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Hi, you're in the Archives, June 2006 - Part 2 |
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| June
30, 2006 |
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Glenrothes
1972/2004 (43%, OB)
Colour: gold-amber. Nose: starts on
lots of honey and caramel, dried fruits,
with lots of freshness. Some spices
as well (juniper). Notes of tangerines,
mirabelle plums jam, apricots…
Not tired in anyway and very elegant.
Mouth: again, quite fresh and fruity,
slightly caramelly. Lots of honey
and lots of elegance. Goes on with
a little white pepper and hints of
mint. Grows more and more peppery
(also nutmeg) and honeyed with time
with also roasted nuts. The finish
isn’t too long and funnily salty
and vanilled. In short it’s
all pleasure, elegance and drinkability.
90 points. |
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Glenrothes
30 yo (50.2%, OB, 1134 bottles, 2004)
Colour: straw. Nose: starts very flowery
and fragrant with hints of lavender
and orange flower water. Goes on with
herbal teas (thyme, mint flavoured
tea) and quite some liquorice. Spearmint.
Really fragrant and enjoyable. Mouth:
powerful and fruity but also rather
tannic, oaky. Lots of pineapple, dried
oranges, liquorice, lactones…
The finish is long and oaky. An interesting
contrast between a very perfumy nose
(nothing offending here) and a nicely
tannic palate. 86 points. |
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| June
29, 2006 |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
| TASTING
- FOUR CLYNELISHES |
Clynelish
12 yo (70° proof, G&M, brown
and orange label, late 70's - early
80’s) 
Probably on of the first bottlings
by Gordon & MacPhail. Colour straw.
Nose: starts quite fruitier than the
earlier 12 yo Clynelishes, with less
wax and oil. Apricot pie, guava, pink
grapefruit… And then a nice
minerality and oiliness as expected.
Classy stuff as expected. Mouth: very
typical, very waxy, on orange skins
and marzipan, with a nice, discreet
peatiness. Gets then quite mustardy,
spicy and salty… Quite some
body at such low strength and bottle
age. The finish is rather long, full,
orangey and spicy… Excellent
whisky, lacking maybe just the older
ones’ ‘rectitude’.
89 points. |
| Clynelish
12 yo 1984/1997 (43%, Signatory, cask
#3089)
Colour: white wine. Nose: starts on
lots of lemon liqueur, almond milk
and marzipan, kumquats… Develops
on linseed oil, getting rather mineral.
Quite some orange zest. A very interesting,
rather sharp and elegant nose. Mouth:
sweet, rather almondy but getting
also a little cardboardy… Gets
then quite oily, mineral again, then
quite grassy… Quite some lemon
then, then pear (like in a newmake)…
Closer and closer to new make in fact.
Finish: quite long and waxy as it
should be. In short, an interesting,
prototypical Clynelish. I like it
(of course). 86 poiints. |
Clynelish
12 yo (50%, DL OMC, mini)
Colour: white wine. Nose: rather hot,
very spirity and mashy, as close to
new make as it can be. Raw, mashy,
on porridge, plain yoghurt, mashed
potatoes, cider apples… Not
too impressive I’m afraid. Mouth:
this is better, starting on pineapple
juice, sugared yoghurt, wax…
gets then quite grassy, with also
notes of green pears. Not fully matured,
maybe… Notes of apple and walnut
skin, getting finally very almondy.
Long, spirity, lemony finish…
Maybe not a winner, this time…
78 points. |
Clynelish
1989 (58%, James MacArthur, circa
20001) 
Colour: straw. Nose: powerful, starting
on freshly mown lawn and porridge,
muesli, sour cream… Something
musty and cardboardy. Quite close
to the barley, with also notes of
coffee. Gooseberries. Mouth: ample
and full, starting on bubble gum and
marshmallows, apple juice, grapefruits…
Quite estery. Then we have quite some
vanilla fudge, Werther’s Originals,
caramel crème… Hints
of fresh strawberries… Nice
and easily drinkable at 58% - or is
it me? The finish is long, sweet,
on pineapple drops and marshwmallows
again… The sweeter side of Clynelish.
Good. 81 points. |
What's rather unusual with Clynelish's
stills?
A - They are still direct-fired
B - They are the tallest in Scotland
C - The old Brora stills are among
them (wash #1 and spirit #2)
D - The manager lives in spirit still
#3
E - The spirit stills are larger than
the wash stills |
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| June
28, 2006 |
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CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
ANDY SHEPPARD QUARTET Pizza
Express Jazz Club, Soho, London
June 24th 2006 |
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Apparently
some people will do anything they
can to stay at home watching football
on the TV, even if it means enduring
moments like English soccer pundit
Mark Lawrenson horribly abusing the
work of the great Nick Lowe –
“Well John, look at Beckham,
he doesn’t know if it’s
New York or New Year”. Ouch!
I’m the opposite. I’ll
do anything to avoid it – even
if it means eating Pizza, on this
occasion an ‘American hot’,
which I don’t think came from
America, and which certainly wasn’t
very hot. But the music, the real
temptation that saw us walking the
soccer-fan saturated streets of Soho,
was (on second thoughts if you do
have to watch international soccer
on television, then go to Soho’s
Bar Italia to see the Azzurri –it
doesn’t get any hotter). |
| Not
that we could entirely escape the
great game even in the mellow smoke
filled Pizza Express Jazz Club –
star turn Andy
Sheppard lost his band
at the start of the set (“we’ll
play these while we’re waiting
for the rhythm section to get back
from watching the football in the
pub”), and someone had even
laid in a little competitive footballing
treat in the men’s lavatories
for those blokes who’d been
dragged out under protest. |
| Sheppard
is widely regarded as one of the most
celebrated British saxophonists and
composer (‘though Serge, I note
that he chose to hone his skills in
your wonderful Paris) with an unrivalled
pedigree of both solo work and collaborations
with artistes such as Gil Evans and
Carla Bley – actually if you
bother to look at his biography you’ll
see that the list is almost endless.
I saw in some of the pieces I read
preparing for this that some critics
deem him too easy, too accessible,
not sufficiently complex to deserve
real jazz credibility. Well I say,
“why make things too difficult
if they don’t need to be”.
Sheppard’s playing is melodic
and tuneful (so he prefers his major
keys to his minors), deeply soulful,
wonderfully structured, not without
wit, and certainly complex and challenging
enough for his audience tonight. |
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| It’s
not a bad thing that he’s joined
by guitarist John
Parricelli, a veteran of 80’s
band Loose Tubes (whose name I seem
to recall), who is everything to the
guitar that Sheppard is to the saxophone.
To be honest I had some reasonable
expectation of how good Sheppard might
be, but not of how accomplished Parricelli
was. |
'P.S.'
Andy Sheppard
and John Parricelli |
The
two began with three pieces from the
2003 album PS – the first two,
‘Reveries’ and ‘Glencarron’
(which if it isn’t a cheap own
label malt whisky, certainly should
be) were quite folk like, with Parricelli
on acoustic guitar (though being helped
out by a few of his numerous pedals
and boxes). The third, ‘Les
Mains d’Alice’ brought
on the electric guitar which Parricelli
played for the rest of the evening,
and a thrilling chorus effect that
he frequently used during the set.
With the rest of the band back from
the boozer – Dudley
Phillips on bass and Nic
France on drums – (both
longstanding collaborators with Sheppard
and veterans of the London jazz scene,
who can be found playing on Phillip’s
thought-provokingly titled album,
Life Without Trousers) they run into
the first of a number of standards
(I couldn’t help thinking they
all sounded a bit like ‘Luck
be my lady’, but to be honest
I’m not as up on my jazz as
I should be). |
| Sheppard
and Parricelli improvised fluently
and swapped solos all night, and whilst
there was one sudden moment of ‘free
form’ (even the waiters looked
alarmed) we were never far away from
deeply rhythmical and melodic grooves,
with odd echoes of Wayne Shorter,
Bill Frisell, and even, I swear, the
Allman Brothers on the penultimate
‘Scream’. However the
high point of the evening had to be
Sheppard’s soprano solo in the
second half, as he ran through scales
and half scales with the speed and
accuracy of one of Parricelli’s
loop boxes. It went on so long that
it had the feel of showboating, but
in the taxi home my son explained
that this was a virtuoso display of
what brass players know as continuous
or circular breathing. And the evening
ended almost back where we started
– “we’re going to
leave you with a folk song –
something for you to chew on”. |
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Well of course I was still chewing
on my pizza, but I’d enjoyed
the music so much I’d hardly
noticed. Musicianship of the highest
quality. And whilst I know Serge has
his own favourites I would urge you
to go out and buy Sheppard and Parricelli’s
wonderful PS, and check out the tour
dates on Sheppard’s website,
he’s worth going to see no matter
what you have to eat. - Nick Morgan
(photographs by Kate and Nick) |
| Merci
Nick, it’s true that Andy Sheppard
is one of Whiskyfun’s favourite
jazzmen, especially since I first
listened to ‘Songs with legs’,
a fabulous CD he recorded in 1994
with Carla
Bley (interesting website by the
way) and her husband Steve Swallow.
But how can Andy Sheppard be too easy?
As for your great ‘urinal’
picture, well, some seem to think
that football is more something like
an anal game but that British variation
is interesting indeed. I’m sure
most psychosociologists must have
lots of fun with the world cup!…
Today’s music: Andy Sheppard
with Joanna
McGregor doing Up
above my head.mp3. Easy, eh! |
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Ben
Nevis 12 yo (40%, Glenkeir Treasures,
The Whisky Shop)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: on caramel
and vanilla plus apricot pie. Develops
on nectar and light breakfast honey,
green tea, getting then grassier (lettuce).
A nice nose, quite expressive. Notes
of mashed potatoes after a moment.
Mouth: simpler and rather tannic,
I guess a higher alcohol level would
have helped to stand the tannins.
Quite some white pepper, a little
apple juice… Not too bad but
the palate is its weaker part. Medium
long finish, getting caramelly and
a little drying. £30 for 50cl
of this one, mmm… 77
points. |
| Ben
Nevis 13 yo 1990/2004 (61.6%, OB,
Portwood finish, 800 bottles)
This one’s been finished for
12 months in some Port bodega butts,
not pipes. Colour: pink gold. Nose:
starts on huge notes of strawberry
jam and keeps smelling juts like strawberry
and raspberry wines (the ones they
make in Germany). With water: gets
more vegetal, on fern, moss, fresh
strawberries. Quite nice I must say.
Mouth: powerful, rounded, creamy with
a little salt. Quite some caramel,
raspberry ganache, huge notes of raspberry
eau de vie and liqueur. With water:
smoother and more balanced but still
very fruity. The finish is long, maybe
a little hot even with water, with
a lot of raspberry again and hints
of salt and rubber. 86 points
because I love raspberries ;-). |
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| June
27, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO GLENMORANGIES |
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Glenmorangie
1993/2005 ‘Truffle Oak’
(60.5%, OB, 886 bottles)
I believe truffle oak is just another
name for the common European oak,
quercus robur, so this has nothing
to do with truffles. It’s just
like if you’d call sturgeon
‘caviar fish’ ;-). Colour:
gold. Nose: quite hot this time, surely
oaky but also very spicy. Hints of
plank, freshly sawn wood, white pepper
and ginger… Something wild,
getting bizarrely meaty. Mouth: bold,
powerful, extremely oaky and sweet
with notes of rubber and what could
be varnish. Notes of ripe bananas
and rum, high-strength bourbon…
Really rough but gets smoother and
more civilized with time. The finish
is long, very salty and quite rubbery.
Does all this salt come from the new
oak? The Burr oak was better balanced
I think. 81 points. |
| Glenmorangie
1988/2003 ‘Madeira’ (56.6%,
OB, cask #3078, 856 bottles)
This one’s been fully matured
in Madeira wood, not finished. Colour:
deep gold. Nose: rather spirity and
not too fragrant at first nosing.
Notes of sultanas, vanilla, cinnamon,
also quite some bitter chocolate and
mint. Notes of wet cardboard and,
curiously, iodine. Bread crust. Rather
simple but unusual and enjoyable.
Mouth: nervous, very sweet and very
oaky. Malty, with lots of candy sugar
and pepper, getting slightly salty
and metallic. Quite some chestnut
honey, at that. Flavourful, with a
long, salty finish with lots of spices,
prunes, cinnamon and vanilla sticks.
Maybe a tad too extravagant for my
tastes but certainly well made. 85
points. |
| MUSIC
– JAZZ - and soul -
Hugely recommended listening - Yeah,
more Rachelle
Ferrell, with I
can explain.mp3 (it's on Individuality).
Please listen to it till the end,
isn't she's totally brilliant? (who
said orgasmic?) You must buy her music,
do you hear me? |
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| June
26, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- FIVE LAPHROAIGS |
| Laphroaig
10 yo (40%, OB, 2006)
Colour: gold. Nose: not too expressive
and slightly cardboardy, with quite
some orange juice, hints of lemon
zest, lemonade, ginger tonic…
But not much peat nor smoke, I’m
afraid. Quite ashy and medicinal (bandages,
embrocations)… Hints of seawater.
Nice and balanced but not the ‘no
compromise’ style we used to
know. Mouth: rather sweet, gently
peaty this time and rather fruity
(very, very ripe kiwis and pineapples).
Salted water, notes of sour cream…
Rather salty at that, but there’s
a strange offbeat note in the background
(these almost rotten fruits). Quite
short finish, salty, with hints of
cooked spinach and a little ginger…
Maybe not the glorious Laphroaig we
used to know but it’s still
rather good whisky. 81 points. |
| Laphroaig
10 yo (40%, OB, ‘unblended’,
Johnstone with an ‘e’,
1980’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: more caramelly
and much fruitier, with tons of passion
fruit and guava, pink grapefruit and
also vanilla crème… The
peat is also wilder although not ‘explosive’.
The ‘unblended’ as we
used to know it. Mouth: very fruity,
on coffee and all these tropical fruits
plus a little toasted bread and quite
some salt. Rather brilliant I must
say, even if the older versions were
even better in my opinion. Well, not
just in my opinion ;-). 91
points. |
| Laphroaig
10 yo (45%, OB, Buckingham Wile Imports
NYC, early 1990’s?)
An unusual version at 45%. Colour:
gold. Nose: much more closed, on bitter
chocolate and coffee beans, before
we get lots of ‘citricness’,
lemon juice, notes of old barrels
(clean ones), mustiness and whiffs
of camphor and sea breeze, oysters
again… Not too expressive but
typical. Mouth: bold and powerful,
peaty and waxy with also rennet apples,
quince, caramel crème, lemon
marmalade, kumquats… Long finish,
rather bold, coating, with a waxy,
peppery and orangey aftertaste. Not
quite as good as the unblended but
it’s excellent stuff nevertheless.
89 points. |
| Laphroaig
13 yo 1988/2001 (46%, Murray McDavid,
MM 2109)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: clean and
pure at first nosing, filling the
whole room with peat smells. Gets
then very citrusy, on lemon juice,
limes as well as iodine, bandages,
disinfectant… Very medicinal.
Quite some tar as well. Very classic,
flawless. Mouth: not too bold but
again very smoky, tarry and slightly
salty. Gets hotter in your mouth and
saltier as well, developing on liquorice,
crystallized lemon zests, salted liquorice…
An excellent one, no doubt, even if
it isn’t monstrously complex.
The finish is rather long and very
salty, earthy and liquoricy. Classic.
87 points. |
| Laphroaig
16 yo 1988/2004 (46%, Signatory unchillfiltered,
cask #3614)
Colour: white wine. Nose: starts rather
less clean and much mashier, with
quite some porridge, mashed potatoes,
notes of burnt cake… Then slightly
rotten fruits (garbage truck says
Davin, I guess they have clean ones
in Ottawa) as well as hints of wet
dog and maybe a little ginger tonic,
aspirin… Nicer than you may
think while reading this, in fact.
Mouth: quite cleaner now but not too
expressive. Maybe a little soft. Porridge,
cereals, beer, pepper, orange juice…
A little salt again and a finish that
isn’t too long and quite mellow
for a Laphroaig. Quite drinkable but
it’s probably no race horse.
82 points. |
From 1906 to 2006, Laphroaig's output
has increased by a factor of just...
A - It has diminished, actually
B - 1 - it's just the same, son
C - 10
D - 100
E - I'm bad at maths |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on vacation
in Saint-Tropez |
MUSIC
– JAZZ - Highly recommended
listening - another Whiskyfun favourite,
Rachelle
Ferrell doing Bye
bye blackbird.mp3 in her very
own, energetic way. Just great!
Please buy her records (although
the 'smooth or FM jazz' ones aren't
as good I think) and go to her gigs!
(photo Bill King) |
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| June
25, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO GLEN ALBYNS |
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Glen
Albyn 1973/1998 (40%, Gordon &
MacPhail Connoiseur's Choice)
Colour: straw. Nose: starts rather
weirdly (should I add as expected?)
on vase water and rotting oranges
but does improve after a moment, getting
fruitier (cider apples) and more herbal
(newly cut grass). Gets then quite
grainy, buttery and mashy (mashed
potatoes) but also quite woody, with
lots of tannins, white pepper, tealeaves…
Also hints of gin tonic and aspirin
but the whole is interesting, getting
fizzier and fizzier. |
| Mouth:
much dustier and cardboardy now, with
quite some cocoa, white pepper, flour…
Add to that a little vanilla crème,
fruit drops and a little cider and
that’s it. The finish is rather
short at that, a little drying and
‘sticky’… Too bad,
the nose was nice enough to almost
make me change my mind about Glen
Albyn. 72 points. |
| Glen
Albyn 10 yo (43%, OB, 1960’s)
Colour: straw. Nose: lots of old bottle
effect, this time on metal but it
gets then much more playful, with
lots of fresh pineapple, a little
passion fruit, grapefruit, papayas…
All that is quite subtle, not as expressive
as in an old Lochside, Bowmore or
Clynelish, for instance. Starts to
resemble the G&M more and more
then, with a little aspirin, grains,
porridge… But it’s much
less tannic. Something waxy and slightly
peaty in the background. Mouth: lots
of body, much fruitier and lively
than the G&M, with lots of apple
juice, orange juice and then spices
(quite some clove). Develops on pineapples,
fresh rhubarb and quite some spearmint,
pepper, even a little cardamom. It’s
good! The finish is quite long, quite
fruity and spicy (that cardamom again)…
A very interesting old Glen Albyn.
The nose wasn’t especially better
than the G&M’s but the palate
was. 80 points. |
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| June
24, 2006 |
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CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
PAUL LAMB AND THE KING SNAKES
The Borderline, London, June 17th
2006 |
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Left
to right, Paul Lamb, Raul de Pedro
Marinero, Ryan Lamb and Chad Strentz |
| I
couldn’t help thinking that
‘the best blues band in Britain’
somehow deserved a little better.
I mean I know it’s summer, it’s
hot British barbecue bedlam time (“mmm…like
those rare chicken ribs Dad…”),
people are saving up for their holidays,
there’s football on the TV every
night and in about a week’s
time Festival Frenzy grips London,
with it appears just about every public
space available in the City being
used for day or evening events. But
even so that’s no excuse for
an audience of around twenty, miserably
failing to make the Borderline look
anything other than empty. Now when
I first saw Paul
Lamb and the King Snakes,
in one of those forgotten and very
dirty Edinburgh Masonic Halls that
only comes to life for a few weeks
each September, the place was buzzing.
Everyone had come to see the blues
band that had won more awards than
any other blues band, the blues harmonica
player who had won more awards than
any other blues harmonica player,
and the blues guitarist who’d
won more awards than any other blues
guitarist. |
Jimmy Hill |
Well
it’s been a few years since
the last plaudits rained down on the
King Snakes. Paul Lamb is still fronting
them up, playing his remarkably full
sounding ‘urban’ or Chicago
style of harp, switching deftly (and
often mid-song) between harps and
chromatic harmonicas. He’s still
a great showman (‘though it
does lack a bit of conviction in front
of such a small audience), but I have
to observe that age has not served
him well, and the alarming resemblance
that he now bears to former TV football
pundit Jimmy Hill sits uneasily with
his reputation as a bluester. Sadly
Whitehill has gone – now that’s
not to underrate the performance of
lead guitarist Raul de Pedro Marinero,
whose T Bone Walker style licks were
worthy of any stage, or ‘guest’
guitarist Ryan Lamb (almost a flock
then) who added a hard British Blues
edge to the band when he joined them.
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|
It’s just that Whitehill was
pretty remarkable (you’d have
to be a guitarist to understand, but
just how he played like he did with
such stubby fingers I shall never
know) – I swear that when I
saw him if you’d shut your eyes
you might have thought it was Peter
Green. |
| So
in short the King Snakes seem to have
lost a bit of edge over the years,
and also gained a bit of a novelty
act feel – not to be encouraged
– don’t go there boys.
But even with twenty of us in the
Borderline they belted out a raucous
set and did their best to act as Ambassadors
for the Blues. And as I’m sure
I’ve observed before, if it
wasn’t for bands like them,
where would the Blues be? - Nick
Morgan (concert photographs by Kate) |
 |
Thank
you Nick, I guess the blues needs
sad, melancholy or bittersweet stories
from time to time… But your
Jimmy Hill? |
| He
looks more like George Clooney actually,
when compared to some of the fabulous
television presenters we do have here
during the world cup (left to right,
Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger
– he’s an Alsatian, Claude
Leroy and Thierry Roland). Nice bunch,
eh? As for Paul Lamb and the King
Snakes, we could find good music,
it’s More
than alright.mp3, played live.
PS: we love Arsène! |
TASTING
- TWO GLENBURGIES
Glenburgie
5 yo (40%, OB, Soffiantino Genova,
late 60’s)
Colour: straw. Nose: very fresh,
starting on something buttery and
then lots of aniseed, Chartreuse,
dill… All kinds of herbs,
whiffs of coriander, chive and then
vanilla crème. Ends up with
apple juice and cider and faint
whiffs of white pepper. A great
nose. |
 |
| Mouth:
not weak at all, starting on cider
apples and quite some wood, orange
juice, cake, getting a little bitter,
on walnut skins and hints of fino.
Quite some fruit as well (yellow peaches,
grapefruits) and something slightly
metallic. It’s good! The finish
isn’t too long, that is, a little
tannic and drying (amazing at 5 yo
) but still quite balanced. A nice
surprise. 84 points. |
| Glenburgie
10 yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail,
circa 2004)
Colour: amber. Nose: a really strange
start on hard boiled eggs and cooked
spinach, maybe even cabbage. Develops
on rotting fruits (apples) and then
furniture polish, metal, linseed oil,
sour cream… Getting more balanced
after a good fifteen minutes, with
flowery notes (roses). Very unique,
even strange but not obligatorily
bad. A funny nose! Mouth: much more
mainstream now, quite creamy and orangey,
with notes of cake, light caramel
and cereals, and maybe something slightly
smoky. The whole is a little weak
I must say but otherwise perfectly
drinkable, with a rather short but
nicely toasted finish. Well, that’s
not enough to fetch more than 73
points in my books, the nose
was quite… err… maybe
‘embarrassing’. |
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| June
23, 2006 |
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TASTING
- TWO GLENALLACHIES
Glenallachie
12 yo 1992/2004 (43%, Signatory,
cask #453)
Colour: white wine. Nose: extremely
fruity and raw, close to new make,
with lots of pineapple and pear
juice as well as golden delicious
apples (sweet apples). It gets then
sort of milky, with a little mashed
potatoes, boiled cereals, whipped
cream… Inoffensive and enjoyable.
|
| Mouth:
sweet and very grainy, on apple juice,
a little caramel, vanilla crème
and then a little lemon juice, fructose…
A litlle acidulous but also very sugary.
Quite some tannins after a moment,
apple skins, getting sort of bitter
but rather nicely so. The finish isn’t
too long, mainly on grapefruit juice
and tea. Well, we’ve had some
Glenallachies that were much worse
in the past! 78 points. |
| Glenallachie
1981/2004 (55.9%, Scotch Single Malt
Circle, cask #6000)
Colour: full gold. Nose: bold, powerful,
starting on lots of apricots and peaches,
yellow plums… Gets then quite
floral (lily of the valley, peonies)
and finally rather woody (vanilla
and lactones). Well, it isn’t
too complex yet but maybe a few drops
of water will make things improve.
It gets a little farmier indeed, as
often, with hints of smoke and pu-erh
tea (mustiness), rosemary toasted
bread, even mushrooms... Much, much
more complex now. Pine needles, humus…
Great. Mouth (neat): strong and liquoricy,
almost on salmiak. Very salty. Quite
some crystallised quince, kumquats,
the whole getting even sweeter after
a moment. Easily drinkable like that
but let’s try it with water…
Oh yes, again that works, with dried
pears, spices, herbs, quince again,
something rooty… Excellent,
certainly the best Glenallachie I
ever had. The finish is quite long,
at that, maybe just a tad drying and
tannic but otherwise it’s an
excellent whisky. 87 points.
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: who's hot in France these
days? Well, yes, maybe you don't
care but it's Philippe
Katerine and his silghtly
arty but infectious music. Try for
instance Louxor
j'adore.mp3... And then please
buy his music. |
 |
|
|
| June
22, 2006 |
|
|
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK on holiday
in Saint-Tropez! |
| |
|
| |
| There
will be more Pete and Jack in St-Tropez
within the coming weeks... |
| TASTING
- TWO STRATHMILLS |
 |
Strathmill
1975/2003 (44%, Secret Treasures,
cask #1890/92)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather fragrant
but quite weird at first nosing, with
quite some rotten fruits (oranges)
and lots of Alka-Seltzer, old milk,
rancid butter… Also cooked ham,
rotten game… And then a miracle
happens, all those weird aromas vanish,
leaving place for much nicer fruity
notes (mostly cider apples and pears),
beer, turnips and finally some extremely
bold notes of hand rolling tobacco
as well as a little milk chocolate.
Funny and very interesting, this Strathmill.
|
| Mouth:
a rather bold mouthfeel, compact and
sweet, with again quite some tobacco
and dried fruits. No weird notes whatsoever
this time. Quite some apple liqueur
(Manzana and such), a little ginger,
tannins but soft ones, grape skins,
a little milk chocolate, herbal liqueur…
Rather broad even if not exactly complex.
The finish is medium long, mostly
on fruit cake and dried ginger…
Another good surprise, the best Strathmill
I ever had (OK, my favourite). 83
points. |
| Strathmill
11 yo 1992 (64.2%, James MacArthur,
circa 2004)
Colour: straw. Nose: extremely hot
and burning, with just spirit and
apple plus what seems to be a little
peat, pepper, coal smoke, stones and
milk. But water needed! Well, that
doesn’t quite work, it just
gets much grassier, with maybe again
these notes of tobacco (not as strong
here) and a little celeriac. Nothing
really special but it’s an okay
malt. Mouth (neat): sweet but very
spirity, mostly on pear spirit and
maybe kirsch. With water: much sweeter,
prickly, almost acidulous, with lots
of lemon drops, notes of not too ripe
strawberries and then quite some tannins.
The finish is not too long but nicely
sweet and ‘fruity’, generally
speaking. Not bad at all, don’t
expect to appreciate it without H2O…
78 points. |
|
|
| June
21, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO STRATHISLAS |
 |
Strathisla
10 yo (43%, OB, Chivas, 1950’s)
Colour: white wine, almost white.
Nose: rather fresh and clean, extremely
fruity, starting on fresh strawberries
and ripe gooseberries and developing
on ancient roses, lychees, whipped
cream and tangerines. Impressively
playful! Keeps developing, getting
slightly farmy, with wet hay and even
peat and then hints of rose flavoured
Indian yoghurt (yes). |
| Mouth:
so sweet and delicate, just like a
lychee juice again, pomegranates,
light pear juice. Hints of roasted
peanuts and then huge strawberry notes
again (and strawberry liqueur). It
doesn’t develop any further
in fact but the whole is amazingly
fresh – the finish being rather
short, that is, but also a little
smoky. Good and interesting! 85
points. |
| Strathisla
35 yo 1967/2003 (54.3%, Gordon &
MacPhail for Barmetro, cask #2063,
153 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: superbly
sherried, with quite some varnish
and wax polish at first nosing, and
then oak, and then dried oranges,
and then rubber, and then hints of
wet stones, and then orange juice,
then peonies… This is endless,
even if the whole is not overly complex.
A sherry monster that’s not
clumsy or sweetish but rather sharp,
with lots of wood influence. The waxiness
grows bigger by the minute, with the
rubber being always well here. Enjoyable
notes of fresh strawberries, just
like in its ancestor, also toffee
and coffee fudge. Mouth: big, bold
and extremely punchy, very nutty.
Walnut and hazelnut liqueurs? Otherwise
we have the usual rum, oranges, chestnut
honey, toasted cake and chocolate.
Let’s be quick: it’s a
flawless and tireless old sherry monster
with a rather long, nicely dry and
minty finish. 90 points. |
|
|
| June
19, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
STEVE EARLE, ALLISON MOORER, THE PROCLAIMERS,
DAVID KNOPFLER AND KARINE POLWART,
Reprieve Benefit, The Globe Theatre,
London, June 5th, 2006 |
| I
couldn’t help thinking that
listening to Nick
Yarris, standing on the stage
of the Globe Theatre, talking about
his 23 years in solitary confinement
in a prison, was probably almost as
moving as anything written by Shakespeare
himself. Ok, I know that like Clive
Stafford Smith, legal director of
Reprieve,
which works on behalf of people facing
the death penalty all over the world,
Nick spoke for a bit too long and
was a bit repetitive, but that didn’t
blunt his, or their, message. |
Nick Yarris |
| And
anyway, when you go to a charity gig
you know that half the price of the
ticket is for the chat. And of course
for the comedy, which never seems
far away from a good cause these days.
So we enjoyed most of Stephen K Amos’
compere routine, all of Paul Hamilton’s
witty poems (especially the one about
the Salvation Army, ‘God’s
terrorists’). The hugely talented
Stewart Lee (he directed and co-wrote
Jerry Springer: the Opera) also chose
to focus on Jesus gags, but ended
up in slightly surreal musings about
the structure of jokes, whilst the
rather conceited Mark Thomas, a sort
of motor-mouthed Marxist Max Miller,
chose to speak largely about himself
– and very funny some of it
was too. |
 |
Of
course we’d come along mainly
for the music, and the opportunity
to enjoy it in these most incongruous
surroundings, the wonderful replica
of the Elizabethan theatre that staged
many of Shakespeare’s most famous
plays, built only a stone’s
throw from its original site. And
so had Whiskyfun favourite Ron
Sexsmith, whom we spotted with
some of his band members in the pit,
and who was happy to discuss the merits
of his fine new album, Time Being,
and things Vancouver Island, with
the Photographer during the interval. |
The Photographer with Ron Sexsmith,
Karine Polwart, Allison Moorer,
Steve Earle |
I
could see that Ron, like us, was very
taken with Scottish singer songwriter
Karine
Polwart, who came on stage to
join David
Knopfler and guitarist Harry Bogdanovs
and sing her song ‘Sun’s
comin’ over the hill’,
quite a whisky soaked tragedy, the
prolific Knopfler (yes, he’s
the other Knopfler who co-founded
Dire Straits) having happily performed
a few songs of his own (‘Deptford
Days’ and ‘The King of
Ashes’). Finishing off the first
half of the evening were the hugely
infectious Proclaimers,
loved by all I think, for simply being
such great and genuine blokes. They
stormed the audience with ‘Letter
from America’, ‘I’m
on my way’, ‘Scotland’s
Story’ (a sort of Sunday Post
history of immigration in Scotland),
‘Sunshine on Leith’ and
“I’m gonna be (500 miles)”.
Phew! The sun’s starting to
go down, the moon’s rising,
it’s getting bloody cold (how
did the Elizabethans manage I wonder)
and it’s time for a cup of tea.
Allison
Moorer has just released a new
album, Getting Somewhere. It’s
her sixth, but I confess she was barely
known to me before this evening. Believe
me she has a voice to die for –
it filled the cavernous open space
of the Globe, and I bet you could
probably have heard it over the river
at St Paul’s. She sang ‘Farewell
fairweather’, Soft place to
fall’, ‘Getting somewhere’
and ‘Long time coming’.
Hmm I thought, almost a lady Steve
Earle. Do the research. She married
Steve a year or so ago and he produced
the new album. But her voice is fantastic
– all her own work and well
worth looking out for. And then we
had Steve. By this time of course
we were running late (de rigueur for
these sort of gigs) and Steve wasn’t
in any rush, but he managed seven
songs and some chilling reflections
on capital punishment (“I’ve
witnessed an execution and I wish
I hadn’t, but how can you refuse
a man’s last request?”).
He also invited us to return the following
evening and join him for Titus Andronicus
(“this is the only theatre in
London where I know where the front
door is; I mean I can’t tell
you many times I’ve played at
the Shepherd’s Bush Empire,
but I couldn’t tell you how
to get in”). |
He begins with the spoken ‘Warrior’
from the Revolution Starts Now, “This
is the best time of the day—the
dawn, the final cleansing breath unsullied
yet by acrid fume or death’s
cacophony ...”, which is probably
about as Shakespearian as we get all
night. “I’ve waited a
long time to play that here”,
he says. He follows with ‘Feel
alright’, ‘My old Friend
the blues’, ‘I am Kilrain
of the 20th Maine’ and ‘Copperhead
Road’ (on mandolin), ‘Coming
around’ (with Allison Moorer)
and finally, and appropriately, from
the soundtrack of Dead Men Walking,
‘Ellis Unit One’, about
a prison officer working in a death
chamber.
And that was it. We’d put money
in the buckets, laughed at the jokes,
listened intently to the serious bits
(I’m still trying to understand
just what 23 years in solitary confinement
feels like) and enjoyed some fun music
and some thoughtful music, and ‘discovered’
Allison Moorer (please buy her music).
And thankfully we’d run out
of time, and the very nice volunteer
stewards at the Globe (“I always
wanted to work with Shakespeare”)
were anxious to get home. So whilst
the mike-stands were put in place
for that big everyone on stage to
sing that final song (help –
not more Pete Seeger) moment the sound
engineer’s finger across his
throat, ‘though perhaps not
the most well-chosen gesture of the
night, told us that at least we’d
been spared. Some aren’t so
lucky. - Nick Morgan (concert
photographs by Kate) |
| Many
thanks, Nick! Luckily, a fellow Malt
Maniac had made me discover Allison
Moorer a few years ago (that whisky
stuff is just a cover, everybody knows
we're much more into music actually).
I especially loved her version of,
err... 'Moonshiner'. What's more,
she's put four great songs from her
new album 'Getting Somewhere' on her
myspace
page. Cool! And Ron Sexsmith did
the
same with his own new CD 'Time
being'... More music: Waterlily.mp3
by Karine Polwart (from Faultlines),
yes, The Proclaimers' version of I’m
gonna be (500 miles).mp3 and some
good and heavy Steve Earle: Ashes
to ashes.mp3 (live). |
 |
TASTING
- TWO GLENCRAIGS
Glencraig
30 yo 1974/2004 (40.1%, Ducan Taylor
Rarest of the Rare, cask #2928)
Colour: white wine. Nose:
quite perfumy at first nosing, with
something milky but switching to
both fresh apple juice and citrus
fruits (tangerines, pink grapefruits),
hints of sour cherries, gooseberries…
Something slightly dirty in the
background (old paper, stale ginger
ale – nothing bad), also a
little paraffin, aspirin…
|
| Mouth:
quite lively although not too powerful,
of course. Lots of apple juice, tangerines,
a little white pepper, getting spicier
with time (Chinese anise – or
star aniseed, juniper). A nice sweetness
all along and no sign of over-woodiness,
even if the whole isn’t really
complex. A little pear juice, hints
of peppermint… The finish is
longer than expected, getting mintier
and sort of chocolaty (After Eights)
but also quite woody. Not just a curiosity,
that’s for sure. 80
points. |
| Glencraig
19 yo 1981/2001 (59.5%, Cadenhead,
276 bottles)
The only known sherried Glencraig.
Colour: amber. Nose: powerful, starting
on lots of rum and raisins (loads
in fact), bananas flambéed,
candy sugar, chocolate and praline,
nougat… That’s already
a lot but let’s add a few drop
of water… It gets more herbal
but also much smokier, with also toasted
bread and always these great notes
of sultanas. Excellent. Mouth (neat):
very creamy, starting on huge notes
of chestnut honey and all sorts of
dried fruits (figs and dates, prunes,
longans, bananas). Quite some coconut
milk as well, old high-end rum…
Pineapple liqueur… It’s
not a whisky, it’s a desert!
But let’s try it with water
now (although it does not obligatorily
need some.) It’s even creamier
now, probably spicier but also slightly
more tannic, with also a little lemonade,
pepper vodka… And the finish
is rather long and quite gingery.
An excellent surprise indeed, ‘too
bad they didn’t fill more sherry
casks’ (yeah, yeah). 89
points. |
|
|
| June
18, 2006 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
- TWO TOMINTOULS
Tomintoul-Glenlivet
18 yo 1967/1985 (40%, A.B.C. Dundalk,
Ireland) 
I didn’t know the Irish did
bottle Scotch whisky! Colour: gold.
Nose: very fresh, flowery and grainy
but quick to get somewhat dusty,
with something offbeat (vase water?
wood infusion?) Too bad because
one can also get some nice citrusy
notes and a rather enjoyable sourness.
Well, sort of enjoyable. But the
whole is quite weak. |
| Mouth:
light, almost weak, with a little
orange juice, cereals, light honey,
tea and just a few tannins that prevent
the whole from falling apart. Almost
no middle, but the finish is a bit
longer and bolder than expected, dry
and grainy. Well… One for mixers?
But it is drinkable. 65 points
(we’ve seen worse). |
| Tomintoul
16 yo (43%, McNeill, 30 bottles, circa
2005)
Colour: gold. Nose: much oomphier
but not bold, starting on orange fizz
and caramel. Notes of water, aspirin,
tea, porridge, cereals, getting then
more and more orangey. Notes of marmalade,
tea… Rather simple and youthful,
starting to smell almost like Fanta
after a moment. One for big boys,
that is… Mouth: rather sweet
and rounded, very grainy, orangey
and cereally again, with a few spices
(cinnamon and ginger) and something
quite sugarish. Rather short, grainy
finish. Not too bad but really mundane
and characterless. Much better than
the ‘Irish’, that is.
75 points. |
| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - ON FATHER'S DAY - PART
6 and last |
 |
LET’S
RATHER GO STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
And remind sons and daughters which
day Father’s Day is! Ah, praxis…
Left, Old
Grand-Dad 1962 –
‘Give the Father’s
Day Favorite – Remember Dad
on June 17th – The Perfect Gift
for the Head of Any Family.’
Good ol' American efficiency!…
Right, Chivas
Regal 1984 –
Cool reminder. |
MUSIC
– Recommended listening
- It's Sunday, we go classical (and
a bit tragic) with the stupendous
Cecilia
Bartoli singing Vivaldi's
Gelido
in ogni vena.mp3 (from Farnace,
opera in 3 acts, RV 711). Please
go listen to la Baratoli and buy
her records. |
 |
|
|
| June
16, 2006 |
|
|
TASTING
- TWO KINCLAITHS
Kinclaith
35 yo 1969/2004 (54%, Signatory,
cask #301443, 217 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: punchy, grainy
and very fruity, starting on apple
juice but also fruit sweets (pineapple,
orange etc.) Develops on mashy notes,
cereals, mashed potatoes, butter
but gets back to orange fizz, lemonade.
Incredibly young at 35 yo ! And
then we have a rather nice wood
together with infused tea, green
beans, even celeriac and faint hints
of horse dung… a rather interesting
nose, should I add ‘despite’
its rarity? And it keeps developing
after a few minutes, with notes
of aniseed, celery, turnips, even
radish… Bell pepper? Very,
very amusing. |
 |
| Mouth:
bold, powerful, sweet and very fruity
attack, developing on bubblegum and
marshmallows, orange juice, before
the wood starts to take control with
quite some lactones and a little vanilla.
Hints of Turkish delights and sugared
orange juice, sugared cereals…
With a little water: hints of smoke
and burnt cake but no further development.
Long, oaky and peppery finish. 81
points.
(and thanks, Heinz) |
| Kinclaith
35 yo 1969/2004 (52.8%, Duncan Taylor
Rarest of rare, cask #301455, 207
bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: sharper, more
austere and more mineral, with little
fruit at first nosing. Quite some
aniseed and a little liquorice, the
whole getting a little farmier and
also sort of coastal, but the development
seems to be shorter and much less
funny ;-). Now, all that does improve
after a little breathing, the whiskies
getting closer after a good fifteen
minutes. Hints of liquorice and then
the vegetables again, even if it’s
more discreet here. Mouth: a little
rougher and bitterer, with lots of
liquorice and tannins. Bitter oranges,
apple skins, getting then really tannic
and peppery. With a little water:
gets a little fruitier but it’s
still very tannic. Otherwise both
whiskies are still very similar, I
guess they were distilled on the very
same day. And again a long, oaky finish,
with maybe a little gentian. 80
points. |
 |
MUSIC
– JAZZ (sort
of) - Recommended listening: Oldies
but goldies – 1969, Psych-jazz
master Gabor
Szabo does a Some
velvet morning.mp3 (from Bacchanal)
that mixes all sorts of genres.
Early fusion? Crossover? Alas, Szabo
died in 1982 but please buy his
music! |
| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - ON FATHER'S DAY - PART
5 |
 |
GIVING
EXTRA-VALUE (to super-dads?)
Indeed, a bottle of blended whisky
may well not be enough, let’s
add ‘extra-devices’!
Left, Seagram’s
Crown Royal 1980 –
‘World’s Greatest
Dad.’
Middle, Seagram’s
Crown Royal 1980 –
‘The Royal Carriage. A Father’s
Day gift for the King who has everything.’
Right, J&B
1994 – ‘The
J&B Serving Bar. It will serve
Dad long past Father’s Day.’ |
|
|
| June
15, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO TAMNAVULINS |
 |
Tamnavulin
37 yo 1967/2005 (46.7%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #1018)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: starts on
lots of freshness and lots of sherry,
in all elegance. Quite some old rancio,
mocha and Smyrna raisins as well as
a little sulphur – nothing embarrassing
here. Goes on with notes of old Madeira,
dried oranges, toasted bread and brioche,
Grand-Marnier… Very classical
and very classy, very rounded but
still quite vivacious. Gets finally
quite resinous, with a little eucalyptus
and pine needles. |
| Mouth:
very sweet and creamy, starting almost
minty like Get 27. And then all kinds
of dried fruits (oranges, bananas,
pears, figs) topped with chocolate.
Gets then seriously spicy (white pepper,
jalapenos, paprika) and honeyed at
the same time… Really full-bodied,
almost thick. Quite some apricot pie…
The finish is very long, maybe a little
tannic and drying now but also pleasantly
orangey. A great Tamnavulin, and there
aren’t that many out there.
90 points. |
| Tamnavulin
1988/1997 (58.9%, Gordon & MacPhail
Cask series, casks #4706-4709)
Colour: straw. Nose: punchy, closer
to new make, starting on pear spirit
and mashed potatoes. Completely different…
Quite some orange zests, apples, hints
of quinces and courgette flowers,
cooked turnips, hints of aniseed…
Very natural and sort of raw but deeply
enjoyable. It doesn’t seem to
need water but let’s try…
Right, it gets a little fruitier but
that’s all. Mouth: sweet and
nervous attack, fruity but also oddly
cardboardy, drying and dusty. A bit
bizarre… Artificial vanilla
crème? Quick, water…
That works brilliantly now, with lots
of sweets (pineapple, lemon drops,
violets), hints of lavender crème,
parfait amour liqueur, curaçao…
Very enjoyable. The finish is long,
maybe just a little too sugary but
the whole is really pleasant. 86
points. |
| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - ON FATHER'S DAY - PART
4 |
 |
BEING
GREEDY (pushing the quantities)
Why not try to sell twice the quantities?
Coz the drawback of Father's Day is
that there's only one Dad, hence only
one bottle to be presented...
Left, Chivas
Regal 1979 –
‘Father’s Day is also
Grandfather’s Day.’
(buy two bottles)
Right, Chivas
Regal 1985 –
‘To Dad.’ (buy
a double bottle!) |
 |
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: why not have a little Divine
Comedy today? Like, for
instance their famous Gin
soaked boy.mp3. for a change...
Please buy The Diven Comedy and Neil
Hannon's music and go their shows,
I've heard there's a new album in
the pipeline... |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Glenrothes
1972/2004 (43%, OB)
Laphroaig
10 yo (40%, OB, ‘unblended’,
Johnstone with an ‘e’, 1980’s)
Strathisla
35 yo 1967/2003 (54.3%,
Gordon & MacPhail for Barmetro, cask #2063,
153 bottles)
Tamnavulin
37 yo 1967/2005 (46.7%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #1018)
|
| |
|
|
