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Hi, you're in the Archives, May 2006 - Part 2 |
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May
24 to June 4, 2006 |
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Whiskyfun crew is in Scotland (including
Islay) with a few other Malt Maniacs
for a few days. Like last year, we'll
try to keep you posted on our adventures,
should the wonders of modern technology
permit. Please check our SPECIAL
FEIS ILE PAGE! |
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| May
23, 2006 |
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Longmorn
1994/2004 (46%, Helen Arthur, bourbon)
Colour: white wine. Nose: quite fresh
and clean at first nosing, buttery
and floral (iris), getting then very,
very fruity (golden delicious apples
– or any kind of non-acidic
apple, pears, white peaches) and switching
then to lots of vanilla and fudge,
light caramel, praline… Something
frankly bourbonny. Maybe also a little
leather… Simple but most enjoyable,
like many recent young malts, which
all seam to have been much better
distilled (let’s say since 1991/1992).
Maybe it’s just a feeling, that
is… |
| Mouth:
sweet but nervous, starting on fruit
juice (apples, pears), vanilla, a
little coffee and hints of cookies.
Gets quite caramelly but also rather
tannic, peppery and drying…
The finish is rather long, vanilled
and peppery… It seems the cask
was rather active here, or at least
that it imparted much ‘oak character’
to the spirit within a rather short
period of time. I’m wondering
whether all the new bourbon casks
they’re using in Scotland these
days won’t oblige some to re-rack
their whiskies into used casks, or
to bottle them at young age. But then
we could get immature spirit with
a very strong oak character, which
is more or less what’s happening
with this Longmorn. On the palate,
at least. But it’s a nice whisky
nevertheless. 83 points. |
| Longmorn
1974/2006 (49.8%, The Whisky Fair,
bourbon hogshead #3494, 135 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: sharper and immediately
more complex, starting with whiffs
of varnish and resinous wax but soon
to switch to lots of fruits. And when
I say ‘lots’… Quinces,
apricots, yellow peaches, melons,
fresh pineapples, oranges, maybe even
lychees… And then a sudden burst
of ginger tonic, then vanilla and
soft spices (the wood starts talking),
then cappuccino, ripe strawberries…
Then white pepper and plain oak (nice),
then hints of chardonnay wine, then
a little toffee and toasted bread,
sultanas... The oak seams to have
had the same kind of effect here as
with some high-end white wine (NOT
wood bombs!) and sometimes one could
even think it’s a refill sherry
but it isn’t, of course. Brilliant
nose in any case. Mouth: sweet, creamy,
textured, starting on both lots of
fruits and lots of spices. An obvious
oaky character but it’s not
as oaky as its younger sibling –
but it’s 32 years old! A nice
bitterness that keeps the whole very
firm, chlorophyll and spearmint, infused
tealeaves, nutmeg… Lots happening
here, and the finish is rather long,
peppery, nicely drying (i.e. not too
drying ;-)) and slightly liquoricy
and salty. Granted, the nose was much
more explosive aroma-wise but the
whole is just excellent. 90
points. |
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MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Alsacian 'compatriot'
Rodolphe
Burger and Marco Di
Oliveira doing their very own version
of Moonshiner.mp3
live in 2001. Rodolphe just played
with John Tchicai in Paris - that
should say it all. Please buy these
guys' music. |
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| May
22, 2006 |
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| MUSIC
AND WHISKY INTERVIEW
-
BRADLEY KEOUGH (Psych-A-Billy) |
Imagine
a very funny and very excellent
band from crime-free Souderton,
Pennsylvania, singing gems such
as their own compositions 'Whiskey
in the jukebox' or 'Let's get drunk
& break bottles in the alley',
or bluegrass versions of Locomotive
breath, Space oddity, Nights in
white satin or I wanna be sedated...
Wouldn't you feel an urgent need
to interview them? Luckily, we could
get hold of excellent bassist Bradley
Keough, ask him our ritual questions
and couldn't help rolling on the
floor when the answers came in!... |
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Whiskyfun:
Bradley, please tell
us a little more about what you do,
music-wise.
Bradley
Keough: I slap
bass and howl with Psych-A-Billy,
The World's Second Most Feared Hillbilly
Band. Imagine Del McCoury and Frank
Zappa having a fist-fight with The
Ramones. |
WF:
He-he... And which other musicians
are you playing with?
Bradley:
The band personnel: Scott "Old
Uncle Possum'' Chaloupka, Eugene "Idjit
The Washboard Boy" Smith, Mysterious
Keith Galle, Col. Rick Beizer and
yours truly, also known as 'The Mushrat'... |
WF:
Which are your other favourite artistes?
Bradley:
If folks ever find out that I
listen mostly to jazz at home my reputation
will be ruined --and that ain't sayin'
much. You can have my Mingus records
when you pry them from my cold, dead
hands. |
WF:
Mingus! Again! Always amazing - and
understandable - to see that most
rock musicians praise Charlie Mingus,
especially bassists of course... By
the way, which are your current projects?
Bradley:
For the last five years we've
been wrestling with a studio album
called Poke It With A Stick. Preview
tracks will be available within the
next month or two. In the five-year
gap since our last record, I've laid
down bass for Adam
Brodsky, Boris
Garcia's Family Reunion and Steve
DiJoseph. We released a live album
in 1998 called Play The Damn
Song!. It took forty-five minutes
to record it. Two years later we recorded
another live album and that took even
longer. The breathaking-in-its-primitive-splendor
Pantalones En Fuego! was
recorded in about three hours. |
WF:
When did you start enjoying whisk(e)y?
Bradley:
Breakfast. |
WF:
Good one! And do you have one, or
several favourite whiskies?
Bradley:
The bottle that's most regularly
found in the liquor cabinet is Tullamore
Dew, though I enjoy many other Irish
whiskies, and have recently developed
a fondness for Maker's Mark. |
WF:
Are there whiskies you don’t
like?
Bradley:
There are an awful lot of bad
Scotches out there. The trick is to
avoid the blends that taste like Bourbon-with-soap-in-it
and the single-malts that taste like
eating a handful of peat moss. |
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WF:
Ah, yes, it's true that Islay lovers
always forget that there are quite
a few people out there who hate peated
malts... Now, our most popular question:
music and whisky are often though
of as being male preserves. Should
girls play guitars, should girls drink
whisky?
Bradley:
I have yet to find an activity
that cannot be improved with the addition
of girls. Girls who drink whiskey
are the best kind of girls, with the
possible exception of horny girls
who drink whiskey. |
WF:
In some ways you could argue that
tasting a whisky is similar to listening
to a piece of music – you deconstruct
the two in the same way? Care to comment?
Bradley:
I deconstruct music ferociously.
I reduce it to its component parts
and mix and match the parts in ways
that would make Dr. Frankenstein cringe.
For example, after a lot of intense
deconstruction of time signatures
and scales, Psych-A-Billy has concocted
a medley of The Impossible Dream from
Man of La Mancha and Whippin' Post
by The Allman Brothers –all
played as God intended: Bluegrass
Style. Though, incredibly, the band
makes it look easy in performance,
there was considerable struggle, and
several applications of the electrodes
before this thing would come to life.
Tasting whiskey is nothing like this.
It is considerably less strenuous,
at least for the first several glasses.
Tasting whiskey is more like listening
to music. Enjoying the beginning,
the middle and the end. Savoring the
flavors and the tonalities. I can
let the whiskey simply be what it
is. Music, however, once deconstructed,
has to be put back together and I
am completely unable to just let it
be. |
WF:
I once heard an eminent whisky professional
say that he tasted whisky in colours.
Do you taste whisky in music?
Bradley:
No, but I hear music in whiskey;
the brashness of brass, harmony of
voices, the lingering of strings… |
WF:
There is a famous passage in a book
written in the 1930s (Aneas Macdonald)
where the author compares different
styles of whisky to different sections
of an orchestra – how would
you see that working in a jazz or
rock band, or in a classical orchestra?
Bradley:
Well, I'm not sure, but I think
I'd rather drink a bottle of Ragtime
than a bottle of Punk Rock. |
WF:
Everyone thinks of Jack Daniels as
being the great rock and roll whisky
– why not Scotch?
Bradley:
Jack Daniels is a bourbon and,
like rock and roll, is indigenous
to the American South. The bond between
Rock and Jack was formed out of geography
and economics. Remember, for most
of us, there are still literally hundreds
of dollars to be made in rock and
roll. You might as well wonder why
bagpipers aren't associated with Wild
Turkey. |
WF:
By the way, how did Psych-A-Billy
come to be associated with whiskey?
Bradley:
The association between Psych-A-Billy
and whiskey is completely organic
and goes back to the pre-historic
origins of the band during the Early
Devouring Period. The boys in the
band love more than anything to play
around campfires at music festivals
large and small. We'll play with anybody
who asks. And, after each song, it
seems somebody is always reaching
into the back pocket of their jeans
and passing their gentlemen's flask
around the circle, deepening the bond
and conviviality among the band of
the moment. |
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WF:
Our last question, Bradley. I've heard
something rather funny about a lot
of empty whisky bottles, can you tell
us the whole story?
Bradley:
About ten years ago, when Psych-A-Billy
first moved our so-called rehearsals
into the now-infamous, coal-heated,
mirror-ceilinged, practice shack and
hillbilly love grotto, we didn't have
a lot of money to spend on decor.
So, we shoved aside some old car parts
and hung up our picture of Clint Eastwood
on black velvet and some old rasslin'
posters. We stuffed some old bar mirrors
up into the rafters and hung a bunch
of blinky, twinklin' lights about
the place. I unrolled a threadbare
Oriental rug and we commenced to "rehearsing."
After a while it started feeling more
like home. You see, like foolish,
college freshman, we weren't throwing
away our empty whiskey bottles. We
thought it'd be pretty funny to just
line them up along the rafters as
a sort of tribute to the authenticity
of our depravity. And we were right.
Until recently, it was all pretty
amusing.
Though it took ten years, the number
of empty whiskey bottles has recently
passed the three-hundred mark and
certain, unforeseen complications
have arisen. For example: In the bottom
of each of those empty whiskey bottles,
there's just a little bit of whiskey
that's filling each and every bottle
with potentially explosive alcohol
fumes. We got a match near one of
those bottles a little while ago and
it made a great big "WHUMP!"
and spit out a considerable flame.
On account of we heat the place with
an ancient coal stove of questionable
condition, it's not entirely inconceivable
that the shack could catch fire and
result in an explosion that would
leave a thirty-foot crater, send a
giant, orange, mushroom cloud up over
scenic, historic and crime-free Souderton,
Pennsylvania, and leave nothing but
our charred and bewildered selves
wondering what just hit us.
In a rare moment of clarity, we decided
that we'd rather avoid that. And,
as we're still musicians and, consequently,
still have no money to improve the
place, getting rid of the bottles
seemed the simplest option...until
we started thinking about that. You
see, scenic, historic, and crime-free
Souderton, Pennsylvania, is the sort
of town where churches outnumber bars
by at least six-to-one. The God-fearing
folks here are pious and temperate.
And, unfortunately, they're also more
than a little nosey and kind-of judgmental.
So, if I were to put out three-hundred
empty whiskey bottles for the my trashman,
Mascaro The Reliable, these simple,
Bible-thumpin' folk would panic. Surely,
I would run the very real risk of
being vilified, demonised, investigated
and potentially arrested for God-knows-what.
Similarly, putting them out by the
curb in instalments would mean a recycling
bucket full of empty whiskey bottles
every week for months. That could
only be worse.
So, always willing to ask for directions,
I started raising the problem at Psych-A-Billy
shows and asked the esteemed opinion
of our audience. And, bless you folks,
the best answer on what to do with
three-hundred empty whiskey bottles
was shouted up to the stage with no
small enthusiasm, "Make it three-hundred-and-one!"
An excellent idea, but sadly, one
that doesn't really solve the problem.
So, last week, under cover of darkness,
Psych-A-Billy and a couple of accomplices
loaded up three-hundred empty whiskey
bottles into a van. And, while scenic,
historic, and crime-free Souderton,
Pennsylvania, snoozed the summer night
away, lulled into slumber by the incessant
drone of their air-conditioners, we
giddily dropped an empty whiskey bottle
into each and every recycling bucket
on this side of town. What could possibly
go wrong? Well, maybe this... |
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Excellent
and funny story, Bradley, thanks for
sharing it with us! And thanks for
all your other answers, on behalf
of all the most distinguished Whiskyfun
readers.
A few links of interest:
Psych-A-Billy's official
website
The band's world-famous song Let's
get drunk and break bottles in the
alley.mp3
Photographs: Psych-A-Billy, Mary
Messerly (statestreetblues.com) |
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Macduff
32 yo 1972 (46%, Ian McLeod for Malt
Brothers)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: dry and very
woody right from the start, which
doesn’t happen that often on
the nose, even with ultra-old malts.
Notes of gin, ginger ale, white pepper,
sawdust, getting then quite vegetal
(raw French beans, lettuce, cooked
cabbage, hay) with also a little vanilla…
It does improve after a few minutes,
with more ripe apples, apricots, pipe
tobacco… Even kind of a maritime
freshness (sea air) and hints of spring
water… Develops on bold notes
of paraffin, leather and tobacco (Havana)…
It’s really nicer now. |
| Mouth:
good news, it’s neither tired
nor overly woody, although the oakinesss
is very present. Rather sweet, very
gingery and peppery, with notes of
grapefruits and kumquats, getting
then slightly meaty (ham) and finally
bitter – a nice bitterness,
on cough sweets, spices, bitter apples…
And the finish is rather long, nervous,
not too drying, on apples and pepper…
A youthful 32 yo Macduff! 86
points. |
Macduff
36 yo 1969/2006 (59.1%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #3681, 120 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: lots of wood!
Bold notes of varnish and wax polish,
cellulosic glue and white pepper…
Let’s give this one time…
Yes, that works, it gets much fuitier
now (lots of crystallised quince)
but also very ‘Havanian’,
on tobacco again but also old rum,
all sorts of slightly rotting fruits
and vegetables, wet hay and dog…
Their seem to be quite some peat.
Keeps developing on dried oranges
and then toasted cake, caramel, coffee…
Lots happening in there, I like it.
Mouth: very bold and powerful, which
is quite incredible considering its
age. Thick, oily, starting on crystallised
oranges and quince again, orange liqueurs,
getting very resinous (fir honey,
chlorophyll chewing-gum, mastic sweets),
sort of tarry, rubbery, bitter…
Underberg? (strong herbs liqueur)
Notes of curry and mustard…
Almost ‘bestial’. The
finish is long, thick, still invading,
on dried oranges and resinous ‘stuff’
plus a pinch of salt on your lips…
Anyway, the fact that it’s at
almost 60% after thirty-six years
is already amazing, and both the nose
and the palate do confirm that. It
is bestial ineed! 91 points. |
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| May
21, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO OLD BLENDS (or so I thought) |
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Auld
Blended 38 yo (40%, Duncan Taylor,
2006)
This one’s been married for
one year before bottling. Colour:
pale gold. Nose: much more on the
malt side, almost like a very old
‘non-sherry’ Speysider.
Starts very flowery (the ‘usual’
buttercups, chamomile, daisies) and
quite fruity (plums), getting then
cakier, on vanilla and light caramel.
Keeps developing for a while, on oak
and fruit jelly with hints of aniseed
and lily of the valley. Quite light,
delicate and harmless, almost like
a good herbal tea. |
| Mouth:
a woody and rather dry attack, with
lots of tannins but that’s below
the limits. A little fudge and caramel
and hints of cooked apples, lots of
white pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg,
getting frankly tea-ish with also
a little liquorice. Gets a little
bolder and oomphier toward the finish,
with is longer than expected although
still quite dry and peppery (white
pepper). Probably not a whisky for
malt drinkers but it’s quite
enjoyable, maybe it would have better
stood the tannins at +/- 43%. 80
points. |
| Highland
Fusillier 21 yo (70° proof, Gordon
& MacPhail, bottled 1978)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: more expressive
than the Auld Blend, with much more
fruit: grapefruits, passion, oranges,
mixed with quite some caramel and
something rather smoky. Aromatic and
playful, I guess there’s lots
of malt in there too. Develops on
grilled herbs (hints of oregano),
flint, toffee, milk chocolate…
Quite complex and extremely enjoyable,
with a superb freshness. Mouth: certainly
bolder than the Auld Blend but almost
as tannic. Now, there’s much
more flavours behind that: cooked
apricots, vanilla crème, ripe
bananas, toffee, cappuccino, caramel…
And again these smoky notes that give
it a most enjoyable structure. Notes
of dried oranges and violet sweets.
The finish isn’t too long but
balanced and complex, on dried fruits
and spices (quite gingery). In short,
an excellent old blend that IS for
malt drinkers ;-). 87 points.
Hold on, I just saw this is a vatted
malt! Silly me... |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - It's Sunday, we go classical
with a very famous piece by friend
of Dada Erik Satie: the Gymnopedie
#1.mp3 played very slowly and
'profoundly' by the late Daniel
Varsano, who died from aids
at age 33. Please buy Mr. Varsano's
music... (picture: Erik Satie) |
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| May
20, 2006 |
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TASTING
- TWO ARDMORES
Ardmore
22 yo 1977/1999 (43%, Signatory,
cask #1184)
Colour: pale gold. Nose; really
fresh, starting on pure apple juice
with hints of fresh butter and a
little peat smoke in the background.
It gets then fruitier and fruitier,
with also pears, gooseberries and
notes of sour dairy cream. Gets
then rather mashy (mashed potatoes,
porridge, muesli), the whole been
rather pleasant. Always quite some
butter. After a few minutes: quite
some notes of old books and wet
cardboard. |
| Mouth:
the attack is sweet, not lacking presence
(as sweet as a liqueur in fact), developing
on sugared apple juice, pineapple
and pomegranate syrups. Not much else,
alas… Very little peat now.
Maybe also a little vanilla crème.
The finish is unexpectedly long, unctuous,
like if it was a pineapple or pear
liqueur, really. Quite a nice whisky,
in fact, the palate being probably
too simple but the whole is quite
drinkable. 79 points. |
Ardmore
11 yo 1992/2003 (46%, Signatory for
Lavinia, cask #03/374, 308 bottles)
Colour: white wine, very pale. Nose:
this profile is relatively similar
but probably more austere and peatier,
with quite some mineral notes (as
flinty as the best Rieslings). Quite
some lemon juice too. Really sharper
than the ‘purely’ Signatory.
I really like this style, where the
peat is a complement and spices up
the whole without overwhelming all
the other aromas. And we have also
very nice notes of high-end marzipan
and almond milk. Mouth: much more
interesting than the 1977 now, with
a perfect blend of peat smoke, fruits
and white pepper. Quite powerful,
compact, very enjoyable, with a perfect
balance. Notes of tealeaves and pistachios.
Gets even a little resinous, with
a little propolis, argan oil and hazelnut
oil. This is a great young Ardmore,
much more expressive than most older
versions. The finish is long, balanced,
a little waxy, always with something
smoky, apple pie and roasted almonds.
Really excellent… 87
points. |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 5 |
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Gooderham
& Worts' Five Star 1944 'What
a great day of discovery! No harsher
seamen ever sailed over the ocean
than those who manned the dragon-headed
Viking ships. In just such a vessel,
Leif Ericsson, called Leif the Lucky,
steered toward the setting sun and
sighted the mainland of North America
- almost five centuries before Columbus.
Even today, when all the world has
been mapped and charted, we can
still be explorers - in our own
fashion. For instance, if you are
still unacquainted with the merits
of G & W Five Star, we suggest
that you try this delicious blend
and enjoy an adventure in flavor.
As the first fragrant drops cross
your lips, we believe you will be
thinking "What a great day
of discovery!"' |
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| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: a bit of French-Spanish
ex-Mano Negra and 'concious' singer
Manu
Chao again, if you please.
This time it's the all-famous King
of the bongo.mp3! Probably the
most explosive gig I've been to recently
(well, it was two years ago). Please
buy Manu Chao's music! |
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| May
19, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- TWO LAPHROAIGS (I think...) |
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| Tamifroyg
(49%, Regensburger Whisky Club, 2006)
Pictures above: label (left) and back
label (right). LOL! It's another very
funny experiment with a small Port
cask and a certain Islay distillery
by our Bavarian friends, after the
'popal' vatting they made last year.
Let's try not to be 'influenzed' by
the crazy label! Colour: pink gold.
Nose: very interesting at first nosing,
with a typical Laphroaig sharpness,
almost austerity mixed with hints
of small red fruits such as raspberries
and redcurrants that are just below
the limits as far as I'm concerned,
which means that they don't create
any 'dissonance', unlike what happens
with many finished peaty whiskies
I think. Otherwise we have lots of
smoky, maritime and medicinal notes,
lots of iodine, whiffs of toasted
bread and then a great minerality
(limestone) as well as quite some
lemon juice. Hints of the beach after
the rain.... I like it, the development
seems to be much longer than many
Laphroaigs', that usually deliver
very quickly (yet beautifully) I think.
Mouth: yes, this one succeeded! The
attack is rather smooth and takes
off gradually, first on strawberries
with pepper, then quite some cocoa,
then farmy and waxy notes plus iodine,
the whole getting very spicy and rather
less 'maritime and tary' than regular
Laphroaigs after a moment, not to
mention medicinal. Quite some cooked
strawberries, jam, blackcurrant jelly...
It does enter kind of a third dimension
after a while, starting to taste like
a different whisky. Something of a
Lagavulin, quite funnily (but it's
not Lagavulin)... Really excellent,
the wine really created kind of a
third taste that isn't vinous at all.
Hey, Regensburgians, maybe you could
pass your 'recipe' to some more professional
bottlers? The finish isn't extraordinarily
long, that is, but very compact, satisfying,
on peppered strawberries again plus
quite some salt. Congrats! 90
points. Btw, please read
the back
label, it's worth it! |
| Laphroaig
17 yo 1987 (51.9%, Jack Wieber's Auld
Distillers, 180 bottles)
Colour: yellow gold. Nose: that's
funny, this one is rather similar
but with just the 'original' part.
Very sharp, straightforward, with
lots of maritime elements, iodine,
wet stones, lemons and maybe an even
bolder smokiness. Gets then rather
grassy, even more austere, flinty...
No fruitiness or sweetness whatsoever
in this one. Very nice but maybe a
tad rigid... Mouth: a little sweeter
now, with even more lemon and grapefruit
juices, zests, white pepper, tar and
smoke... Too bad it gets quite drying
after a while, with quite some grape
seeds, over infused tea, dry cider...
and then suddenly and curiously fruity,
with lots of pear juice... Quite simple,
I think, especially the finish that's
balanced but maybe a little sweetish.
A rather good one but it didn't impress
me too much, especially after the
brilliant experiment by the crazy
Regensburgians! 84 points. |
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CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 4
Early
Times 1979
'The way it was, the way it is.'
To be compared with May 17th's entry.
After 'everything changes but our
whisky' it's 'nothing changes, including
our whiskey'. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: 1993, French band Les
Négresses Vertes
do Face
à la mer.mp3 (Massive Attack
remix). Please buy it! |
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| May
18, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- THREE HIGHLAND PARKS |
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Highland
Park 24 yo 1981/2005 (52.3%, Dewar
Rattray, cask #6061)
Colour: straw. Nose: quite fragrant
and powerful at first nosing, with
some personality. It’s also
rather spirity, with a little apple
juice and then lots of mint. Yes,
it’s unusually minty. Lots of
wood as well, tannins, oak saw dust,
this woodiness being quite enjoyable.
Quite some vanilla, bitter almonds,
marzipan, cellulosic glue, even a
little coconut. Develops on lots of
liquorice and aromatic herbs (quite
some thyme, even tarragon), gaining
cleanliness after a few minutes, getting
very buttery and flowery (quite some
heather and lots of roses after fifteen
minutes or so). A very nice Highland
Park, quite different from most OB’s.
I quite like it, even it lacks maybe
a little roundness... |
| Mouth:
the attack is rounded and powerful,
creamy and rather spicy. Lots of oak
and lots of tannins (almost aggressive)…
It seems that we’ll need water
now, even if we do have notes of lemon
sweets, fructose and tangerines. With
water (while the wood gets even stronger
on the nose) the wood is still very
prominent - we’re far from a
‘plank infusion’. A nice
bitterness but the palate is quite
simpler than what the nose had suggested,
in fact. The finish is long, very
oaky again, with quite some vanilla
and orange marmalade. I like it because
I like ‘good oak’, and
the palate was most enjoyable. 85
points. |
| Highland
Park 17 yo 1988/2005 (56.7%, Cadenhead’s,
bourbon hogshead)
Colour: straw. Nose: powerful again
but a little less expressive and probably
flintier. Rather more austere and
grassy, getting then frankly chalky
and buttery. It needs time to open
up but gets closer in style to the
24 yo after a good ten minutes, without
getting quite as aromatic, even if
we do have marzipan and hints of lavender.
Let’s add a few drops of water…
That doesn’t seem to change
a lot, the wood getting even bolder
but we get also notes of cider apples,
apple peels, infused green tea, getting
very vegetal but it’s still
quite nice in its style... |
 |
| Mouth
(neat): very close to the Dewar Rattray.
Lots of wood, vanilla, pineapple or
orange sweets, then bunches of spices,
probably from the wood: black pepper,
nutmeg, cinnamon, even a little cardamom
powder. But again, it seems to need
water to express himself, let’s
try that… Yes, it gets sweeter
but with still a lot of oomph at nearly
40%, with lots of liquorice now, vanilla
fudge, vanilla crème…
The finish is long, powerful, quite
raw but coherent and, you got it,
oaky and extremely peppery. We’re
more or less in same territories.
84 points. |
 |
Highland
Park 16 yo 1988/2005 (60.5%, SMWS,
4.106, 605 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: it’s
a little less powerful, curiously,
but that could come from the cask,
which seems to be second-fill sherry
(but I could be wrong). Starts on
lots of strong honey, notes of rum,
herbs liqueur and caramel. Gets then
very vinous, with hints of old cask
(a bit dirty) and quite some toffee
and mocha, overripe pears, liquorice…
It gets hugely caramelly after a while...
|
|
The very vinous, almost dirty notes
do then disappear, the whole getting
rounder, compacter… and much
nicer. It even got on full caramel
mode after fifteen minutes. A very
nice HP, finally, maybe between the
two we just had and some of the sherried
official single casks. With water:
it gets more buttery and flowery,
also woodier again. Mouth (neat):
powerful, of course, more on sherry
now, quite hot, rubbery and bitter…
More and more bitter, invading the
mouth and taking your tongue as hostage.
Let’s tame it with water: ah,
yes, it got much sweeter, rounder
and more enjoyable, on crystallised
oranges, honey, caramel… Now,
it’s still a rather simple whisky
that stays quite biting, even at roughly
40-43%. The finish is long, a little
bitter and vegetal again, as well
as a little salty. The whole lacks
a little complexity but it’s
still a pleasant one. 83 points.
|
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: this one by Josh
Rouse is very nice,
it's It's
the nightime.mp3 (from his 2005
album Nashville). The first time
I heard it, I thought it was Bill
Wyman on bass... And then I imagined
Mick Jagger singing it... Try this:
mentally replace Rouse with Jagger,
it works (even if their voices are
very different, of course). Yes,
the Stones should do this one -
anyway, please buy Josh Rouse's
music! |
 |
|
|
| May
17, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO LAPHROAIGS (I think) |
 |
Laphroaig
7 yo 1998 or 1999/2006 (50%, Douglas
Laing OMC)
A brand new young Laphroaig bottled
in April – sorry, I only had
a mini and I couldn’t find more
info. Colour: white wine. Nose: powerful
but not pungent, starting on lots
of peat smoke and apple juice. Nice
balance at such young age! Gets quite
tarry, with notes of brand new tyres,
liquorice and iodine and then some
bold gentian spirit (very earthy)
with whiffs of cardboard. |
| Nothing
too medicinal here, the whole being
simple but already quite mature –
no infanticide, it appears. Mouth:
a sweet and smoky attack, with lots
of apple juice and peat. Very simple
now, but most pleasant, with a nice
compactness, getting unusually fruity:
apples but also tangerines, lemons,
quince… Also fir liqueur…
Very good, I had feared a 7 yo Laphroaig
was a gimmick but it’s perfectly
‘ready’ indeed (even if,
again, not extremely complex). And
the finish is long, on grapefruit
juice, smoke and earl grey tea. Very,
very good (and God knows I don’t
like very young whiskies – or
wines - usually) 88 points. |
| As
we get it Islay 8 yo (58.4%, Ian McLeod,
single cask, circa 2005)
This one is said to be Laphroaig.
Colour: white wine. Nose: indeed,
it’s quite Laphroaigish, even
if more mineral and less expressive
than the ‘very young’
OMC. Probably a little more maritime
and flinty but less liquoricy and
without these great notes of gentian.
But it seems to be an enjoyable, pure
peat monster. Mouth: a beastly young
Islayer, very wham-bam with lots of
peat, apples, soft spices, something
rooty and earthy plus liquorice. That’s
all but it’s already quite enough!
The finish is extremely long, on ‘smoked
liquorice’ if that exists. Simple
but flawless. 85 points. |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 3 |
 |
| Top,
left: Dewar's
1931
'Unchanged in a changing world.'
Great 1930's design!
Top, right: Johnnie
Walker 1944
'Good work... Good whisky'
Typical war time British advertising
Bottom: Johnnie
Walker 1948
'Time marches on! It makes me
proud to think I've seen the paddle-boat
become the 'Queen.' Like Clyde-built
ships, I've grown in fame - The
skill behind me's still the same.'
Very interesting similarities
with the Dewar's ad above. |
| |
|
|
| May
16, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO CLYNELISHES |
 |
Clynelish
18 yo 1987/2006 (55.8%, Signatory,
refill butt, cask #990328, 302 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: extremely fresh
and maritime at first nosing (sea
air) but soon to get incredibly caramelly
and winey, smelling almost like a
late harvest gewürztraminer or
a straw wine. Dried longans, overripe
melons, plum jam… Lots of toffee
as well, nougat, roasted peanuts,
sultanas… And a little rubber
arising (which should happen at first
nosing usually) as well as whiffs
of fireplace and toasted bread…
Lots of personality and lots of freshness
considering the very active cask.
|
| Mouth:
very creamy, almost to be eaten with
a spoon, starting on lots of caramel,
burnt cake, all kinds of roasted nuts,
rum, candy sugar, crystallised fruits
(quince) but maybe also something
slightly rubbery and bitter. It’s
almost impossible this one was a refill
butt – or was it wine-treated
before it got filled last time? Then
we have Clynelish’s main marker,
waxiness (that I didn’t get
on the nose) and finally different
kinds of fruit eaux-de-vies, mostly
stone fruits (mirabelle plums, sorb
apples, kirsch…) Very good!
And the finish is rather long, creamy
again, on fruit liqueurs and spearmint…
A very thick, very good sherried Clynelish!
88 points. |
| Clynelish
20 yo (56.9%, Cadenhead’s Original
Collection, 18.75cl, early 1990’s)
Colour: amber. Nose: oh, this is almost
the same whisky, just more concentrated,
maybe thicker. Again we have this
‘maritime freshness’ mixed
with sherry, again all the sweet wine,
caramel, dried fruits and roasted
nuts plus smoke, but there’s
perhaps an extra-dimension, consisting
in all sorts of cooked or overripe
fruits we usually get in old red wines
such as strawberries, raspberries,
blackberries and blackcurrants. Maybe
a little old rum as well… Anyway,
a superb nose again (freshness + high-end
sherry is always a hit in my books).
Mouth: almost as thick as the Signatory
but also more complex, it appears.
Great sherry calvacade and wax but
also quite some resinous notes, herbs
(rosemary, mint), fir liqueur and
honeydew, with also hints of whortleberry
sauce and cooked apples and even game
that goes along them so nicely (pheasant?)
Oh, and orange marmalade – I
almost forgot. The finish is very
long and creamy again – almost
explosive. Well, this was very good,
even if maybe lacking a little finesse.
90 points. |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 2 |
 |
Left:
VAT
69 1934 'Triumphant!
It takes suprerme merit to win a Cup
race. It takes supreme merit in a
Scotch whisky to win the preference
of connoisseurs. It is this characteristic
that has earned VAT 69 Scotch Whisky
the same preference in America that
it has won the world over. Quality
Tells - always!'
Right:
King
1945 'Be
right - drink light. King - It's whisper
light's.' |
| |
| MUSIC
– JAZZ - Recommended
listening: a truly excellent version
of Sonny Bono's (not U2's Bono,
Bono from Sonny and Cher!) The
beat goes on.mp3 by adventurous
singer Patricia
Barber who's also on
the Hammond organ (recorded live
1999). Please buy Patricia Barber's
music! |
 |
|
|
| May
15, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- FOUR OLD CLYNELISHES |
 |
First,
three
old OB’s for Giaccone (Edward
& Edward) that were poured at
a Lindorables’ Ostende Festival.
Clynelish
12 yo (56.9%, OB for Edward &
Edward, white label, rotation 1969)
Colour: straw. Nose: extremely fresh
and vibrant, with the trademark waxiness
right upfront. Like always, these
old Clynelishes make me think of the
best ‘mineral’ Rieslings.
Lots of rubbed orange skin, paraffin,
iron, wet stone, developing then on
linseed oil and lemon juice. A fabulous
sharpness and lots of precision. Goes
on with something very maritime, sea
air, old fisherman’s nest…
Hints of melon and quince. Really
excellent. Mouth: fab, just fab. Creamy
but not limp, powerful but not violent,
with a compactness that reminds me
of the best old Springbanks. Lots
of bitter oranges, wax, olive oil
and honey, something subtly resinous,
quite some peat, pepper and nutmeg,
Japanese green tea… All that
with a perfect balance. And the finish
is long, slightly minty but also sweet
and coating. Brilliant stuff again
– a young whisky as it should
be, if you ask me. 94 points. |
Clynelish
12 yo (56.9%, OB for Edward &
Edward, white label, rotation 1971)
Colour: straw. Nose: this one is a
tad less expressive, less sharp and
a little less mineral. It develops
rather on vanilla crème, orange
juice and apple pie, but all the markers
are well here (huge waxiness, stones,
oil). Maybe smokier as well, with
quite some marzipan, propolis, apricot
juice… A slightly rounder version.
Mouth: similar to the 1971 of course
but a little more powerful (maybe
it’s the bottle) and even waxier
this time, also more on crystallized
kumquats and citrons, with hints of
cardamom. Maybe a tad less complex
but not lesss good. And an even longer
finish. In short, this one is bolder
but a tad less complex. 93
points. |
| Clynelish
12 yo (56.9%, OB for Edward &
Edward, orange and red label, rotation
1973)
Colour: pale gold (a little darker).
Nose: closer to the 1971 than to the
1969, a step further toward more roundness,
with a little honey now, caramel,
apple pie, vanilla pastries…
But it’s still a ‘real’
old Clynelish, with all the waxy,
mineral and oily cavalry. Gets maybe
also a little more vegetal, and peatier
as well (something quite farmy). Excellent
again. Mouth: oh, this is much peatier
now, and even more powerful. Almost
hot after 33 years in its bottle (rule
the twist caps!) with a fantastic
development on wax, bitter oranges,
marzipan, propolis and hints of vegetables
at the back (Brussels sprouts? ;-))
Quite some liquorice as well…
And the finish is as long as it can
be, with a fabulous earthiness –
like in a good gentian spirit. Fabulous
stuff again! 93points. |
Clynelish
24 yo (49.4%, Cadenhead for Sestante,
dumpy cream label,1980's)
Another bottle that had some Belgian
adventures (sorry, a private joke).
Colour: deep amber (and lots of ‘congeners’,
no filtering here, it seems). Nose:
lots of sherry and lots of ‘old
Clynelish’ character, that blend
just perfectly here. Wax and peat,
‘good’ rubber and Smyrna
raisins, lots of leather and Havana
cigar plus kind of an herbal infusion
involving all kinds of plants (lovage,
fern, moss, mint, coriander, rosemary…)
and mushrooms. Very complex and extremely
satisfying at the same time. And very
unusual… Mouth: sweet but very
firm, starting on lots of liquorice,
toffee, wax (of course), peat like
in some old Ardbegs from the sixties,
raisins, and an ideal blend of flavours
that remind me of some great old Yquems
– sorry, I’m too lazy
to enumerate them all just now. This
can happen only with time and unhurriedness
(note to finishers). A good example
of glass maturing? 95 points. |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - WHISKY AND SHIPS -
Part 1 |
 |
Whisky's
always been associated with ships
and boats, so let's have a short
history of how it's been dealt with
in advertising...
Left: John
Begg 1925
'Old time customs, Crossing
the Line. It's a wise old custom
to take a peg of John Begg!'
Right: Dewar's
1926 'The
Spirit of the Ocean - Of all the
roads that men follow in life what
finer than the highway of the deep?
For there is found incomparable
freedom that invigorates and ever-constant
charm that brings peace to body
and mind. The sailor's faith to
the sea is like mankind's faith
to...... Dewar's.' |
| |
|
MUSIC
– JAZZ - Recommended
listening: maybe just like me, you
can't really stand Brubeck's original
Take five, but do you know Tito
Puente's version.mp3? Quite
explosive! Please buy the great
late Tito
Puente's music! |
 |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Tamifroyg
(49%, Regensburger
Whisky Club, 2006)
Clynelish
20 yo (56.9%, Cadenhead’s Original
Collection, 18.75cl, early 1990’s)
Clynelish
12 yo (56.9%, OB for Edward & Edward,
white label, rotation 1969)
Clynelish
12 yo (56.9%, OB for Edward & Edward,
white label, rotation 1971)
Clynelish
12 yo (56.9%, OB for Edward & Edward,
orange and red label, rotation 1973)
Clynelish
24 yo (49.4%, Cadenhead for Sestante,
dumpy cream label,1980's)
Longmorn
1974/2006 (49.8%,
The Whisky Fair, bourbon hogshead #3494, 135
bottles)
Macduff
36 yo 1969/2006 (59.1%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #3681, 120 bottles)
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