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Hi, you're in the Archives, July 2006 - Part 1 |
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July
14, 2006 |
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TASTING
- TWO PITTYVAICHS
Pittyvaich
13 yo (54.3%, James MacArthur, early
90’s) 
Colour: white wine. Nose: an extremely
fruity start and lots of freshness
in all simplicity with a rather
smoky background. Maybe a little
peat. Apples, pineapples, pears…
And then a few herbs (thyme and
rosemary) and hints of aniseed and
dill. |
| Mouth:
very sweet again, almost prickly,
with lots of lemon (both juice and
skin), grapefruit… Quite playful
even if, again, simple. Gets then
a little bitter but we have also lots
of apple juice. Notes of olive oil,
marzipan… Very satisfying even
if, again and again, rather simple.
The finish is long, again on lemon
and zest… Anyway, it’s
good, no doubt. And yes, simple. 82
points. |
Pittyvaich
26 yo 1974 (55.8%, Kingsbury for Japan,
514 bottles) 
Colour: deep amber with bronze hues.
Nose: this is a different story! Superb,
starting on litres of argan oil with
a fantastic smokiness. Goes on with
pecan pie, toasted brioche, maple
syrup, chestnut honey, apricot jam…
Just brilliant… and the beautiful
smokiness… Keeps developing
on cooked strawberries, blackcurrants,
and then we have the peat as well
as notes of freshly squeezed oranges.
A fabulous nose. Mouth: very rich
as expected, powerful, on all kinds
of honeys, dried oranges, rum, raisins,
but gets then a little too bitter
and quit drying… Bitter chocolate,
caramel, candid citron… The
palate is definitely simpler than
the nose but still extremely enjoyable.
Gets smokier and smokier, with quit
some peat it seams. Lots of fir honey
too… And then we have a long,
coating finish, on sherry, strong
honey and quit some salt… A
brilliant Pittyvaich, that’s
for sure. 92 points.
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MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- Lounge music? Heck, why not, it's
summer... But something special
then, like Turkey's DJ
Canan and his Aziza.mp3
(but who's singing?) DJ Canan is
the resident DJ at Istanbul's trendy
Lacivert restaurant. |
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July
13, 2006 |
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| MUSIC
AND WHISKY INTERVIEW - CORB LUND |
| It’s
through the unlikely French Association
of Country Music that I first heard
about Alberta’s Corb Lund, whose
music they called ‘sheer bliss’.
More than enough to attract my attention
but then I also saw that one of his
most successful songs was ‘Time
to switch to whiskey’ from his
CD ‘Five Dollar Bill’.
I immediately had a go at it and found
out that it was pretty excellent country
music indeed, so I decided to try
to interview Corb for Whiskyfun and
great news, he accepted. What I didn’t
know is that he’s also got a
great sense of humour… |
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Serge:
Corb, please tell
us briefly about what you do, music-wise.
Corb:
My name is Corb
Lund, I’m from the Rocky Mountains
of Alberta, Canada and my band is
called Corb Lund and the Hurtin’
Albertans. I write and sing the songs
and lead the band. I call my music
scruffy country©, ulterior country©,
dissident country©, subversive
country©, insubordinate country©,
non-toxic country©, or post apocalyptic
modern traditional western music with
some hair on it©. Take your pick. |
Serge:
I’d pick the
last one! And which other musicians
are you playing with?
Corb:
Kurt Ciesla, string
bass. Brady Valgardson, drums. Grant
Siemens, electric guitar, lap steel,
banjo, etc. Nickelback’s drummer
Ryan Vikedal used to be in my band,
till he became a rockstar! I also
used to have a heavy indie rock band
called ‘the smalls.’ |
Serge:
Which are your other
favourite artistes?
Corb:
Older: Marty Robbins,
Johnny Horton, Willie Nelson, Ramblin
Jack Elliott.
Newer: Neko Case, Todd Snider, Whitey
Houston (that’s WHITEY not WHITNEY),
Lyle Lovett. |
Serge:
Which are your current
projects?
Corb:
Current record
is called ‘Hair In My Eyes Like
A Highland Steer.’ And it IS
a record, as we pressed vinyl as well.
It went gold in Canada two weeks ago,
along with my last one, ‘Five
Dollar Bill.’ I’m pretty
much always on tour. Canada, US, UK,
Europe, Australia. Doing a major Canadian
concert tour in the fall. Working
on a new album. |
Serge:
Two gold records,
wow! So, when did you start enjoying
whisk(e)y? Are there any musical memories
you particularly associate with that
moment?
Corb:
I’ve been
a fan for probably two decades. The
thing that comes to mind is an outdoor
festival I played at years ago. We
had a one o’clock AM slot, which
usually means 3:30 am, and had been
on the Crown Royal for quite awhile.
Remember very little of the show,
but I’ve been told many times
that we played ‘Okie From Muskogee’
twice. I don’t recall playing
it once, even. |
Serge:
What’s your
most memorable whisky?
Corb:
I’m Canadian,
so I mostly favour ryes. |
Serge:
Do you have one, or
several favourite whiskies?
Corb:
CC is good, Crown,
Seagrams. There’s a local ‘micro
brew’ called Tangle Ridge that
I like. It’s tough getting rye
in America cuz the average bartender
down there serves you Jim Beam or
some kind of bourbon when you order
rye. I find it’s best to order
Canadian Club by name. Or Crown. |
Serge:
And are there whiskies
you don’t like?
Corb:
Sorry, but I’’m
not a fan of bourbon. Don’t
like the corn I guess. Also have never
enjoyed Scotch much. Mostly rye. And
Irish. I like Jameson. |
Serge:
By the way, we’ve
heard funny stories (and songs) about
cowboys and moonshine and such, do
you know anyone who bootlegged whiskey?
Corb:
Lots of the cowboys
down near the Montana border saddlehorsed
it into the States during the 1920’s
prohibition. Canada was legal for
part of that. My grandfather ranched
down there and told me of guys doing
that. My mom claims he never did it
personally. And I’m sure she’s
right. |
Serge:
Of course, she must
be. But it wasn’t always genuine
whiskey, was it?
Corb:
Well, my favorite
components allegedly added to whiskey
by early, unscrupulous frontier traders
to stretch out the supply, and ‘enhance’(?)
the effects were, I think, chewing
tobacco, lye, tabasco, ashes, pepper,
deer’s blood. |
Serge:
I see, early finishings…
:-) But let’s talk about ‘whisky
and music’ lyrics. ‘If
the river was whisky baby, and I was
a diving duck’ is one of the
most famous and well used whisky lyrics,
from sea-shanties to blues and rock
and roll. Do you have a favourite
musical whisky reference?
Corb:
“Rye whiskey,
you villain, you’ve been my
downfall. You’ve kicked me,
you’ve cuffed me, but I love
you for all.” I suppose I should
also plug my own song, “Time
To Switch To Whiskey, We’ve
Been Drinking Beer All Night.” |
Serge:
Ah yes, Rye Whiskey,
that old traditional, Tex Ritter sang
it, didn’t he?… Now, music
and whisky are often though of as
being male preserves. Should girls
play guitars, should girls drink whisky?
Corb:
Absolutely. Yes
and yes. |
Serge:
In some ways you could
argue that tasting a whisky is similar
to listening to a piece of music –
you deconstruct the two in the same
way? Care to comment?
Corb:
I can kind of
imagine comparing a succession of
drinks over the course of an evening
to a concert. Starts slow, intrigues
you. Tempo rises, you get drawn in,
and you end up in a frenzy which you
may or may not remember fully. |
Serge:
If your favourite
whisky was a piece of music what would
it be, if it was a musical instrument
what would it be?
Corb:
‘Angel of
Death’ by Slayer. I think it
might be one of those really pointy
metal guitars. With a big amp. |
Serge:
Do you have a favourite
piece of music to drink whisky with,
or better still, desert island dram,
desert island disc?
Corb:
Desert Island
Mix: CC and Eagles Greatest Hits,
Volume II. |
Serge:
Everyone thinks of
Jack Daniels as being the great rock
and roll whisky – why not Scotch?
Corb:
Jack is overrated
I think. And, as mentioned above,
I’m not a scotch guy either.
Rye, rye, rye. |
Serge:
And if it was Scotch,
can you think of which brand? What
would be the Scotch equivalent of
rappers drinking Cristal?
Corb:
Come to think
of it, I do like Laphroaig. Smoky
and kinda expensive, but not really. |
Serge:
Thanks Corb, any other
questions we should have asked you?
Corb:
Yes, you could
have asked: “How many friends
do you have that do the ‘random
urination’ thing when they’ve
had too much of the good stuff?”
- my answer would have been “At
least four that I can think of right
off the bat.” And as for the
places they’ve used as ‘toilets’,
I remember floor, coffee table, bandmates
suitcase and clothes dryer. |
TASTING
- THREE TAMNAVULINS
Tamnavulin
10 yo (40%, OB, early 2000’s)
Colour: white wine.
Nose: grainy, slightly dirty with
something meaty and mashy at the
same time in the background. Notes
of stale beer… Well…
Mouth: weak and dirty, with notes
of smoked fish (dead, obviously)
and something very cardboardy. Um…
60 points. |
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| Tamnavulin
10 yo (40%, OB, early 1990’s)
‘Naturally light’ they
say on the label. Colour: straw. Nose:
so much better! Cleaner but also quite
mineral, flinty, oily… The kind
of profile I like. Notes of parsley,
green beans, lots spearmints, lemon
balm, hints of camphor… Surprisingly
nice! Mouth: starts almost like mint
liqueur, with also quite some Chartreuse
and huge notes of genepi. Too bad
it’s a little weak because it’s
highly original. Goes on with lemon
cake, caramelized nuts, camomile tea…
Very interesting and sort of ‘funny’.
The finish is quite long, at that,
lemony and slightly gingery. 80
points. |
Tamnavulin-Glenlivet
(75° proof, OB, 1970’s)
Colour: White wine. Nose: light but
fragrant with notes of roses, honey,
custard, orange juice. Fresh and interesting.
Mouth: sweet, punchy, on lots of apple
juice, dried oranges, quinces, sugared
tea, herbal teas… Gets very
citrusy (tangerines, lemon balm, lemon
drops). Long, bold finish, maybe a
tad sugarish. Much more oomph than
expected. 83 points.
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July
12, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO 1971 MACALLANS |
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Macallan
30 yo 1971/2002 ‘Vintage’
(56.4%, OB, cask #4280)
Colour: amber – cognac. Nose:
huge, starting curiously vegetal and
rubbery. Tons of sherry, extremely
concentrated. Notes of anise (raki),
fig jam, prunes, old rancio, dried
bananas… Goes on with old rum
and candy sugar, a little liquorice…
Also burnt wood and burnt tyres, armagnac,
balsamic and game. Incredibly rich.
Keeps developing on salmiak…
Quite monstrous if I may say so, a
very classic sherry monster indeed,
although it does get a little more
refined after quite a while (spearmint,
lemon balm, peppermint). |
| Mouth:
extremely powerful and sherried. Reminds
us of an armagnac at cask strength.
Quite rough in fact, with lots of
kirsch but also drying tannins. Lacks
roundness. Again quite some rubber,
salted liquorice… Develops on
spices, pepper, cloves, cinnamon…
Very hot and sort of acrid and burning.
Gets vinous (very tannic red like
young Madiran). The finish is very
long but still quite hot, tannic,
drying, with lots of prunes and cooked
strawberries. A rather rustic Macallan,
the sherry and the wood not being
too integrated on the palate after
all these years. 84 points. |
Macallan
27 yo 1971/1999 (54.2%, Signatory,
dark sherry butt #12/096/28, 652 bottles)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: extremely
present, starting almost hot, with
lots of sherry as expected. It’s
the ‘farmy’ kind of sherry,
with whiffs of manure and overripe
oranges but it’s most enjoyable
even if untamed. Notes of fir honey,
hot ham, smoked tea, bitter caramel,
old rancio… Quite complex yet
coherent and probably a little more
interesting than the OB. Keeps developing
on both rubber and cough syrup, black
nougat and hints of dried chervil
and finally fresh herbs, interestingly
(parsley and chive). Very nice. Mouth:
a rough and powerful but also sweet
and coating attack, the whole being
quick to become rounder. Notes of
salted orange marmalade (don’t
try that at home), all sorts of cooked
fruits and then lots of pepper and
something very minty and even resinous
in the background. Also notes of raspberry
drops and strawberry liqueur mixed
with a little rum. The finish is long,
still quite hot and a tad rubbery,
on toffee and notes of eau de vie
(arak?) Lots of oomph in any case.
89 points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
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MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- I seem to remember my first post
about Susana
Seivane in 2004 pulled
quite some enamoured comments, especially
from Holland ;-). So, time to have
a little more by the Gallician piper,
like for instance the Pasacorredoiras
de Ponteareas.mp3. Please buy
Susana Seivane's music and go to her
shows! |
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July
11, 2006 |
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| MUSIC
AND WHISKY INTERVIEW - NOWHERE MAN
AND A WHISKEY GIRL |
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It
wouldn’t be completely honest
to say that I didn’t start to
take an interest in this small band
from Bisbee, Arizona because of its
name, but believe me, I wouldn’t
have decided to contact them for an
interview if what I could hear of
their music, thanks to the mp3’s
on their website, hadn’t sounded
pretty excellent to my ears. |
| And,
to be even more honest, much more
advanced than what I had been exposed
to last time I toured the Grand Canyon
state on my motorbike with a few friends.
Yes, Steppenwolf, yes, Blue Oyster
Cult, yes, countless country music
‘stars’ who were unknown
to me - remember I’m from Old
Europe - but who were sounding very
‘Sunday afternoon BBQ’…
plus, okay, the great, great Jerry
Garcia. Now, I must say I loved the
place and its friendly inhabitants,
so I got very happy when Amy and Derrick
Ross, aka ‘Nowhere Man and a
Whiskey Girl’, accepted to answer
Whiskyfun’s ritual and sometimes
tricky questions... |
Serge:
Tell us briefly about
what you do, music-wise.
Amy
and Derrick: Well,
Amy plays piano and sings and Derrick
plays guitar. Our music is sometimes
called indie-folk but we think it’s
more a mixture of folk, country, blues,
jazz and indie-pop. We play a lot
around Arizona and occasionally around
the west. We’ll play anywhere
(clubs, bars, restaurants, golf courses,
funeral homes, weddings, farmers markets,
backyards, churches, saloons, etc) |
S.:
Err, and why not distilleries?
Which other musicians are you playing
with?
A&D:
Nobody famous
or anything. We once opened for Mellisa
Ferrick, which was probably our biggest
show. Amy played with a band called
Reuben’s Accomplice for a while
and they played some big shows opening
up for Cake and Jimmy Eat World and
the format. Our favourite people to
play with are mostly our friends bands
from Phoenix…. Fatigo, Sweetbleeders,
Lonna Kelly and the Reluctant Messiahs,
the World Class Thugs, Sev vs. Evan
(Provo, UT). Oh, and the ultra famous
Robin Vining plays on our cd. |
S.:
Which are your other
favourite artistes?
A&D:
Oh, so many…..I
guess there’s really too many
to list. Amy loves Pink Floyd. Derrick
loves Fugazi. Here’s a few big
ones……They Might be Giants,
Jimi Hendrix, Fiona Apple, Outkast,
Billie Holiday, Bad Brains, Cat Stevens,
we could go on and on and on and on
and on. |
S.:
Well, we’ve
heard musicians answering ‘us,
who else?’ so… Anyway,
which are your current projects? (records,
concerts, tours etc.)
A&D:
We recorded an
album of cover songs awhile back that’s
due out in September on 727 records.
We are working on songs for our 2nd
album of original material that we’ll
hopefully start recording in the fall.
We play at least once or twice a week
somewhere in Arizona. We’ve
done some touring but Amy has had
some health trouble recently that
has kept us from travelling too far
from home. Hopefully that will all
be rectified soon. |
S.:
We certainly hope
so! So, when did you start enjoying
whisk(e)y? Are there any musical memories
you particularly associate with that
moment?
A&D:
Amy didn’t
start enjoying whiskey until she was
21. Derrick started enjoying the finer
things in life a bit earlier than
that. The first time Derrick got drunk
on whiskey he made out with a rather
large, not so attractive lady to “Walk
Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles.
Amy has a bad memory. |
S.:
Ah! But didn’t
the Egyptians invent distilling? Maybe
that’s why they used to walk
like that… Now, what’s
your most memorable whisky?
A&D:
Amy pretty much
sticks to Walkers Deluxe. Unfortunately
for Derrick his most memorable moments
with whiskey involve cheap plastic
bottle whiskey and vomiting heavily
in some strangers’ backyard.
But now Derrick likes Makers Mark. |
S.:
Do you have one, or
several favourite whiskies?
A&D:
Um I think I already
answered that in the previous question. |
S.:
Right, but are there
whiskies you don’t like?
A&D:
Well if it’s
in a plastic bottle it might be questionable.
But in a pinch? Honestly we’ve
just started being connoisseurs of
life so there are so many that we
haven’t tried that at some point
we will. |
S.:
‘If the river
was whisky baby, and I was a diving
duck’ is one of the most famous
and well used whisky lyrics, from
sea-shanties to blues and rock and
roll. Do you have a favourite musical
whisky reference?
A&D:
Yes, our band
is called Nowhere Man and a Whiskey
Girl after a song from the great Gillian
Welch. |
S.:
Ah yes, from the song
‘Whiskey Girl’ on ‘Hell
Among the Yearlings’. Another
one: music and whisky are often though
of as being male preserves. Should
girls play guitars, should girls drink
whisky?
A&D:
Dude, who doesn’t
like a girl that drinks whiskey????
Or plays guitar??? This must be a
trick question. |
S.:
It’s true nobody
ever answered ‘no’ to
that question… A trickier one
now: in some ways you could argue
that tasting a whisky is similar to
listening to a piece of music –
you deconstruct the two in the same
way? Care to comment?
A&D:
This question
is deconstructing my brain. |
S.:
Okay, okay…
What about this one: I once heard
an eminent whisky professional say
that he tasted whisky in colours.
Do you taste whisky in music?
A&D:
We ARE Nowhere
Man and a Whiskey Girl. |
S.:
And if your favourite
whisky was a piece of music what would
it be, if it was a musical instrument
what would it be?
A&D:
Live led zeppelin! |
S.:
Last one: everyone
thinks of Jack Daniels as being the
great rock and roll whisky –
why not Scotch?
A&D:
Ask Slash…
|
Thanks
Amy, thanks Derrick!
A few links of interest:
Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl's official
website at
their record company (two great mp3's
in the download section)
Their Myspace
page (great
music there as well!) |
Millburn
11 yo 1983/1994 (59.7%, Cadenhead)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: quite closed
as expected, thanks to the high alcohol,
rather grainy and slightly coffeeish
but we’ll need water now. Well,
it doesn’t work too well, it
just gets a little grassier. Mouth
(neat): very spicy and peppery, with
lots of alcohol… Water needed
again. With water: gets sweeter but
not really flavourful. A little sugarish,
still very spirity at roughly 45%,
with a long but only sugary and peppery
finish. Not much happening in there
aroma-wise. 76 points. |
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| Millburn
25 yo 1974/2000 (58.5%, Aberdeen Distillers,
cask #5725)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: again, closed.
Just a little pear juice and hints
of orange zest and paraffin. Water!
It does work better here, with quite
some farmy, almost peaty aromas. Notes
of apple and walnut skins, burning
candles, argan oil. Even pistachio
oil (excellent)! A very interesting
development with water. Mouth (neat):
starts on lots of bergamot (earl grey
tea) and quince jelly, dried oranges,
chamomile tea… Much more happening
than in the Cadenhead. Again quite
some pepper, probably from the wood,
Chartreuse and other kinds of herbal
liqueurs. With water: more on eucalyptus
now, resins, cough syrup, marzipan,
caramel… And even more quince
jelly. A long, peppery and fruity
finish, with something smoky in the
background as well as a pinch of salt…
This one was highly enjoyable, no
doubt. 88 points. |
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July
10, 2006 |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
HYDE
PARK CALLING. The
Who, Razorlight, the Zutons, Ocean
Colour Scene, Rose Hill Drive. Hyde
Park, London, July 2nd 2006
|
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It’s
festival time in London. Did I mention
that before? It started with the Foo
Fighters in Hyde Park, and then about
a week of the O2 Wireless Festival,
with acts as diverse as the Strokes
and James Blunt. There’s Hyde
Park Calling, headlining on consecutive
days Roger Waters and the
Who, several nights of
the Tower of London festival, with
amongst others Dr John and Jeff Beck
and over ten in the courtyard at Somerset
House, where the highlight is probably
Robert Plant and Strange Sensation.
Ken Livingstone is having his own
free festival in Finsbury Park, there’s
the Lovebox weekender in Victoria
Park, and Ben and Jerry’s Sundae,
and Get Loaded in the Park on Clapham
Common. You can also enjoy sedate
concert series at genteel historic
homes such as Kenwood House (Art Garfunkel)
and Marble Hill (Jools Holland), four
nights of ‘Summer Swing’
at Kew Gardens (mostly the ubiquitous
Jools Holland again), and, as we shall
see later, numerous unheralded musical
days out in the park in London’s
boroughs and villages. Altogether
you might think we were over provided
for on the music front, and wonder
how some of these events manage to
make any money. But remember there’s
no Glastonbury this year, and the
good folk of London seem to have taken
sitting in the sunshine supping lager
or savouring Sancerre and listening
to music as one of their favourite
pastimes. Beats soccer hands down.
And as you’ve probably noticed
the sponsors are out in force too,
no more so than at London Calling,
main sponsor the Hard Rock Café:
“The
Ambassadors of Rock tour spreads
both the music and the "Love
All, Serve All" creed to music
fans everywhere” – whatever
that may mean. |
| Apparently
it’s a round the world merchandising
opportunity, though none of the other
gigs seem to have quite materialised
(maybe something to do with the fact
that the chain has been put up for
sale by its British owners Rank Group
for a cool £500 million), with
a charity link to the Nordoff-Robbins
Foundation, which provides music therapy
to children. It looks like a huge
Hard Rock marquee where you can eat
burgers all afternoon, drink cocktails
in 13 ounce souvenir Ambassador
of Rock frosted glasses (mmm,
the Crown and ginger sure sounds good)
and watch the bands on a massive screen.
Elsewhere co-sponsors Brothers
Pear Cider (a Glastonbury speciality)
seem to be outselling Carling in the
booze stakes, and it’s hardly
surprising that in 30 degrees of sunshine
heat or more, and with no shade, rubber
legs syndrome sets in all around us
at about seven o’clock. I notice
some distant colleagues on a converted
double decker bus selling Pimms by
the gallon, and suspect these must
be the coves ensuring that there’s
never fewer than two Smirnoff branded
beach balls bouncing over the heads
of the tightly packed audience at
the front of the stage. We’ve
taken a slightly safer spot, dead
centre stage and about a third of
the way from the back, where it’s
rugs, chairs and general bonhomie
with a very mixed and sociable bunch,
including a sleeping couple who, it
turns out, nodded off the previous
evening half way through Roger Water’s
Dark Side of the Moon – they
wake up three seconds into the Who’s
opening song ‘Can’t explain’. |
|
Johnny
Borrel, Razorlight |
| Let
no one kid themselves, and no disrespect
to the other bands, we’re all
here to see the
Who, especially after
their electric performance in the
same place at last year’s Live
Aid gig. We arrive in time for loud
American retro rockers Rose
Hill Drive, who play
like loud American retro rockers.
They’re followed by a rather
sad Ocean
Colour Scene, not too
well rehearsed, or so it seemed, and
struggling to break free from the
nineties (“weren’t they
the warm up band for Oasis?”
asked someone at the tasteful open
air urinals) – everyone got
very excited and sang along when they
played their 1996 hit single ‘Day
we caught the train’, and that
was about it. Then came the much vaunted
Scally Scousers the
Zutons. Singer and guitarist
David McCabe suffered from a faulty
lead or connection, and also seemed
to have difficulty keeping up with
his own lyrics – overall they
failed to impress as much as I’d
hoped and the Photographer snarled
in her fishing chair at their last
song, a sort of faux Santana meets
Zappa at Woodstock thing – decidedly
inferior, and somewhat patronising.
The hugely self confident would be
kings of stadium rock Razorlight
followed, starting with their current
single ‘In the morning’,
an interesting Talking Heads meets
Tom Petty effort. This London band
have shot to prominence in a relatively
short period of time and quite possibly
have the talent to match the hype,
the quickly shirtless front man Johnny
Borrell certainly has the attitude,
with the squealing girls and boys
around us not being able to agree
if he was most like Mick Jagger (girls)
or Iggy Pop (boys). Actually he wasn’t
like either of them. |
| My
friend Mark was reminiscing the other
day about waiting over three hours
at Knebworth for the Rolling Stones
to take the stage (apparently they
were struggling to ‘revive’
Keith); it’s a sign of how times
have changed in this world of corporate
rock that the Who stride onto the
stage a mighty four minutes behind
schedule. That, I’m very glad
to say, is about as corporate as the
Who got. They played a blinder –
demonstrating the enduring qualities
of many of Townsend’s songs
– something I’ve checked
over the intervening days by listening
to Who’s Next, Tommy and in
particular the vastly underrated Quadrophenia.
The band by the way, in addition to
those two grumpy old men of rock Townsend
and Roger Daltrey, were Welsh bass
prodigy Pino
Palladino, the fantastic
Zak
Starkey on drums, Townsend’s
brother Simon
on rhythm guitar, and long time collaborator
and keyboardist John "Rabbit"
Bundrick. The whole thing rocked from
start to finish – with the two
front men displaying an energy and
aggression that belied their years
– there were no compromises
here, it was, as the poster said (and
as I recall writing on my pencil case
at school), “maximum rhythm
and blues”. |
 |
There’s
a nice gentle slope down the stage,
so even the diminutive photographer
has a good view – but one of
the things that makes the set so special,
apart from the astonishingly good
sound, is the digital film show that
accompanies each song, displayed on
huge screens to the left and right
of the stage, and for the Who, behind
the band too. I can’t tell you
how clever and well thought out some
of these screen sequences were, and
as an added bonus we also get shots
of the band playing – it’s
about as in your face as it can be.
And that only serves to raise that
question that everyone always asks
– “how does Townsend play
the guitar like that” –
because it’s no clearer how
the windmill arms thing works when
you can see it going on in front of
you about forty feet high. Highlights?
‘Who are you?’ (played
apparently in the time it takes a
steam train to get from London to
Brighton), ‘Behind blue eyes’,
an acoustic ‘Drowned’
(“here’s an old sea shanty
from Quadrophenia”), ‘Baba
O'Riley’ (simply awesome), ‘Love
reign o'er me’ (ok, I have to
concede Daltrey can sing), ‘My
generation’ (sung without irony),
‘Won't get fooled again’
and the encore mini Tommy, featuring
‘Pinball wizard’,
Amazing journey’, ‘See
me, feel me’ and ‘Listening
to you’.
And that was it – “Goodnight
London”. Well it took several
hours before I could even consider
going to bed after that as the adrenalin
was pumping. And to add to my delight
an announcement as we were leaving
took me to this
website where you can buy an official
‘bootleg’ CD or DVD of
the gig, recorded from the soundboard,
proceeds to charity. So you don’t
have to take my word for it, go out
and buy it yourself. - Nick Morgan
(all photographs by Kate) |
| Many
thanks, Nick! I'd have loved to be
there, The Who were one of the first
bands I ever saw live, a long time
ago. I still have a very vivid image
somewhere in my brain, Daltrey and
his thick hair shouting "You
won't get fooled again!" while
something like 10,000,000,000,000
watts of ultra-white light were suddenly
catapulted towards our stunned retinas.
Bang!!! As Iggy himself would have
said, nothing but raw power. Glad
to learn that they still have a little
drive... And yes, that good old Baba
O'Riley.mp3 with its Rileyesque
(indeed) synthesizer... And what?
Soccer? Football? What's that? ;-) |
| |
| TASTING
- TWO OFFICIAL DALMORES |
 |
Dalmore
12 yo ‘The Black Isle Edition’
(40%, OB, 2005)
The Black Isle isn’t an island
but a very fertile part of Scotland
near Invernesss, where lots of barley
is grown. Colour: gold-orange. Nose:
quite fruity at first nosing but also
a little rubbery (not for too long).
Goes on with dried oranges, herbal
tea, light honey, heather… Alas,
it gets then curiously soapy and cardboardy
but also nicely flowery (old roses).
A two-faced malt? |
| Mouth:
starts very caramelly, with also lots
of coffee, chocolate, slightly burnt
cake, black nougat, honey… Not
too subtle, rather ‘thick’
and very creamy, coating. The finish
is rather long, sweet and caramelly
again, with hints of apricot pie…
Rather flawless but a tad too coating
and sweet for my tastes. 80
points. |
| Dalmore
20 yo (43%, OB, Duncan Macbeth, 1960’s)
Colour: gold-orange again, just slightly
less bright. Nose: a faint, metallic
old bottle effect (yet it's cork stopper)
but also lots of passion fruit and
tangerines to start with. How elegant,
it’s not the wham-bam kind of
tropical fruits but rather something
very subtle, mixed with notes of old
furniture, linseed oil, wax polish,
sweet box, mixed with something funnily
maritime (shells). Goes on with notes
of dried oranges, high-end green tea,
hints of motor oil… yet, it’s
so delicate! Superb. Mouth: yes, this
is exactly the kind of profile I like,
which, I had thought, only the old
Springbanks, Highland Parks and Clynelishes
could display. Very firm but also
sweet and fruity (tangerines), with
something sharp that I cherish (limestone,
hydrocarbons, paraffin) and a whole
array of sometimes ‘secondary’
flavours such as beeswax, salted liquorice,
pu-erh tea, butter caramel, balsamic
vinegar, dried bananas, tar liqueur,
candied angelica… And my favourite,
propolis! A brilliant whisky that
improved in glass, no doubt about
that. Even the finish is superb, revealing
a slight peatiness, smokiness, and
notes of smoked tea with candy sugar.
I love it. 93 points. |
|
|
|
July
8 - 9, 2006 |
|
|
MUSIC
FOR SUNDAY
– Highly recommended
listening - We go classical! Are
you tired of all these summerish,
poppish jazzish tunes I post these
days? Then it's time for Meredith
Monk and her stunning,
extraordinary 1983 vocal piece Turtle
dreams.mp3 (beware, it's long
and maybe you shouldn't listen to
it at the office). Anyway, please
buy the great Meredith's music in
all its forms! (agreed, she isn't
very classical but a classic, sure
she is...) |
 |
 |
TASTING
- TWO BALMENACHS
Balmenach
12 yo 1970 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail
CC old brown label) 
Colour: straw. Nose: this one starts
amazingly fresh, on freshly cut
apples, caramel and flowers from
the fields (nectar). It gets then
more orangey, with notes of orange
flavoured cookies, oriental pastries
(orange flower water) and whiffs
of wood smoke, dried ginger and
white pepper. Rather subtle! |
| Mouth:
sweet but a little weak, with hints
of fructose and grapefruit on top
of cake notes. Gets then frankly thin,
with just a few spices from the wood
such as cinnamon and pepper and a
short, slightly sugarish but also
drying finish. Too bad, I liked the
nose. 75 points. |
| Balmenach
12 yo (43%, Flora and Fauna, late
1990’s)
Colour: amber - orange. Nose: starts
a little sulphury and rubbery, town
gas, with quite some sherry and lots
of dried oranges. The sulphur disappears
then and leaves room for nice metallic
and papery notes (old books, antique
shop). Hints of crème brûlée
and candy sugar, Grand-Marnier, wild
strawberries. Quite some butter as
well, Lots of oomph on the nose! Mouth:
creamy, orangey but also quite cardboardy,
lacking a little body. Yet, it gets
really spicy after a moment, with
lots of pepper, clove but also curry,
radish, ginger, maybe even wasabi.
Other than that we have a little orange
and ripe apples… Unusually spicy,
this one! The finish isn’t too
long, that is, and frankly cardboardy
now. But the whole is an interesting
whisky, especially on the nose that
keeps developing for a long time.
81 points. |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 7 |
 |
| Left:
PM 1951
'Pleasant Moments in Sports
(about Sir Thomas Lipton in the
America's Cup') - for your Pleasant
Moments ask for PM tonight.'
I had never thought Sir Lipton would
drink American whiskey.
Right: Adams
Export Canadian 1956
'For men with the gleam of discovery
in their eyes.' Beautiful artwork,
both ads! |
| |
MUSIC
– JAZZ - Recommended
listening: Monk, Monk, Monk, this
time by the great Walter
Davis Jr. It's the
fabulous Ruby
my dear.mp3 played on an incredible
piano... Detuned? No, no... Again,
just fabulous. Walter Davis died
in 1990 but you can (should) still
buy his great music! |
 |
|
|
|
July
7, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO GLEN SPEYS by Cadenhead |
 |
Glen
Spey 1985/1999 (60.9%, Cadenhead,
222 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: starts quite caramelly
and smoky, with lots of apricot pie,
butter and ‘nice’ rubber.
Goes on with plum jam, heather, pastries
and grains. Also a little flowery
(nectar, yellow flowers from the fields
such as buttercups, nectar etc.) Mouth:
lots of salty liquorice, rubber again,
thyme and rosemary, getting a little
soapy. Long finish, extremely salty
with also a little milk caramel (Werther’s).
A nice one. 84 points. |
| Glen
Spey 13 yo 1981/1995 (62.3%, Cadenhead)
Colour: white wine. Nose: grainy and
caramelly, on cornflakes, butter,
liquorice, vanilla, custard, fudge,
heather… Very natural, with
a nice balance. Mouth: sweet and very
caramelly, with lots of vanilla and
grain. Not much else, I’m afraid,
but a long, powerful, liquoricy and
again very salty finish. Rawer than
the 1985. 80 points. |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 6 |
 |
| Time
to resume our short series about
ships in whisky advertising, which
we interrupted a few weeks ago,
with:
Left: Corby's
1946 'Motorboat
in your future?' In other words,
from 1887 to 1946, the biggest progress
in motorboat making is that you
can have whisky in the wardroom.
Right: Seagran's
VO 1953 ...and
in cabins as well! |
| |
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - A little Brazilian music
for hot days, the excellent Marisa
Monte singing Bonde
do dom.mp3. Please buy her music... |
 |
|
|
|
July
6, 2006 |
|
|
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
 |
TASTING
- THREE RAW JURAS
|
| Isle
of Jura 1991 (55.1%, James MacArthur,
circa 2003)
Colour: white wine. Nose: starts on
lots of white chocolate, caramel crème
and cereals, then we have muesli and
hints of oranges. Goes on with praline
and oriental pastries (baklava). Very
enjoyable although rather simple.
Mouth: very sweet, quite close to
new make. Vanilla crème and
oranges again, getting grainy and
caramelly with a long finish mostly
on white pepper, lemon drops and icing
sugar (quite prickly). A rather nice
young malt, to serve chilled in summer?
79 points. |
| Isle
of Jura 1988/2002 (59.4%, Blackadder
Raw Cask #1639, hogshead)
This one is quite similar, a tad more
closed with also hints of paint. Mouth:
same comments, with maybe a little
marmalade, the whole being slightly
less clean. 78 points. |
| Isle
of Jura 10 yo 1983/1993 (63.9%, Cadenhead)
Colour: white wine. Nose: quite closed,
just a little caramel and apple juice,
cake… Develops on hot milk,
cereals, porridge and yoghurt, vanilla
crème… Very raw. Mouth:
a sweet and perfumy attack, with quite
some orange juice and drops, canned
pears, the whole being quite neutral
except for some huge notes of heavily
sugared liquorice. As close to new
make as it can get and water doesn’t
help. Hot finish with hints of salt.
75 points. |
|
|
|
July
5, 2006 |
|
|
 |
Teaninich
10 yo 1993/2003 (61%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society #59.23)
Colour: white wine. Nose: almost pungent,
with a little pineapple and pear juices
and something mashy but water is needed.
Urgently. So, with water: keeps developing
in the same direction: fresh fruits
(apples, fresh pineapple, pears) plus
mashed potatoes, porridge… Hints
of flowers (lilac). Another one that’s
quite close to new make, with very
little wood influence. |
| Mouth
(with water): very sweet, acidulous,
on lots of tangerines and grapefruits
with also lots of salt that plays
with your lips. Gets then a little
tannic (lemon seeds) and sweet ‘n’
sour, starting to taste like a tequila
or maybe young pisco. Quite unusual!
The finish is long and lemony, with
again lots of salt… I quite
liked it. 82 points. |
| Teaninich
21 yo 1982/2004 (62.3%, The Bottlers,
cask #7202)
Colour: dark amber – mahogany.
Nose: lots of sherry, bitter oranges
and chocolate but again, water needed.
With water: gets more caramelly and
even more orangey, with pistachio
oil, Cointreau, fir honey… Gets
then a little leathery, with also
wax polish, moist pipe tobacco, rum…
Another classic sherry monster with
lots of oomph – not too clumsy
at that. Mouth (with water): a superb
attack, very waxy and bitterly resinous
(but you have to be into that kind
of profile), on propolis, chlorophyll
chewing-gum, cough gums… Gets
then very herbal, with quite some
Jägermeister (strong herbs liqueur)
and finally the expected rumy and
raisiny notes. Lots of oomph! Also
dried kumquats, citrons… And
the finish is very long, still very
lemony and resinous and again with
a little salt. In short, an excellent
sherry monster, unusually lemony.
88 points. |
MUSIC
– BLUES - Recommended
listening - In 1940, blues shouter
Big
Joe Turner was doing
a Jumpin'
Down Blues.mp3 that had something
very rock and roll - already.Ah,
I should also post about Blind Boy
Fuller one day... Watch this space. |
 |
|
|
|
July
4, 2006 |
|
|
 |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
JOHN
FOGERTY
Hammersmith Apollo,
London, June 29th 2006
I
can still remember how smugly cool
I felt when I walked out of Osborne’s
in Parsons Street with Creedence
Clearwater’s 1969 classic
album Green River under my arm.
However eclectic we liked to pretend
our musical tastes might be (it
was the ones with big brothers and
sisters who won at this game hands
down) buying stuff was largely confined
to safety zones inhabited by the
Beatles et. al. But this raucous
Deep South funky rock and swamp
outfit (actually they came from
California, which I’ve always
found a little disappointing) seriously
pushed the envelope, as they say
in marketing (hey Serge, you’re
a marketing guy – what does
that mean?). And of course they
became the defining sound of the
late sixties and early seventies
(in 1971 they beat the Beatles to
win the New Musical Express’s
‘Best Band in the World’
poll), inextricably linked for many
with the last years of the Vietnam
War. Thinking about this I wondered
if this was really true, or simply
something that’s been planted
in our minds by all those films
where Creedence tracks are a mandatory
on the soundtrack. |
| But
then I read this, from a Veteran:
“I flew helicopters and combat
missions in Vietnam. Whenever I'd
get back to base, I'd turn on my Creedence
Clearwater Revival records and play
them as loud as I could … Every
band that the USO brought or played
the NCO and officers clubs had to
do Proud Mary. It was the song of
the day. I heard that song done with
British accents, Vietnamese accents,
Australian accents, every accent you
can think of.” ‘Nuff said. |
| Needless
to say Creedence shone and burned,
by 1972 they were all washed up, co-founder
Tom
Fogerty having left the band acrimoniously
a year earlier, and the predictable
Beach Boys style legal disputes and
wrangling followed. John
Fogerty – the voice
of Creedence, the guitar sound of
Creedence, and the composer of almost
all of their songs pursued an on-off
recording and performing career (in
so far as legal disputes allowed him
to) in the course of which he gained
the dubious distinction of writing
what came to be Status Quo’s
anthem, the song that famously kicked
off the original Live Aid, ‘Rocking
all over the world’. |
 |
| And
having hung up his guitar for few
years he returned in 1997 with the
fantastic album Blue Moon Swamp which
I would recommend to anyone. He has
also in latter years associated himself
closely with the Democratic Party
in the United States, campaigning
and performing (along with the likes
of Bruce Springsteen) on behalf of
John Kerry in the last Presidential
election. |
|
John Fogerty (top)
Fray Bentos - ? - (bottom) |
Tonight
he’s in London with a tight
five piece band campaigning on behalf
of his new retrospective album The
Long Road Home. And before I start
being critical I should say that it
was great fun, Fogerty’s voice
was in remarkably good form, and although
I gave up counting all the songs there
was no doubt in my mind, or those
of the almost exclusively 50 years
old plus audience, that this a great
value for money show. And that’s
important for such a Saga savvy audience
who look as though they don’t
get out too much, and as if their
critical sensibilities aren’t
quite fully honed. We got all the
great songs, ‘Travelling Band’,
‘Green River’, ‘It
came out of the sky’, ‘Down
on the corner’, ‘Have
you ever seen the rain’, ‘Bad
moon rising’, ‘Fortunate
son’ and ‘Proud Mary’
to name but a few – ‘egg
timer songs’ said the Photographer,
as each was played (with the exception
of a long and meandering solo in ‘I
heard it through the grapevine’,
when I became a bit worried that Alzheimer’s
might have set in and that they’d
forgotten which song it was) to a
tight three minutes or so. We also
got a new song. ‘Ramble tangle’,
and a very old song, ‘Porterville’,
recorded when Creedence were actually
known as ‘the Golliwogs’
– well you can’t get everything
right can you? Fogerty played a bewildering
array of beautiful guitars (it was
a real Fender fest) and his band provided
excellent support – particularly
beefy bass player Fray Bentos (at
least that’s what I think he
was called) who had every pose from
the Bass Players Handbook of Choreography.
By the end of the night the dyed blonde
OAPs in the front row were waving
their pension books at him hopefully,
offering something more than a late
night (hang on, it finished at 10.00pm
on the dot) Ovaltine and Digestives.
And as we left you could see that
the urinals were full of tight-jeaned
beer bellied old men striking Fray
Bentos positions as they relieved
themselves. Not pretty. And God knows
what happened when they got home. |
| So
what was there to moan about? Well
for a start this isn’t huge
concert hall music, we should have
been dripping down the wall of an
airless 200 capacity club to really
enjoy the sound. But of course Fogerty
only does big events – even
bigger in the USA where he’ll
embark on a huge tour once his European
dates are over. And the way the show
was staged made it feel like a TV
Special more than a real gig. It began
with a film montage of Fogerty’s
career, with gooey shots of his young
son playing guitar that ended with
an irony free clip of Bill Clinton
introducing him. Fogerty jogged onto
the stage with contrived enthusiasm
and pulled off that nauseating trick
beloved of American politicians, pointing
into the faceless crowd as if to suggest
some sort of feigned familiarity with
fans and friends. |
 |
|
|
|
He
did this all night, and also, rather
more often than I would have liked,
told us how wonderful we were, and
how much he loved us. This facile
insincerity really grated by the end
of the night – but at least
we weren’t at a US gig, where
you can buy ‘platinum’
tickets which get you front row seats,
a signed programme, and a chance to
shake the man’s hand. Need I
say more? Well actually I will. The
big moment of the evening was Fogerty
singing solo, from his most recent
album ‘Déjà vu’
– an anti-war song reviving
that predictable theme that we’ve
heard from many American musicians
over the past couple of years. Now
I would not doubt for a moment the
sincerity of Fogerty’s sentiments
on this subject, and I’m sure
that in the USA this is really quite
an edgy piece, but with more film
– pretty little girl running
through meadow with flowers, archive
Vietnam footage, Iraq footage, war
memorials, more pretty young girl
with flowers etc. etc. – it
actually lost its impact and just
felt like Mom and Pop apple pie sentimentality.
Generally speaking I think even this
half geriatric audience could have
expected a little more. |
|
But maybe that’s really just
churlish. I’ve always wanted
to see Fogerty and now I have. And
when I shut my eyes and listened to
him sing with that southern (err Californian)
swamp groove thing going on it was
just like being in a little bit of
heaven. Everyone should have at worst
a Creedence hits album at home, at
best a copy of Green River, and you
should also seriously have a listen
to Fogerty’s Blue Moon Swamp.
Great music, shame about the show.
- Nick Morgan (all concert photographs
by Kate, soldier with guitar www.vietnampix.com) |
| Thanks
Nick! Well, as for your question regarding
the expression ‘pushing the
envelope’: doesn't it mean 'handing
over a baksheesh discreetly'? But
of course that can’t happen
with marketing people (did I hear
‘alas’?) I’ve also
tried to find more data about the
famous bassist with an attitude supposedly
called ‘Fray Bentos’ and
I’m sorry, I couldn’t
find any. Fray Bentos seems to be
an Uruguayan city actually (founded
1853, 23 122 inhabitants) as it just
can’t be that English ready-cooked
gourmet food brand (a concept that
sounds very unlikely to my poor French
ears, currently stuffed with world-cup
bawling – no needling meant).
Now, what would a whole Uruguayan
city do on a London stage? Hmmm, agreed,
better listen to a little John Fogerty,
like a quite political Mr.
Greed.mp3 (from Centerfield, 1985).
And ah, yes, of course, Déjà
Vu (all over again).mp3. Btw,
happy birthday good old US of A! |
| TASTING
- TWO OFFICIAL BALBLAIRS |
 |
Balblair
27 yo 1974 (46%, OB, Highland Selection,
Sherry, 550 bottles)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: a beautiful,
very balanced sherry with hints of
ginger. Lots of prunes, peonies, very
ripe strawberries. Interesting whiffs
of pepper and even curry. Really elegant.
Mouth: creamy but nervous attack,
with quite some caramel and dried
apricots. Fruitcake, spices (mainly
cloves). A balanced sherry with quite
some vivacity. I liked it much better
than last time I had it, two years
ago, but maybe that’s because
this time I tasted it at the distillery
with Gordon Bruce and a few Maniacs.
88 points. |
Balblair
31 yo 1969 (45%, OB, Highland Selection)
Colour: straw. Nose: starts on lots
of marzipan and linseed oil, almond
milk and vanilla. Rather woody (freshly
sawn oak). Hints of smoked meat. Quite
some nectar and flowers from the fields.
Interesting. Mouth: balanced –
oaky but balanced. Quite some pepper,
cardboard, vanilla, apples…
Oomphy, with a long, vanilled finish.
The nose was even nicer and the whole
offers lots of pleasure. 87
points. |
|
|
|
July
3,
2006 |
|
|
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
 |
TASTING
- THREE GLEN ORDS
|
| Glen
Ord 20 yo 1983/2003 (59%, Signatory,
cask #378, 458 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: powerful, almost
pungent, spirity, with notes of paint
thinner and hazelnuts. Quite hard
to enjoy this one, we’ll try
it with a little water. Yes it gets
better, grassier and quite herbal
and flowery, with notes of lilac.
Mouth (neat): sweet but powerful,
with also a little salt and quite
some liquorice. Gets then fruitier
but it’s a bit silent and inexpressive
again. With water: more expressive
again, although it’s more on
cereals and apricots this time. Rather
long, creamy, caramelly and fruity
finish. An excellent swimmer even
if it still isn’t pure wonder.
80 points. |
| Glen
Ord 10 yo 1985/1995 (56.9%, Cadenhead)
Colour: pale white wine. Nose: not
really expressive, even quite closed.
Spirity and a little coffeeish. Hints
of hay, cereals, varnish apple and
pear juice (not Williams)… Quite
close to new spirit, extremely simple.
With water: almost no difference.
Mouth: sweeter, a little creamy, pearish,
with notes of liquorice allsorts and
a pinch of salt. Gets very grassy,
even bitter then, with a long but
almost acrid finish (apple seeds).
Not bad at all but really simple.
With water: same thing, no real improvement,
maybe just notes of tea. 77
points. |
| Glen
Ord 15 yo 1989/2004 (50%, OMC, 604
bottles)
Colour: very pale white wine. Nose:
again quite closed but maybe mashier,
more on porridge and muesli. Notes
of violet sweets, freshly mown lawn,
hints of wet hay… Otherwise
it’s again a rather inexpressive
Glen Ord. The best Ords are on the
official side, no doubt. Mouth: again,
sweet and grainy, starting on pear
spirit but also a little beer, developing
on tea, liquorice, pepper, even chilli.
Medium long finish, getting funnily
quite lemony and salty, even rooty
and earthy. A good one. 82
points. |
|
And also Glen
Ord 23 yo 1973/1997 (59.8%, Rare Malts)
Starts slightly oily, with notes of
aniseed, linseed oil, fresh parsley
and dill, then switches to praline
and nougat. Really powerful but not
overpowering. Very good. 88
points. |
MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- The arrangements are crap (typically
80's) but it's Serge Gainsbourg
who composed this summerish Pull
marine.mp3 for Isabelle
Adjani, so... Please
go and... Err... But where's Adjani
these days? |
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| July
2, 2006 |
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No comment.
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| TASTING
- TWO OLD GLENUGIES |
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Glenugie
1966/1987 (46%, Cadenhead dumpy, sherry)
- sorry about the picture! Something
must have gone wrong... Colour: straw.
Nose: starts sort of calmly, with
notes of boxed pineapples and papayas,
but getting then rather bolder. after
a few seconds. Also pink grapefruits
that make a transition toward farmy
notes such as hay and grain barn.
It gets then waxier, slightly mineral
and oily (linseed oil). Hints of fresh
almonds, sorb apple spirit, olive
oil… |
| And
then quite some orange juice, cider,
hints of passion fruit. Well, that
was a slow, but long development.
Mouth: extremely fruity, citrusy and
peppery. All kinds of lemon, tangerines,
oranges plus a little passion fruit
and dashes of spices such as pepper,
clove, cinnamon… Gets then a
little sugary, maybe ‘weaker’
and slightly tea-ish towards the medium
long, citrusy finish. Good, especially
on the nose, but not exactly thrilling,
I think. 85 points. |
| Glenugie
1966/1986 (55%, Samaroli, 480 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: the same
kind of development it appears, starting
quite lazily on bitter oranges and
already that almond milk. Quite beerish
as well, rubbed orange skin, cinchona…
Also bay leaf, a little juniper, bitter
chocolate… With a few drops
of water: it gets nicer indeed, more
satisfying and farmier as almost always.
Quite some lapsang souchong tea, newly
cut grass, fern… Great news.
Mouth (neat): punchy, almost nervous,
starting on orangey flavours again
plus lots of spices and a little wax.
It’s also a little salty but
not too complex. With water: gets
more gingery and peppery, and even
waxier. Hints of peat, candied lemons,
tea again… The finish is long,
peppery and citrusy (more on oranges
now)… A very good one in any
case, even if feel it’s not
too complex. Sweeter and spicier than
the Cadenhead. 88 points.
(but many aficinados like it better.) |
MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- It's Sunday, we go classical with
Bulgaria's Dimitar
Stanchev singing the
Aria
di Attila.mp3 (from Verdi's
Attila) excellently. Please
go listen to Mr. Stanchev and buy
opera. |
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| July
1, 2006 |
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Deanston
Malt (40%, OB, late 70’s)
Colour: straw. Nose: starts quite
grainy and a little caramelly but
also quite fresh, with notes of flowers
(lilac)… Notes of cereals…
Gets then quite dusty and cardboardy,
with also a few notes of very ripe
oranges and lovage. Mouth: sweet and
very caramelly, with quite some orange
liqueur (Grand-Marnier) and toffee,
a little chocolate, roasted nuts…
The middle is a bit weak but the finish
is rather okay, not too short, on
toasted brioche and a little toffee,
getting more and more toffeish. A
little ‘average’ but not
too bad. 75 points. |
Deanston
12 yo (40%, OB, 1990’s)
Colour: white wine. Nose: ouch! Lots
of cardboard, huge notes of paraffin,
cod oil, sunflower seeds… Extremely
unusual and frankly hard to enjoy.
Goes with flour, paint, industrial
desert crème, old pastries…
Mouth: plain weird, weak (good news),
watery, extremely oily and cardboardy,
with notes of cold un-sugared herbal
tea. Something weirdly minty as well
(long-gnawed spearmint or chlorophyll
chewing-gum). No finish whatsoever;
now, some newer versions seem to be
much better. 55 points. |
MUSIC
– JAZZ - Highly recommended
listening - in 1947, fantastic innovator
and ace arranger Stan
Kenton was recording
the amazing Elegy
for alto.mp3. Yes, in 1947...
Maybe Kenton was the true inventor
of 'free' (although not improvised)
jazz? |
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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:
Dalmore
20 yo (43%, OB,
Duncan Macbeth, 1960’s)
Pittyvaich
26 yo 1974 (55.8%,
Kingsbury for Japan, 514 bottles)
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