 |
|
Hi, you're in the Archives, November 2005 - Part 2 |
|
|
|
|
 |
| TASTING
- TWO GLEN ORDS
Glen
Ord 40 yo (40.1%, Royal Mile Whiskies,
300 bottles, circa 2005)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: rather
rich and complex at first nosing,
with lots of waxy/smoky notes, strawberry
wine, getting quite buttery and
sort of meaty at the same time.
Notes of cider, Guinness, butter
caramel, arak… Also some dried
oranges, vermouth, herbal teas…
And quite some oaky notes but nothing
overwhelming. Really complex, like
an old wine, getting extremely minty
after a while, with also some bold
eucalyptus. Vicks VapoRub!... |
 |
| Mouth:
not too powerful of course but very
different again. Lots of mint, as
expected, caramel cream and wood infusion.
I never had such heavy minty notes
in a drink, maybe not even in a mint
liqueur. Some apricot juice as well,
quince, fudge, but it’s all
almost masked by the minty and woody
notes. The finish is rather long,
not too drying, curiously, with some
notes of peach skin. An old malt that
has sort of lost its ‘whiskiness’
but that’s very interesting
to try. 86 points. |
 |
Glen
Ord 23 yo 1974/1998 (60.8%, Rare Malts)
Colour: straw. Nose: funnily very
similar aromatically at first nosing,
but soon to become very ‘exotic’
and fragrant, with some dried longans,
rambutans, arak again, overripe strawberries,
fruits au gratin, Something quite
hot, like the foreshots of a fruit
eau de vie, or a basket of rotting
fruits. And like in the ‘RMW’,
something meaty (hot ham). Perhaps
some hot porridge as well. Gets very
coffeeish after ten minutes –
and some faint hints of tequila. Rather
unusual and very interesting. Mouth:
powerful but curiously flavoursome
and balanced at such high strength.
Quite some mint again but far less
than in its older brother. Lots of
dried tropical fruits (pineapples,
coconuts), bergamot (earl grey), hints
of rum, clove and pepper… Let’s
try it with a little water now: it
gets sweeter, with also some violet
candies but quite simpler, even after
quite some time. Anyway, a very nice
Glen Ord, less spectacular but more
balanced than ‘old minty’.
Let’s rate it just the same:
86 points. |
| MUSIC
– JAZZ - Recommended
listening - Cuba's marvel Omar
Sosa sings - well, talks,
over a beautiful, ever-developing
and complex piece called Campos
Verdes.mp3. Just superb! Please
buy Omar Sosa's music and all cross-cultural
works. |
 |
| TASTING
- TWO GLEN GRANTS |
 |
Glen
Grant 31 yo 1970/2001 (45%, Samaroli,
sherry cask #1025)
Colour: full amber. Nose: rather
rich, starting on all sorts of very
ripe fruits, notably apricots, mirabelles,
strawberries, yellow peaches. Great
notes of hot praline, pastries,
vanilla crème… A nice
freshness, despite the richness
and creaminess. Goes on with some
old Sauternes, flower nectar. Faint
whiffs of smoke… A most enjoyable
sourness, at that, like in some
cooking apples. Keeps developing
on sultanas, marzipan, orgeat…
Classy and classical, just beautiful
although not overly complex. |
| Mouth:
creamy and nervous at the same time,
quite tannic and slightly drying right
from the start (cocoa). Lots of dried
fruits of all sorts, butterscotch,
herbal tea… The vanilla is big!
Keeps developing with some violet
candies, a little olive oil, beeswax
and honey… Very nice indeed,
except that it then gets more and
more drying, with some bold cinnamon.
Not excessively, that is, let’s
say it’s just at the limits.
The finish is medium long, mainly
on cocoa. A very nice old Glen Grant,
in any case. 88 points. |
Glengrant-Glenlivet
18 yo 1972/1990 (46%, Cadenhead)
Colour: gold/amber. Nose: rather similar
at first nosing, but soon to get much
flowerier, with lots of nectar, dandelion,
buttercup. Extremely honeyed, at that,
with again these beautiful notes of
old sweet white wine. It then gets
rather waxy and smoky, with also some
bold notes of earl grey tea coming
through (bergamot). Whiffs of oak,
and maybe a little camphor. Fantastic,
as enjoyable as the Samaroli but a
little more complex. Near perfection
considering its profile. |
 |
| Mouth:
more powerful than the Samaroli but
almost as drying, despite its younger
age. Notes of flour, cocoa, cinnamon
again, cardboard… Lots of tannins
in there! Gets then very chocolaty,
with also lots of cold over-infused
tea… A mater of tannins, definitely.
Much more drying than the Samaroli,
in fact. The tongue starts to stick
to the palate, id’s ve’y
ha’d do go on li’e d’at…
Well, you got it, the spirit couldn’t
stand the wood. Was it brand new oak?
But the nose was fabulous, no doubt.
83 points. |
| TASTING
- THREE OLD INDIE BUNNAHABHAINS
Bunnahabhain
33 yo (45.5%, Royal Mile Whiskies,
cask #6249, 201 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: some rather
bold whiffs of smoke right from
the start, but also quite some freshness.
Bold notes of marzipan and ginger
tonic, almond milk, praline, nougat.
Really youthful, quite curiously,
developing on apricot pie and peppered
apple compote, nutmeg… |
 |
Getting
slightly sour, with some vase water
notes and beer but it remains clean.
Hints of cooked cabbage, wet hay,
seaweed, hot butter… And quite
some smoke again (fireplace, not bonfire).
Complex and very ‘contemplative’
but not bold. Rather delicate, I’d
say. Mouth: sweet and spicy attack,
with quite some body but also kind
of a sugary laziness. Lots of nougat
and orgeat syrup but also lots of
tannins, vanilla… Lavender crème,
violet candies, mastic Turkish delights…
Something very waxy. Cocoa powder
and cinnamon, white pepper, sugared
strong tea… Funny how tannic
it is, whilst remaining perfectly
enjoyable. The finish isn’t
too long but enjoyable, on cough candies
and paraffin. In short, not a total
thrill but a very good old Bunnahabhain.
86 points.
Bunnahabhain
1974/2005 (46%, Berry Bros & Rudd,
casks #11534-11536)
Colour: gold. Nose: a little more
closed, more discreet, and also much
younger in style. Amazing. Not too
far from the regular 12 yo , even
if it’s more complex, quite
obviously. Whiffs of sawdust again,
caramel, flowers from the field, everlasting
flowers, ripe apricots and prunes…
Quite some white pepper… It
gets woodier and woodier after a few
minutes, with lots of vanilla, lactones,
tealeaves… Did this one go over
the hill? The palate will tell. Mouth:
a little punchier than the previous
one and also quite sweeter this time
– but yes, very woody. Lots
of liquorice stick and lots of tannins
again, over-infused tea, burnt vegetables,
getting very drying and even sort
of bitter. Very oaky indeed, even
if the malt behind it seems to be
nicely fruity and flowery. Too bad.
80 points. |
 |
Bunnahabhain
27 yo 1977/2005 (50.6%, Adelphi, cask
#7850, 201 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: sort of discreet
at first nosing but with some very
nice notes of wax, overripe apples,
freshly cut quince… Hints of
wet dog (don’t ask me which
‘brand’). Rather refined
and not explosive at all, but Bunnahabhains
are rarely explosive. Some nice notes
of sweet olive oil and caramelized
fruits. A nice, ‘whispering’
nose. |
| Mouth:
rather sweet but quite nervous, starting
with quite some argan oil (from the
Anti-Atlas of course) and beeswax,
developing on Turkish delights and
fir honey. A little water makes it
very dry, strange…The finish
is rather long and very waxy. Very
nice but not overly complex. 84
points. |
| |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
 |
MUSIC
- It's Sunday, we
go classical! The Nederlands
Kamerkoor conducted by
Eric Ericsson sings Francis Poulenc's
short Pilons
l'Orge.mp3 (let's grind the barley!!!)
And if you'd like something more 'consistent',
there's also this excellent C'est
la petit' fill' du prince.mp3
(It's the prince's lil daughter -
both songs composed in 1945). Please
buy the Nederlands Kamerkoor's music
and go to their concerts (hey
Johannes, Michel and Alexander!) |
| TASTING
- TWO AGED TOMATINS |
| Tomatin
1968 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail CC
old map label, early 1990’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: wow, superb! Lots
of tropical fruits, just like these
old bottling from a famous Islay distillery
starting with a B. (okay, and ending
with an E.) Great notes of passion
fruits, mangos, going on with banana
flambéed, and getting then
very waxy (like these old Northern
Highlanders starting with… okay,
like a Clynelish). Then it’s
an herbal maelstrom, (tons of parsley)
finishing with some bold notes of
soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Far,
very far in style from the usual Connoisseur’s
Choice Speysiders, that’s for
sure... |
 |
| Mouth:
sure, it couldn’t really have
gone on like that. Yet, the attack
is gently waxy and cardboardy (in
a nice way), with some nice apple
juice again, white pepper, kiwi and
fresh apples, maybe strawberries…
Quite some cinnamon from the wood,
a little ginger… The finish
isn’t too long, alas, and a
little too drying. But the nose, the
nose! 88 points. |
 |
Tomatin
25 yo (43%, OB, 2005 bottling)
Colour: gold. Nose: there are some
similarities, definitely. Crisp, playful,
with some bold notes of cider and
boxed pineapple juice, getting then
nicely sour (very light apple vinegar).
It gets then a little winey and mashy
at the same time, just before it falls
almost asleep quite suddenly. Light
indeed but not weak. Ah, some very
distant whiffs of smoke now…
Anyway, it’s nice and harmless.
Mouth: very nice attack, on some very
bold and unusual notes of spearmint
and lemongrass. Lots of various herbal
teas, citrus candies, lemon marmalade.
Really playful, even if there a rather
drying background beyond all that.
Also some kiwi, fresh pineapple…
It’s very nice. Granted, it
isn’t a monster in any way,
and maybe it lacks a little extra-boldness,
but I must say I like it – also
for the humility of its packaging.
Probably the cheapest of all official
20 yo plus malts – and certainly
not the worst, far from it. 85
points. |
| CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
BOB DYLAN AND HIS BAND
Brixton Academy
London November 20th 2005
What
sort of people go to watch Bob
Dylan? “Look”,
I nudged The Photographer as we
trained towards Brixton, “It’s
Father Ted and the auld fella”.
There they were (“Father and
son” said the Photographer)
Dublin brogue, blue folder with
careful computer printouts of all
their travel and ticket details,
anxiously plotting their course
from the station to the Academy.
Like apparent innocents abroad they
stepped into the army of hustling
touts that filled the platform and
disappeared into the night. |
 |
| We
wrestled our way to the throng and
joined the queue that snaked almost
round the theatre – all ages,
a large selection of (mostly Caucasian)
nations, Dylan tour T-shirts from
way back, lots of old friends. And
lots of security. The Photographer
was disappeared into the office by
a burly looking prison guard from
Cell Block H and returned after about
5 minutes, paler and sans camera.
We went in search of drink. |
 |
Comfortably
seated, black stuff, hotdogs, potato
crisps, chatting with our companion
when, out of the blue, “Sure
it’s yourselves again, now come
on Michael” said Father Ted,
or should I say Joseph, “you
just sit yourself down here with the
folks aff the tube, and I’ll
get the beer”. Open mouthed
at this non-metropolitan familiarity
from these strangers on a train we
then found ourselves drawn into both
conversation and the wonderfully wacky
world of the Bob Dylan fan(atic).
That was Joseph – as his dad
Michael explained, “I’ve
only been doing it for a few years,
but he’s been going forever.”
I got a bit confused, but am pretty
certain they’d been to Rotterdam,
Prague and Munich on this tour. I
wasn’t sure how many nights
they were doing in London, and I’d
guess they’d be going to Dublin
too. Joseph returned from the bar,
where he’d been proselytizing
– “those kids wanted to
know what it would be like –
it’s their first time. |
| I
told them, I said it doesn’t
matter what it’s like, just
remember you’re in the presence
of a Living Legend”. “Now
you must be going to Jimmy Ketchup’s
after show party” said Joseph;
“You’ll know Jimmy K”
said Michael, “now he’s
a nice boy - young mind, but a nice
lad, very keen”. “And
always great parties”. “Did
you see the touts – worse than
New York? Tell them about New York
Joseph”. “Which time?”
So we got the New York story (which
involved them staying at the Chelsea
Hotel), learned that they had only
just arrived but were staying at London’s
Fashion
Rock and Roll Hotel (“is
it good - you must have stayed there
yourselves?”), and got good
tips on how to get various electrical
devices into the Bobster’s concerts
– “in my boots”
said Joseph. “Sure there’s
always room for my camera, i-pod,
I like to keep my mobile and Blackberry
there too …I’ll send you
some pictures, but it won’t
be for a while mind, I’m not
in much and I don’t like these
computers”. They were looking
twitchy. “Now drink up Michael,
you know he’s always on time”,
“never late Joseph, as punctual
as a judge” and at 7.15 they
were off into the crowd, as a pre-recorded
overture heralded the imminent arrival
of his Bobliness. |
| Now
from the noise that’s gone on
in the UK around this tour it’s
clear that Dylan certainly seems to
polarise folks, but I reckon that
for five nights in Brixton he must
have had 5,000 or so devotees each
night eating out of his hands. He’s
certainly hot at the moment, what
with the Martin Scorsese film (‘No
Direction home’) and all (are
you listening Santa?). And this, lest
you should be in any doubt, is Rocking
Bob. Keyboard all night, a little
bit of harp (which brings out whoops
and bellows of delight from the audience),
no guitar. He out Bill Frisells Bill
Frisell in his reinterpretations of
his songs, particularly the sixties
classics. And his voice sounds increasingly
like a parody of a parody of a parody.
He says “thanguverymch”
once before his final number, and
introduces the band as if he’s
singing a parody of ‘All along
the watchtower”, which he does
as his final encore. |
 |
| Actually
I should mention that the band are
very good (although there were a couple
of moments when I swear they were
all playing different songs) –
very rocking – and the sound
balance is the best I’ve heard
(outside of the Barbican) all year.
Nice stage set, simple lighting, very
professional. And Bobtastic Bob, hunched
over his keyboard, occasionally taking
the centre of the stage for harmonica
solos that wouldn’t disgrace
a ten year old child, is …,
well…, Bonkers Bob (what was
he doing with his harps when the band
lined up at the end – a secret
The Brotherhood of the Bob symbol
– like the strange Masonic design
projected onto the stage and printed
on all the merchandise?) an unlikely
looking character to wield an almost
messianic influence over his audience. |
A
photograph of the gig by Nick's
brand new Nokia. When will Leica('s
remains) make cell phones? |
And
most of them seem as devoted as Joseph
and Michael. They know the old songs,
they know the new songs. They’re
all a bit more drunk than I anticipated,
and the group in front of us are largeing
on the exotic hand rolled smokes,
but it’s all very friendly.
The man next to me cries when Dylan
plays ‘Don’t think twice’
as his first encore; at the end outside
folks are embracing, “see you
next time” (tomorrow night?).
|
|
This is real fan land. So I knew I
didn’t need to bother with the
set list. You can get it here
along with almost anything else you
need to know – why they might
even get a link to this Whiskyfun
review too. There’s even a website
for fans who compete in teams
to predict what each night’s
set list will be (respect to Bewildering
Bob and the band, they ring the changes
frequently) – it’s where
Jimmy Ketchup hangs out apparently.
So I really don’t need to add
any more. Oh yes – The Photographer
thought it was about seventy odd points,
maybe three and a half stars, I might
have given it a little more. But foolishly,
although it was a Sunday, we were
only there for music, not worship.
I’m sure Joseph and Michael,
lounging in their rock and roll hotel,
trashing their tea making facilities
John Bonham style, would have given
it 100 plus. Oh yes, and that reminds
me boys. Whiskyfun might not be the
Financial Times (sorry Serge –
we’re back to the New York story),
but at least we put you in our review.
And you were worth the (hefty) price
of admission. - Nick Morgan (outside
photo by kate, concert by Nick's new
Nokia). |
| Many
thanks Nick! I agree the fans are
often more interesting to watch and
listen to than the artists themselves
- and maybe that interest is even
sort of inversely proportional to
the musicians' 'quality'. But let's
not follow that logic too far, otherwise
we'll end up by going to Slipknot
rather than... yes, Bill Frisell.
As for Bob Dylan himself, well, just
like you, I haven't a great deal to
say about him... Some music? Why not
listen to another fan, Jason
Rossi, doing his very,
err, 'personal' cover of Just
like a woman.mp3, or to Audry
Rose doing Clothes
Line.mp3... Ha, fans! |
| Mouth:
very, very sweet, almost sugary attack,
developing on lemon juice and caramel.
Something of Bladnoch (although it’s
so remotely located). It gets herbal
and grassy, but nothing excessive,
with kind of a lack of body in the
middle. Then it gets a little malty,
with some notes of burnt cake and
wax… The finish is longer than
expected, though, with some nice notes
of tea jelly. Not a monster, that’s
for sure, but a very good Northern
malt. 84 points. |
| Old
Pulteney 14 yo 1990/2005 (46%, Signatory
UCF, rum finish, cask 04/446)
Colour: white wine. Nose: first, there’s
the rum (white rum, ti punch), then
lots of tropical fruits (lime, pineapples,
guavas, sugared lemon) and finally
some waxy notes, almost paraffin.
Quite enjoyable but it just doesn’t
smell like a whisky anymore. Ah, yes,
a margarita, or even gin fizz…
Mouth: hum, we’re closer to
Scotland again, even if, again, the
attack is very sugary, with also some
notes of white rum and tequila. One
can feel the original profile through
the rum, and it’s quite mashy,
yeasty, on porridge and grain, but
the whole is rather nicely integrated
(but rather simple). The finish is
medium long and quite sugary. Well,
shouldn’t we encourage differences?
80 points. |
 |
It’s
not the ‘thick’ kind of
sherry but it still lacks a little
extra-complexity. Very caramelly as
well, with very little peat if any.
Nice but not the blast we (I) would
expect from a Brora from the 1970’s.
Mouth: nicer and more complex at first
sip, but it gets then rather oddly
perfumy, with some orange flowers
water, Chinese lychee liqueur, overripe
pineapple… The sherry really
overwhelms the spirit here, and it’s
no first-class sherry, I’m afraid.
Now, Michel, who provided me with
the sample, told me I should add some
water. Let’s see what it’ll
give… Ah, yes, the nose gets
much nicer now, with some very typical
‘farmy’ peat really coming
through. It does work on the palate
as well, the peat grows bolder and
sort of wipes the sherry off. Yeah,
good old Brora is back in the glass.
As for a rating, I’d say it
would be only 82 points when naked,
but around 88 with a few drops of
water. Let’s go for
85 points then.
Brora
26 yo 1978/2004 (57.2%, SMWS 61.22)
Colour: straw. Nose: completely different,
with lots of cold ashes, cardboard
and wet calcareous stone at first
nosing, getting then nicely grassy
and herbal, with notes of freshly
mown lawn, dill, raw celeriac. Some
rather nice coffeeish notes as well.
It keeps developing on the typical
farmy notes, hay, baked sour apples,
horse dung, with quite some peat smoke,
first in the background but soon to
come to the front. The mocha is growing
stronger as well. A rather classical,
Brora, not as peaty as the earlier
ones but still very smoky. Very nice.
Mouth: extremely punchy, peaty and
slightly bitter, with lots of pepper
and even wasabi assaulting the palate.
Something boldly mustardy indeed,
perhaps not too enjoyable organoleptically
speaking. Some curry as well, un-sugared
over-infused tea, horseradish…
It gets really bitter now, let’s
add some water again. The nose gets
even smokier, whilst the palate gets
rather smoother and fruitier, with
also some praline, but it’s
still very smoky, peaty and herbal.
The finish is long and rather peppery.
Well not one of the nicest Broras,
for it’s a little too austere
but it should appeal to the Brora
freaks. 87 points. |
| Brora
1982/2002 (40%, G&M Connoisseur’s
Choice)
Colour: light gold. Nose: unexpectedly
ample and complex at first nosing.
Not much peat, at least something
very ‘discreet’ but lots
of style. These 1982 got better and
subtler with more ageing, I think.
It gets Clynelishly waxy after a moment,
with some paraffin, some nice flowery
notes and maybe some kerosene. A high
flyer indeed. |
 |
Mouth:
oh, too bad, it’s rather ‘limper’
now and also bitterer, with some burnt
cake and lots of grainy notes. Probably
too light, almost weak… Too
bad! The finish is quite short, at
that, and a little too cardboardy.
But the nose was excellent. 83
points.
Brora
22 yo 1983/2005 (50%, DL Old Malt
Cask, sherry, DL 1836, 421 bottles)
This one has been distilled in March
1983, so it’s one of the very
last batches – very moving.
Colour: full amber. Nose: rather discreet
and not too aromatic at first nosing,
even a little dusty but it does open
up after a while, with lots of fresh
fruits (pineapples) and quite some
fudge. But no peat, no farmy notes
and no maritime ones that I can smell.
Mouth: very fruity again, bold, caramelly,
but getting waxier and waxier and
rather smoky this time. Bold notes
of cooked fruits. Something cardboardy
again, a little drying, with some
flour and some slightly coffeeish
notes. Very good, in fact, but not
one of the highest flying Broras.
86 points.
And also Brora
23 yo 1981/2005 (58.2%, Signatory
CS Coll, cask 1555)
Very, very sherried. Rather sweet
but getting much smokier with a few
drops of water. 87 points. |
 |
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - We're in 1976, and a few
excellent 'studio' musicians (namely
John Goodsall, Percy Jones, Robin
Lumley and yes, then Genesis drummer
Phil Collins) gather to record a bewildering
piece called Nuclear
burn.mp3 (from their album Unorthodox
Behaviour) under the band name 'Brand
X' . Hey, doesn't 1970's
fusion sometimes stand the test of
time? Btw, John Goodsall still leads
Brand X today, so please buy their
music! |
| TASTING
- SEVEN VERY GOOD YOUNG 'PEAT MONSTERS' |
 |
'Peet
Reek' (61.7%, Blackadder for Sun Favourite
Taiwan, hogshead BA 10571, 294 bottles,
May 2005)
Colour: white wine. Nose: powerful,
almost prickly at first nosing but
it’s soon to sort of settle
down. Very clean, very pure peat,
with some notes of cold ashes, grapefruit
juice, wet stones. Hints of cactus
juice, whiffs of white pepper and
that’s all. I’d say it’s
beautifully simple. Mouth: extremely
powerful but rounded, with a superb
peat smoke and lots of citrusy notes.
Lemon juice and seeds, icing sugar,
pepper, hints of mustard… Again,
it’s very simple but so perfect
in its simplicity… A flawless
young Islayer. Superb. 87
points.
'Peet
Reek' (62.1%, Blackadder for Sun Favourite
Taiwan, hogshead BA 10570, 299 bottles,
May 2005)
Colour: white wine. Nose: close to
its sister cask but even stonier and
ashier, and more on lemon juice. Superbly
sharp – like a blade. Mouth:
it’s funny, now it’s even
creamier and more powerful, with more
liquorice instead of lemon. Other
than that, it’s quite similar.
Maybe a tad better, in fact. 88
points.
W&M
House Malt 'Born on Islay' 1997/2005
(43%, Wilson & Morgan, Cask #818-824)
Colour: amber. Nose: smoky and stony
at first nosing, with some very nice
lemon, freshly cut apples and hints
of cold ashes. A rather typical young
Caol Ila, with maybe a little fudge
and surely some caramel and praline.
Nothing less, nothing more. Most enjoyable.
Mouth: smoky as expected, with also
quite some caramel again, hot cake,
liquorice, mocha… A very nice
mouth feel, with also some earthy
flavours, roots, fresh mushrooms (boletus
and such). Maybe it gets a little
too caramelly, but the finish is still
very nice, rather bold and satisfying,
on peat and liquorice. No winner but
a very nice one. 85 points.
The
Peat Monster (46%, Compass Box, K5064)
Colour: white wine. Nose: not a peat
monster, I’d say. Some peat
smoke, of course, but also lots of
sugared apple juice, and then some
bold notes of very ripe melon and
pineapple, with something waxy and
farmy in the background. Hints of
grass, maybe Parma violets, fruit
jelly and whiffs of sea air. Very
nice, balanced, elegant, rather clean
but not monstrous at all. Maybe they
should choose another name. Like The
Peat Dancer? Mouth: sweet but probably
peatier and more powerful than what
the nose suggested. Rather medicinal,
with some eucalyptus, raw propolis,
overinfused tea… Notes of burnt
cake, dried herbs (thyme). It’s
really enjoyable! Lots of oomph…
Hints of lavender ice cream and more
and more liquorice. The finish is
long and balanced, with lots of peat
and oranges. I like this one, probably
one of the best vattings I had. 88
points.
The
Smoky Peaty One (40%, John, Mark and
Robbo)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: rather punchy,
peaty and smoky just like many young
Islayers. Slightly meaty, with whiffs
iodine, stone, matchsticks. Very simple
but flawless and enjoyable –
if you like peat. Not much else to
say… Mouth: not much body and
a curious mix of heavy caramel and
peat smoke… A little clumsy
right at the start, but it does improve
after a moment, getting creamier,
with some bold notes of eucalyptus
candies, mastic… Very waxy,
at that. Moreover, the finish is rather
long, with quite some bitter oranges
and peat. A nice baby that stands
the low alcohol! 83 points.
'Smoking
Islay' (59.7%, Blackadder for Taiwan
Single Malt Whisky Tasting Association,
cask #BA 2005/202, 233 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: powerful
– of course – but sort
of delicate at first nosing. Lots
of aromas coming to the front at the
same time, but very gradually. Peat
smoke, seaweed, beer, hay… Wow,
now it’s the whole cavalry,
no wonder it starts to smell like
a horse stable. Extremely farmy and
not ‘maritime’ at all,
except for some hints of dried kelp.
There’s a fine layer of caramel
and fudge coming after a moment (Werther’s
Originals), fresh vanilla… And
some very nice notes of ripe fruits
(apricots and melons)…. And
yes, finally, some sea spray! Almost
perfect at its (probable) young age.
Mouth: again, it’s very bold,
very rich, but not overpowering. Lots
of peat, fruit jam, wax… Very
herbal but also nicely sweet. Much
pleasure in there but it’s still
a little too strong. Water please...
(while the nose got even farmier)…
Oh yes, it works nicely, with more
rooty notes (lots of gentian spirit,
Suze…), smoked fish, roasted
nuts, tea, liquorice… Almost
perfect! I’ll ask our maniacal
Taiwanese friend Ho-cheng if I can
get more! 90 points.
Finlaggan
'Old Reserve' (40%, Vintage Malt Whisky
Co)
Colour: gold. Nose: ah, this is much
more complex. Very smoky again but
also very ‘stony’ and
medicinal. Wet stone, ashes, bandages…
Notes of smoked ham, cow stable, seaweed…
Hints of gentian roots and liquorice.
Rather beautiful! Quite some camphor
developing after a few minutes. Certainly
a bang-for-your-buck Islayer, according
to this beautiful nose. Mouth: oh,
lots of gentian spirit (which I always
love), peat smoke, smoked tea…
Rather creamy and really full-bodied
at 40%. Nice notes of apple pie, fresh
green pepper, salted liquorice…
The finish is long, smoky, waxy earthy…
A very nice surprise, as far as I’m
concerned. 86 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Some poor souls suggested
I select many female singers because
they are pretty. That's completely
untrue! Take for instance Katie
Melua singing a jazzy
Shy
boy.mp3. Isn't her music just
nice? Anyway, please buy Katie Melua's
music. |
 |
| TASTING
- TWO INDIE AND TWO OFFICIAL GLENROTHES |
 |
Glenrothes
1972/2004 (43%, OB)
Colour: amber. Nose: extremely honeyed
at first nosing, with also lots of
pollen, mead, fresh butter…
Very clean and rather pure. Some superb
winey notes (fino, Jura vin jaune…)
and lots of vegetables, mashed potatoes,
braised carrots, salsify. Very complex,
probably better than any other Glenrothes
I had before. Hints of porridge, fresh
cream, green gooseberries and pears.
Some vanilla fudge, sabayone, camomile
tea. Most delicate but not thin in
any way. Mouth: sweet but not sugary,
oaky but not too tannic, starting
on apricot jam, Mirabelle jam, apple
pie, flower nectar, light ‘breakfast’
honey… Some quince jelly as
well, the whole being nicely peppery.
Hints of dried ginger and lots of
vanilla, with a bit of Turkish delight.
Excellent! Medium long finish, on
soft pepper and just a little nutmeg.
Pure pleasure. 90 points. |
| Glenrothes
36 yo 1968/2005 (53.2%, Ducan Taylor,
cask #13486, 144 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: rather bold and
vibrant, starting on some strong notes
of ale and oak (and a superb oak).
Fantastic notes of cider apples, moss,
forest after the rain, fresh mushrooms.
Notes of mashed potatoes again, dill,
fresh parsley… Great honey,
balsam, coffee, raisins… Extremely
compact and very ‘coherent’.
Lots of oak of course but it’s
so nice! Now, after that kind of nose,
the mouth is often a disappointment.
Let’s see… So, mouth:
very creamy and coating, powerful,
on lots of bitter chocolate and strong
coffee. Very honeyed, almost rummy…
Cognac… Havana cigar (when it’s
quite wet)… Pinches of salt
and pepper. Not extremely complex
but beautifully structured. Again,
pure pleasure! Long finish, a bit
drying. Bolder than the OB, perhaps
a tad simpler: 90 points. |
 |
 |
Glenrothes
1973/2000 (43%, OB)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: very rounded
attack, starting very nutty and malty,
on some bold notes of walnuts and
walnut liqueur (nusswasser), hot praline,
baked pears topped with caramel. Gets
then quite flowery (peonies), with
also some fresh vanilla. A very nice
nose, very ‘cosy’, very
classical and perfectly balanced.
|
| Mouth:
oh, this time I feel it lacks some
body, and the attack is sweet but
unusually grainy. But it’s quick
to adjust its aim a bit, with again
quite some praline, fudge, caramel,
honey… We’d probably like
more oomph but it’s a very nice
all-rounder, although the recent 1972
(see above) is much, much better in
my opinion. Anyway, 85 points
for the 1973. |
| Glenrothes
17 yo 1985/2003 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, sherry, 681 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: a very sherried
start, with lots of chocolate and
Smyrna raisins. Quite some sulphur
too. Goes on with some meaty notes
(steak, gravy). It’s a bit simple
in fact, with a big, bold sherry but
it’s still flawless. Mouth:
ah, even nicer! It’s not often
that the palate is better than the
nose with these sherry monsters. The
sherry doesn’t dominate the
spirit at all, in fact, and the whole
is nicely balanced. Granted, there’s
a lot of chocolate and praline, but
it keeps elegant. Gets very dry after
a moment, though, and the finish is
long, quite drying (but not too much)
and rummy at the same time. I like
it very much, I must say. 87
points. |
 |
 |
CRAZY
WHISKY NEWS: THE EGYPTIANS MAY HAVE
INVENTED IT! - According
to Professor Willibald Schmitz-Jones
(Archaeologist - University
of Edinburgh) who's currently
in charge of the 'spirits' section
of the Ramsseum
excavations, some newly found hieroglyphs,
dating back from circa 1,750 BC may
well prove that the ancient Egyptians
knew how to make whisky perfectly
well. |
| Prof.
Schmitz-Jones just sent us this beautiful
photograph of the most spectacular
piece, called 'Charlimaclinis' Stone'
(Charlimaclinis
was a famous Theban amanuensis). We're
very proud to be able to publish this
Whiskyfun world exclusivity today,
and to give back to Caesar what belongs
to... err, Ramses (well, you see what
I mean.) |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Ethno-techno? Hmmm... Well,
as far as Ryukyu
Undergroound is concerned,
I quite like it. Try for instance
Shinkaichi.mp3...
and then buy it. |
 |
| TASTING
- FOUR NEW WINESKIES BY ARRAN AND
EDRADOUR |
 |
Arran
‘Chateau Margaux Finish’
(59.1%, OB, 317 bottles, b. 2005)
I must say the ‘race’
between Arran, Edradour, Glenmorangie
and now Bruichladdich regarding ‘who’s
gonna get the rarest wine casks’
is very funny. We’ll soon have
all the Bordeaux 1855 Grand Crus in
these ranges – and I can’t
wait to read ‘Johannisberger
Trockenbeerenauslese’ on a whisky
label (and hear a Scot pronouncing
it ;-)) Anyway, let’s taste
this new wonder now. |
| Colour:
salmon. Nose: ha! It starts amazingly
meaty and rubbery, with also some
rather bold notes of cooked strawberries.
Not too bad, actually. A little ginger,
Alka-Seltzer, getting then very spicy
(lots of clove and pepper from the
casks). Not bad at all. One must not
forget that Château (that’s
right, there’s a circumflex
on the ‘a’, folks, don’t
forget it on your labels!) Margaux
uses only new oak, so the wood’s
influence is very big, even if it’s
very tight French oak. Mouth: a sharp
attack, with some bold notes of liquorice,
very spicy again – and also
quite herbal. And them come the cloves
again, together with quite some juniper,
making the whole taste almost like
a (very strong) mulled wine. Very
curious but not bad! 79 points. |
Arran
'Grand Cru Champagne Cask Finish'
(58.8%, OB, 308 bottles, b. 2005)
Colour: gold (just like its presentation
box). Nose: rather hot and spirity
at first nosing, with quite some toasted
bread at first nosing, getting then
rather grassy and smoky. Burnt matchsticks,
fireplace… Notes of wet hay,
burning wood, roasted nuts…
No winey notes that I can smell (who
said good news?) Mouth: punchy, spirity
and yes, winey. Really hot, I think
we’ll add a few drops of water…
Oh the nose gets much farmier, as
often when you add some water to a
malt – it smells almost like
a cow stable (but no soap). The mouth
got sweeter and rounder, with quite
some fruity notes (caramelized apples),
fudgy, very caramelly… Quite
enjoyable, in fact. What’s more,
the finish is rather long, perhaps
a bit too sweetish but with some nice
notes of violet sweets. In short,
I couldn’t find the Champagne
but the end result is nice, no doubt
about that. 82 points. |
| Edradour
11 yo 1994/2005 (59.6%, OB, Straight
from The Cask, Madeira finish, cask
#04/316/4, 488 bottles)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: some very
bold notes of cooked caramel with
lots of nutty aromas, roasted almonds,
fresh walnuts, toasted bread…
Not typically winey nor vinous, Develops
on some rather heavy notes of marzipan,
linseed oil… Also some cooked
strawberries. Gets more and more toffeeish,
coffeeish and waxy (paraffin). Not
too complex but nicely compact, balanced
and really enjoyable. I’m sure
the ‘finishing’ really
added something to the spirit in this
case.... |
 |
| Mouth:
very vinous now, with some sweet and
sour notes, strong liquorice, a little
rubber. Gets quite earthy with hints
of bergamot candies, raspberry candies,
gentian liqueur and quite some spices
and herbs (dried thyme, cloves, a
little cumin). The finish isn’t
fantastically long but enjoyable,
on toffee and jam. A finishing that
works. 86 points. |
 |
Edradour
11 yo 1994/2005 (57.1%, OB, Straight
from The Cask, Gaja Barolo finish)
Colour: amber with reddish hues. Angelo
Gaja is the star of Barolo, in the
north-eastern part of Italy. Barolos
are made out of nebbiolo, a very rough
and drying variety when it’s
young, but getting sumptuously complex
and rich when the wine gets older.
Nose: curiously smoky and very caramelly
and toffeeish at first nosing, with
some nice toasted notes and lots of
cooked red fruits (strawberries, raspberries,
blackberries, blueberries…)
Gets very ‘jammy’, with
some bold notes of Port, old roses
and peonies. Just a little sulphur,
burnt matchsticks… An interesting
finishing again. |
| Mouth:
bold, powerful, creamier and compacter
than the ‘Madeira’. Very
special, extremely fruity but not
like a regular malt. Lots of Turkish
delight, raspberry jelly, pomegranate,
cranberry… Something slightly
– and nicely - metallic (just
like in many Barolos). Blackcurrants.
Again, it’s not extremely complex
but very, very enjoyable – and
so different. Another finishing that
works. Very well. 87 points. |
| |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Nope, she's not Madonna,
and yes, that's nu-jazz (or whatever
they call it) but it is nicely crafted
and Norway's Beady
Belle has a great voice.
And whether the Rhodes and the saxes
are just samples or not isn't that
important, is it? Anyway, have a go
at Goldilocks.mp3
and make up your own mind. And please
buy Goldilocks', I mean, Beady Belle's
music. |
 |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
FAIRPORT CONVENTION ‘ACOUSTIC’,
100 Club, London, November 16th 2005 |
 |
|
|
Hey
Serge, did you know that the esteemed
historian and songwriter Ralph McTell
wrote a wonderful tune about the greatest
of all English patriots, William Conkere?
You must remember William. He was
the legendary English hero who fought
off the invading hordes of Harold
Hard at Hastings, and famously told
“his lusty yeomen true”
(I quote Ralph) to fire conkers from
their longbows – one of which
killed old Harold by hitting him in
the eye. It was sad that William’s
uncle was killed in the battle, but
such was the nation’s gratitude
that for years “all young men
lusty and true” (Ralph again)
were named ‘Norman’ in
his memory. |
| And
we still celebrate William’s
famous victory every October by eating
conker pie. Hmmm. And of course by
singing Ralph’s song: “Have
you seen King William, true patriot
and fair, he’s the lusty warrior
we call the Conkere” Yikes!
Now that’s what I call history
meets poetry. Anyway it was a shame
that Fairport
Convention didn’t
find time for this McTell classic
(though that’s not too say it
was a McTell free night) in their
gig at the 100 Club on Wednesday. |
| Although
it wasn’t really like a 100
Club gig – more like a Convention
of Conventioners, a mid-season Cropredy
reunion without the rain - why they’d
even brought along their fishing chairs,
and I swear there was a stall selling
(the famous West Midland’s delicacy)
hot Ozzies and mushy peas outside
on Oxford Street. I’m not even
sure if many of them were there for
the music, more for the chat and familiar
friendly faces (apart from the one
that The Photographer had a spat with
at the bar, but that, as they say,
is another story) four of whom just
happen to be on the stage. |
 From
left to right: Ric Sanders, Simon
Nicol,
Gerry Conway and Chris Leslie. |
Because
it’s not full on Fairport, it’s
the acoustic sitting down in fishing
chairs version (all plugged in to
amplifiers on course), comprising
the hard-working Gerry Conway on a
very abbreviated drum kit and percussion,
grumpy Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals,
the normally flamboyant Ric Sanders
(tied to his chair) on fiddle, and
the simply nice Chris Leslie (The
Photographer’s school chum)
on vocals, fiddle, electric mandolin
and electric bouzouki. Acoustic? Confused?
Me too. So apparently is bassist Dave
Pegg, who rather than performing was
in the south of France “getting
his new house together” following
his matrimonial adventures over the
past year or so. Big shame as that
means we miss Dave’s laddish
and quite unique Brummie humour. Big
shame.
And the performance? Well, I know
my fellow reviewer Dave “boy”
Broom hates this particular descriptor,
but I have to see it was very …
nice. Thoroughly pleasant. Most entertaining.
Nicol actually sounds a much better
singer in this smaller outfit that
he sometimes sounds with the full
(electric and plugged in) band, and
I was able to watch closely, and admire,
his exemplary rhythm guitar technique
(though I suppose it should be good
after about forty year’s practice).
Conway is inventive and tireless (though
I should observe he looked knackered
at half time in the Gents, where he
was being pursued by a Convention
of ageing amnesic Gerry Conway fans,
“what did you say you played
again?”). |
 Chris
Leslie |
Sanders
is sublime, good humoured, and playing
up to a Convention of Sanders fans
seated determinedly in front of him
on the left of the stage. Leslie spends
most of the evening grinning away
to himself as he swaps instruments,
introduces songs (modestly neglecting
to tell us that he’d written
most of them) and sings. Now as I’ve
already mentioned elsewhere a lot
of this new material isn’t really
as strong as the Fairport classics
of the Thompson, Denny and Swarbrick
days. But give the guys their credit
– they don’t rest on these
laurels - much of the material is
of a more recent vintage and played
with considerable gusto. And it’s
just … nice. Easy, undemanding,
fun … errr, nice. |
| Leslie
does a nice line in sentimental –
‘I’m already there’,
‘Banbury Fair’ (he missed
out all the fights, a great feature
as I recall), ‘The fossil hunter’,
‘Close to you’. We get
some nice instrumentals – ‘Woodworm
swing’, ‘Canny Capers’,
and Duke Ellington’s ‘Sophisticated
lady’ morphed with ‘Here
there and everywhere’ (unlike
the Bill Frisell treatment I got this
within half a bar). A nice old Thompson
and Swarbrick tune, ‘Now be
thankful’, and the nice ‘Culworth
gang’, ‘Sheriff’s
ride’ and ‘The dancer’.
|
| And
of course Ralph McTell’s gushing
but nice ‘The hiring fair’,
which is a suitable vehicle for Saunders
to really put his fiddle through its
paces. In between we get a not-so-nice
drunks Convention, who appear nosily
out of nowhere, but are soon put in
their place by a collective turn of
heads and glowering glare from the
fishing chairs. And of course, as
encore, the very nice ‘Meet
on the ledge’, by which time,
with the wine and beer fully kicked
in, its nice hugs and tears and “see
you next year at Cropredy’.
|
 |
 |
Actually
I think I might give it a miss next
year, and find something a little
less predictable (and less nice) to
cover for you Whiskyfun rock fans,
but on the other hand if I don’t
go, what on earth will I do with my
nice fishing chair? - Nick Morgan
(concert photos by Kate) |
| |
| Thank
you so much, Nick. I've been more
than happy to be able to revise what
I had been told about Hastings and
that French bugger called 'Guillaume
le Conquérant' - and about
Ralph McTell, while I was at it. But
it's time to listen to some 'very
nice' (sorry again, Dave) Fairport
Convention now, with the legendary
Who
knows where the time goes.mp3
(1969, with Sandy Denny). How good
she was! |
| |
| TASTING
- THREE BENRIACHS |
 |
Benriach
28 yo 1976/2005 (56.9%, Signatory,
Cask #9442, sherry butt, 426 bottles)
Colour: gold/amber. Nose: rather spirity
and almost pungent right at first
nosing, with some strange whiffs of
ammoniac. Let’s let this one
breathe for a few minutes (it was
just opened). Ah yes, now it’s
better. What strikes me is its resemblance
with an old Brora, with its deep farmy,
peaty notes. It’s really phenolmenal!
(thanks for that good one, Stéphane).
Lots of wet hay, fermenting fruits,
freshly cut privet, developing on
some rather bold liquorice and balsam.
Goes on with some pine needles, moss,
dill, embrocations, soy sauce. It’s
a fantastic nose, I must say, extremely
complex and bold but not overpowering.
The peat is just superb. Mouth: oh
yes, it’s magnificent again.
Punchy, starting on some strong rooty
and leafy notes, liquorice, coffee
toffee (Nick would say ‘what
a cheap alliteration!’), Tibetan
tea with yack butter (I had that only
once but shall remember it forever)…
Notes of burnt cake, tar, overcooked
wine sauce… Getting even a little
meaty. And the finish is long, very
bitter (a superb bitterness, not of
the bitter kind – well, you
see what I mean) with even some (soft)
chilli. Let’s try it with a
few drops of water now, I’m
curious… Right, the nose gets
more peppery, while the mouth doesn’t
change much, getting even bitterer
– that’s excessive now.
This one is not really a swimmer!
Anyway, it’s a superb Benriach
by Signatory again. 92 points.
Benriach
10 yo 1994/2005 (46%, Signatory Unchillfiltered,
cask #1665, 383 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: fresh, clean,
with some strong peaty and grainy
notes. It really smells like a ‘distillery’.
Mouth: clean and fresh again, a mix
of porridge and smoke, with a peat
of the farmy kind). Simple but nicely
balanced – most enjoyable. 84
points.
Benriach
16 yo (43%, OB, 2005 bottling)
Colour: straw. Nose: a very grainy
and vegetal start, not too bold I
must say. Lots of porridge and some
bold notes of freshly mown lawn, grain
dust and yoghurt. Simple – not
bad at all but maybe a little weak
in fact. Mouth; very grainy and herbal
again, and a little oomphier. Some
cake and caramel, something rummy
towards the finish, and maybe a little
peat. Not too bad! 78 points. |
| |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| TASTING
- SIX PURE/VATTED/BLENDED (WHATEVER)
MALTS |
 |
The
Famous Grouse 'Vintage Malt Whisky'
1992/2004 (40%, OB)
Colour: full gold. Nose: very nutty,
grainy and very faintly smoky attack
but with quite some body, unexpectedly.
Slightly peaty, with whiffs of fermenting
grass, overripe oranges, hints of
lavender… Also some apple juice.
Hey hey, that’s rather nice!
Mouth: extremely sweet and caramelly,
probably a little weak but not feeble.
Dried oranges, cake, roasted nuts,
cereals… Something waxy and
also some notes of fruit eau de vie.
Gets then a little bitter (burnt caramel)
but nothing excessive. The finish
is a bit short and on caramel again…
In a nutshell, it’s rather enjoyable,
probably one to pour your ‘regular’
friends (not the obsessive hardcore
whisky nuts) who just ask for a good
whisky, as nobody will dislike it.
77 points.
The
Smooth Sweeter One (40%, John Mark
and Robbo)
Colour: straw. Nose: very grainy and
mashy, with some white bread, white
fruits (gooseberries, pear juice,
cider) and something grassy…
Again, not too expressive but not
bad at all, I must say. Mouth, very
sweet indeed, but again, rather weak.
Lots of fruit eau de vie (mostly pear,
kirsch), grain, boxed fruit juice
(syrup), heavily sugared herbal tea…
And not much else, I’m afraid,
with a short finish on pear juice.
Well, not much happening in there…
Hello? Not serious flaws either, that
is. A perfect example of a 75
points malts in my books.
The
Rich Spicy One (40%, John, Mark and
Robbo)
Colour: amber. Nose: much more happening
in there! Granted, it’s not
bold and even a little weak at first
nosing, but I quite like the heavily
nutty notes, with the praline, the
butter caramel and the fudge. Whiffs
of smoke (just distant whiffs), hot
cake and, yes, maybe some spices (not
sure it’s not the power of mind).
Nutmeg? Cinnamon? Also some fruit
jam (apricots) and quite some vanilla
cream. Again, harmless and enjoyable.
Mouth: ah, now there’s really
some body. Rather creamy, with lots
of caramel, fudge, cake, roasted peanuts,
orange marmalade… The middle
is a little less bold (not exactly
weak, that is) but it gets quite spicy
indeed after a moment, even if a little
watery at the same time. Medium long
finish, perhaps a little sugary (candy
sugar). No doubt this one would have
been a very good bottle if reduced
to 46 or 43% instead of 40%. 81
points.
No'Age
Edition 2001 (45%, Samaroli, vatted,
1596 bottles)
An interesting vatting, that’s
been reduced for one year (a little
water is added every two months).
Colour: straw. Nose: much fresher
and cleaner, on white fruits (apples,
pears, green mellon) and cereals.
Some bold notes of mashed potatoes,
hot Belgian waffles with whipped cream
(a sin), pancakes… It gets nicely
farmy and herbal, with some hay, straw,
French beans… Whiffs of ginger
and grapefruits. A very nice “natural”
one, it appears. Gets more and more
citrusy after a few minutes. I like
it! Mouth: quite some oomph now! It
starts on some superb peaty notes
(there’s probably an Islayer
in there) and quite some fruits. Gets
very spicy (lots of pepper, clove).
Develops on bitter oranges, marzipan,
mastic… Really nice and rather
uncompromising for a vatted malt (some
would have made it sweeter, I guess).
The finish is rather long, very waxy
and peppery… In short, probably
one of the nicest vatted malts I ever
had, even if it lacks a little compactness.
86 points.
Eleuthera
(46%, Compass Box, K5073)
Colour: white wine. Nose: much smokier
than expected. I remember having read
that Dave thought it smelled like
bacon and I must say I agree. Notes
of cold ashes and wet stones, burnt
matchstick, toasted bread… Something
cardboardy, chalky, getting then rather
herbal (cooked vegetables, potato
skins, salsify, celeriac). And always
quite some peat and wax in the background.
Nice! Mouth: sweet but nervous, really
full-bodied and, again, very peaty
and peppery yet sweet and rather rounded
around the edges. Caol Ila? Some very
nice fruits (mangos, Star Crimson
apples…) and quite some beeswax
with honey. Something spicy in the
background, with also some minty notes…
A perfect balance and a vatting that
works beautifully. The finish is very
long, nicely phenolic and bitter (propolis).
I like this one a lot. 87
points.
The
Spice Tree (46%, Compass Box, Inaugural
Batch, 4150 bottles, 2005)
Colour: gold. Nose: very oaky, as
expected. Sawdust, heavy nutmeg…
Very heavy nutmeg… very, very
heavy nutmeg! Notes of kummel liqueur,
burning fir tree wood, getting then
very waxy. Shoe polish, turpentine,
fresh mastic, grapefruit rinds…
Whiffs of white pepper. A very unusual
profile, for sure – and yes
it’s very spicy. Mouth: lots
of nutmeg again, with also lots of
wax, pepper, chilli… It gets
very gingery, with some Schweppes,
Campari… Quinquina… Eucalyptus
candies… Very, very different
indeed. The finish is long, very waxy
and ‘nutmeggy’ (of course).
Well, we all like John Glaser’s
enthusiasm and his passion for experimentation
and no doubt this ‘whisky’
is very ‘honest’, whatever
that means. But on the other hand,
I feel this Spice Tree is too far
away from ‘what whisky is’
(whatever that means again), especially
because of these very heavy spicy
notes from the wood (yeah, nutmeg)
that nobody will find in any other
whisky. So, I will give it 80
points because that’s
kind of a neutral mark in my books,
but some could give it 90 points,
and others 70 or 60… Frankly,
I'm lost here and I just don’t
know how to rate it. Ha, ratings! |
 |
MUSIC
– It's Sunday,
we go classical: American soprano
Kathleen
Battle sings a very funny
and entertaining Mein
Herr Marquis.mp3 (from Johann
Strauss Jr's Die Fledermaus, CD 'Kathleen
Battle at Carnegie Hall', Deutsche
Grammophon). Please buy Kathleen Battle's
recordings. |
| TASTING
- THREE NEW INDIE CAOL ILAS |
 |
Caol
Ila 25 yo 1979/2004 (61.2%, Blackadder
for Sun Favourite Taiwan, hogshead
#5334, 44 bottles)
An incredibly high strength for a
25 yo malt ! This one mus be quite
a beast… Colour: straw. Nose:
very powerful as expected, with some
big, bold farmy notes. Lots of manure,
wet hay… Getting then astonishingly
meaty for a Coal Ila, mainly on smoked
ham. Also dry seaweed, balsamic vinegar…
It then calms down, switching to caramel
sauce and fresh oranges, before it
gets more ‘frankly’ smoky,
peaty, on burning beech, with also
a little apple juice and whiffs of
paraffin and diesel oil. Complex,
with a long development. I like it
very much. Mouth: very strong and
extremely salty and herbal. Ouch,
what a beast! Lots of dried herbs
(thyme, parsley, bay leaf). Very little
sweetness if any. It gets very bitter
(chlorophyll, propolis, herb liqueurs
like Jägermeister). Lots of liquorice
roots as well, tea… Highly reduced
meat sauce. It reminds me the strange
stuff we were used to (forced to)
drink when I was a boy scout. Like
coffee plus mustard plus salt. You
never forget that. Anyway, let’s
add a few drops of water now, perhaps
it’ll become ‘easier’.
Hmmm, no, it gets just a bit duller
but there’s no significant improvement.
The finish is very long but, you guessed
it, very bitter and quite mustardy.
Well, it’s note an easy one,
that’s for sure. For lovers
of extreme malts only – but
the nose was a thrill. 84
points.
Caol
Ila 1993/2005 (59.9%, Adelphi, cask
#6779)
Colour: white wine. Nose: explosive
and very different, much more medicinal,
with whiffs of ether (that are soon
to disappear, thank God) and medical
alcohol. A rather delicate peat and
also lots of notes of buttered mashed
potatoes. Funnily, it’s then
that the farmy notes appear (horse
stable, cat bedding) and finally some
bold notes of natural lavender (not
the ‘perfume’) and freshly
cut shallots. Very organic, maybe
I could use some as a seasoning for
salads or smoked fish? But first,
let’s check the palate. Mouth:
much, much sweeter than the Blackadder,
yet quite simpler. Spirity but delicately
smoky, too strong to be tasted naked,
alas. With a little water now: yes,
it works. A very nice smokiness, lots
of peat (peatier than the usual Caol
Ilas), lots of liquorice, apple skins,
walnuts… Maybe a little simple
but very satisfying, with a long and
very rooty and peaty finish. But what
a beast again! Forget to add some
water and you’ll loose your
uvula! 85 points.
Caol
Ila 25 yo 1979/2005 (50%, Douglas
Laing OMC, DL 1358, 296 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts on
some bold, simple but beautiful fresh
fruits (just apples and pears but
of the best kinds), together with
quite some paraffin and, of course,
smoke. The balance is perfect, with
also some very clean farmy notes,
a little tar and some notes of smoked
salmon. Extremely compact and ‘coherent’,
I like it a lot. Mouth: rather smooth
at first sip, although very ‘solid’.
Maybe a little weaker (or ‘less
bold’) than on the nose, but
with, again, lots of fresh apples.
Un-sugared tea, apple skins, fresh
walnuts… The finish is long,
with something ‘Kidaltonely’
medicinal. Anyway, a superb old Caol
Ila, no doubt. Too bad I couldn’t
taste it head-to-head with the 25
yo OB, I’ll try to do that one
day. 91 points. |
 |
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - A 'quirky post-grunge
quartet' indeed, and they knew their
Beatles! Have a go at Dynamite
Hack playing Boyz
in the hood.mp3 in 1999 and you'll
see what I mean - and please buy their
music. |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
BILL FRISELL, Barbican, London,
November 15th 2005 |
| Hey
Serge. Do you remember when you were
a little boy with shorts and bruised
knees sitting in your school classroom
on a long sunny late summer afternoon?
Did they make you learn and sing those
weird songs that you didn’t
quite understand ? Like all those
fair Spanish ladies who you always
had to say farewell to ? Or two two
the lilywhite boys clothed all in
green ho ho ? Or my land is your land
is your land my land my land is your
land ? No ? Well I did. And of all
the songs that have stuck in my mind
one, ‘Oh Shenandoah’,
always comes back to me. It’s
just what a schoolboy wanted - wide
open spaces, the Wild West, cowboys
and, err… Native American Indians,
romance, and the adventure of the
endless rolling river all wrapped
up in one. Cinemascope pictures merging
in the autumn-burnished leaves blowing
through a deserted school playground.
|
 |
Enough
purple prose - back to Shenandoah.
It’s a river apparently, but
as for the song – well that’s
a mystery left to the speculations
of numerous internet chat rooms (have
a look, it’s fascinating). But
I still love it because my meaning
of the song is etched firmly in my
memory, so when I first listened to
Bill
Frisell’s hypnotic
and haunting instrumental version
(aided by the odd bit of Ry Cooder)
from his 1999 album Good Dog, Happy
Man I was taken back to all those
adventures of my desk-bound childhood.
And I have to admit, I was somewhat
taken with Mr Frisell, albeit somewhat
belatedly, as he’s been recording
and touring since 1978. However, better
late then never.
Six years and several albums later
Bill has a Grammy and numerous award
nominations under his belt, and is
heading for that dangerous ‘national
treasure’ territory –
‘a revered figure amongst musicians’
the programme tells us. |
| |
He’s
playing as part of the rather stuffy
London Jazz Festival at the acoustically
brilliant (good) but soulless (bad)
Barbican, accompanied by Greg Leisz
on guitar and lap steel guitar, and
Jenny Scheinman on violin. Oh yes,
and the gig is being recorded by festival
co-sponsors BBC Radio 3, and broadcast
on Tuesday 22nd November on ‘Late
Junction’. So radio surfers
- you know where to head for. |
I
should note that on a personality
level Bill is about as engaging as
he was when I last saw him five years
ago. Could he, I wonder, have done
a deal with the devil ? “Beeal”
said the Devil (dam, why does the
Devil always talk in that corny accent
?), “Beeal, give me your charisma
and I will make you the greatest guitarist
in the world.” No, I can’t
see it somehow... just too exciting
for Bill. But it doesn’t matter,
apart from the pink baseball boots
and the red hooped socks (ouch !)
this is a man that lets his guitar
do the talking.
I could think of no better way of
spending an evening than watching,
and listening to, Bill Frisell play
the guitar. I wouldn’t even
want a dram, his playing (all loops,
delays and reverses) is as alluring
as the viscimetric whorls of the most
powerful of whiskies. And I wouldn’t
care if he was playing the wallpaper
– and I have to say I’ve
heard some refusniks say dismissively
he does just that. It’s partly
a guitar thing. Watching him pluck
harmonics out of the air at will;
the way he really works his guitar,
almost like an extension of his body.
Like the skipper of a yacht he’s
always fidgeting with something, an
amplifier switch here, a pedal there
(woops, there go the red hooped socks
again), his guitar volume control,
always beavering away to get the very
best performance possible from his
instrument. And here’s another
quote from the programme, “his
signature is built from pure sound
and inflection; an anti-technique
that is instantly identifiable”.
Anti-technique ? Phew ! And he’s
playing – guitar heaven –
it’s a Fender Telecaster, the
virtuoso’s instrument of choice.
|
| That’s
the good bit. It was, as the man in
the Gents (he’d driven down
from Birmingham) said, “Fookin’
ace”. But the choice of material
was a bit surprising. The evening
was made up entirely of a selection
of songs written by John Lennon (although
of course attributed to Lennon and
McCartney, or as his Sir Paulship
tried to insist recently, McCartney
and Lennon). Trying to figure out
exactly which song he was playing
was quite a challenge, as the give
away melody normally didn’t
emerge until about two thirds of the
way through the number. I did manage
to pick ‘Across the universe’,
‘You’ve got to hide your
love away’, ‘Revolution’,
‘There are places’, ‘Julia’,
‘Please please me’, ‘Come
together’ and ‘Nowhere
man’. |
 |
But there were a couple (quite good
ones) that I missed. And to be honest,
rather than saying “it didn’t
work” it’s probably true
to say that the Frisell treatment
showed up in cruel light the strengths
and weaknesses of some of these songs.
‘Julia’ sounded like schmaltz.
‘Nowhere man’ was (I thought)
quite brilliant, as was ‘Universe’.
I think it was something about Frisell’s
complex arrangements exposing the
frailty and predictability of some
of Lennon’s melodic structures.
But hey, I’m no critic, and
that sounds dangerously like critic
bollocks, doesn’t it?
It was strange that when I got home
I listened to the radio whilst I tried
to make sense of my notes, Frisell’s
gorgeous guitar still echoing through
my head. There on the late news was
Mark Chapman, whose notoriety I need
not mention, talking about the ‘incredible
feeling’ he had when he shot
John Lennon. Rather tasteless really,
and what they call, so I understand,
“a bit of a downer”. -
Nick Morgan (concert photo by
Kate) |
| Thanks
a bunch, Nick. And yeah, some jazz
(in the largest sense)! With modern
jazz, you often need the CD's case
to find out about a tune's name, even
if it's the most hackneyed standard,
so it's probably quite an achievement
to have recognized all these Beatles
songs. Too bad he didn't do 'While
my guitar gently weeps' (did he?)
Now, this gig probably wasn't as extreme
- although 'extreme' is hardly a Frisellian
word - as the one I once heard, showcasing
him and John Zorn. It was really out
of this world! But enough ramblings,
let's go for a little music now. We
have for instance a very bluesy piece
with Kelly Joe Phelps called Piece
by piece.mp3 (that was live in
1999) where Frisell really has 'his
sound' (and nobody else's). We have
also a beautiful podcast with various
recent 'African' works here
(via SF
Gate). |
| |
| TASTING
- TWO VERY SALTY INDIE MACALLANS |
| Macallan
'Coilltean' 1992/2004 (55%, Samaroli,
new American oak, cask #8518, 420
bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: a little close
right at the start, but soon to exhale
some very interesting notes of fresh
butter, herbs (lovage) and cold ashes.
A different Macallan, that’s
for sure. There’s a phase where
it gets also a little cardboardy,
with lots of vanillin, before it switches
to fudge and milk caramel (Werther’s
Originals). Lots of cappuccino notes,
roasted peanuts, praline… Oh,
the coffee gets bolder and bolder
and after a good five minutes, it
smells just like a Jamaica Blue Mountain!
Very special indeed – is that
espresso, Mr. Samaroli?... |
 |
| Mouth:
oh, it’s extremely salty and
spicy at first sip. How unusual! Herb
decoction, meat sauce… Lots
of liquorice too, burnt caramel, Chinese
plum sauce, balsamic vinegar…
Incredible, I guess you could just
pour it on a steak… The funny
thing is that it’s most enjoyable.
Possibly the first sweet and salty
whisky I ever tasted - I mean, it’s
‘really’ salty. Yes, that’s
what it is: infused Dutch salted liquorice.
Now I understand why Johannes loves
it that much. Well, I like it too,
and the finish is rather long and…
meaty (on Peking duck with its sauce).
Worth trying, definitely, and one
of the best recent Macallans I had.
For ages. 90 points. |
 |
Macallan
15 yo 1989/2005 (57.2%, SMWS 24.82)
Colour: straw. Nose: how funny, this
profile is rather similar (by chance!)
Lots of cardboardy notes, wet stone,
ashes, with something smoky/meaty
and even farmy in the background.
Whiffs of peat, growing bolder with
time, wet hay, even a little muck.
It gets then curiously perfumy (dried
flowers, lavender) with kind of a
sourness (overripe apples). And yes,
there’s quite some coffee as
well. A nice one, even if it doesn’t
stand a chance ‘against’
the great Samaroli – as long
as the nose is concerned for now.
Mouth: it’s powerful and again,
the profile is rather similar, with
quite some salt, liquorice, and something
rather perfumy (orange flowers water).
Quite some olive oil as well. Something
more herbal as well, with also a little
coffee and some curious hints of coriander
and, maybe, cooked salsify. Very unusual
again, although less impressive than
the Samaroli. Long finish, on some
bold notes of salted liquorice again.
Very good, and worth trying, in any
case. 86 points. |
Keeps
developing a bit, mostly on coffee
and on various kinds of fruit liqueurs
(banana, pineapple, triple-sec and
Chinese Mei kwei lu.) Rather different,
not as close as expected to some other
triple distilled malts, such as Auchentoshan.
Less ‘clean’ and ‘pure’
and with more body. Mouth: very ‘different’
again. Quite some vivacity and heat,
creamy and very sweet. Gets then bitterer
and bitterer (burnt bread) and finally
extremely salty. Rather simple, in
fact. The finish is long and rather
tary and sulphury, with quite some
bitterness. A rather difficult whisky,
I must say, not offering much pleasure
in my opinion, but that’s very
interesting to taste, hence my
84 points.
Longrow
10 yo 1995/2005 (55.6%, OB, 2440 bottles)
This one has been finished for two
years in some fresh Tokaji casks.
For those who don’t know, Tokaji
is a very sweet white wine made in
Hungary (the old, genuine Eszencias
are legendary). Colour: gold –
amber. Nose: oh my God! That’s
weird! Some bold notes of stale beer,
boiled cabbage and rotting fruits
assault your nostrils, together with
some notes of ‘chemical’
orange juice and old vase water. Completely
offbeat, almost unbearable in my opinion.
Mouth: very sweet as expected and
less monstrous at fist sip than the
nose suggested, but getting then extremely
drying, with some very bold notes
of foul meat and game (from last year
;-)) emerging. Painful, not my cup
of tea at all, I couldn’t go
any further, I’m sorry. But
maybe some will like it? Now, I sort
of admire Spingbank for having brought
it to the market, I must say they
have cojones! But I’ll also
second Loch Fyne’s Richard Joynson
who wrote: ‘I blame Willy
Taylor of Broxburn Cooperage for selling
innocent, unsuspecting distillers
bizarre casks found lying around on
old station platforms of Europe.’
Well, I don’t know Willy Taylor
but I trust Richard Joynson! Anyway,
49 points for that
very weird winesky. |
| And
while we are at it... |
 |
SHOPPING
- It's been a while
since fellow maniac Lex
wrote about this extravagantly 'finished'
whisky for the first time - he even
tasted it (but didn't actually swallow
it - see Celtic Malts, May
1, 2003 entry). Well maybe Lex
should have drunk it, as here's what's
written on the label: 'Real Speciality
of Done Sao Laos - Snake Whisky (one
unit) - Usage: rheumatism, lumbago,
sweat of limbs - Dosage: twice a day,
each a small cup before meal.'
I just hope it doesn't bite your tongue!
(via Dan's
pages) |
 |
TASTING
- FOUR NEW BRUICHLADDICHS
Bruichladdich
1986/2005 (46%, OB, La Maison du
Whisky 50th Anniversary, cask #2)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather nervous
and hot at first nosing, with quite
some cold coffee, getting rather
fragrant and toffeeish at the same
time, with some hints of sherry,
cooked strawberries and cigar box.
Sandalwood, rosewater. Faint rubbery
notes. Quite leathery at that, strong
pipe tobacco, Chinese plum sauce…
More complex than expected, with
also some nice notes of toasted
bread, wax polish… A not so
fat sherry, it appears – I
like it... |
| Mouth:
very coffeeish again and very rubbery.
Some sharp bitter notes but nothing
excessive, Grand-Marnier, praline,
orange marmalade, prunes in Armagnac.
Gets a little tary and smoky, tobacco…
Less complex than the nose and a bit
‘sticky’, but still very
nice. Lots of burnt bread, strong
tea and liquorice… The finish
is medium long, on burnt notes and
rubber-liquorice. Nice, although I
do prefer the natural, less sherried
Laddies. 84 points. |
| Bruichladdich
Twenty Third Edition ‘Islands’
(46%, OB, 5 days Madeira hogshead
‘ACE’ 2005)
ACE stands for Additionnal Cask Enhancement,
according to the Laddie's semantics.
Colour: amber, with faint reddish
hues. Nose: curiously more discreet
than the 1986 at first nosing, but
getting rather similar after a few
minutes. A little rubberier and also
more winey, growing hotter. Gets very
orangey and coffeeish, with the distillery’s
markers still there but toned down
(melon). Smells of oriental pastry,
getting very fragrant and almost perfumy
(orange water, musk) and bubblegummy,
with a strong layer of toffee and
caramel. Whiffs of menthol. Not exactly
my type but rather complex and nicely
‘made’... |
 |
| Mouth:
more balanced and fruitier than the
1986 this time, with lots of cooked
fruits (strawberries, apricots), crystallised
oranges and tangerines, praline, but
also quite some fresh fruits (very
ripe peaches). A bit of rubber again…
Develops on some very nice hints of
camphor and spearmints… Not
the most complex ever but definitely
a nice version with not too much wine
influence – thank you. The finish
is quite long and bold, very balanced,
on fruitcake. Very nice palate! 86
points. |
 |
Bruichladdich
1992/2005 'Extra Strength' (50%, Wilson
& Morgan)
colour: white wine. Nose: very fresh
but a little spirity, coffeeish, very
close to new make. Little cask influence.
Gets mashy, with some porridge and
cornflakes, some fruity notes (apples,
green peaches) and something vegetal
(French beans, celeriac). Not very
aromatic, to say the least. Just some
added notes of mushroom and humus
after a good five minutes. Mouth:
oh, this is funny, it’s almost
like a pear eau de vie! I mean, really!
Not sure I’d have said it’s
whisky, had I tasted it blind. Some
caramel too, maybe a little ginger
and that’s it. The finish is
rather short and on… pear, you
guessed it. Just a bit of salted liquorice,
getting a little grassy. Really funny!
79 points for this
pear spir… I mean, Bruichladdich.
|
Bruichladdich
14 yo 1990/2005 (50%, Douglas Laing
Old Malt Cask, 348 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: rather similar
profile, but less spirity, with more
milk chocolate and praline. It gets
even nicer with a bit of breathing,
mashier and funnily farmier, with
much more body and balance than the
W&M. There seems to be quite some
peat smoke in there, that’s
strange… Lots of milk chocolate
too. Smoky chocolate? Very, very nice.
Mouth: creamier, much bolder and fruitier
again (melon, pears again, granny
smith), with lots of fudge, vanilla
cream, lemon pie, chocolate. Not complex
but perfectly balanced. Moreover,
the finish is rather long and very
satisfying, with again a dash of salt
on the tongue. Quite an excellent
surprise. 87 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - When was Since
K got over me.mp3 recorded? In
the 1960's? No, it was in the 2000's
and the band is called The
Clientele. Uh! Anyway,
please buy The Clientele's music if
you like it. |
 |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
ROGER CHAPMAN & THE SHORTLIST,
100 Club, London November 11th, 2005 |
 |
I
have to admit that Roger Chapman and
I go back some. In fact it’s
1970 (remember – we all used
to make our own entertainment then?)
and I’m at Birmingham Town Hall
with a couple of mates for My First
Proper Concert, and it’s Roger
Chapman fronting Family
(picture), touring to promote
their fourth album, Anyway. |
| Now
for those of you who don’t know,
or who don’t or can’t
remember, Family were that strangest
of strange bands, ‘snotty little
Leicester louts’ from the East
Midlands who, proud of their non-cosmopolitan
working class roots (“everyone
thought that we took acid all of the
time, but we’re much more of
a working class sort of band …”)
never quite fitted in wherever they
went, and no more so that the USofA,
where Chapman’s unrealised attempt
to decapitate Bill Graham (the famous
evangelist rock promoter) at the Fillmore,
with a characteristic twirl of his
microphone stand, brought their international
career to an abrupt end, or so the
stories go. After that Birmingham
gig (something of an adventure, as
I ended up sleeping overnight in Birmingham
New Street Station, quite a rock and
roll experience for a young kid from
the country) I saw Family twice more,
the last time in Oxford on their farewell
tour (as I write I have the Zig Zag
tour programme – 10p –
on my desk) in 1973. By then they
had already started to turn their
back on their more psychedelic tendencies,
bringing in the boozy and beefy Tony
Ashton to replace vibe player and
Moog experimenter Poli Palmer on keyboards.
|
| This
beery and blokey outlook defined their
next incarnation – Streetwalkers
(picture) – formed
around Chapman and guitarist and co-writer
from Family, Charlie Whitney. I saw
them once – a brawl of a night
at Banbury’s Winter Gardens
(apparently the Stones and the Who
played there, but before I pitched
up in the place back in ’68)
when the bouncers, fresh from their
tractors, decided to kick eight pounds
of shit out of one of the road crew
for dancing (it was a Sunday night,
and there was no dancing license).
|
 |
An
incensed Chapman responded by trying
to decapitate the bouncers with the
mike stand (are you beginning to get
the picture …?) and the evening
turned into a standoff between band,
audience and management. Streetwalkers
didn’t last too long –
Chapman and Whitney broke their knot
– and Chapman went into a sort
of retirement before producing the
R&B infused Chappo in 1979. It’s
still a quite brilliant album, but
sadly became something of a template
that Chapman and his band, The Shortlist,
have followed in most of their subsequent
recordings. We saw him launch the
album somewhere in Victoria in a club
owned by Richard Branson – strangely
one of the highlights of the evening
was when he tried to decapitates a
couple of leery drunks at the front
of the stage with the – you-know-what.
After that it was probably twenty
years before we came face-to-stage
again. In the meantime Chappo had
taken off to Germany (and German Whiskyfun
readers please note – he’s
starting a short tour there in December)
where, like many a lost monster of
British rock and roll, he’s
forged a pretty successful career.
And released a fistful of albums,
albeit all somewhat formulaic and
derivative of the blues and soul feel
of Chappo. It was at the original
Meanfiddler up in Acton – and
a pretty good gig, though clearly
the Chapman voice was nowhere near
as strong as it had been years before.
Five years later, and having just
celebrated his solo career’s
silver anniversary Chappo is back
in London at the 100 Club. It’s
late on a Friday night, it’s
hot and it’s packed, there’s
beer in glasses, on the floor, on
the wall … well everywhere.
|
 |
The
prostateically challenged are queuing
for the Gents, there are fathers and
daughters (“I’ve never
heard of Robert Cheeseman” one
confided in The Photographer in the
secrecy of the Ladies loo, “I’m
just here to make sure Dad gets home
safely” – later she’s
spotted dancing passionately with
a stranger) and to our left a very
drunken bus-party of balding, middle-aged,
check-shirted rocket scientists are
swaying in anticipation, lager bottles
and clandestine cigarettes in their
hands. |
| So
I was not surprised to see a heavier
Chapman take the stage, or to see
that his once trademark mike-stand
callisthenics were heavily subdued
(though he can still knock the living
daylights out of a tambourine). Nor
did I expect much of his interplay
with the audience, which as I anticipated,
had not moved on much in thirty years,
“Fuck me, that’s alright
then”, “Fucking hell,
what’s next”, “Woa,
that was a bit of a fucker …”.
Indeed, I might often have been tempted
to think that Chapman was somewhat
inarticulate were it not for the fact
that I’ve read a fistful of
quite thoughtful interviews with him
over the years, and that he’s
often forgotten as the lyricist in
Family, responsible for songs such
as ‘My friend the sun’
(“This used to be a lovely fucking
song ‘till you fuckers got hold
of it” complained Chapman to
the tuneless sing-along audience),
‘Burlesque’ (“right
down to my snakey spat shoes”)
and of course the absolute classic
‘The Weaver’s Answer’
(“Weaver of life, let me look
and see, the pattern of my life gone
by shown on your tapestry”).
|
 |
And
for what it’s worth, he’s
written or co-written much of his
more recent material too. I suppose
the disappointment, though not surprise,
was just that The Voice, probably
at one time the most unique in rock,
can’t quite make it anymore.
Don’t get me wrong – it
wasn’t as bad as, lets say,
Stephen Stills a few months ago, but
it just couldn’t quite get to
that pitch or frequency that in his
prime was simply spine-tingling. And
it was noticeable that the band carried
him by drawing out many of the tunes
to give him a good old rest now and
again. Well deserved I’d say.
Now for once, as The Photographer
managed to divert the attention of
the road crew by harassing Chapman
for an autograph, I managed to get
hold of a set list from the stage.
Do you know people sell these on e-bay?
Why, I’m surprised they don’t
just fake them. |
| This
one listed nineteen songs, but I doubt
if we got more than twelve of them,
and certainly not in the order listed,
so not much help there then. But in
addition to the three Family numbers
we definitely got ‘Kiss my soul’,
’18 wheels and a crowbar’,
‘X-town’, and ‘Kick
it back’. Not being too familiar
with some of this later stuff I was,
to be honest, at a bit of loss, but
helpfully the projecting fists of
the rocket scientists was a useful
guide to both perceived quality and
the overall excitement (and lager)
level in the room. Of course by the
time we got ‘Weaver’s
answer’ as an encore they were
beside themselves - I thought the
one standing on a chair was probably
going to take off. |
 |
| And
we were all pretty happy too –
after all it’s not that often
you can spend such a pleasurable few
hours in such close proximity to a
true hero of rock, who apparently
swears (“fuck me …”)
that he’ll never retire. But
here’s a thought. Just in case
he does, why not go out and buy one
of his albums, just to help with the
hard earned pension ... - Nick
Morgan (concert photos by Kate). |
| Many
thanks, Nick. Yes, it's strange
to see all these old British glories
emigrate to Germany (remember the
great Kevin Coyne?) but on the other
hand, I live very close to the German
border, so it's quite cool for me.
I won't complain (and 'they' seem
to like fine whiskies better than
your fellow compatriots, by the
way). So, kudos to our German friends
indeed! Now, we have an excellent
acoustic version of Shape
of Things.mp3 and you tell me
it's an old Chappo song. I like
it! (via the Roger
Chapman Official Appreciation Society) |
| |
| TASTING
- THREE GLENFARCLAS |
 |
Glenfarclas
1974/2000 (43%, OB, 2732 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: very smooth and
fresh, buttery and flowery. Lots of
nectar, flowers from the fields, sweet
white wine (Monbazillac), light honey.
Very little sherry in this one, it
appears. Some fresh tangerines, mirabelle
pie, caramel fudge, vanilla-flavoured
whipped cream, sugared apple juice…
Sweet and harmless, most enjoyable
even if not too complex. Mouth: sweet,
rounded but not dull at all at first
sip, on cooked fruits, with a little
cocoa. Alas, the middle is a little
weak, lacking body but not short of
tannins… What’s funny
is that it gets bolder again after
a few seconds, with some nice notes
of honeyed herbal tea, Chinese anise,
quince jelly, caramelized apples…
And the finish is quite long, a little
drying but with lots of apple compote
and caramel. Well, it’s not
one the best Glenfarclas but it’s
still an enjoyable dram, no doubt.
83 points.
Blairfindy
24 yo 1980/2004 (55.9%, Blackadder
for Sun Favourite Taiwan, sherry butt
#5984, 182 bottles)
Blairfindy is another name for Glenfarclas.
Colour: brown with greenish hues.
Nose: heavily sherried, with lots
of oloroso. Lots of chocolate, rum,
raisins at first nosing, developing
on raspberry ganache (chocolate mixed
with fruits), mocha, toffee…
Again a sherry monster that’s
superbly balanced – no, it’s
no oxymoron. Faint whiffs of fresh
mint, citronella, and quite some soy
sauce. Perfect! Mouth: wow, again
a fantastic attack, with some sherry
again (not of the ‘pasty’
style at all), lots of dried fruits,
some bold marzipan, Corinth raisins,
milk chocolate, cappuccino. Something
funnily Irish in the fruitiness…
Mellon liqueur… Just beautiful!
The finish is long, coating your whole
throat (good for winter), on coffee,
Grand-Marnier and chocolate. An excellent
one, congrats to our Taiwanese friends
for having chosen this one. 90
points.
Glenfarclas
30 yo 1964/1995 (54.1%, Signatory,
sherry cask #4996)
Colour: pure gold. Nose: punchy, powerful,
with some very nice notes of white
wine (Meursault?) and apple juice.
Gets then unusually maritime and smoky,
with some superb waxy notes and lots
of dried fruits (bananas, figs). Goes
on with the ‘empyreumaatic cavalry’,
pine needles, resin, eucalyptus leaves,
chestnut honey, mastic… Brilliant!
Also quite some candy sugar and old
rum, raisins, bergamot, liquorice,
nougat… Really a thrill. It’s
so complex, I’m speechless…
Mouth: creamy and resinous, with lots
of icing sugar, fructose, and all
the fruits on Earth, either fresh
or dried. Raw beeswax with its honey,
pine candies, mint and chocolate,
apricot liqueur, lavender honey. Gets
superbly tary… And now there’s
some cooked rhubarb… This one
is extremely complex and it seems
to keep developing forever. The finish
is long, quite fresh, on herbal tea
(camomile) and crystallised orange
zest… Wow, what a beauty! 95
points – well deserved. |
| |
| TERRIBLE
NEWS – First
case of bird flu here in France. We
have the picture here.
(thanks for that, Yolande) |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Benriach
28 yo 1976/2005 (56.9%, Signatory,
Cask #9442, sherry butt, 426 bottles)
Blairfindy
24 yo 1980/2004 (55.9%,
Blackadder for Sun Favourite Taiwan, sherry
butt #5984, 182 bottles)
Caol
Ila 25 yo 1979/2005
(50%, Douglas Laing OMC, DL 1358, 296 bottles)
Glenfarclas
30 yo 1964/1995 (54.1%, Signatory,
sherry cask #4996)
Glenrothes
1972/2004 (43%, OB)
Glenrothes
36 yo 1968/2005 (53.2%,
Ducan Taylor, cask #13486, 144 bottles)
Macallan
'Coilltean' 1992/2004 (55%,
Samaroli, new American oak, cask #8518, 420
bottles)
Smoking
Islay' (59.7%, Blackadder for Taiwan
Single Malt Whisky Tasting Association, cask
#BA 2005/202, 233 bottles)
|
| |
|
|
