
livers (that are evil and must
be punished, say our friends
the PLOWEDsters) and while our
very own Ho-cheng recovers his
strength after having spotted
the new Dalmore 50 yo at -20%
at Sidney Airport's duty-free
shop (no he couldn't resist,
how could he?), you can still
browse the temporarily frozen
Malt
Maniacs website. |
|
|
|
|
August
22, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: FAIRPORT'S CROPREDY
CONVENTION
Cropredy, Oxfordshire, UK, August
10th-12th 2006
Part Two
|
| Saturday
mornings are always a good time for
mature and sober reflection (“Good
morning Cropredy” – “Why
don’t you just fuck off?”
replied Jozzer, head stuck in the
oven as he tried to light it for lunch)
particularly. You know, three days
of this finger-in-the-ear over earnest
yet ale-addled holier than-thou-folk
malarkey might just be a bit too much.
But damn it, we’re here for
the duration, and unlike the poor
sods who don’t yet know that
it’s going to pour from about
midnight ‘till the time they
bundle their dripping tents and soaking
sleeping bags into their cars on Sunday
morning, we’re at least living
in luxury. So we sat back to watch
Jozzer and Trizzer create an impossibly
complex (and most delicious) tapas
lunch, and waited for our guests to
join us as the sounds of Cockney comedian
Richard Digance drifted past us in
the wind. |
| A
few hours later, following an amusing
territorial spat with a social worker
called Brian from Matlock (after a
good lunch and a bottle of sherry
it really isn’t worthwhile coming
the Gerrard Winstanley with Jozzer)
we pitch our chairs and settle in
for the duration. Same crowd, same
faces. Our friends in the Pork Pie
club are just behind us, eating, errr…pork
pies. Tankard Man has his spot to
our left – he’s been spending
his time doing some watercolours –
and of course tankards are de rigueur
decoration for the field – as
are stupid hats a-plenty. |
| Did
I mention the burly man in the frilly
skirt? Add to this piratical dogs,
the occasional cat, and the Kitchen
Krew, who in addition to their children
and pets have their sink, cooker,
freezer and even a burglar alarm,
and you’ll get the picture that
everyone seems pretty much at home.
Even us. Hang on! We’re sitting
in exactly the same spot as last year
too, and the more I look the more
I recognise the people around us.
Have we become institutionalised too,
trapped in this rustic backwoodsman’s
retreat, a safe-house from the harsh
realties of the twenty-first century,
with its hose-pipe bans, hospital
waiting lists and humourless traffic
wardens? |
|
King
Pleasure and the Biscuit Boy |
| Anyway,
due to our extended lunch we’ve
missed Dave
Swarbrick’s Lazarus (Dave
almost missed it too, having got stuck
in Denmark due to that other little
harsh reality that was going on at
our airports), but I can report that
they sounded rather nice from a field
away, and went down very well with
the sherry. By the time we arrive
Birmingham’s own King
Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys
are half way through a rip-roaring
high energy take on 1940s and 1950s
jazz, blues and swing. Great for a
party but actually a little wearing,
a little too bellicose and certainly
a little too long. The King was followed
by Dervish
– a seven-piece traditional
outfit largely from County Sligo,
fronted by singer, bodhran and bones
player Cathy Jordon (who is “out
of Roscommon”), who have apparently
“been waiting seventeen years
to play at Cropredy”. They are
certainly a very talented group of
musicians, with several ‘All
Irish Champions’ amongst them
(apparently this is very good) and
a host of awards and plaudits for
their performances and recordings.
Well – l’d better get
this over quickly. This simply didn’t
work for me – despite my affection
(as regular readers will know) for
Irish folk music. I found Ms Jordon’s
‘kooky’ pixie like mannerisms
both contrived and irritating in the
extreme, and the woops “come
ons” and yells unconvincing
and superfluous. The ‘sets’
or tunes were good enough but hardly
out of the ordinary, some suggesting
a desire to capture some of Clannad’s
faux Irish commercial success (I note
that Dervish’s website talks
about “opening the door to the
Far Eastern market …”
– see what I mean?). And I won’t
mention the Cher song. |
| Former
Squeeze front man (and co-writer with
Chris Difford) Glenn
Tilbrook got the tough pre-Fairport
spot and pulls off what can only de
described as a blinder (he later returns
to play three songs with Fairport,
and in ‘Tempted’ produces
one of the high spots of the whole
weekend). What’s more, he’s
quite evidently enjoying himself just
as much as his audience, if not more.
And as the occasion deserves he gives
us a real crowd-pleasing set, with
a big injection of songs from the
Squeeze back catalogue and a nice
selection of his own solo material
from his two albums The Incomplete
Glen Tilbrook and 2004’s Transatlantic
Ping Pong. |
|
|
|
| So
from the Squeeze days we’re
played ‘Annie get your gun’,
‘Tough love’, ‘Pulling
mussels (from a shell)’, ‘Up
the junction’, ‘When the
hangover strikes’, ‘Slap
and tickle’, ‘Black coffee
in bed’ and ‘Take me,
I’m yours’, played on
an acoustic guitar with great gusto,
and sung with that wonderful soulful
voice (“No, I can’t sing
‘Cool for cats’, its an
octave too low, I tried it once and
it was crap” he tells the audience).
And on ‘Black coffee’
he gets the audience to fill in the
“doop do do, do do do do’
bits, with remarkable success. In
fact he’s got them eating out
of his hand. He amuses with Cornell
Hurd’s ‘The genitalia
of a fool’, and his own homage
to masturbation ‘Reinventing
the wheel’, and ‘Hot shaved
Asian teens’ (which according
to one review I read “paints
the dark portrait of a man who is
trapped in a Daliesque nightmare during
the day while his nights are consumed
by dreams of hot shaved Asian teens”
– Hmmmm). He’s thoughtful
with compositions like ‘Hostage’
and ‘This is where you ain’t’
which apparently harks back to divorce
and a painful separation from his
children, and he simply showboats
his way through Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo
Chile’, complete with an extended
guitar behind the head solo (no picture
I’m afraid Serge). It was simply
a tour de force – cometh the
moment, cometh the man. |
| And
then of course cometh the three hours
of Fairport Convention that most people
seem to have been waiting for with
bated breath for around twelve months.
And having reviewed them twice on
Whiskyfun over the past twelve months
I’ll keep this short and simple.
The Photographer’s friend Chris
Leslie sang very well and some of
the band’s harmonies were so
good that I thought they must have
been using tapes. Ace vocalist Chris
While joined and sang the Sandy
Denny parts on ‘Cajun Woman’,
‘The Deserter’, and ‘Who
knows where the time goes’.
She also stayed and added very soulful
backing to Glenn Tilbrook on ‘Tempted’
(I’ll say it again – one
of the highpoints of the weekend –
thanks Glenn), with Martin Allcock
on keyboards. And they played the
very nice ‘Untouchable’
from Transatlantic Ping Pong. Ric
Saunders is a hugely accomplished
fiddler who manages to inject a few
unexpected Soft Machine moments into
his traditional repertoire, and he
excels on his big solo in Ralph McTell’s
‘Hiring fair’ which merges
seamlessly into a Saunders/Nicol instrumental
of ‘Summertime’. ‘Jewel
in the crown’ (woops –
I thought it was called ‘We
are a proud land’) is brought
controversially up to date with a
mention of Iraq (phew – hot
controversy!). We’re spared
too much of the historical nonsense
– I suppose it’s almost
mandatory for Fairport to perform
McTelll’s ‘Red and gold’
that famously “ill-judged and
poorly researched slushy dirge about
the Battle of Cropredy Bridge in June
1644”, and I have to confess
to rather liking Chris Leslie’s
‘I’m already there’
about explorer Admiral Sir George
Back, whose Arctic adventures are
commemorated in a window in Banbury’s
ugly church. And before we knew it
was Fairport’s regular finale,
a typically hysterical version of
‘Matty Groves’ (might
be time to change this one, boys)
and that show-stealing encore, ‘Meet
on the ledge’, which we did. |
 |
 |
And
as we folded up our fishing chairs
for another year and carefully tidied
away our rubbish (unlike those who
chose to leave much of the field looking
like a refuse dump – there’s
simply no telling with these middle
classes is there?) the heavens opened
and the rain began to fall. Back in
the dry comfort of the luxurious mobile
mansion “one last nightcap”
followed “one last nightcap”
to the accompaniment of that path
breaking album ‘Liege and Lief’,
Squeeze’s greatest hits (well
remembered Jozzer) and bags of Mumbai
Mix. |
|
Next year? Surely not? “Time
to move on” said Jozzer as he
folded his soiled cooking whites –
probably not a phrase often found
in the Fairporter’s lexicon.
- Nick Morgan (Photographs by
Nick and Kate) |
| Many,
many thanks Nick. I guess I'll have
to look into Squeeze and Mr. Tilbrook
more closely... But something bothers
me, I mean... You know... Err... The
glasses! I mean, please tell us these
glasses were supplied with the van!
What, the bottles as well?... Anyway,
this is still being out on a story
with grand style indeed. But let's
listen to Glenn Tilbrook now, with
Parallel
world.mp3 (from 'The incomplete
Glenn Tilbrook'). And why not a little
Squeeze as well, with their bouncy
Picadilly.mp3. |
| TASTING
- TWO OLD GLENF*****S BY DOUGLAS LAING |
 |
Ballindalloch
(Glenfarclas) 40 yo 1965/2005 (50%,
Douglas Laing OMC, sherry butt ref
DL 1979, 289 bottles)
Colour: deep amber – cognac.
Nose: explosive and vibrant start
on notes of open beehive (don’t
try that at home), crystallized oranges
and a superb oakiness. No vinous notes
whatsoever, great news, rather hints
of very old Sauternes (I know, that’s
wine) and apricot pie. Fab whiffs
of menthol coming through after a
while, together with a little varnish
(high-end varnish if that exists),
eucalyptus… and something clearly
medicinal (bandages, embrocations).
Then we have milk chocolate, roasted
nuts, then back to menthol, Darjeeling
tea… |
| What
a stunning nose and a what a perfect
balance. Yes, close to perfection
as far as I’m concerned. Mouth:
really powerful, almost ‘invasive’,
with lots of body and oomph and quite
some tannins, as expected. So the
attack is rather dry and almost bitter
(nicely) but that’s fine for
the moment. Notes of toasted bread,
infused tealeaves, orange skin, apple
seeds… All that sort of masks
the sweeter, fruitier elements that
are well here… Yet, we have
huge notes of liqueur-filled chocolate,
ganache and praline arising after
a moment, orange marmalade, nougat,
blackcurrant liqueur… Amazingly
rich, getting then very spicy (nutmeg,
cloves, quite some Chinese anise…)
The finish is very long, still coating,
on crystallized fruits (strawberries)
and milk chocolate. Extremely rich
and good. 94 points. |
| Old
Stock Reserve No1 (Glenfarclas) 39
yo 1965/2005 (54.7%, Douglas Laing
OMC for Alambic Germany, sherry butt
ref DL 1550)
Colour: deep amber – cognac,
slightly darker than the 40yo. Nose:
starts slower than the 40 yo and more
on caramel, praline, nectar and pollen,
probably more classical. Develops
on coffee, chocolate, roasted nuts,
fruitcake… And then it gets
extremely orangey, with notes of Grand
Marnier, crystallized oranges, oriental
pastries… Very good but this
one doesn’t quite stand comparison
with the marvellous 40yo. Mouth: lots
of tannins as well but also more fruits.
Very ripe strawberries, raspberries,
mulberries… A nice oakiness
but less spicy and chocolaty notes
than in the 40yo, which make it simpler
again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s
an excellent sherry monster but it
probably lacks a little extra-complexity.
Rather long, fruity and slightly vinous
finish, balanced but getting maybe
a tad too sour. Well, in its defence,
it’s hard to come after a marvel
such as the 40yo, so I’d say
it still deserves 90 points.
|
|
|
|
August
21, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
FESTIVAL SPECIAL: FAIRPORT'S CROPREDY
CONVENTION
Cropredy, Oxfordshire, UK, August
10th-12th 2006
Part One
|
| Well
try as we might we just couldn’t
resist the lure of the bucolic folk-filled
time warp deep in the heart of rural
North Oxfordshire’s wonderful
green and pleasant countryside. And
as true slaves to our art this year
we’ve come for the full three
days of beer-filled capers, frolics
and festivities. |
 |
| And
thanks to Serge and the limitless
Whiskyfun review budget we’re
here on the Festival site amongst
‘Nuts
in May’ campers and cash
strapped caravaners in what I can
only describe as the biggest fuck-off
recreational vehicle I’ve ever
seen – a sort of Sheraton
suite on wheels, with ample accommodation
for both Reviewer and Photographer,
and Jozzer who’s here as assistant
chef and critic, and his moll Trizzer,
who’s here purely for the fun. |
| A
pity then that the Festival started
(“Hello Cropredy”) with
P
J Wright, a distinguished member
of the West Midlands musical mafia
that also features Dave Pegg, Steve
Gibbons et. al. |
Ric Saunders with Little Johnny
England |
Wright
was supported by “squeezer”
Gareth Turner (accordion) and “scraper”
Guy Fletcher (fiddle) both members
of Little Johnny England (the name
says it all) the local folk rock band
for which he sings and plays lead
guitar, and by ‘friends’
fiddler Ric Saunders and songwriter
Peter
Scrowther (who, if you ask me,
has a lot to answer for). |
| Time
was when a good old folk song was
about the nasty brutish and short
universe of the noble factory worker
or his match selling fair laydee.
Now it seems it’s a sort of
Daily Mail dirge decrying the fact
that “everything’s made
in China now” (even the songs
if you ask me, because they certainly
all seem to sound the same) and that
some wicked evil-hearted men have
taken all our factories, honest and
true – why even our pension
funds aren’t what they used
to be. Add to that some simply awful
Ralph Mctell style [Editor’s
note: steady on Nick, you can’t
start on Ralph this early] faux historical
ballads (“It was back in the
winter of 1637 that I sailed on the
East Kilbride steam packet”)
and you can understand why I retired
for an early aperitif, to the pleasing
sounds of Feast
Of Fiddles opening their set with
that traditional scraper’s ditty,
Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’.
We enjoyed them with a Tanqueray and
tonic as their breezy tunes were blown
across the field to our moorings. |
|
Steeleye
Span's Maddy Prior and with Peter
Knight (right) |
| We
returned replete (excellent choucroute
garnie Serge, with some of your lovely
Alsace wines and Munster cheese) for
Steeleye
Span, who for some reason I had
anticipated being a frightful disaster,
this poppy face of electric folk having
been totally off my musical radar
(apart from that dreadful Christmas
song of course) since I last saw them
in 1970 something. How wrong could
I have been? I confess they did play
a few real stinkers, like the unconvincing
Gracelandesque ‘Seagull’,
‘London’ (a dire follow
up to the hit single ‘All around
my hat' – which needless to
say was the final encore) and a bizarre
‘The troubles of old England’
played in twelve-bar boogie style
(very fitting). But these were exceptions
in a well structured, well played
and well sung set. Peter
Knight was outstanding on fiddle,
particularly in his duet with Maddy
Prior on ‘Betsy Bell and
Mary Gray’ and I was particularly
impressed with drummer Liam Genockey
who injected a real sense of pace
and energy as they worked their way
through tunes like ‘Van Diemen’s
Land’, Tam Lin’, Long
Lankin’ and ‘Cam ye ‘oer
frae France’ But it was the
handsomely proportioned hip swinging
Prior who stole the show as she shimmied
and gyrated around the stage, her
exotic hand movements driving Jozzer
into a perspiration soaked fantasy
fuelled frenzy. And she sang very
well too. |
| We
enjoyed, or should I say endured Friday’s
opener (“Good morning Cropredy”)
Shameless Quo from the comfort of
our mobile condominium over some wonderful
chocolate tasting Galapagos coffee
and ‘citronnier’ cake.
‘Rocking all over the world’
and ‘Sweet Caroline’ was
more than enough, so we went shopping
in the once-pretty market town of
Banbury instead, marginally less depressing
than listening to a tribute band to
a band that has long since been a
tribute band to itself. Scholars may
be interested to know that Banbury
was accurately described in the nineteenth
century by the following verse: “Poor
town, dirty people, built a church
without a steeple”. Well Banbury
certainly isn’t poor today;
with the arrival of a motorway connection
to London and Birmingham in the 1980s
it’s become a prosperous dormitory
town. But it is a shocking victim
of the British urban disease of shopping
centre blight, with charity-shop and
building society dominated streets,
and a semi-derelict 1980s precinct
leading in to its dismal twenty-first
century successor. |
| Our
return was greeted by Then Came the
Wheel, a highly accomplished group
of session musicians who sounded like
a highly accomplished group of session
musicians. They were followed by ‘The
Guv’nor’, Ashley
Hutchings and his latest band,
Rainbow Chaser, which we had all looked
forward to as a potential high-point
of the day. Sadly it turned out to
be a low. Over long-introductions,
painfully over-written songs with
tortuously contrived and naive lyrics,
perfectly sung and performed but oh
dear me, that song about Nick Drake
(‘Given time’) nearly
had me reaching for the RV keys. Luckily
things perked up with the arrival
of The Deborah Bonham Band. She’s
the baby sister of the late John,
and manages to sound like a cross
between Janis Joplin and her brother’s
former colleague Robert Plant. Her
band, joined by pedal steel ace P
J Cole, are tight, rough and rocking
(her drummer is Humble Pie veteran
Jerry Shirley) – and the only
weak moment was when she sang Led
Zeppelin’s ‘The battle
of Evermore’, which famously
featured a duet between Plant and
Sandy Denny, which just doesn’t
work. She’s at her best singing
songs like ‘Devil’s in
New Orleans’, ‘Black coffee’,
‘Jack past eight’ (yes
Serge she’s a whiskey girl)
and her encore ‘Rock and Roll’.
If her CDs sound anywhere near as
good as this then you should go out
and buy one. |
Ashley Hutchings and Deborah
Bonham |
|
Frank
Skinner in the shade of the WF RV
(left) - John Martyn (right) |
| Unfortunately
a delicious lamb tagine kept us from
Flook, winners in the ‘Best
Group’ category of the BBC Radio
Folk award. And before them we missed
Frank Skinner introducing Fairport
Convention, to receive a Gold Disc
for Liege and Lief, which was also
named as the 'Most Influential Folk
Album of All Time' at the recent BBC
Radio 2 Folk Awards (Frank, by the
way, had chosen to eschew the luxuries
of the VIP area and camp with ‘the
people’, pitching his tent,
with some difficulty, in the shadow
of the Whiskyfun RV). Which meant
that we resumed our seats at about
8.15 for John
Martyn. Readers may wish to refer
to my earlier
review of Martyn at the Shepherds
Bush Empire in May before going any
further. Regrettably I don’t
have a great deal to add. Barely coherent,
playing well within his former abilities,
one paced and formulaic, with nothing
to detain the audience who started
to drift away at about 9.30. If there
was a high point it was probably Ben
Harper’s ‘Mister mister’
(which you can hear on The Church
with No Bell), but in a weekend crammed
with glorious nostalgia this was but
a sad reflection on a distinguished
past. |
| Fortunately
enough people stayed on to give Graham
Goldman’s 10CC
a decent hand. I still cherish this
band’s first couple of albums.
They gave a new definition to ‘painfully
overwritten and tortuously contrived
lyrics’, full of in-jokes, knowing
references and musical wit. “Bollocks
pop music written by advertising men,
sneered Jozzer, sedate in his fishing
chair as he sipped discerningly at
his seventh pint of ‘after dinner’
cider. The ‘ad men’, Lol
Crème and Kevin Godley, have
long since departed, whilst Eric Stewart
no longer performs live. So this 10CC
is Gouldman plus some long time Strawberry
Studios collaborators and superb vocalist
Mick Wilson. Do you remember how many
great songs they wrote? The band were
like a hit machine and we were played
the best of them, ‘The Dean
and I’, ‘Donna’,
‘Wall Street shuffle’,
‘Art for art’s sake’
‘Silly Love’, and the
huge hit that I always felt marked
their nadir, ‘I’m not
in love’. And Gouldman also
reminded us of his pre-10CC work by
running through compositions such
as ‘Bus stop’ and ‘Look
through any window’ (recorded
by the Hollies), ‘No milk today’
(Herman’s Hermits) and ‘For
your love’ (the Yardbirds).
But in the absence of the heart and
soul of the band neither pedigree
nor almost perfect performance could
really lift what seemed to an almost
soulless affair, and as we left to
the final bars of encore ‘Rubber
bullets’ (“We all got
balls and brains, but some’s
got balls and chains”) I couldn’t
help thinking back to a fantastic
night watching them perform ‘Une
nuit a Paris’ way back in the
… well you know when. - Nick
Morgan (Photographs by Nick and Kate.
Frank Skinner photograph by Jozzer.) |
| Thanks
a bunch, Nick… That one made
me shriek with laughter! So, let’s
try to get our breath back while listening
to a little music, like (I’d
add ‘of course’, seen
from here at least) Steleye Span’s
Fighting
for strangers.mp3 and its 'Anglo-African'
rhythms. Or All
around my hat.mp3 (more Anglo-English
I think). 10CC? Maybe I
don't like reggae.mp3...
Or
maybe not, but it's too late. OK,
I think we're ready for Cropredy Part
2!... |
| Mortlach
16 yo 1988/2005 (57.9%, Whisky Galore,
sherry cask #4743)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: rather discrete
at first nosing, with whiffs of sherry
and a little fresh butter, with a
faint smokiness. Gets then more expressive,
with lots of elegance: flowers (huge
notes of lilac), a little celery,
aniseed… and then we have quite
some caramel, roasted nuts, candy
sugar… All that is very nicely
balanced and quite subtle. Very pleasant.
With water: the rubber really comes
out now but also a nice smokiness.
Roasted peanuts, coal, ham…
A very good swimmer, getting more
complex with water.
|
 |
| Mouth
(neat): very creamy and very fruity,
almost thick, coating. Also very powerful
behind the sweetness, getting a little
too rough now. Let’s add water
again: again that works, with lots
of walnuts, resinous stuff, apple
skin. It gets also smokier, especially
at the rather long finish. An excellent
and very typical Mortlach.
88 points. |
| Mortlach
1993/2005 ‘The Nightcap’
(57.6%, Art of Whisky, sherry butt
# 5228)
Colour: pure gold. Nose: starts even
more discretely, maybe more on freshly
squeezed oranges, ginger tonic…
Gets then a little rougher than the
Whisky Galore when it wakes up, also
meatier like often with Mortlach (hints
of smoked ham). Lots of wildflowers
as well, hot bread crust, ripe apricots…
More caramelly and less fresh, with
also a more discrete sherry but it’s
still a nice Mortlach. With water:
less development than with the Whisky
Galore, gets just a little smokier
and ashier, with alos paraffin and
cider apples, as well as almond milk…
Well, it does improve in fact, it
just needs a little time. Mouth (neat):
curiously less thick and oily than
the Whisky Galore, also a little bitterer,
smokier. Lots of dried fruits (dates,
bananas) but it does get too hot after
a moment. With water: gets funnily
salty and spicy (bold nutmeg). Interesting.
The finish is quite long, now peppery
and waxy with another layer of caramel…
Another good Mortlach, with quite
a presence. 86 points. |
|
|
|
August
20, 2006 |
|
|
| NEW
- Maybe you already saw that our parent
website Malt
Maniacs is temporalily
frozen (for two or three months).
Johannes is currently very busy designing
brand new webistes for both Malt Madness
and Malt Maniacs - I've already seen
dummies, and I can tell you they are
really great. Anyway, Whiskyfun will
shelter a few maniacal pieces in the
meantime, starting with this excellent
one by Lex
Kraaijeveld. |
| |
|
|
KATE
BUSH DISTILLED by Lex Kraaijeveld |
| Credit
where credit is due: this article
was inspired by fellow maniac
Serge Valentin. Some years ago,
in one of his e-pistles for
“Malt Maniacs”,
Serge tasted a range of malt
whiskies and tried to ‘characterise’
them by comparing them to famous
singers, actresses or sports
stars. When I first heard the
news that after a 12 year hiatus
my all-time-favourite singer/musician
was going to release a new album,
I thought I’d follow Serge’s
example, matching my favourite
tipple to my favourite artist,
but then in a slightly different
way from how Serge did it. Kate
Bush’s music has been
part of my life from the moment
she burst on the scene as a
teenager more than 25 years
ago. And what I’m going
to do in this wee piece is try
to match Kate’s 8 studio
albums to date to certain whiskies,
trying to capture the essence
of spirit and music each time.
“If Kate’s music
is indeed a malt whisky, which
one would it be?” |
| When
Kate was interviewed for BBC
4’s ‘Front Row’
programme, broadcast early November
2005, and was asked why making
her 8th album, Aerial, took
so long, she said: |
| I
think in this case we're talking
about the kind of distilling
process rather than fermenting.
So it's like making a whisky
really! |
| But
beyond the long ‘maturation’
period of both Kate’s
music and whisky, the two really
have a lot in common. Both have
many layers of complexity, both
are for real savouring and can
only fully be appreciated when
you give them time, come back
to them time and time again
…. |
 |
So,
first album, The Kick Inside,
which she released in 1978.
What I want to try and do is
build up a mental picture of
a malt whisky based on the ‘feel’
of the album as a whole, rather
than focus on specific songs.
It’s not a ‘heavy’
album, so a medium-bodied whisky.
Probably a Speysider. But a
characterful Speysider, one
with good malty notes. Kate’s
voice makes it a whisky on the
sweet side, certainly not a
dry whisky. What kind of sweetness?
Not fruity; Kate weaves around
the music and coats it in warm
honey .... This honey image
clinches it for me: if The
Kick Inside were a malt
whisky, it would be a Balvenie.
|
| On
to Lionheart, also
from 1978.To me, this is a delicate
and deceptively simple album.
It oozes charm and character,
in a gentle way. Translating
this into a malt whisky is actually
pretty straightforward. Delicate,
charm, gentle are the typical
terms used for Lowland whiskies.
And arguably the best Lowland
whisky comes from the now sadly
closed Rosebank distillery,
although fortunately there are
still plenty of bottles of Rosebank
around. Try some 12 year old
Rosebank while playing Lionheart
and I hope you’ll agree
I’m not far off the mark
in matching the two. |
 |
 |
With
the benefit of hindsight, Never
For Ever (released in 1980)
offers glimpses of things to
come. Some of the album is ‘related’
to the previous two, other parts
move away from those. But the
whole is properly balanced,
and clearly has a character
of its own. So I’m looking
for a whisky which has several
different aspects: malt, sweetness
and ‘a bit more’.
The one that comes to mind is
Highland Park. It’s often
referred to as one of the best
all-rounders; a luscious whisky
with malt and sweetness, but
also some peat and smoke. |
| The
Dreaming,
from 1982, is rich, deep, complex,
multi-layered, heavy. The first
kind of whisky that comes to
mind is one which has matured
in casks that have previously
contained sherry. And one that
is bottled at higher strength
than usual. One of the richest,
most complex ‘sherried’
whiskies I have ever tasted
is a Blairfindy, distilled in
1964 and bottled by Blackadder
at 40 y.o. and 55.3% abv. I
can not even begin to describe
the complexity of this malt.
This is one to savour slowly
in order to discover all its
layers. A perfect match to The
Dreaming for me! |
 |
 |
One
of the key aspects of Kate’s
1985 album Hounds of Love
is the two parts it consists
of, ‘Hounds of Love’
and ‘The Ninth Wave’,
and especially the contrast
between those two. If I try
to see those two aspects in
whisky terms, I see ‘power’
in Hounds of Love and ‘sweetness’
in The Ninth Wave. To me, ‘power’
in whisky comes from plenty
of peat smoke. And the best
example of a peated malt which
provides a perfect balance between
plenty of peat and sophisticated
sweetness is Ardbeg. |
| Kate
has said in an interview that
she considered The Sensual
World (1989) her most feminine
album. When I put the sensuality
and the femininity together
and think whisky, I can arrive
at only one type of malt whisky:
one which has matured for a
few years in port casks. Among
the more luscious of these port-finished
malts is a Glenmorangie, which
has been matured for well over
10 years in ex-bourbon casks
before being given a few years
of extra maturation in port
pipes. To me, the velvety rich
port influence really captures
the sensuality of The Sensual
World. |
 |
|
I
really got stuck with The
Red Shoes, which saw the
light in 1993. What I wanted
to do was find a whisky which
would capture both the relative
accessibility of the music and
the pain and raw emotion coming
from much of the lyrics. I actually
spent time opening and nosing
bottle after bottle from my
whisky shelves, with The
Red Shoes playing at the
same time. Nothing clicked.
Then I remembered a malt which
I had tasted once at a whisky
event some time ago, which combined
silkiness with darker, more
powerful peatiness. Could this
be the one? Fortunately, I know
the man behind this whisky,
and a fresh tasting sample was
only one e-mail away. Compass
Box’s Peat Monster does
indeed offer both the aspects
I was looking for: accessibility
(the silky notes) and raw emotion
(the peaty notes). |
And
then Aerial, Kate’s
latest (double) album, released
late in 2005. Aerial is truly
a piece of art. It’s
Kate painting with music,
voices, sounds. And the perfect
whisky match for this piece
of art is a whisky which I’ve
been lucky enough to taste,
and which is probably the
best whisky I’ve ever
tasted: Dalmore 50 y.o. Like
Aerial, this whisky
is a true piece of art. Amazingly
rich (especially with chocolate-y
and orange-y notes), holding
up incredibly well to the
half century in the wood,
and with a finish which just
lasts for ever and ever. |
 |
Some
of you may completely disagree
with my matches of album and
whisky. Actually, I hope you
disagree with me, because
that means I’ve succeeded
in making you think about
trying to match music and
malt! So, I’d be very
curious what your perfect
matches look like; please
do let me know. |
| Kate,
if you’re reading this,
about Aerial having
taken 12 years, keep in mind
that the best whiskies take
at least 10 years to mature.
And, uhhmmm, there are plenty
more good whiskies around, so
I’m sure I’ll be
able to find a match to ‘K9’
…. |
| This
article was first published,
in a slightly different form,
in issue 77 of HomeGround,
the longest-running Kate Bush
fan-zine. |
|
 |
TASTING
- TWO OLD LONGMORNS
Longmorn 36
yo 1970/2006 (56.1%, Single Malts
of Scotland, cask #28, 255 bottles)
-
revisited
Sukhinder from The Whisky Exchange
loves Longmorn so I’m sure
he selected a great one for his
own range. Colour: pure gold. Nose:
very fresh and vibrant at first
nosing, with a mix of ‘antique’
elements’ (wax polish, old
furniture) and fruits. |
| Excellent,
subtle sherry with lots of walnut.
Develops on beeswax, fresh almonds,
leather, cleaned horse, carpenter’s
workshop, old Jaguar (car), Havana
smoke… Goes on with old rum
(Havana again?), dried oranges, apricots,
hints of dried ginger, balsamic vinegar…
Very complex, very interesting, very
good. No clumsiness and no over-woodiness
whatsoever. Mouth: sweet, nervous,
spicy at the attack, amazingly lively
although it’s a little less
complex now. A nice oakiness –
no overwhelming tannins or dryness.
Lots of crystallised citrus fruits
(oranges, tangerines) and marmalade
topped with nutmeg and cinnamon. A
slight bitterness that further improves
the balance. Keeps developing on something
waxy and slightly smoky (smoked tea),
quince jelly… The finish is
long, perfectly balanced, waxy, fruity
and spicy, maybe just a tad drying
now… Almost perfect old Longmorn,
far from having gone over the hill.
92 points (up since
last time) |
| Longmorn
1970/2000 (57.2%, Scott’s Selection)
Colour: mahogany - brown. Nose: lots
of oloroso sherry, a more classical
style of sherried whisky. Lots of
prunes, chocolate and toffee as well
as dried oranges, blackcurrant buds
and praline. Goes on with toasted
brioche, caramel and old rancio, armagnac…
But it doesn’t smell ‘thick’
or lumpish at all, with almost as
much freshness as the 36yo. An almost
perfect example of a great old olorosoed
malt. Really a classic. Mouth: coating,
almost invading, vinous and extremely
chocolaty and minty. No rubber whatsoever.
Lots of power, again no clumsiness.
Develops on raspberry jam, fruit ganache,
grated bitter chocolate, mocha, toffee…
A slight bitterness does appear after
a moment (tannins) but it’s
a plus here. The finish is very long,
dry and chocolaty as expected, perfectly
balanced. Another excellent Longmorn
that should please the oloroso freaks
but also any whisky enthusiast, even
the most ‘circumspect’
regarding sherry. 92 points
(tie!) |
MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- It's Sunday, we go classical with
Chicago's excellent tenor Karim
Sulayman singing Jean-Baptiste
Lully's Oh
tranquille sommeil.mp3 (from
Persée). To enjoy late at
night under the summer stars...
Please go to Karim Sulayman's concerts
and operas. |
 |
|
|
|
August
19, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
ARLO GUTHRIE Dingwalls (formerly
known as Lock 17,
formerly known as Dingwalls),
London, August 8th 2006
|
 |
There
are three things you should know about
Arlo
Guthrie. Firstly he was
the other-worldly (ie. mostly on another
planet at the time), pretty-looking
young boy who sang ‘Coming into
Los Angeles’ at the Woodstock
Festival. Secondly he’s one
of the few artistes I can think of
to have a film made of one of his
songs (‘Alice’s Restaurant’).
|
| Thirdly,
he’s the guy who proved you
could rhyme ‘pickle’ with
‘motorcycle’, something
which he confessed tonight that in
retrospect, he regretted (“but
sometimes you can’t choose the
songs you write” he complained,
“they choose you. I mean, why
couldn’t that one have gone
to Bob Dylan?”). Oh yes, and
fourthly, of course, he’s the
son of the revered (and much in vogue)
hobo folk legend Woody
Guthrie, and along with his sister
is at the hub of a veritable (albeit
respectful and well-meaning) Guthrie
family empire. It extends into performance
(the Guthrie
Family Legacy tour, featuring
Arlo, son Abe, daughters Sarah and
Cathy), archives and recordings (managed
mostly by sister Nora who’s
been releasing ‘new’ Woody
Guthrie lyrics from a massive archive
to singers ‘round the world
– including our favourite Comrade
Billy Bragg) and a huge amount of
charitable work. Did you know, for
example, that the church that was
at the heart of the story of Alice’s
Restaurant was bought by Arlo, it’s
now the Guthrie Center (sic), home
of the Guthrie Foundation which amongst
many other things raises funds for
research into Huntingdon’s Disease,
which killed his father (and quite
possibly his grandmother)? |
| There’s
a lot of Woody stuff in the course
of the evening, but it’s nicely
done, not overdone, and sits easily
with the rather self-depreciating
and matter-of-fact character that
Guthrie (Arlo that is) casts over
this quite intimate evening at Dingwalls
(yes – it’s got its name
back!) where the largely middle-aged,
ex-hippy-turned-retired estate agent
audience spend much of the evening
squabbling over seats. The structure
of the set is much the same as a solo
show I saw in Dublin some years ago,
held together by Guthrie’s apparently
rambling narratives, with as many
twists, turns, and byways as a ‘Green
green rocky road’ which he sings
about. |
 |
| The
recurring theme of the evening is
song writing - “it’s just
like fishing, you have to sit down
and wait for one to come along –
but just make sure you’re not
downstream of Bob Dylan”. The
first half ends with an increasingly
animated story about hash and paranoia
that leads inevitably into ‘Los
Angeles’, and after an instrumental
warm up (Guthrie is a much better
musician that he gives himself credit
for) the second gets under way with
those familiar chords that used to
be badly played at so many early seventies
parties (“Sounds like you might
have heard this before – I know
I have”) that herald a word-perfect
‘Alice’s Restaurant’
(“one of the things I’ve
learned about song writing over the
years is to keep the new songs short
…”) |
 |
There
are plenty of funny stories about
“my daddy”. We hear a
clip from some recently discovered
tapes of him yarning – soon
to be released on a CD as ‘Woody
wires’ – and the similarities
to his son’s meanderings are
remarkable. There are tales about
Bob Dylan and a host of other sixties
folksy folks, some despairing observations
on the state of things today (“Well
either my daddy’s songs have
aged exceptionally well or the world
still sucks…”) and politics
(“I never ever imagined that
Nixon could ever start to look good
…”). If you haven’t
guessed there are lots of jokes too,
and lots of laughter. |
| And
there are a few nicely played tunes
(Gordon Titcomb is excellent on pedal
steel guitar and mandolin), ‘St
James’ Infirmary’, ‘In
times like these’, Steve Goodman’s
‘Good morning America’
and ‘In my darkest hour’.
But then at the end it all got a bit
like Billy Bragg meets the Woodcraft
Folk round the campfire as the audience
sang and rocked their heads like nodding
dogs to “daddy’s”
‘This land is your land’
and ‘My peace’. Hmmmm. |
|
Never mind. Arlo is a thoroughly charming
fellow, and whilst the sticky and
cloying scent of nostalgia might be
hanging heavily in the air, he remains
an endearing reminder of the naive
but caring optimism that thought it
could change the world but didn’t,
but which certainly changed rock and
roll for ever, and which did (and
in Guthrie’s case still does)
make a difference. - Nick Morgan
(concert photographs by Kate) |
| Thanks
so much, Nick. I’d advise any
youngsters out there to watch ‘Alice’s
Restaurant’ – the movie,
very ethnological and seminal, as
they say. Now, while waiting for your
much anticipated Cropredy review(s)
I haven’t been inactive myself
and went to see Robert Plant, then
Jamiroquai, then Franz Ferdinand live
in Colmar. Three gigs, three evenings
in a row – yes. Plant was extremely
good (it was his last show from his
current tour), very Ledzepesque but
they played extremely loud. Not a
problem for me (I had my usual cigarette
filters in my ears) but when Justin
Adams was doing his killer riffs,
well, it was like if we had five Airbuses
on stage. Anyway, it was great. Jamiroquai
were good as well (it was one of their
last three gigs from their current
tour – eh?) Not that I like
listening to them on record too much
but on stage, it’s really grooveeey,
despite Jason Kay’s strange
poncho (was that a Mexican poncho
or was that a Sear's poncho?) and
Sitting-Bull headdress. But God it
was loud! Make that five Airbuses
plus three Boeings. And finally Franz
Ferdinand, one of their last shows
from the current tour (wot? Is it
a trash bin for tired rock stars here?)
They didn’t play too loud (you
can remove the Boeings and at least
two Airbuses) but quite out of tune
– both voices and guitars. Now,
live, they’re rather good even
when completely out of tune, as FF
are all a matter of energy and rhythm
(200bpm?) Plus, they’re Scottish
and very friendly! Next gigs for me,
theoretically: the New-York Dolls
(yes, them), Père Ubu (yes,
them) and the Divine Comedy. Plus
a little jazz, of course, with Chico
Freeman and Jimmy Cobb. Phew! But
let’s have a little Arlo Guthrie
now, with that famous Alice’s
Restaurant.mp3. Like I just told
Arthur, it’s not a recent ‘extended
club remix’, it's just a very
long (18:36 min), yet very entertaining
old song. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK are leaving
Saint-Tropez! |
| |
|
| |
| Yes,
no more holidays for Pete and Jack
(they were getting sunburned anyway)
but of course they’ll be back
soon, with more ‘normal’
stuff. Stay tuned... |
 |
Balvenie
1992 (55%, OB, Balvenie Club, cask
#4605, 10cl sample bottle)
Colour: straw. Nose: unusually punchy
at first nosing, very woody with lots
of vanilla and toasted oak. Very little
fruit or sweetness and just touches
of honey. A little heather, coffee
beans, getting very grassy after a
while. Unusual indeed but quite hard
to enjoy. Let’s try to wake
it up with a little water: no, that’
doesn’t work, it gets just grassier
and even sort of acrid, I’m
afraid. |
| Mouth
(neat): oh, it’s better, much
better now. Punchy, quite liquoricy,
with notes of chlorophyll, herb sweets,
resin, lots of wood (a tad ‘planky’)…
Still quite unusual but now it’s
good. With water: it got sweeter and
fruitier (ripe peach and quince jelly)
but the strong liquorice remains.
Surprisingly, the finish isn’t
too long but still very liquoricy
and woody. In short, a rather good
Balvenie but nothing that deserves
to be bottled as a single cask. Will/did
they? 82 points. |
| Balvenie
15 yo 1974/1990 (57.1%, Signatory,
casks #18103 – 18130, 2500 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: again, maybe not
the fruitiest Balvenie but it’s
much more expressive than the 1992.
Apricots, plums, honey, cake,…
The whole getting very flowery after
a moment, on nectar, pollen, beehive,
wild flowers… Maybe it’s
a tad rough for Balvenie but it’s
certainly enjoyable. Superb notes
of ripe melon arising after a few
minutes. With water: yes, that’s
even better, we have a full basket
of fresh fruits now as well as notes
of sandalwood, white pepper, cigarette
tobacco and a faint meatiness. Mouth
(neat): extremely powerful, thick,
infused with nice oak, vanilla, strong
honey, pollen again… What a
body! With water: oh dear! It’s
even better, extremely bold and compact
with hints of eucalyptus sweets, caramel
crème, cough syrup… Unlike
with some other versions, there’s
no over-sweetness here, rather a perfect
compactness, especially at the perfect
and very compact finish. Exactly ‘my’
kind of Balvenie, if I may say so.
91 points. |
|
|
|
August
18, 2006 |
|
|
| No
entries today - as an homage to Doris
P. (and Roland). |
|
|
|
August
17, 2006 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
- THREE SUPERB 1975 GLEN GARIOCHS
|
| Glen
Garioch 1975/1990 (43%, OB, rebottled
in 2006 by Jean Boyer SA, private)
Colour: pale gold.
Nose: not too bold but very complex
right at first nosing. Richly phenolic,
with a superb mix of peat, damp moss
and fern, oysters and seaweed, resinous
smoke and pu-erh tea as well as whiffs
of coffee, developing on rather bold
notes of blackcurrant jelly and cardamom,
hints of basil, cashews… Goes
on with freshly squeezed oranges,
old roses, wax polish… And then
cough syrup, Vicks, Very complex with
a very subtle peatiness that reminds
me of the old Clynelishes but also
with something oriental, almost zen.
Just superb, a nose for whiskylovers
who like to dip their noses into their
glasses for a long time while meditating.
Mouth: oh yeah, it’s superb.
Not really bold, rather smooth and
slightly toned down when compared
to the nose but very coherent, with
quite some resins, wax, spices (nutmeg,
hints of clove), cocoa, cardamom again,
smoked tea… Lots of peat but
a very integrated one, not a ‘pepperpeat’
(eh?) Goes on with crystallized citrons
and quince, rather unusual notes of
smoked ham, herb liquor, maybe pastis
(no kidding!) The finish isn’t
too long but rather compact, on wax,
tea, flower jelly and just a pinch
of salt. In other words, when Glen
Garioch is good it’s excellent.
A perfect example of the Highlands’
older style that I cherish. 92
points. (and thanks Jean-Marie!!!) |
| Glen
Garioch 1975/1987 (50%, Samaroli)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: much rougher,
more austere, starting much more on
herbs and stone but the phenolic level
should be roughly the same. Less resinous
but ashier, developing on wet chalk,
candle wax, soft spring water, fresh
butter, newly cut grass and bitter
chocolate… Not less enjoyable
but certainly sharper and more Jansenist
than its sibling. More and more cocoa
with time (smells just like a box
of Van Houten). Mouth: amazingly,
this one is now fruitier, much closer
to the ‘jean Boyer’, just
bolder and a tad sharper, thanks to
the alcohol. Maybe also a tad saltier,
more lemony and more herbal (mint,
chlorophyll) but other than that it’s
almost the same, brilliant whisky.
No need to come up with a different
rating: 92 points. |
| Glen
Garioch 1975/1990 (56%, OB, McLelland's
for Scotch Single Malt Circle, cask
#545/458, 75cl)
Colour: pure gold. Nose: oh, this
is funny, we have sort of a summary
of both other versions. We have the
Jean Boyer’s resinous, both
forest and maritime notes and the
Samaroli’s very mineral and
grassy notes. And ah, yes, also these
huge notes of blackcurrant jelly plus
lots of thyme and rosemary. Very peaty
as well (Glen Garioch was very peaty
until 1978 – 1979 I think).
Another brilliant Glen Garioch, quite
austere but beautiful. Mouth: we’re
in the very same league as the ‘Jean
Boyer’ and the Samaroli again
as far as the palate is concerned,
this one being just more powerful
but certainly not less complex. You
may just read my comments above again.
Another stunner, worth maybe one more
point because it’s got a little
more oomph and more body. Wowie! 93
points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
|
|
|
August
16, 2006 |
|
|
 |
Talimburg
20 yo 1986/2006 (43.8%, The Whisky
Fair ‘Artist Edition’)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: extremely
precise and pure at first nosing –
another of these ‘riesling’
malts, it appears. Lemony, mineral
and smoky but not extremely peppery.
Huge flinty notes, lots of grapefruit
juice… Something of a margarita
cocktail, almost sharp like a blade
but also with kind of a softness (it’s
far from being overpowering). The
kind of profile I like a lot. |
| Mouth:
we have more oomph now, with quite
a peat blast right at the attack.
Quite smoky, salty and peppery as
‘it should be’, with the
fruits being in the background now
except some bold notes of apple skin.
Very compact, very satisfying, very
pure – and the rather long finish
is just in the same vein (even saltier
in fact). Not too complex but very,
very good: 90 points. |
| Tactical
23 yo 1982/2005 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, Cask Ref 542, 418 bottles)
Colour: mahogany.
Nose: lots of sherry and quite some
rubber, like in many of these heavily
sherried Taliskers by Douglas Laing.
Lots of oranges, a little earl grey
tea, chocolate… It does get
more texture and body with time, when
the malt manages to get through the
sherry, the end result being very
spicy, on nutmeg, black pepper, cloves,
ginger, cinnamon. Also notes of scented
candle wax. Rather nice. Mouth: starts
on full sherry mode, with a rather
bold sourness (reduced red wine) and
again lots of rubber. Then we have
the spices (huge notes of cloves)
and finally the peat that’s
maybe a bit shy here – or let’s
say ‘dominated’. Long
but rather bitter and, again, a little
too sour. Well, we’ve had some
much better sherried Taliskers, including
by Douglas Laing, but it’s still
a rather good one. 80 points. |
MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- Hehe, an excellent, catchy and
artsy piece (just like we like them)
by Fujiya
& Miyagi: Transparent
things.mp3. And a very strange
website... Please buy these guys'
music! |
 |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
|
|
|
August
15, 2006 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
- THREE INCHGOWERS
|
| Inchgower
1989/2004 (46%, Helen Arthur, finished
in Port wood for 9 months)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: a fresh,
clean and rather fragrant start with
little Port influence if any –
good news, I’d say. Lots of
white fruits (apples, green bananas,
gooseberries, hints of passion fruit)
for a start but it gets then milkier,
mashier, with a little porridge and
yoghurt. Faint hints of smoke and
rubber. Also hints of blackcurrant
buds (from the Port?) A rather nice
nose. Mouth: a fruity, sweet and simple
attack but it gets then quite beer-ish,
a little bitter. Goes on with canned
pineapples and peaches, with kind
of a metallic taste… Herbal
tea, cough sweets… The finish
is medium long, sweetish, with notes
of orange skin and pepper. 75
points. |
| Inchgower
17 yo 1959/1977 (80° proof, Cadenhead
dumpy)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts much
smokier, as expected, with some superb
mineral notes, lots of lemon juice
and something slightly metallic (nice
here – old bottle effect). Goes
on with some very fresh vegetal notes
(fern), eucalyptus leaves, hints of
tiger balm and keeps developing on
apple skin and almond milk as well
as lots of marzipan, fresh putty,
resin, cold oven… A rather beautiful
old, clean Inchgower, a great counterpoint
to the heavily sherried ones. Mouth:
a creamy start, smoky, earthy, leafy…
Quite some peat now, lots of resin,
eucalyptus sweets, mint and liquorice
flavoured ones… Very, very phenolic.
Goes on with wax, mint flavoured tea,
hints of calvados… Gets very
spicy after that (white pepper) and
quite salty as well. The finish is
rather long, smoky, herbal, citrusy
and very bold. It’s an invasion!
Just a great, old style whisky with
quite some backbone. Which means 92
points. |
| Inchgower
25 yo 1980/2005 (55.8%, Whisky Tales,
cask #14156, 324 bottles)
Colour: mahogany with reddish hues.
Nose: a beautiful sherry right at
the start, with lots of chocolate
and coffee as well as a beautiful
smokiness. Truckloads of all kinds
of roasted nuts, old rancio, very
old dry white wine (Burgundy, with
its toastiness). No excessive sweetness,
no clumsiness and no heaviness. Goes
on with hints of orange liqueur, linseed
oil… Another beautiful sherry,
very elegant, very straight. Almost
perfect. Mouth: a slightly sweeter
start but it’s not short of
‘rectitude’. Also lots
of pepper and salt. Develops on cocoa,
coffee, bread crust, raisins, roasted
nuts again… Gets more and more
chocolaty, with a beautiful dryness.
Not much development but it’s
so beautifully coherent that that’s
not a problem – at all. Very
long and bold finish on raisins, oloroso
and rum plus, again, lots of salt.
Just excellent again: 92 points.
|
MUSIC
– Highly recommended
listening - Hesitation
blues.mp3 by Hot
tuna (from 'Hot Tuna',
1970). Still brilliant after all
these years... And they are still
wonderfully alive - and kicking
greatly, so please buy Jorma and
Jack's music!!! |
 |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
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Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Ballindalloch
(Glenfarclas) 40 yo 1965/2005 (50%,
Douglas Laing OMC, sherry butt ref DL 1979,
289 bottles)
Balvenie
15 yo 1974/1990 (57.1%, Signatory,
casks #18103 – 18130, 2500 bottles)
Ben
Nevis 26 yo 1973/1999 (52%,
OB, cask #720)
Ben
Nevis 34 yo 1966/2001 (53.7%, OB, German
Market, 209 bottles, cask #4276)
Brora
1972/1992 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail
CC, old map label)
Brora
29 yo 1971/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, 210 bottles)
Brora
30 yo 1972/2003 (49.7%, Douglas Laing
Platinum, 222 bottles)
Brora
30 yo (56.3%, OB, 3000 bottles, bottled
2005)
Brora
34 yo 1970/2004 (56.7%, Douglas Laing
Platinum, 157 bottles)
Dumbarton
32 yo 1962/1994 (49.9%, Cadenhead)
Glen
Garioch 1975/1987 (50%, Samaroli)
Glen
Garioch 1975/1990 (56%, OB, McLelland's
for Scotch Single Malt Circle, cask #545/458,
75cl)
Glen
Garioch 1975/1990 (43%, OB, rebottled
in 2006 by Jean Boyer SA, private)
Inchgower
17 yo 1959/1977 (80° proof, Cadenhead
dumpy)
Inchgower
25 yo 1980/2005 (55.8%, Whisky Tales,
cask #14156, 324 bottles)
Lagavulin
16 yo (43%, OB, sold 1988)
Laphroaig
14 yo (46%, Kingsbury, Valdespino’s
Coliseo Amontillado)
Longmorn
1970/2000 (57.2%, Scott’s Selection)
Longmorn
36 yo 1970/2006 (56.1%, Single Malts
of Scotland, cask #28, 255 bottles)
Old
Stock Reserve No1 (Glenfarclas) 39 yo 1965/2005
(54.7%, Douglas Laing OMC for Alambic
Germany, sherry butt ref DL 1550)
Talimburg
20 yo 1986/2006 (43.8%, The Whisky
Fair ‘Artist Edition’)
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