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Hi, you're in the Archives, July 2008 - Part 2 |
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July
31, 2008 |
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TASTING
’90,
’89, ’88, THREE LINKWOOD |
Linkwood
17 yo 1990/2007 (52.5%, Alambic Classique,
cask #71136, 120 bottles) 
From a bourbon cask. Colour:
pale gold. Nose: powerful and maybe
a tad spirity at first nosing. Rather
‘neutral’ at first, but
gets then rather delicately flowery
(maybe hints of roses – but
very faint – or maybe none at
all ;-)). Other than that it’s
all on oat, porridge, mashed potatoes,
ripe apples and vanilla. Hints of
freshly sawn oak. Water should help
here… With water: some wood
smoke comes out, as well as a little
green tea. Very nice ‘natural’
nose. Mouth (neat): sweet, almost
sugary, rather powerful, with an attack
mostly on apple compote, ginger and
white pepper. Slightly green tannins
(apple peeling). With water: now it’s
very candied, rounded yet nervous,
with notes of liquorice allsorts,
crystallised oranges and honey. Very
good. Finish: long, candied, with
the spices in the background. Crystallised
oranges spiced up with ginger and
pepper. Comments: this one went from
rather mundane to very good, especially
with water. Proof that one should
never be too fast with his malts.
SGP:542 – 85 points. |
| Linkwood
18 yo 1989/2007 (50.1%, James MacArthur,
cask #2011)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one
has more wood, more vanilla, more
liquorice and rather big notes of
grated nutmeg. Much less masy/porridigy
as well. With water: interesting that
we do get green tea again, just like
in the 1990. Very close to it with
water. Mouth (neat): almost identical
to the 1990, just a tad more expressive
at the attack. Gets then much spicier,
gingery and very ‘nutmeggy’
again. Coriander, bitter oranges.
With water: even spicier than the
1990 and more liquoricy as well, but
other than that it’s very similar.
Finish: similar again. Comments: we’re
I the very same family here and I
can’t find any reasons to score
this one differently. SGP:552
– 85 points. |
| Linkwood
19 yo 1988/2008 (56.9%, The Single
Malts of Scotland, cask #2023, 287
bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: certainly
more powerful but also a little more
‘mature’, with quite some
nutmeg again and also milk chocolate,
vanilla crème, ginger and plain
apple juice. Hints of yellow flowers
(no ‘impressions of roses’
this time.) With water: not much more
happening this time. Maybe just faint
whiffs of wood smoke like in the 1990.
Mouth (neat): same whisky as the 1989,
with just an extra-quick from the
higher ABV. With water: extremely
close to both the 1990 and 1989 again.
Finish: same. Maybe a tad more gingery.
Comments: on the palate and after
addition of a little water (hence
at roughly the same ABV), all three
whiskies were almost identical, and
all from bourbon casks, most probably.
SGP:552 – 85 points. |
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And
also Linkwood-Cadenhead
15 yo 1979/1994 (58.4%, Cadenhead)
Nose: good sherry, smoky, tarry and
chocolaty. A lot of coffee and kisrsch.
Slight meatiness. Classic sherry.
Mouth: powerful and very candied,
orangey, honeyed. Quite some white
chocolate. Very, very good. 87
points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Yo-yo.mp3
by Willa
Mae Buckner aka The Snake
Lady (yoooooooooooo!) Let's take this
opportunity to pay tibute to the Music
Maker Relief Foundation, great
people, great work. And please buy
Willa Mae Buckner's music. |
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July
30, 2008 |
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TASTING
– TWO 7 AND TWO 17 YEAR OLD
GLENROTHES
(but does
that make any sense?) |
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Glenrothes
2000/2007 (53.9%, Chieftain’s
German Tartan Edition)
Colour: pale mahogany. Nose: very
huge, highly concentrated, almost
like fortified sherry, with a clear
acidic/sour note in the background.
Big notes of old walnuts and flor
(‘taste of yellow’ as
they say in French Jura) and dark
chocolate. Certainly not unpleasant
at this point but it’s on the
palate that everything should happen.
With water: ouch, it’s almost
plain vinegar now. Gym socks. Now
it IS unpleasant. Mouth (neat): again,
this is a sherry concoction. Walnuts,
cherry stem tea, blackcurrant buds
and overripe strawberries. Sweeter
than on the nose. With water: now
it’s really ‘approachable’.
Added notes of chlorophyll and dark
chocolate. Finish: long and a tad
drier. Comments: something unnatural
in this one. The nose was frankly
ugly with water (dirty cask, vinegar)
but some parts were rather, well,
‘interesting’. Now, any
blender would reject this I’m
sure. SGP:541 – 69 points. |
Glenrothes
7 yo 2000/2008 (56.4%, First Cask,
cask #2417, 312 bottles)
From a first fill sherry hogshead.
Colour: pale mahogany. Nose: less
exuberant and, to tell you the truth,
better balanced. More complex (if
not subtle), with quite some chocolate
and dried oranges. Too bad there’s
kind of a sourness in the background
again, the whole growing more winey
after a while. Whiffs of sulphur,
cabbage. Huge coffee notes developing
after that, mocha, torrefaction…
(very nice.) With water: more sulphur!
Not rotten eggs at all but it’s
just like when you’re ‘nosing’
a gun that just fired. All that disappears
after a few minutes, leaving room
for rather nice notes of walnuts,
coffee and cocoa again. Very nice
I must say. Mouth (neat): again, cleaner
than the Chieftain’s. Spices
for mulled wine, chocolate and raspberry
jam. Thickish but good! With water:
balance is achieved. Rather nice combination
of red fruits, chocolate, smoke and
coffee. Finish: rather long, the dry
part getting the upper hand (cocoa).
Comments: very good but for lovers
of sherry monsters only. Remarkable
maturity at 7 years of age. SGP:542
– 83 points. |
| Glenrothes
17 yo 1990/2008 (59.9%, The Clydesdale,
cask #0221/13001, 542 bottles)
Another sherry version. Colour: amber.
Nose: almost subtle after the pretty
monstrous 2000’s, even at almost
60% ABV. Big sulphurous notes but
of the pleasant kind (bicycle inner
tube, matches, gunpowder). Asparagus.
Very nice, dry nose actually. Not
winey at all. With water: reminds
me of the First Cask but with more
delicacy. Liquorice, mint, coffee
and burnt matches. Mouth (neat): starts
sweet and candied (raspberries), gets
then a tad rubbery (like when we were
chewing rubber bands at school –
didn’t you do that?), tarry
and finally rather orangey. Works
well despite the very high ABV. With
water: no changes with water, quite
unexpectedly. It got maybe a tad more
tarry but that’s all. Finish:
long, with notes of prunes dipped
into chocolate. Comments: very good
(we didn’t really overtax ourselves,
did we?) SGP:553 – 87
points. |
Glenrothes
17 yo (59.5%, G&M for Sestante,
+/-1990, 75cl) 
Colour: pure gold. Nose: this is completely
different. Starts on immense notes
of pineapples, pina colada and tinned
lychees. Banana juice. Then a little
smoke, bubblegum (juicyfruity) and,
well, even more pineapples. Hugely
demonstrative, even at 59.5%. Curious
about what will give with water. So,
with water: gets a tad more balanced,
with whiffs of smoke now, as well
as unexpected hints of tinned fish
(sardines). It’s complex and
unusual whisky on the nose. Mouth
(neat): the same exuberant fruitiness
strikes right at the attack, with
loads of pineapples again but also
grapefruits. Icing sugar, hints of
rosehip tea. Gets a little more bitter/sour
after that (lemon zests). With water:
no changes. Pineapples galore! Finish:
long, warming, kind of tropical (maybe
it’s the effect of pina colada.)
Comments: a very unexpected profile,
less honeyed/nutty than most ‘fairly
or un-sherried’ Glenrothes,
except for some old ones by Duncan
Taylor if memory serves us well. Big
dram. SGP:842 - 89 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: more fun with the funny
Hayseed
Dixie and their Fat
bottom girls.mp3 (from 'A Hillbilly
Tribute To Mountain Love'.) You may
also re-read Nick's excellent 2005
review
there. And then please buy Hayseed
Dixie's music. |
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July
29, 2008 |
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TASTING
– TWO 17yo ROSEBANKS |
| Rosebank
1990/2007 (46%, Montgomerie's, cask
#1756)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: the attack
on the nose is a little spirity, maybe
not perfectly defined but it improves
after a few seconds, getting rather
citrusy as expected (lemons, then
tangerines.) Too bad it gets a bit
too mashy after that (boiled cereals).
Wet cloth, cheapish bottled lemon
juice (something faintly chemical.)
A rather simple Rosebank, lacking
the usual ‘clean zestiness’
even if it does improve after quite
some breathing. Mouth: better, much
better. Huge fruitiness, with big
notes of lemon drops, liquorice allsorts,
barley sugar and Parma violets (sweets).
Even raspberry sweets. Spectacularly
clean and fruity. Finish: rather long,
more candied now. Comments: amazing
how nose and palate are different,
s if it was not the same whisky. Which
makes scoring and ‘SGP-ing’
(yuck) quite difficult I must say.
SGP:640 – 83 points. |
| Rosebank
17 yo 1991/2008 (56.3%, The Clydesdale,
324 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: much more
expressive, even when reduced. Starts
all on lemon pie and vanilla crème,
then oranges, then something slightly
dusty (flour, old papers) and finally
something like gingered milk (should
that exist somewhere on this planet.)
The development is a little less appealing
than the attack but it’s still
a pleasant Rosebank. Mouth: a classic
very lemony Rosebank here. Lemon in
all its forms. With water (while the
nose didn’t change much): pure
lemon pie with a little aniseed and
hints of carvi. Finish: Comments:
clean, typical, good. Very ‘young
Rosebank’. SGP:530 –
85 points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
in Saint-Tropez |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Bob
Marley was so omnipresent
in the early 1980's that we needed
twenty years before we could enjoy
listening to his music again but now
it's really time to have a go at his
wonderful Africa
Unite.mp3 again. Hardly a novelty
or something 'deserving better recognition'
but... Please buy Bob Marley's music
(and no, there won't be any Supertramp
on WF...) |
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July
28, 2008 |
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It’s
on July 28, 2002 that we first put
something on line under the ‘Whiskyfun’
banner. Even if it’s only in
the very beginning of 2004 that we
started the ‘tasting diary’,
we thought we could celebrate WF’s
6th birthday (as we completely
forgot to celebrate the 5th one.)
Okay, done, what's next? |
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TASTING
– THREE GREAT PORT ELLENS |
Port
Ellen 31 yo 1969/2001 (42.9%, Douglas
Laing for Alambic Classique, 41 bottles)
We’ve already tried Port Ellens
from the late sixties but this one
is the oldest in age we ever had.
Only a small batch bottles but a huge
reputation (both aspects may be related,
as always.) It is to be remembered
that Port Ellen re-opened in 1967,
after many years of closure. Colour:
gold. Nose: certainly as impressive
as old Laphroaigs and Ardbegs from
the late 1960’s. Directly medicinal
and tarry as well as very ‘maritime’,
displaying, in no particular order,
notes of tarmac, clams, dried tangerines,
tyres, lime, old books (you’re
your fav author), fresh almonds, crushed
coriander leaves, lemon pie, kelp,
angelica, langoustines, sorrel…
Even basil… All that is rather
mellow, ‘mingled’…
Very superb, even if it sort of ‘bows
down’ after a few minutes. Mouth:
big and absolutely wonderful (imagine
the bottle was open since 7 years!),
with an extraordinarily oily mouth
feel (thick like olive oil, or even
butter.) Hints of vanilla fudge, buttered
bread, then rather big notes of resin
(and mastic), of crystallised lemon,
of bitter almonds, of salted liquorice,
of tar liqueur (had that only once
but believe me, it’s unforgettable)…
Quick, call the anti-maltoporn brigade!
Finish: not too long but wonderfully
tarry, lemony and almondy. Comments:
it’s often said that Port Ellen
was a second-rate distillery (when
compared with Lagavulin and Caol Ila)
but frankly, I doubt it was the case.
Sure there were some odd casks (uber-sulphury
sherry) but other than that, we could
try a fair share of stunning bottlings,
including this very rare and amazingly
complex 1969… SGP:346
– 95 points (und
vielen Dank, Hermann.) |
| Port
Ellen 19 yo 1982/2001 (56%, Douglas
Laing for Alambic Classique, 390 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: much more ‘direct’
than the 1969, less complex it seems,
and much more marked by sherry. Cocoa
powder and dark chocolate, then black
pepper, oxtail, beef bouillon, parsley,
lovage, dried meat (pemmican)…
And more pepper. Also quite some gunpowder
but no sulphur that I can get –
as such. Very dry in any case. With
water: now we get leather, tallow,
game, ‘exhaust pipe’ and
even Parma ham. Less sherry as such
but more ‘wildness’. We
like it much better now. Mouth (neat):
very big and unusually fruity, contrarily
to what happened on the nose. Blackcurrants.
A little rubber but that gives the
whole kind of an extra-kick. Peat
and pepper only arrive at the middle.
Grape skin. With water: excellent,
more phenolic now, peaty, with notes
of chewing tobacco and a little salt.
Finish: rather long, coherent. Comments:
and excellent swimmer that will really
benefit from a few drops of water.
SGP:567 – 90 points. |
| Port
Ellen 24 yo 1982/2006 (57.6%, Whisky
Magazine, Editor’s Choice, 300
bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: more classic PE
this time, starting on bold whiffs
of crushed walnuts, apple peeling,
tar (not too much) and then various
kinds of oils (mainly linseed and
fusel). Medium-peated it seems. With
water: it got kind of younger, closer
to fruits (apples and almonds) but
a tad less complex. Still extremely
nice, that is. Mouth (neat): a very
interesting attack, first pretty smooth
and ‘civilised’ but soon
to get much more restless, with loads
of pepper and peat that assault your
palate in waves. A big, big Port Ellen
that reminds us of most OB’s.
With water: excellent balance, superb
profile (unusually close to Ardbeg,
that is), all on marzipan, sweet pepper
(Szechuan) and various other spices
(black pepper, cardamom, the average
curry powder, paprika mix…)
A tad less tarry than usual. Finish:
long, smoother, more almondy and sort
of resinous, going on ‘live’
like FZ’s guitar in ‘Montana’.
Comments: simply top notch, the guys
at Whisky Mag sure know their whisky.
SGP:457 – 92 points. |
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STEPHANE
THE MAD MALT MIXOLOGIST
proposes
a new Summer malt cocktail
Cocktail
#3:
"Margarita's
Renaissance"
|
Pour into a shaker :
- 6 cl Ardbeg "Renaissance"
55,9%
- 3 cl Triple sec Combier or Cointreau
- 1/2 lime juice
Add ice, shake then strain into a
cocktail glass previously frozzen
with lime juice, mint syrup and salt
(from Islay of course!). Decorate
with a lime slice and maybe a sprig
of fresh mint. |
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| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: time to have some of WF
favourite Nellie
McKay's latest, with
the shocking (well) Mother
of pearl.mp3 (from Miss McKay's
fantastic CD Obligatory Villagers).
You should really buy all of Nellie's
McKay's music!! |
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July
25, 2008 |
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TASTING
– TWO BIG TAMDHUS |
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Tamdhu
1973/2008 (56%, Gordon & MacPhail,
Reserve, cask #3230, 481 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: wonderful at
first nosing! High-end coffee/schnapps,
raspberry ganache, gianduja and
top-notch porridge (well, as far
as porridge can be top-notch.) Something
very pleasantly acid (slightly),
balsamico from Modena (not the rot-tastic
stuff one can find in most supermarkets),
redcurrant jam, wet wood, chocolate…
Very interesting nose. More red
fruits and a little smoke come through
after a few minutes. Not easy-easy
and maybe a tad cerebral, but truly
wonderful. |
| With
water: it got immensely organic, with
wet hay, ‘clean’ manure,
mushrooms and green tea. Hints of
asparagus. Quite beautiful if not
very ‘classic’. Mouth
(neat): a rather sumptuous sherry
and truckloads of spices. Various
peppers, a lot of cloves, gingerbread,
red fruits (jams)… A bit too
heavy and concentrated at full strength,
though, so let’s try it with
water again: right, it didn’t
change a lot and just got a little
easier to drink. But spices ahoy!
Finish: long, all on spices and fruit
jam. One to keep for Christmas eve?
Comments: a big, wonderful Tamdhu,
not easy at all but rather enthralling.
SGP:653 – 91 points. |
| Tamdhu-Glenlivet
16yo 1980/1997 (58.7%, Cadenhead Authentic
Collection, SherryWood)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: starts on
milk chocolate, milk chocolate, milk
chocolate and… coffee, and develops
more on rubbery/sulphury aromas. Strawberry
jam and then something like corked
wine (but it’s not exactly cork).
Heavy notes of gunpowder as well.
Not too much to my liking, but maybe
water will help. With water: immense
notes of nutmeg, parsley and green
curry. Very unusual. Mouth (neat):
how thick and heavy! Extremely concentrated,
almost cloying… Quick, water.
So, with water: it’s the tannins
that shine through now, both from
the wood and from the wine it seems.
Better balanced, that is. Finish:
as long and slow as Excel 2008 for
Mac, which says a lot, and still thick
and very peppery. Strawberry jam and
sweets. Comments: quite a monster,
a little disconcerting. SGP:662
– 83 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: why not have a very refreshing
Mint
julep.mp3 today? It's the wonderful
Etta
Baker, born 1913, who's
playing it... Please buy her music
(she sadly passed away in 2006 at
the venerable age of 93.) |
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| By
the way, the very excellent Gordon
Homer over at The
Spirit of Islay has posted
pictures of the new Ardbeg Ten - or
how to change without changing whilst
changing a bit but not really... |
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July
24, 2008 |
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TASTING
– TWO OAKY GLENMORANGIES |
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Glenmorangie 'Astar' (57.1%, OB, 2008)
Our maniacal friend Ho-cheng told
us the whole story of this Astar here.
Colour: pale gold. Nose: typical of
most of Glenmorangie’s experiments
with new oak, starting with a huge
sweetness and loads of vanilla crème
and developing mostly on more vanilla
crème (custard) and soft spices
(ginger, nutmeg.) The whole isn’t
subtle nor complex, but pleasant,
balanced and fresh. Nice notes of
strawberry pie and a little wood smoke
(and toastiness) appearing after a
while. |
| Mouth:
frankly, I like this Astar much more
on the palate than on the nose. More
of that with water. Sweet, very compact
and very firm, all on Mirabelle plums,
caramel, vanilla and ginger/cinnamon.
With water: the pears come out, as
well as plum spirit (Slivovitz). Thicker.
Finish: long, with a little less fruits
and a little more wood. Comments:
to malt whisky what (good) Californian
chardonnay is to wine: very good but
maybe lacking a little magic. Superbly
engineered, that is. SGP:630
– 84 points. |
| Glenmorangie
1993/2005 'Post oak' (58.2%, OB, cask
#1947, 296 bottles)
Another woody experiment by Glenmorangie.
Post oak is a small American oak,
also called quercus stellata. Colour:
gold. Nose: this is much more wham-bam!
Rather heavy, like a concentrated
version of the Astar. More of everything,
I’d say, except complexity.
A little coffee-ish and maybe a tad
plankish after a moment (pencil shaving).
With water: ditto, but with more complexity
(herbs, hay, more spices). Mouth (neat):
huge, creamy, uber-fruity and very
spicy. Hugely demonstrative, with
loads of vanilla, ripe yellow plums
and assorted spices (Chinese anise,
cloves, nutmeg) and a lot of sweet
liquorice. With water: it got a tad
drier now, and in a rather beautiful
way. More roasted nuts, liquorice,
orange cake and vanilla cake. Finish:
very long, very compact and ‘focused’.
Comments: very good and very ‘new
world’ in a certain way. Sexy,
but maybe more Jennifer Lopez than
Elizabeth Hurley. Oh well... SGP:641
– 87 points. |
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MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: a very beautiful little
tune by Amy
Campbell
called Fade.mp3
(from her CD Achitecture.) Not just
another love song... Please buy
Amy Campbell's music!
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July
23, 2008 |
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| MUSIC
AND WHISKY INTERVIEW
JACKIE
LEVEN
After
having started his musical career
at the very end of the 1960s (and
recorded under the pseudo ‘John
St Field’), Scotsman Jackie
Leven founded the cult punk band
Doll by Doll, and after it was disbanded
in 1983, started a very prolific
solo venture under his real name,
as well as under other pseudos.
He makes good use of irony and humour,
as this very funny story that Jackie
himself tells on wikipedia (right)
will show: |
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“Some
years ago I noticed that I was writing
a lot more songs than I was ever going
to record and get released, especially
in these times where you can only
release one studio album every eighteen
months. As I am a writer of genius,
this began to worry me more and more.
So I went to see my Cooking Vinyl
boss, Martin Goldschmidt, to ask him
if I could make more records. He said
no. I said to him 'look, The Beatles
once released four albums in one year,
and nobody said to them, hey that's
too many records in one year'. Martin
said 'Jackie, this is not 1967 and
you are not The Beatles'. We talked
some more and we agreed that I could
make records under a different name
- that name is Sir Vincent Lone.”
Jackie Leven isn’t only a great
musician, singer and composer, he’s
also a true whisky aficionado, and
that’s why we’re very
happy about the fact that he kindly
agreed to answer our ritual questions
about music and whisky. And you should
really rush out and buy his CD’s
‘Defending Ancient Springs’,
‘Fairy Tales For Hard Men or
‘Forbidden Songs Of The Dying
West’, they’re all full
of great whisky stories… |
Serge:
Jackie, tell us briefly about
what you do, music-wise.
Jackie
Leven: I write
songs, I play guitar, I make records
- lots of them - maybe 35 since 1971. |
Which
other musicians are you playing (did
you play) with?
In my time I have recorded with
David Gilmour, Glen Matlock, Eddi
Reader, Mike Scott, Robert Bly, David
Thomas, crime writer Ian Rankin -
on my last record (OH WHAT A BLOW
THAT PHANTOM DEALT ME!) and my next
record (out August 18- LOVERS AT THE
GUN CLUB) I have been working with
the country noir singer from America
Johnny Dowd - a genius - like me! |
No
doubt about that! Which are your other
favourite artistes?
I like so many artistes that it's
a hard question to answer, BUT, my
favourite singer is Chet Baker, the
greatest records ever made are by
Judee Sill, and when I'm cleaning
my kitchen floor I listen to Roland
Kirk. |
Which
are your current projects?
LOVERS AT THE GUN CLUB comes out
on Cooking Vinyl records on August
18 - after that I will be touring
all through Europe for four months
- next year I will tour China, Japan,
New Zealand, USA, Canada, then I will
come home and watch some old Rockford
Files on TV... |
So,
what’s
your most memorable whisky?
The whisky I really love is a
Speyside called LINKWOOD - it has
a close cousin called MORTLACH. My
father wrote a book about whisky and
took me to many of the distilleries
when I was only fifteen. I will never
forget the kindness, charm and life-force
of the old whiskymen at Linkwood. |
Do
you have other favourite whiskies?
As I get older I find I like simple
blended bar whiskies more and more.
In a working class bar in Scotland,
guys will be drinking STEWARTS CREAM
OF THE BARLEY, or CAMERON BRIG, or
GRANTS, and I like these simple tastes.
I have become tired of hearing about
the wonderfulness of this malt or
that malt... |
Are
there whiskies you don’t like?
I once drank a lot of TEACHERS
in an apartment in London and suddenly
knew I was going to be real sick -
I ran to the window and was sick onto
the street below - the sick hit two
policemen walking by - it was not
a good night. |
‘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?
My favourite musical reference
is Lightnin Hopkins singing 'I got
the blues in the bottle but the stopcork
in my hand' - he does not say it's
whisky but I know it is - a great
simple expression of despair and understanding
of despair. |
Music
and whisky are often though of as
being male preserves. Should girls
play guitars, should girls drink whisky?
Whisky does have a masculine image
but girls have a masculine side and
sometimes it's very sexy when women
are drinking whisky - nobody should
play guitar AND drink whisky - that's
just stupid and there are deities
who are watching for this kind of
idiot behaviour - and not in a good
way... |
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?
It is true that sipping the right
whisky at the right time can lead
to a feeling, just for a moment, that
all is right with the world, and this
can be true of music too - even bad
country music can sound deep in the
right place - I've been listening
to Patsy Cline - when I was young
she sounded like a meaningless 'George
Bush' style nobody - now she sounds
like a frightening powerful commentator
on 'how things are' with vocal performances
governed by the correct use of whisky. |
I
once heard an eminent whisky professional
say that he tasted whisky in colours.
Do you taste whisky in music?
Colours are always there in everything,
even black and white, in fact especially
in black and white - there is more
music and colour in the image of Humphrey
Bogart talking with a glass of whisky
in his hand than in all the psychedelic
music ever made. |
If
your favourite whisky was a piece
of music what would it be, if it was
a musical instrument what would it
be?
Nat King Cole signing WHEN I FALL
IN LOVE is the same as sipping SPRINGBANK
as the sun goes down over the harbour
and islands at Oban on the west coast
of Scotland - to drink alone for beautiful
reasons is always the sound of the
oboe. |
There
is a famous passage in a book written
in the 1930s (Aneas Macdonald) where
the author compares different styles
of whisky to different sections of
an orchestra – how would you
see that working in a jazz or rock
band, or in a classical orchestra?
This question is too hard for
me! |
Do
you have a favourite piece of music
to drink whisky with, or better still,
desert island dram, desert island
disc?
The island of Barra in the Hebrides
is no desert island but you can feel
very alone there, but also feel a
strange kind of love coming from strangers
in the bars. Just sit in a corner
with a PORT ELLEN listening to EIGHT
MILES HIGH as young bastards play
pool - better than heaven. |
Everyone
thinks of Jack Daniels as being the
great rock and roll whisky –
why not Scotch?
JACK DANIELS is a bullshit whisky
- just look at the people who drink
it - it tastes like shit, has nothing
to say and has no soul. It's the heroin
of whiskies, and when I say that,
I mean no disrespect to heroin - an
interesting drug. |
And
if it was Scotch, can you think of
which brand? What would be the Scotch
equivalent of rappers drinking Cristal?
The Cristal of scotch is maybe
something like MACALLAN - like Cristal
it's okay, but drinking anything that
proves you have a fucked up attitude
to sex is no way to live. |
 |
TASTING
– TWO 1984 GLENGLASSAUGH
Glenglassaugh
22yo 1984 (52.2%, Exclusive Malts,
cask #224, 328 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: heavy-heavy
sherry and heavy-heavy rubber, but
not of the sulphurous kind. Also
a lot of fresh putty, bitter oranges,
gunpowder, burnt matches, tar and,
well, rubber again (bicycle inner
tube.) Spectacular in its own kind.
Starts to develop more on kirschy
notes after a moment, the ‘sherriness’
getting more evident. Blackcurrant
buds plus quite some camphor and
mint. Again, extremely concentrated.
|
| Mouth:
again, this is very heavy and very
concentrated but still balanced in
a certain way. Baskets of dried fruits
(figs ahead, then prunes and dates),
strawberry jam, orange marmalade…
Gets then more on eucalyptus and mint
(cough medicine), with also hints
of tinned pineapples. Much less rubber
on the palate – if any. Very
good but you have to like heavily
sherried whiskies. Finish: long but
a little lighter than feared, with
almondy notes (or stone fruits spirit.)
Comments: an excellent monster, maybe
not immensely complex but any sherry
lover should like this. SGP:653
– 88 points. |
| Glenglassaugh
1984/2008 (54.3%, Scotch Single Malt
Circle, cask #189)
Colour: amber. Nose: ultra-close to
the 22yo, maybe just a tad less wham-bam
and more organic (mushrooms, moss.)
A tad less kirschy as well, and maybe
faintly grassier (sorrel) and more
chocolaty. Marginally drier than the
22yo, but it’s, very, very close
anyway. Mouth: once again, we’re
very close to the ‘Exclusive’,
with even fewer differences on the
palate. Maybe just added hints of
liquorice here, and almondy notes
that arrive a little earlier than
in the ‘Exclusive’. Or
maybe I’m dreaming, these two
whiskies being so close to each other.
Finish: ditto. Comments: maybe the
slightly drier nose deserves one extra-point
– or maybe not. Scratching my
head here… SGP:653 –
89 points. (and thanks
for the friendly delivery!) |
| |
July
21, 2008 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
– THREE MORTLACHS |
| Mortlach
17 yo 1990/2008 (46%, The Ultimate,
sherry butt, cask #5959)
Colour: gold. Nose: a rather elegant
‘mid-sherried’ nose, half-dry,
half-fruity, with no sulphur whatsoever.
All on dried apricots, figs, cookies,
milk chocolate and plain malt. Hints
of wood smoke and walnuts but no meatiness
(some Mortlachs can be quite meaty
in our experience.) Keyword: balance.
Mouth: very round, very creamy, perfectly
balanced again and extremely ‘good’
if you see what I mean. Malt, praline,
chocolate, coffee, toffee and orange
cake, with no flaws at all. Resembles
a very good OB (that is to say a careful
vatting of many casks to achieve balance
and style.) Finish: not too long but
still very, err, balanced. Comments:
perfect and very more-ish. Again,
very, very ‘good’ (yeah
well.) SGP:432 – 87
points. |
| Mortlach
1990/2007 (56%, Scott's Selection)
Colour: straw. Nose: this is quite
different, even if there seems to
be traces of sherry. Huge notes of
vanilla crème, vanilla cake
and dried bananas, with the faintest
meatiness this time (BBQ). With water:
oh, it’s like if it had lost
ten years now. Much ‘simply’
fruitier and mashier, with quite some
porridge, mashed potatoes and plain
pears, with just faint whiffs of smoke.
Maybe hints of sulphur. Mouth (neat):
quite some peat here, or rather what
tastes like peat. Smoked tea (lapsang
souchong), pine resin, smoked meat,
pemmican, Grisons meat (Swiss dried
beef – that’s excellent),
bananas dipped into porridge…
Much less ‘balanced’ and
‘good’ than the Ultimate
at this stage, but maybe a little
more interesting. With water: added
notes of both crystallised and fresh
grapefruit but no meatiness left.
Finish: long, cleaner, maybe a tad
simpler (citrus). Comments: funny
behaviour with water here. Water completely
changes this Mortlach’s profile.
It remains good, but very different.
Two malts in one? SGP:343
– 85 points. |
| Mortlach
1980/2002 (63.8%, Gordon & MacPhail,
Cask, cask #3646)
Colour: amber. Nose: extremely punchy,
with the sherry ahead but also a lot
of alcohol even if it’s not
exactly aggressive (well, some might
find that immensely aggressive.) Almost
64% ABV, imagine… Quick, water:
ho-ho-ho! This is wonderful, as if
it was a much older whisky having
spent a lot of time in glass. Amazing
notes of herbs (parsley, dill, a little
thyme), eucalyptus and resins, wood
and coal smoke, all the dried fruits
of the creation, then animal notes
(game), liquorice and toffee sweets,
high-end soy sauce, balsam, old leather,
cigar box… And only God knows
what else, such is this whisky’s
complexity. Mouth (neat): what seems
to be a magnificent sherry with magnificent
resins but at 64%, let’s not
take chances. With water: glorious
whisky! Probably the one that I find
to be the closest to a great Bordeaux
(I know that sounds weird but please
believe me.) Mouton ’86. As
for more precise descriptions, please
ask the anti-maltoporn brigade. Finish:
very long, still very complex and
rich, with maybe just a slight rubber
in the aftertaste that will prevent
us from giving this one a totally
insane score (especially given its
rather ‘mundane’ pedigree,
age and all that.) Comments: pure
magic at barely 12 years old (update:
you're right, Joe and gang, rather
22) . Well done, Mortlach and
G&M! SGP:664 - 93 points.
(And heartfelt thanks, Claus!) |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: ex Parliament-Funkadelic
(and Talking Heads!) Bernie
Worrell
makes his churchy organ sound very
funky on The
Mask.mp3 (from his CD 'The Other
Side'). Funky and 'different' -
please buy Bernie Worrell's music.
|
 |
| |
July
19, 2008 |
|
|
| Hi
– I’ve been asked several
times since Friday morning why 'stupid'
spittoons (or jugs, buckets, jars,
plant pots, whatever) are so important
at tasting sessions or festivals,
as nobody’s obliged to drink
and as ‘anybody could just leave
his glass without drinking everything.’
I’m sorry but some people just
don’t get it. The problem is
that very often, they give you just
one glass, various whiskies to taste
and no spittoon. Suppose you don’t
want to swallow the first whisky (because
you have to drive, or simply because
you don’t like the whisky.)
What will yo u do so that you can
have the next whiskies? That’s
right, you’re almost ‘obliged’
to drink the first one. I’m
sorry, but this is a no-no. Organizers,
please always provide your audience
with spittoons! Tasters, please always
ask for spittoons! |
|
| Dear
bloggers and webmasters,
if you agree spittoons are important
at festivals; distilleries or tasting
sessions, please feel free to use
and resize these banners. (With or
without WF/MM logos, that doesn't
matter.) Thank you. |
 |
|
| |
July
18, 2008 |
|
|
No
fun today. My son Arthur
just lost one of his closest
friends, Alex, 20, who’s
been killed by a drunk driver
while he was thumbing a hitch
home. His funeral will take
place today.
Remember,
don't drink and drive.
If you spot a friend who’s
been drinking, don’t let
him drive. If you’re attending
a tasting session whilst being
‘obliged’ to drive,
always spit out and/or pour
your glasses into mini-bottles
for future enjoyment at home.
Or leave your car and overnight
at a nearby hotel or at friends'.
Distillers,
retailers, festival organisers
or whisky clubs, please
always provide your attendance
with enough spittoons, empty
jugs or buckets. Explain to
your audience that it's okay
to spit out.
Remember your own pleasure can
become a lifelong nightmare
to others. Enjoy whisky (and
other drinks) as much as you
like, but never drive while
drunk. |
|
| |
July
17, 2008 |
|
|
| TASTING
- ARDBEG 10yo, A SHORT VERTICALE |
 |
|
Ardbeg 1998/2008 ‘Renaissance’
(55.9%, OB)
(yeah, sorry, we’re late…)
For the first time some ‘new’
Ardbeg has been officially bottled
at 10yo, as contrarily to what some
do believe, the 10yo ‘Mor’
was made out of pre-takeover distillate.
Colour: white wine. Nose: very clean
and pure, much more estery and fruity
than expected at first nosing. Unexpected
notes of plum eau-de-vie, newly cut
apples (granny smith), then just a
little porridge, phosphorus, a slight
fizziness (lemonade), hints of orange
squash, coal smoke and gentian. Much
less peaty, phenolic and smoky than
expected (anticipated?) and much gentler.
Mouth: an attack on pure gentian eau-de-vie
with a teaspoon of sugar into it.
Very different from the ‘older’
Ardbegs, with also notes of herb liqueurs
and sweet ginger. Develops mainly
on fruits (pineapples, even ripe kiwis)
and gets then even gingerier. Quite
some peat for sure but maybe not the
usual ‘untameable’ one.
Finish: medium long, ultra-clean,
on gentian, ginger and pepper. Comments:
I think this is an easier, simpler
and gentler dram than the Ten that
we all know well, even at cask strength.
As if their will was to make it kind
of more ‘approachable’
to the general public. But it’s
still a lovely dram, no doubt about
that. SGP:436 - 86 points. |
| Ardbeg
10 yo 'Mor' (57.3%, OB, 1000 bottles,
450cl)
It was about time we published some
proper notes for this one, before
the bottle is empty (joking). Colour:
pale straw. Nose: this is much wilder,
kind of dirtier (in a pleasant way),
phenolic, maritime (diesel oil, fisherman’s
net) and oily. A much, much bigger
whisky for sure. Also tar, shoe polish,
yoghurt, metal (aluminium pan) and
apple/walnut peelings. Hints of sulphur
(nothing too embarrassing). Mouth:
thicker, richer, peatier and more
complex than the Renaissance, but
also maybe a tad less ‘crafted’
and less ‘controlled’.
Peat, lemon, pepper, smoked salmon
sprinkled with lemon juice. Slight
saltiness. Finish: long and in the
same vein. Comments: right, maybe
this is a little less balanced and
‘clean’ than the Renaissance,
but I feel it’s got rather more
to tell us (4.5l, no wonder.) A dram
that’s rather more, let’s
say ‘Ileachly Ardbeg’
if that makes any sense. SGP:338
– 89 points. |
| Ardbeg
10 yo ‘Ten’ (46%, OB,
+/-2003)
Colour: white wine. Nose: much closer
to the Mor than to the Renaissance.
Just a tad fruitier (apple compote)
and less metallic/yoghurty than the
Mor. Big peat smoke. Mouth: a slightly
cleaner ‘Mor’ but other
than that it’s pretty much the
same whisky (when both are tried at
46%). Maybe just a tad simpler. Finish:
long, hotter and more peppery. Comments:
I think this one is a bigger, fatter
and rather peatier dram than the Renaissance.
Possibly not the same distilling regime
(Cut? Purifier? Malt? Yeasts? Oh well…),
or a vatting that was composed with
a different goal. SGP:438
– 87 points. |
| Ardbeg
10 yo (80°proof, OB, UK, white
label, early 1970’s)
Colour: white wine. Nose: there are
much less differences in style with
the fairly recent Ten than with the
Renaissance here, and this just can’t
come from successsful bottle ageing,
can it? Anyway, this old 10 is wonderfully
complex, much more tarry, much smokier
and much more maritime than its grandsons.
Let’s quickly mention camphor,
wet dogs (yeah, sorry dogs), cinchona,
fresh mushrooms, tar, bicycle inner
tube, pipe tobacco, bergamot, clams,
kelp, leather… And even something
floral (lily of the valley?) Fantastico.
Mouth: much closer to the recent Ten
on the palate, and maybe less ‘esoteric’
than on the nose. Also a tad softer
after all these years in glass, but
there’s also more salt and more
notes of cough sweets as well as loads
of various spices. Quince jelly, peppered
orange marmalade, sesame oil. Finish:
maybe a tad shorter than hoped (and
maybe faintly watery) but there’s
kind of a backfire at the aftertaste
(pure peat.) Comments: and old bottle
that kept most of its peatiness/phenols
over the years it seems, which is
quite unusual. Top notch, as expected.
SGP:237 – 93 points. |
 |
And
also Ardbeg
8 yo 2000/2008 ‘Quite Young’
(62.6%, The Single Malts of Scotland,
cask # 60215, 163 bottles)
One of the few indie bottlings of
Ardbeg’s ‘new’ distillate.
Colour: pale gold. Nose: extremely
powerful, all on peat smoke, burnt
matches and iodine. Nothing to do
with the Renaissance – so far.
I’d say closer to the Mor. With
water: more burnt matches, phosphorus,
gunpowder, hot metal, peppermint,
diesel oil, oysters and other seashells,
iodine, sea breeze, wet wool…
What’s sure is that if Ardbeg’s
distillate changed under new ownership,
that didn’t happen with all
batches, because this is very close
to ‘the good old Ardbeg that
we like so much’. Mouth (neat
– let’s be crazy): let’s
say it’s ‘swallowable’,
but we’re not THAT crazy and
we really need our throat now that
WF is back from vacation. So, |
| with
water: now it’s a little closer
to the Renaissance I must say, even
if a tad less fruity/uber-clean and
rather more peaty/peppery. A big,
punchy, in-you-face young Ardbeg.
Finish: very long, on lime, pepper
and salt. Comments: a fiery young
Ardbeg that does not take any prisoners,
as they say – proof that Ardbeg
didn’t really get… err,
‘gentler’ after 1997 (not
all batches, at least). Which might
mean that the Renaissance might not
be a proper prototype of all new official
releases to come. SGP:328
- 88 points. |
|
STEPHANE
THE MAD MALT MIXOLOGIST
proposes
a new Summer malt cocktail
Cocktail
#2:
"Velvet
Smoky Tolosa"
|
Pour
into a shaker:
- 6 cl Scottish Smoky Malt Spirit
(from Jean Boyer) 40%
- 2 cl liqueur de violette - from
Toulouse! - (or any other violet liqueur)
- 1/2 lime juice
Add ice, shake, then strain into a
cocktail glass.
Decoration: one sprig of fresh mint
and one lime slice.
Variants:
- Substitute the malt spirit with
other fruity/peaty young whiskies
that display a very clear color.
- Change the violet liqueur with blue
Curacao for a "Blue Smoky Tolosa"
|
 |
|
Comments: How could
i resist making this cocktail the
night Toulouse won its seventeeth
"Bouclier de Brennus"! A
nod in the direction of Jean-Marie
and his excellent malt spirit. |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: I didn't know Canada's
Alex
Pangman
until very recently but anybody
singing Can't
Stop Me From Dreaming.mp3 so
beautifully only deserves praise.
Something of the very early Billie
Holiday or even Ella Fitzgerald?
Please buy Alex Pangman's music. |
 |
| |
July
16, 2008 |
|
|
 |
|
|
MALT
MANIACS NEWSFLASH
THE MALT MANIACS' MALT MONITOR
UPDATED!
The
new, Monitor now displays
no less than 32,547
ratings for
10,832
different whiskies.
You may download it here.
Heartfelt thanks
to MM's Luca for his tremendous
work and to all the other
scorers. |
|
| CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan |
 |
PENTANGLE
The Royal Festival Hall, London,
June 29th 2008
I
saw Pentangle
in 1972, on what must have been
the last tour of the original ensemble
before they imploded. Even the stultifying
surroundings of what I think was
then called the Solihull Civic Centre
and an audience mainly there to
see “the group that had recorded
that theme to that BBC TV series”,
couldn’t suppress the unique
brand of musical creativity that
defined the band’s sound,
which in itself was hard to define,
if you see what I mean. |
| Folk,
jazz, jazz-folk, folk-jazz, folk-rock;
I’m sure all of these descriptions
and more have been used but none seem
to do complete justice to a band described
recently in the same Guardian article
as “the Modern Jazz Quartet
of folk”, and “Britain’s
Grateful Dead”. Of course, it
was a unique assembly of musicians:
guitarists John
Renbourn and Bert
Jansch, one with a leaning towards
early music, the other a penchant
for folk and blues; vocalist Jacqui
McShee from the traditional school
of folk; bass player Danny
Thompson who had worked with artistes
as diverse as Roy Orbison, Alexis
Korner and Davy Graham, and jazz drummer
Terry
Cox, who had also played with
Korner’s Blues Incorporated.
Fittingly for a group who became famous
for their hard drinking, they came
together in a pub on London’s
Tottenham Court Road. |
| Having
signed to the new Transatlantic Label,
they found an ambitious manager in
former PR man Jo Lustig, an unlikely
character in the world of folk, who
also subsequently managed Ralph McTell,
Steeleye Span and Richard and Linda
Thompson. Commercial success of sorts
followed with two top fifty hits,
one of which, ‘Light flight’,
also became the theme tune for a ground-breaking
BBC series ‘Take three girls’.
Six albums in four years (compare
that with Radiohead’s seven
in 14 years) saw the group’s
sound shift inexorably towards a stronger
folk emphasis as the influence of
Jansch predominated, but they were
always an oddity, somewhat on the
edge of the folk scene, never to be
compared with say Fairport Convention,
who sat firmly at the heart of the
folk-rock scene. |
 |
| But
the demands and influence of Lustig,
combined with hectic touring schedules
(and for some the hectic drinking)
all took their toll, and early in
1973 Jansch walked, leading to a ‘permanent’
split. In 1982 the band reformed briefly
with its original line-up before embarking
on an number of personnel changes,
leaving only McShee and Jansch as
founding members. In 1995 McShee,
along with husband (and current Fairport
drummer Gerry Conway) established
Jacqui
McShee's Pentangle (with McShee
as the only original member) who tour
to this day. However not to be outdone
by Fairport Convention, Pentangle
received a Lifetime Achievement award
from BBC Radio 2 in 2007, and later
that year announced this one-off gig
at the Royal Festival Hall, which
soon morphed into a 13-date UK tour. |
| McShee
looks nervous, as though she’s
never seen an audience before. |
John Renbourn
Jacqui McShee |
Whilst
her colleagues slip easily into their
chairs, Jansch stage right, Renbourn
stage left, Thomson standing behind
with his upright bass, Cox slightly
to the right of Jansch with his diminutive
drum kit, McShee seemed somewhat overcome
by the sight of a packed Festival
Hall, and hesitantly worked her way
through the first two songs ‘The
time has come’ and “our
hit”, ‘Light flight’.
But behind her the band were already
purring to perfection. Jansch playing
more of a rhythm finger-picking role,
Renbourn complimenting his guitar
with a melodious lead riffs and chords.
|
| Thomson
was devastating on bass, discreet
and supportive when required, then
booming forward with wonderfully-structured
solos. Cox, who had given up the skins
for a career running a restaurant
in Menorca, was wonderfully deft,
delicate, and light of touch, more
brushes and soft timpani mallets than
sticks. And by the third song, “This
is a real sixties type of song –
castles, hunting, maidens and all
that kind of stuff…” McShee
was in the space too, playing complex
vocal patterns against Cox’s
chops. What followed was unsurprisingly
a best of set, with songs like ‘Once
I had a sweetheart’, ‘Market
song’, ‘The house carpenter’
(when Renbourn struggled to sit down
on the floor - “This wasn’t
my idea” he grumbled as he was
handed his sitar), ‘The cruel
sister’ (when Jansch took up
the banjo), ‘Brutal tale’
(with a spectacular Renbourn solo),
‘I am a maid and deep in love’
and ‘I’ve got a feeling’,
based on Miles Davis’ ‘All
Blues’. |
|
They finished off with their worst
song of the night, the hugely dated
faux gospel song ‘Will the circle
be unbroken’ best left to the
Primary School classroom, and noticeably
forgotten by Jansch who was already
bidding his farewells to the audience
before being reminded there was one
more song left. But this apart, most
of the evening had felt as fresh as
a daisy, timeless, accomplished, inventive
and occasionally edgy, which is a
bit odd because some of the recordings
can sound very dated. The concert
marked the fortieth anniversary of
something (everywhere I looked it
said something different, proving
that memories aren’t what they
were) and of course there’s
a huge new retrospective box set you
can buy. But if you want my advice
try to see a live performance (there
must be more before they all fall
out again) - it is like a wonderful
mixture of Fairport Convention, the
Modern Jazz Quartet, The Box Tops,
Grateful Dead, Charles Mingus, Muddy
Waters, Davy Graham … -
Nick Morgan (photographs: various
sources and Nick's iPhone) |
TASTING
– THREE OLD UNDISCLOSED SPEYSIDERS
(that may have been distilled
at a well-known family owned distillery
starting with a G, or maybe not.)
|
 |
Feral
Clangs 41 yo 1966/2008 (45.7%, The
Nectar, Daily Dram, 201 bottles)
A tribute to the Velocette Thruxton,
probably the most wonderful motorbike
ever built by man. Colour: gold. Nose:
starts rather nervously, with ‘direct’
whiffs of freshly sawn oak, mint and
beeswax/honey. Walnut wood, cellulose.
Goes on with notes of plantain, both
white and milk chocolates, a little
leather polish and finally hints of
lemon balm, eucalyptus, butterscotch
and plain vanilla. Pretty youthful
at more than 40 years of age. Excellent
oakiness and good freshness at the
same time. Mouth: more fruits upfront,
coated with tannins and white pepper.
Cooked peaches and pears. Still quite
malty after 41 years, with also notes
of unsugared coffee, nutmeg, soft
paprika… |
| Gets
drier and more gingery after a while,
as well as more vanilled. Hints of
mustard. Finish: long, rather soft.
Comments: a version of that
distillery that’s rather different,
that is to say maybe a tad more austere
than usual. Also a good example of
a rather big oakiness that’s
still very, very pleasant. SGP:371
– 90 points. |
| Anonymas
34 yo 1965/2000 (50%, DL Old Malt
Cask, 256 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: rather close
to the Feral Clangs at very first
nosing but gets then more almondy
and sherried. Maraschino and kirsch
plus caramel crème. Less oak
and the same very good quality on
the nose. Also marginally fruitier
(regular bananas rather than plantains
– not wham-bam bananas that
is). Mouth: exactly the same kind
of differences as on the nose. More
fruits (very ripe cherries, figs)
but also an oakiness that’s
maybe a tad drying here. Huge spiciness
developing (cloves, Chinese anise,
cinnamon, pepper and ginger.) Finish:
long and tannic. Comments: a tad too
woody for my tastes this time but
other than that it’s another
very good xxxxxxxxxxx. SGP:481
– 86 points. |
| Blairfindy
40 yo 1963/2003 (52.3%, Blackadder
Raw Cask, Sherry, cask #5, 576 bottles)
Colour: mahogany. Nose: an archetypical
heavily sherried malt but no genuine
monster since everything is balanced
if not totally subtle. A lot of chocolate,
prunes, coffee, cherry liqueur again,
with quite some varnish as well. Wooden
cupboard. Dried parsley, putty. Mouth:
creamy and heavy, starting on a huuuuge
‘spicy-sherried’ oakiness.
Curry, strongly reduced wine sauce,
rum-soaked raisins (more Smyrna than
sultanas), dark chocolate, almond
liqueur, orange marmalade and burnt
cake (brownies). Finish: long but
a tad sticky now. Big tannins. Comments:
balanced on the nose but maybe a tad
too much on the palate. Yes, monstrous.
Very coffeeish aftertaste. SGP:472
– 86 points. |
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July
15, 2008 |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
in Saint-Tropez |
 |
CONCERT
REVIEW
by Nick Morgan
RADIOHEAD
Victoria Park, London, Wednesday
25th June, 2008
|
| We’re
down in the East End in London’s
famous Victoria Park, over 200 acres
of Victorian green space feeding the
lungs of this traditionally working-class
district of the metropolis. Given
that the site of the 2012 Olympics
isn’t far away, old Vicky Park
has its part to play, having been
chosen to host the Games’ Global
Gourmet Village, one of the major
attractions that is expected to cause
thousands of visitors to flock to
this otherwise neglected area. And
you would expect so too, wouldn’t
you? Nearby you can find some of the
most traditional, and some would say
distinguished,
cuisine in the capital. But of
course, the Olympiad is about London
now, so the Gourmet Village, of which
we’re privileged tonight to
be some of the first patrons, really
reflects what’s best about eating
in London today. |
| It’s
a showcase for the city that can boast
Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Marco
Pierre White, Giorgio Locatelli, Richard
Corrigan and Tom Aikens. And I suspect
that is why there is a large and garrulous
group of French guys (not seen in
these parts since 1066 or thereabouts)
behind us, apparently on a gourmet
pilgrimage to this very epicentre
of epicurean excellence. Or maybe
they’ve come to see Radiohead. |
| In
case you don’t know, Radiohead,
as we see it from this side of the
Atlantic, are “one of the biggest
rock bands in the world”. They’re
massive. And there are around twenty
thousand people here (that’s
about the capacity of London’s
ghastly O2 arena) who would confirm
that. I couldn’t say really
– I’m bound to have a
copy of their ground-breaking OK Computer
album somewhere and as a matter of
due diligence just prior to this gig
bought the new In Rainbows (apparently
their most accessible album in years,
and which you could download for whatever
price you cared to pay). But for all
their overpowering omnipresence, they
haven’t really registered with
me. Of course I know about the media-friendly
tousle-haired and perennially unshaven
lead singer Thom Yorke, who speaks
fluently and often sensibly on a range
of ‘Green’ issues, but
that’s about it. I can promise
you that my copy of In Rainbows will
be for sale in the local
charity shop before Christmas.
So why am I here? Well it’s
not for the grub. Mainly I’m
fulfilling a Christmas promise, the
recipient of which has rushed to the
front of the stage in a state of unbridled
frenzy. But I’m also here to
tell you what “one of the biggest
rock bands in the world” sounds
like. |
| The
joke is that we’re standing
so far back from the stage that the
band have finished every song before
we hear the start of it. Mildly funny,
but not true. The sound quality is
remarkable, well mixed and balanced,
with a crystal clarity, only occasionally
being blown away in the breeze of
what turns out to be a chilly evening.
Lucky for us there’s some bloke
with a tea urn nearby, so in a tribute
to rock and roll excess we sip milky
builder’s
tea as Radiohead go through their
paces. Let me summarise the gig (you
can get all the details here).
In almost two-and-a-half hours they
played twenty-five songs – and
I was surprised (not knowing any better)
at how well these were structured
(even the most apparently unstructured)
and how tightly they were performed.
Forty per cent came from In Rainbows
– actually they played the whole
lot – and 16% each from Kid
A and OK Computer, perhaps their best-
known works. Yorke does have the most
unusual voice, which can range from
positively tuneless to positively
captivating – he was working
hard, singing around 3,716 words,
which is 9% more than usual. Oh yes,
in case you were wondering, the very
effective stage lighting (an LED system),
used 140A 3phase compared with the
600A 3phase system they used on their
last tour. And Thom Yorke was wearing
striking red trousers, more suited
to a regatta than a rock concert,
but at least it meant that we could
see him in the distance. The final
song was Paranoid Abdroid. Need to
know any more? |
| I
did wonder how many minor chords innovative
guitarist Johnny Greenwood and his
cronies played during the set, which
was at best mildly melancholic, even
when it rocked (and they really can
rock, driven by Phil Selway’s
powerful drumming). |
| The
overwhelming sense of misery wasn’t
helped by Yorke’s voice. So
when they ventured into more melodic
territories there were occasional
striking echoes of Glasgow’s
angst and guilt-ridden Blue Nile,
and for what it’s worth in their
earlier material strong suggestions
of a considerable debt to the Beatles’
White Album. But we were kept in cheery
mood by our new French friends, who
had moved on from gourmet delights
to in-depth samplings of Carling Black
Label, the beer franchise holders
for the event. As every song finished
they chorused “à poil”
at the top of their voices, explaining
later that “at rock concerts
in France there’s always some
jerk who shouts ‘à poil’
at the end of each song”. Well,
in this case there were about eight
jerks, but as they were loving every
minute of it would have been churlish
to complain. |
 |
|
Practicalities come into play at an
event like this – have you ever
tried to get a tube from Mile End
Station at 11.00pm along with twenty
thousand others? So the giftee, as
briefed, emerged from the throng at
the start of the second encore, positioning
us for a prompt departure. He was
equally ecstatic and furious, so here’s
a fans-eye view. The band, “fantastic”,
“great to hear the new songs
live”, “some old tunes
I’d never heard them play before”,
“Johnny Greenwood’s just
brilliant”. The audience “a
bunch of London t***s”, “no
one was doing anything”, “middle
class tossers who’d just come
because they read about it in the
Observer” (steady on son, that’s
a bit close to home), “some
of the w*****s were wearing suits
and drinking Pimms” and so on,
a view which I notice was shared on
a number of the various on-line forums
about the band. But that I suppose
is what happens when you become “one
of the biggest rock bands in the world”,
or for that matter when any brand
(yes, brand, not band) moves from
a niche discerning positioning to
one that is more ubiquitous. Hang
on, that reminds me … -
Nick Morgan (concert photographs by
Kate and Nick's iPhone) |
TASTING
– MORE CAPERDONICH |
 |
Caperdonich
33yo 1973/2006 (49.2%, DL Platinum,
rum finish, 336 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: this
one starts right on sultanas, cassata
ice cream and, well, rum, with also
touches of nutmeg and ginger (speculoos)
as well as candy sugar. I must say
all that is rather enjoyable. Gets
then more ‘whisky’, with
an obvious maltiness and various herbs
and spices. Big notes of green tea
(gunpowder) at the development. Certainly
a finishing that worked, reminding
me a bit of a splendid Tomintoul rum
finish in the same series. |
| Mouth:
very sweet, round, powerful but not
aggressive, with less rum influence
this time, even if there’s still
quite some candy sugar and sultanas.
Develops on sweet liquorice (allsorts)
and dried bananas, getting fruitier
and fruitier over time (guavas? Papayas?)
Very satisfying mouth feel, too bad
the whole gets just a tad too sugary
after a while. Excellent oakiness
underlining the whole. Finish: rather
long and even sweeter. Caramelised
oak? Comments: firm and sweet at the
same time, with the oak making a late
arrival. It seems that the rum did
bring something to the whisky indeed.
Good stuff. SGP:631 - 88 points. |
| Caperdonich
1972/2008 (50.3%, Duncan Taylor for
The Nectar, 136 bottles)
Colour: full gold/pale amber.
Nose: starts even more expressively
than the 1973, also with more elegance.
Impressive notes of beeswax and pollen,
apricot cake and dandelions with hints
of liquorice and pears poached in
sweet white wine. It’s also
a tad phenolic and almondy (putty,
marzipan), with a little wood smoke.
Keeps developing on wax/varnish, cigar
box and vanilla fudge, with also something
toffeeish. A very, very classy old
Caperdonich displaying a rather sublime
balance (fruits/flowers/spices/phenols).
I luv’ it. Mouth: splendid attack,
first sweet and smooth (sweets), then
firmer thanks to beautiful tannins
that are soon to give the whole a
perfect backbone, and then beautifully
fruity. Bananas flambéed, greengage
jam, spiced up orange marmalade (with
cloves and cinnamon), mango chutney,
old sweet wine (such as an old Maury
or Rivesaltes, and maybe even hints
of Vinsanto.) Superb. Finish: long,
firm and smooth again, with now hints
of herbal teas (rosehip, hawthorn)
and a little more pepper than before.
Comments: an exceptional version of
Caperdonich, absolutely flawless.
But warning, it’s highly drinkable!
SGP:643 – 93 points. |
Caperdonich
24yo 1980/2005 (57.9%, SMWS, 38.13,
'Eiswein and Red Peppercorns')
Colour: pale gold. Nose: another one
that’s very expressive, more
on butter cake and fudge this time,
and then on loads of soft spices.
Mulled wine? Goes on with a lot of
milk chocolate, café latte,
roasted hazelnuts, praline…
Slightly rough ‘kirschiness’
in the background. Not as majestically
elegant as the 1972 but still extremely
pleasant despite its slight roughness.
With water: a lot of sulphur for a
while, rubber, even bigger kirschy
notes… Hints of horse dung…
What a U-turn! Actually, it never
quite recovers from the savage assaults
of a few drops of water. Not a good
swimmer on the nose (err…) |
 |
| Mouth
(neat): it’s the spices that
play the first parts here (huge cinnamon),
and then various crystallised fruits
(oranges, kumquats, chestnuts.) With
water: more spices and more wood.
Something a little ‘twisted’;
a slightly weird cask? Finish: rather
long, rounder again, with quite some
grenadine and violet sweets this time.
Definitely bizarre, even interesting.
Comments: as UFO-esque as ‘Eiswein
with peppercorns” but certainly
‘funny’. SGP:552
– 77 points. By the
way, greatest of news, another Chivas
distillery just started to distil
again on July 11: Braes of Glenlivet
– Braeval. Welcome back! |
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:
Ardbeg
10 yo (80°proof,
OB, UK, white label, early 1970’s)
Caperdonich
1972/2008 (50.3%, Duncan Taylor for
The Nectar, 136 bottles)
Feral
Clangs 41 yo 1966/2008 (45.7%, The
Nectar, Daily Dram, 201 bottles)
Mortlach
1980/2002 (63.8%,
Gordon & MacPhail, Cask, cask #3646)
Port
Ellen 19 yo 1982/2001 (56%,
Douglas Laing for Alambic Classique, 390 bottles)
Port
Ellen 24 yo 1982/2006 (57.6%, Whisky
Magazine, Editor’s Choice, 300 bottles)
Port
Ellen 31 yo 1969/2001 (42.9%, Douglas
Laing for Alambic Classique, 41 bottles)
Tamdhu
1973/2008 (56%, Gordon & MacPhail,
Reserve, cask #3230, 481 bottles)
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