 |
|
Hi, you're in the Archives, November 2007 - Part 2 |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
November
30, 2007 |
|
 |
 |
MALT
MANIACS AWARDS 2007
RESULTS
HERE RIGHT TOMORROW!
(yes,
as promised) |
| TASTING
– FIVE VATTED OR UNDISCLOSED
SPEYSIDERS |
 |
Speyside 8yo (43%, Lombard, bottled
circa 2007) 
Colour: pale gold. Nose: grainy and
caramelly, with quite some porridge,
nuts, muesli and hints of crystallised
oranges. Rather nice sourish notes
(yoghurt) and a little honey on top
of that. Very faint whiffs of coal
smoke. Nicely balanced. Mouth: good
body and a funny feeling of old bottle
effect (which cannot be true). Malty,
caramelly, nutty, with something slightly
metallic in the background. Weaker
at mid-palate. Finish: not too long,
malty and caramelly with also hints
of liquorice. Harmless but nicely
made. SGP:241 (wazzat?)
- 78 points. |
Speyside
'Pebble Beach' 12yo (43%, Lombard,
bottled circa 2007) 
As you may know, Pebble Beach is a
very famous golf course in California
so we guess this bottling is for America.
Colour: pale gold. Nose: very different,
with much more oak, vanilla, mint
and even whiffs of camphor and eucalyptus,
liquorice. More ‘modern’,
whatever that means, the oakiness
being quite ‘obvious’
(warm sawdust). Maybe less balanced
but also more zing. Mouth: it’s
on the palate that this one makes
all the difference. Much bigger and
more concentrated, quite resinous
and minty, with the oaky notes playing
the first parts again. Pleasant bitterness
– more ‘Highlands’
than ‘Speyside’ if you
ask me, even if we all agree now that
regional classifications don’t
mean a thing. SGP:360 - 81
points. |
Sherry
Cask Malt 2000/2007 (43%, Wilson &
Morgan 'Room sample', casks #2419-2425)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: it’s
all a sherry affair it seems, but
a very nice one and no heavy Oloroso
or PX. Walnuts, praline, honey, fresh
putty, banana skin, rubbed mint leaves
and Chinese anise. Big notes of soft
liquorice (allsorts). Also hints of
tinned lychees. I like this. Mouth:
extremely coherent. Good, soft, dry
sherry with good body. Bigger waxiness
than on the nose. Crystallised oranges,
walnuts (including walnut liqueur)
and pepper. Grows really bigger over
time. Finish: very long for a malt
at 43%, spicier and spicier. Big notes
of cloves at this stage and a little
green tea. Rather amazing maturity
for a 7yo malt. SGP:543 –
84 points. |
| Clan
Denny 'Speyside' (46%, Hunter Hamilton
- DL, bottled circa 2007)
A bottling by Douglas Laing. This
one is a vatting of Mortlach, Glendullan,
Linkwood and Dufftown. Colour: white
wine. Nose: as ‘natural’
as unpeated whisky can get it seems.
Grass, porridge and wet stones, with
white fruits lingering in the background
(pears, peaches and apples). A bit
‘naked’ but that may well
be an asset (come on!) Mouth: big
and natural, punto basta. Same as
on the nose plus various fruit liqueurs
and eaux-de-vie. Maybe also a bigger
grassiness. Finish: rather long and
even grassier. Ah, nature! SGP:260
- 80 points. |
 |
Speyside
1990/2006 (46%, Celtic Whisky Co,
Celtique Connexion, Bourbon/Sauternes
finish, 346 bottles)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: quite the
opposite of the Clan Denny. Starts
quite fragrant but not too fragrant,
with indeed a mix of bourbonny and
Sauternes notes that really melted
together here (no ‘winey’
notes as such). Ripe apricots, marshmallows,
seawater, oak and liquorice, plus
myriads of smaller notes that include
quinces, soot, salpetre, bacon and
ripe pineapples. Very complex and
in no way ‘just another random
finishing’. It’s no secret
that I’m a fan of Jean Donnay’s
work on double maturation but this
is another proof that I’m not
too wrong. Mouth: sweeter attack,
with something clearly ‘sherry-ish’
now. Figs and dates, Turkish delights,
rum-soaked bananas... Don’t
get me wrong, it’s not sweetish
at all. |
| Quite
some oak in the background, with good
sourness. White pepper, cloves. Finish:
extremely long, with the spices and
quite some liquorice winning the fight.
This one is maybe a bit drier and
less candied than earlier versions,
hence a little less demonstrative,
but I still like it a lot. SGP:531
- 86 points. |
And
also Adelphi
15 yo 1991/2006 'Breath of Speyside'
(60,2%, Adelphi, cask #5642, 615 bottles)
Nose: oak, a little varnish and lots
of fruits (strawberries). Incense.
Something Japanese. Mouth: powerful
but drinkable at full strength. Great
oak, great surprise. SGP:751
- 90 points. |
| |
|
|
| |
How
many litres of pure alcohol
are 'sleeping' in Scottish
warehouses? |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
November
29, 2007 |
|
|
SHOPPING
- THE LEGEND OF LAPHROAIG
Life
is unjust. Just when we’ve
never been as busy we get Marcel
van Gils and Hans Offringa’s
new book about Laphroaig, The
Legend of Laphroaig! Frankly,
we knew this was going to be superb
but now that we have the book on
our desk and could leaf through
it for a few minutes (that quickly
became an hour, aargh!), we think
that it’s more than that.
The pictures, old or new, are stunning,
the massive dose of information
is, well, massive and the general
layout is of the highest grade.
And what an unusual but highly enjoyable
feeling of 'blimey, we've never
seen this before'! |
 |
| What's
more, Marcel (who owns the largest
Laphroaig collection in the world
and displays many of his treasures
on the last pages of the book –
god those are mouth watering) and
Hans have done a job full of passion
but managed to keep their distances
and not to fall into the trap of unconditional
and permanent amazement, which is
a tour de force when comparing their
new opus with other editorial works
by dedicated brand fanatics or self-promoting
whisky writers (none among the MM’s
of course). We’re not afraid
of claiming that this sets a new standard
as far as whisky books are concerned
(and probably also books about other
drinks), both regarding content and
form. So, I’m sorry to sound
a bit eBayish here but this is the
ultimate gift to any whisky lover
- whether Laphroaigian or not - and
to yourself of course, so please buy
a pallet. Let’s just hope that
there will be other books of the very
same high class about many other Scottish
distilleries in the future... Please,
please... Already available at Loch
Fyne Whiskies (in the books section)
and by the end of this week at the
Distillery. |
| TASTING
- TWO LINLITHGOWS (aka St. Magdalene) |
 |
Linlithgow
26 yo 1974/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, 330 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: powerful,
starting very austere, on olive oil,
marzipan, varnish and paraffin, getting
bitterer after a few minutes. Sharp
but most attractive if you like this
kind of profile. Goes on with lemon
zests. Unmistakably St. Magadalene
I think. Mouth: even rougher and very
peppery, with quite some oak (a little
vanilla), tannins, chilli, lemon zests
again. Big bitterness. Almond skins.
Gets a litle rounder after that but
it’s still a sharp whisky. Finish:
long, very waxy now, also a bit resinous.
Excellent but again, I think you have
to like this very ‘austere’
kind of profile to enjoy this as much
as I do. SGP:271 – 88
points. |
| Linlithgow
25 yo 1982/2007 (51.4%, Murray McDavid,
Mission Gold, 1000 bottles) Pure
Bourbon? Let’s bring the house
down! Colour: pale gold. Nose: this
one is a bit more ‘neutral’
at first nosing and more marked
by vanilla as well, but the general
profile is quite similar. Less oily/waxy
and rounder, but the resinous notes
are soon to appear, as well as very
great whiffs of crushed parsley
and chives, dill, hints of pepper
and wasabi. Also hints of pears
and fur (chinchilla coat –
whatever). Mouth: it’s much
closer to the 1974 now, even if
probably even bigger. Pepper, oak,
vanilla, dried pears, almond skins
and strong green tea. A certain
harshness. Finish: long, bitterer
now, with the oak’s sharpness
lingering for a long time. Well,
these two Magdas weren’t sexy
at all but sometimes we do need
a little... austerity in our whiskies,
don’t we! SGP:361
– 88 points. |
| NEW
TECHNOLOGIES - AT LAST! |
| French
engineers and IT wizards just invented
the first USB-wine! The clip is in
French but you should get the general
idea... Whisky version expected very
soon! (and no, she's not Melanie Griffith).
(thanks Polo) |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Something quite unusual
on Whiskyfun (shy ears beware), kind
of a mixture of Pere Ubu with Suicide
(remember?), it’s Sightings
from NYC and they are doing Perforated.mp3
from their CD Through the Panama.
Please buy their music and play it
loud (oh well, I’m doing what
I can). |
 |
| |
|
November
27, 2007 |
|
|
 |
|
|
MALT
MANIACS NEWSFLASH by Johannes
THE MANY FACES OF MALT MANIACS
As
you may have noticed on the
pages of WhiskyFun, Serge
is a bit of a gadget freak.
As such, he has been nagging
the editorial staff of Malt
Maniacs ( i.e. me) for over
a year now about futuristic
gizmo's like MySpace and FaceBook. |
|
After being born with flying
colours in 1966 I've walked
through life at a brisk pace,
which allowed me to jump on
the internet bandwagon just
in time in 1995. However, when
it comes to some more recent
evolutions and revolutions in
the field of new media like
MSN and Second Life I sometimes
feel very old indeed. And I
guess I'm not the only one,
because we haven't even managed
to get all certified malt maniacs
on board yet with the brandnew
Facebook
group that Serge
launched yesterday. Nevertheless,
it's booming. Within a few hours
we already had more 'friends'
than certified malt maniacs
;-) |
Johannes |
 |
What's
more, I've also discovered
lots of possibilities to fill
some 'holes' that were left
in Malt Maniacs after the
big reconstruction - like
Personal Profiles for all
the certified Malt Maniacs
and perhaps a 'MaltMap of
the World'. Biggest advantage:
I won't be able to update
Malt Madness or Malt Maniacs
while I'm in France and for
a few weeks after that (I
still have to earn a living),
but we should be able to keep
everybody up-to-date on the
progress via our Facebook
Group.
And
there might be some interesting
discussions going on at the
'conclave' in Alsace this
weekend... As you can see
from the screenshot of a very
small part of the MM Awards
ScoreCard, one of the seven
maniacs that have submitted
their blind scores is quite
'out of step' with the other
jury members. |
| We'll
probably inform our readers
about the deliberations and
the results via Facebook in
addition to Whiskyfun. So, why
don't you become our 'friend'
as well so you'll know what's
going on? |
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
MARTIN SIMPSON
Union Chapel, Islington, London, November
13th 2007 |
| This
is my first visit to the Union
Chapel, which sits in distinguished
company in this little Highbury Corner
of North London: the Hope
and Anchor (home of Pub Rock and
a leading Punk venue in the seventies)
is just across the road, and a bit
further down is the Garage, a Mean
Fiddler venue currently being refurbished.
And right by the Highbury and Islington
tube is the very busy ‘indie’
Buffalo
Bar underneath the Famous Cock
Tavern. The chapel was built in 1877
and sits in an elegant terrace of
houses set back from Islington’s
Upper Street. Designed by leading
Nonconformist architect James Cubitt
(author of the famous Church Designs
for Congregations (London, 1870))
it is widely regarded as “a
magnificent example of Victorian Gothic
architecture and displays many features
which were at the cutting edge of
technological advance in their day”.
|
 |
| The
building fell into dereliction in
the 1960s and 1970s but since the
late 80s, successful campaigns have
been mounted to restore the building
(an on-going process) and bring it
back to full use as a place of worship,
as a centre for the homeless, and
as a performance venue. Which is why
we’re here tonight enjoying
excellent acoustics and perfect sight-lines
to the imposing pulpit, in front of
which stands singer and guitarist
Martin
Simpson. |
| It’s
not exactly a full house, but fortunately
the audience are joined by a film
crew of about fifteen souls which
makes the place seem pretty busy.
They’re all over the place,
and characteristically disruptive
for the audience, but I guess that’s
the price we pay for getting a gig
in such sensational surroundings.
Simpson, if you don’t know,
is the British folk musician of the
moment, which is not bad going seeing
that he recorded his first solo album
over thirty years ago. His most recent
album, Prodigal Son, has received
an enthusiastic reception in all quarters,
flew into the Indie top twenty charts
and has resulted in five nominations
for Simpson in the annual BBC Folk
Music Awards. And he’s scheduled
for an appearance on the last Jools
Holland ‘Later with Jools’
show of the year on the TV, which,
believe me, means that in UK terms,
he’s hot property. And quite
rightly too. The album is exceptional;
largely due to Simpson’s performance,
but also to his arrangements of a
variety of British and American traditional
tunes and some striking original compositions. |
| Needless
to say, we get the majority of these
songs in the course of the evening,
which is neatly divided into a solo
set, and then (after drinks in the
bar – yes a church with a bar,
Serge!) a group performance with Andy
Seward on bass, Andy Cutting on a
wonderful old accordion, and Kellie
While on vocals. Behind us there are
a gang of boys down from Yorkshire
who are in a state of other-worldly
spiritual ecstasy, provoked by Mr
Simpson’s guitar playing. Now
– I guess if someone’s
lashed out lots of quids on a big
film production unit then you’ve
got to be careful not to make too
many mistakes – but honestly
Simpson’s playing goes way beyond
this. He favours a number of open
tunings which allow him to focus on
a quite unique finger style. It’s
a sort of step on from Martin Carthy,
with a lot of Bert Jansch’s
bent notes – some quite exaggerated
– and occasional touches of
Richard Thompson – well really
only when he plays Thompson’s
‘Strange Affair’. Actually,
thinking of all these influences,
and his tendency to play blues songs
and sing with a strong American accent
(he didn’t get that in Lincolnshire,
but might have picked it up from living
in the United States for many years)
I have to admit that I have sometimes
thought of Mr Simpson as a sort of
superior folk-club singer (not, I
hasten to say, that I have anything
against folk clubs, or folk club singers),
slipping through genres with a imitative
ease. But really when you listen to
him play, or look at the material
on Prodigal Son, you have to confess
that he has a very complete voice
and style of his own. |
| Anyway
– back to the ecstatic boys.
Do you remember the famous Ravi Shankar
moment during George Harrison’s
Concert for Bangladesh? Shankar picked
up his sitar and started playing,
only to receive a (frankly patronising)
ovation from his audience. 'If you
appreciate the tuning so much, I hope
you will like the playing more' he
chided them. It’s a bit like
that with Simpson – every time
he checks his tunings he does so with
bewildering fret board intensive routines
which simply leave everyone gasping.
|
George Harrison and Ravi Shankar |
| His
singing isn’t bad either, particularly
on tunes like Musgrave (“One
day I remembered Nic
Jones’ recorded version
on his first album Ballads and Songs.
I didn’t go back and listen,
I just started to play”), Bachelor’s
Hall, and the wonderful Andrew Lammie,
a ballad collected in the nineteenth
century that recounts a particularly
brutal honour killing. He turns in
a very acceptable version of Randy
Newman’s ‘Louisiana’
and sings his own song about his father,
‘Never any good’, quite
beautifully. It might be just a tad
Radio 2, but it certainly hits the
spot. |
 |
Yes,
apart from the wretchedly intrusive
film crew (let’s hope we don’t
see them on the DVD too!) and the
cold (chilly places churches) there’s
really nothing to fault the performance
- au contraire, as one might say.
And if you buy Mr Simpson’s
CD, or go and see him play, and are
as enamoured of his guitar playing
as we were, then you may like to know
that his website is not only full
of generous tips on how he does it,
but you can also spend a week with
him in a guitar workshop – in
France! Are you going Serge? -
Nick Morgan |
(photographs by Kate, Rex Features)
|
| Many
thanks, Nick, for this holy review.
Oh yes, I remember Ravi Shankar at
the Concert for Bangladesh (not that
I was there) and I’m sure younger
chaps can’t even imagine to
which extend that event was –
or should have been - significant
to people from our generations. Well,
that’s what I’m feeling
now. Times when everything was sliding
so to speak, including George Harrison’s
guitar and Ravi Shankar’s sitar.
But let’s let our younger readers
have a bit of these Bangladesh impressions
here,
and then listen to Martin Simpson
there.
But me, going to a guitar workshop?
Well, I could always squeeze the lemons
or pass the whiskies... |
| TASTING
– FOUR YOUNG OFFICIAL SPRINGBANKS |
 |
Springbank C.V. (46%, OB, white cap,
CV at the top, circa 1995)
This is complicated! First, it’s
not quite clear what ‘C.V.’
used to mean. Some say ‘Chairman’s
Vat – or Vatting’, others
‘Curriculum Vitae’...
Then, there’s been several versions,
notably an earlier ‘white cap’
version that’s the one we’ll
have right now, and then a more recent
‘gold cap’ version which
we’ll try after this one. Note
that both labels are also quite different,
but to make things even more complicated,
the ‘white cap’ version
existed both with the old label (picture
left) and with the new one (picture
right). Worse than train spotting
if you ask me... |
| But
enough nit-picking, let’s try
the ‘white cap’ now. Colour:
pale gold. Nose: starts extremely
mineral, waxy and ashy, with no fruity
aromas except for hints of green apples.
It really reminds me of the old 5yo
from the sixties. Goes on with notes
of kelp, wet stones, raw wool... And
then more and more smoke, fresh butter
and wet hay, as if there was a little
old Longrow in there. No need to say
I like this. Mouth: big, ‘ancient
style’, oily, grassy, bitter...
Little wood influence (nor sweetness)
it seems, but really a huge grassiness
and big notes of small cider apples
(and the peelings), chives, lemon
marmalade... A big whisky indeed but
there’s much less complexity
on the palate than on the nose. Finish:
rather long, on apples, pears, wax
and green pepper, with maybe just
touches of salt. I like this one for
its wildness. SGP:273 (wazzat?)
- 87 points. |
| Nov
29 Update: our friend Ise tells us
that it's definitely 'Curriculum Vitae',
as confirmed by the Distillery. |
| Springbank
C.V. (46%, OB, golden cap, CV on the
sides, circa 2000)
Colour: white wine (much paler than
the ‘white cap’). Nose:
this one starts a little more spirity
and less mature than the white cap,
with much more grainy and fruity notes
(apples, pears) and much less minerals
or smoke. There’s also notes
of wet cardboard, soaked grains, very
light coffee, apple juice... But the
notes of raw wool are here again.
Not exactly the same class as the
older version I think, even if both
start to converge after a good fifteen
minutes. Mouth: this is very different
again. Big notes of pear spirit, figs,
crystallised lemon zests, smoked fish...
And then more and more pear spirit.
Pears and kippers? Yes, it’s
very unusual whisky I think, I can’t
think of any other whisky that tasted
like this funny CV. Finish: longer
than the white cap’s, very bold
in fact, with these interesting notes
of ‘apple juice-soaked kippers’
(sorry about this weird mental image)
and a slight dustiness, plus something
oddly metallic. Extremely unusual.
Again, I’m wondering if they
didn’t use to add some Longrow
to the CV, even if not to all the
batches. SGP:363 - 85 points. |
| Springbank
12 yo (46%, OB, red thistle, circa
1995)
Once again, there’s been various
versions of the ‘12’,
notably a ‘green thistle’
and an earlier ‘red thistle’
(not to mention batch colour variations),
which is the one we’ll have
now. We already had the ‘green
thistle’ version several times
and always liked it a lot, but the
Malt Maniacs’ consensus says
that this ‘red thistle’
version is poorer. Let’s see...
Colour: white wine (the palest modern
batch of the old ‘12’
I ever came across). Nose: oh, this
is very close to the older CV! Wet
newspaper, paraffin, wet stones, lamp
oil, pencil lead, cut grass, wet chalk,
cold ashes... It’s complex whisky,
but with very little fruitiness nor
wood influence if any. |
 |
| Mouth:
this is interesting, it’s almost
the same whisky as the first CV. Why
would I bother to write new lines
then? Let’s just copy-and-paste
from above... ... big, ‘ancient
style’, oily, grassy, bitter...
Little wood influence (nor sweetness)
it seems, but really a huge grassiness
and big notes of small cider apples
(and the peelings), chives, lemon
marmalade... A big whisky indeed.
Finish: rather long, on apples, pears,
wax and green pepper, with maybe just
touches of salt. I like this one for
its wildness. SGP:273 - 87
points. |
 |
Springbank
1997 (55.2%, OB, 11,000 bottles, 2007)
One and only label so far for this
new one... Phew! Colour: pale gold.
Nose: we’re more in the vein
of the second CV here, but with extra-oomph
and more cask influence. More plain
vanilla and vanilla fudge at first
nosing but then it gets wilder, farmier,
more vegetal and more mineral, not
unlike the 12 we just had. Notes of
fern, moss, fresh mushrooms, plantain
bananas, roots, dead leaves... Then
very big notes of wet chalk, a little
porridge, ginger tonic, faint hints
of turpentine and varnish, shoe polish...
It’s very complex for such a
young whisky, and certainly the one
I like most of all recent bottlings
by Springbank – so far! |
| Mouth:
excellent attack, punchy but not overpowering,
starting right on these very weird
notes that I think are quite unpleasant
in some recent Springbanks, Longrows
or Hazelburns but that work quite
well here. Something like Seven-Up
or gin-tonic, or ginger wine. Also
quite some butter, plain lemons, buttered
toffee, malt, something like concentrated
milk, melons... Let’s see what
happens with water (and while the
nose got smokier): more citrus (tangerines
starting to rot – nothing wrong
here), a little more salt and a very
typical salty waxiness (?) plus quite
some added spices, such as nutmeg
and cinnamon and a sherry that got
a little more obvious now but still
rather discreet we think. Finish:
long, more compact (vanilla, lemons
and salt) and also a little cleaner,
which is exactly what’s expected
in a very good whisky at my end. I
think this is excellent at barely
10 years of age and I almost feel
like shouting ‘hurray for Springbank!’
An old love of mine may well be back...
SGP:463 - 89 points. |
| |
|
November
26, 2007 |
|
|
| NEW
ON WHISKYFUN - Because
zeal without knowledge is fire
without light (Huxley), we decided
to add a new rubric titled 'Whiskyfun's
WhiskQuizz' to this modest
and unlikely little website. We hope
you'll have fun trying to answer the
questions and possibly learn a few
things. What? No, nothing to win,
we're afraid. First WhisQuizz at the
right ---> |
| |
|
|
| |
Who
used to prefer Single
Malt from Ferintosh Distillery
above any other malt and
rated it higher than brandy
which he dismissed as
'burning trash'? |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| TASTING
– A FEW INDIE 1990 MACALLANS |
 |
|
Macallan 16 yo 1990/2006 (46%, Milano
Whisky Festival, cask #1754, 240 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: not exactly bold
but very pure and clean, starting
on fresh butter, vanilla and whiffs
of wood smoke. Gets then both grassier
and nuttier, with also hints of hot
bread (baguette of course) and faint
hints of violets. Rather complex and
elegant. No sherry that I can smell
at first sniffs but something sherry-ish
does develop indeed over time. Also
slightly yeasty. More and more buttery
notes. Mouth: good body, with much
more sweetness at the attack (apple
pie) as well as bunches of caramelised
nuts and quite a lot of honey. Then
dried figs, poached pears and plum
jam. Coating. Finish: rather long,
jammy, candied, with also sultanas.
Terribly drinkable. SGP:643
(wazzat?)
– 86 points. |
| Macallan
17 yo 1990/2007 (46%, The Single Malts
of Scotland, small batch)
Colour: straw. Nose: very close to
the 16yo, maybe just a tad grassier
and a tad less buttery (but it is
buttery) and smoky. More austere after
deeper nosing and even more elegant.
Mouth: just the same whisky as above
now, this one may well come from sister
casks. Same at the finish. Frankly,
there were noticeable differences
on the nose but on the palate, nada.
SGP:552 – 86 points. |
| Macallan
10 yo 1990/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, Sherry, 684 bottles)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: starts all
on coffee and bitter chocolate but
it’s a bit rough aroma-wise.
Not much development in fact and a
certain lack of depth, as if the sherry
had killed the spirit here. Gets quite
meaty and herbal (parsley), even winey.
Very dry. Mouth: this is a bit better,
the attack is pleasant, all on coffee-schapps,
raisins and chocolate but there’s
a sudden drop then, only the casks’
winey and woody notes struggling on
after a moment. Finish: bizarrely,
it got much more to my likings at
this stage, rounder and more candied,
with even a little salt playing with
your palate. But it’s a bit
late... Little complexity in this
one I think. SGP:333 –
78 points. |
| Macallan
17 yo 1990/2007 (52.3%, Murray McDavid,
Mission Gold, Enhanced in Haut-Brion
casks, 1,750 bottles)
Well, I’m sure you know Haut-Brion,
the best of the Pessac-Leognans/Graves,
even if La Mission Haut-Brion has
got its aficionados as well. Hold
on, maybe they should have tried to
find some Mission casks instead of
Haut-Brion for the Mission series?
That would have made for a clever
Double Mission! Colour: salmony. Nose:
what’s rather funny here is
that the addition of the whisky and
the wine cask probably create sort
of an extra dimension here, and that
that dimension is rather grassy. Other
than that we do get hints of red fruits
and peonies but that’s very
discreet (not sure the HB casks were
first fill). Little ‘vinosity’
as such. A little smoke and hints
of cat coat. Mouth: more wine now,
and also a bigger spirit it seems.
Grenadine, quince jam, bilberry pie,
honey, raspberry eau-de-vie (guess
where the best ones come from?), cornflakes,
maple syrup, brioche, baklavas...
This is kind of orgiastic I must say.
A rather extreme ‘jamminess’,
where poor Macallan is rather muzzled,
but the end result is interesting
and certainly likeable to many people.
But it just isn’t a Macallan
anymore on the palate, I’d say
(whilst it was on the nose) –
now, if you like wine finished whiskies,
you’ll like this one for sure.
SGP:723 – 83 points. |
Macallan
8 yo 1990/1998 (61.3%, Dun Eideann,
cask #10711, 624 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: aargh, this ultra-grassy
and ultra-violent, even ‘chemical’.
Ouch, quick, water! With water: it
got less violent but just as grassy.
Grass, grass and grass. And grass.
Mouth (neat): SOS... SOS... SOS...
Raw alcohol! With life-saving water:
phew, we managed to tame it, it seems
but what’s left is only a little
caramel, light honey and... Help me,
grass! And green apples. Finish: yes.
So you say this was a Macallan? SGP:
191 – 65 points (but
only for the watered palate) |
| MUSIC
– Heavily
recommended listening: Oldie but goldie
- we're in 1968 again and the outstanding
band Bamboo
(including Koerner, Ray and Glover's
Dave 'Snaker' Ray) does Girl
Of The Seasons.mp3. So, who invented
minimalism in rock music? Please buy
this music (if you can find it). |
 |
| |
|
November
25, 2007 |
|
|
| TASTING
– TWO PEATY BLENDED MALTS |
 |
Clan Denny 'Islay' (46%, Hunter Hamilton
by DL, Bottled +/- 2007)
A vatting of Caol Ila, Laphroaig,
Bunnahabhain and Bowmore. Colour:
white wine. Nose: starts amazingly
coffeeish, as if Bunnahabhain changed
the peaty ones greatly. Gets then
much more classically ‘Islay’,
with a cortege of smoke, peat, iodine,
raw wool, kiwis, lemons and sea water.
I must say this works extremely well
for me, the Bunny part polishing the
edges and adding a little honey to
the whole. Kudos to the man or woman
who composed this vatting. |
| Mouth:
it’s probably the peaty components
that dominate here, even if the whole
is maybe a tad sweeter than expected.
Peat and pears, pears and peat, this
one tastes very young in fact and
maybe a tad too simple. Peated pear
eau-de-vie? Finish: long but still
a bit pearish and sugary. Big difference
between nose and palate in this one
I think. SGP:616 (wazzat?)
- 80 points (for
the great nose). |
| Compass
Flaming heart '2nd release' (48,9%,
Compass Box, 2007)
This one contains much Caol Ila and
Clynelish – well, we shan’t
complain, shall we? Around 4,300 bottles
were made, which is quite clever I
think, as the first release of Flaming
Heart blew my socks off. No need to
say we have deep expectations here.
Colour: straw. Nose: it seems that
the peaty part has been lowered down
a bit, for it’s more the waxiness
of Clynelish that shines through here.
Big notes of wet wool, porridge, mint,
ham, chicken bouillon, maybe hints
of white truffles (waowow!)... Then
seashells, fat oysters, almonds, faint
whiffs of eucalyptus, buttered apples.
And linseed oil. Something of the
Old Clynelish, quite amazingly. Mouth:
ah, now it’s really the peaty
components that take control. Rougher,
bigger, smoky, peppery, fruity (lemon
marmalade), waxy, slightly medicinal...
Excellent, but peaty whiskies always
dominate when above, say 15% in a
vatting, did we learn at a vatting
masterclass with John Glaser so no
wonder. Finish: long, peaty and candied,
wih also notes of icing sugar. Well,
we had the first Flaming Heart at
90 points, no need to change that
score. SGP:346 - 90 points.
|
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Ah, the good old sound
of hardbop... Let's have some Stanley
Turrentine today, with
Impressions.mp3
(it was on Sugar). This is tenor sax!
Stellar, just stellar... And of course,
please buy Mr Turrentine's music! |
 |
| |
|
November
24, 2007 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
– THREE 12yo TEANINICHS |
Teaninich
12 yo (40%, Lombard, circa 2006)
Colour: straw. Nose: rather light,
clean, grassy and porridgy, with hints
of baker’s years, getting then
a bit more honeyed and delicately
floral. Breadcrumb. A whispering malt...
Mouth: a little sweeter and fruitier
but other than that it’s still
pretty grainy, malty and cereally
(yup), with just hints of crystallised
oranges. Now, the cleanliness is enjoyable.
Finish: medium long, mainly on cereals,
caramel and toasted brioche. Good
but maybe a bit too harmless. SGP:251
(wazzat?)
– 75 points. |
| Teaninich
12 yo 1993/2005 (46%, Gordon &
MacPhail Reserve, cask # 5057, 364
bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: same as above
but with a little more oomph, thanks
to the extra 6%. Just a tad fruitier
(apples), I’d say, but the same
notes of yeast and breadcrumb get
bolder with time. Rather austere.
Mouth: exactly the same as the Lombard,
with just the extra power and maybe
more wax. Finish: ditto. Well, the
higher alcohol makes it more satisfying.
SGP:351 – 79 points. |
| Teaninich
12 yo 1993/2006 (58.3%, Cadenhead)
Colour: straw. Nose: once more, the
general profile is the same, yeast,
porridge, grass, apples... Maybe added
notes of olive oil and coffee but
hat may come from the high alcohol.
Let’s see what happens with
water: right, it got a bit more mineral
but also even grassier, any fruitiness
having now vanished. Wet chalk and
wool. Mouth (neat): exactly the same
as the Lombard and the G&M, just
with much more punch (which also translates
into more spices, pepper...) With
water, at roughly 45%: exactly the
same whisky as the G&M. Finish:
ditto. Well, the people who say that
46% is the ideal drinking strength
may well be right, generally speaking.
SGP:251 – 77 points. |
| |
|
November
23, 2007 |
|
|
| TASTING
– THREE SPRINGBANKS |
| Springbank
15 yo 1992/2007 (52.6%, The Whisky
Society)
Another brand new one by Specialty
Drinks/The Whisky Exchange. |
 |
Colour: white wine
/ pale straw. Nose: ah, this shows
how classy a spirit Spingbank can
be when it’s not oddly treated
with ‘funny’ casks (‘yeah,
like many malts’ you may add).
It all starts on superb notes of heather
honey ala HP, wax ala Clynelish and
flowers ala Balvenie, with rather
big mashy notes of the greatest kind
in the background (mashed potatoes
with truffles and maybe a little olive
oil, porridge and muesli). Gets even
wilder after that, with notes of our
beloved wet dogs (again, sorry dogs),
wet hay (sorry hay... err....) and
something like, wait, cooked snails?
Maybe not, but there certainly are
whiffs of raw wool and linseed and
fusel oils. Brilliant Springbank anyway,
in full nudity. Let’s hope the
palate will match this nose. Gets
more lemony after a while with this
slight ‘twistedness’ that’s
quite common in recent Springbanks
but certainly not unlikeable. |
| Mouth:
sweeter but very lemony right at the
attack, with these big, very typical
‘Springbanky’ notes upfront
this time. Apple peelings, spearmint,
limejuice, white rum (yes, mojito),
green tea, grass, lemon balm, and
a slightly peculiar waxiness. Finish:
rather long, all on lemon zests and
tequila now. Caramba, I like this!
SGP:274 (wazzat?)
- 88 points. |
| Springbank
15 yo 'Drink me' (54,9%, SMWS, 27.60,
Bottled +/- 2006)
From the ’26 malts’ series
http://www.smws.co.uk/26malts/ , that
certainly stirred less blood than
it deserved when it was launched.
A shame if you ask me – are
we all only in it for the liquid or
what? Anyway, this one was designed
by David Freer, words by Sara Sheridan.
Colour: full gold. Nose: well, it’s
the same kind of classy spirit, only
hidden behind rather massive notes
of vanilla and milk chocolate (yes,
more active oak). It’s also
a bit more buttery but the excellent
mashy notes do manage to come to light
after a few minutes, as well as a
little wood smoke. Not quite as ‘natural’
as the 1992 but it is great whisky.
‘Drink me?’ We will for
sure! |
 |
| Mouth:
exactly the same happens on the palate.
These lemony, waxy and grassy notes
are coated with vanilla and caramel,
the result being rather pleasant,
a bit rounder than the 1992 for a
while but the bigger pepper (and cloves,
and nutmeg) still makes it really,
err, big. Finish: very long, clean,
always on the same notes. Well, this
is big whisky indeed, even if it lacks
a bit of the 1992’s huge straightforwardness.
SGP:364 - 87 points. |
 |
Springbank
37 yo 1970/2007 (53.9%, Signatory,
butt #1621, 370 bottles)
We already tried cask
#1629 and found it a bit rough
but still very good (89). Let’s
see if this one is more civilised...
Colour: amber. Nose: this is completely
different from the two 15yo’s,
obviously. Starts in a rather varnishy
way, with also rather big notes of
crystallised oranges and quinces as
well as wine-poached pears and strawberries
but gets then much wilder, almost
reckless. Big animal notes (horse
sweat), leather polish, mutton suet,
civet... Then old rancio, ‘clean
manure’, rotting oranges, Turkish
tobacco (yeah I know but it IS different)
... Gets finally quite cleaner, on
fresh apples (newly cut golden delicious
before it oxidises) and a little mint.
Phew, this one is restless indeed!
|
| Mouth:
huuuge notes of cherry stem tea (and
leaves), with rather big green tannins
but quite amazingly, you’ll
like this if you’re not too
much of a ‘all honey and apricots’
kind of guy. Goes on with even more
oak (‘pencil shavings juice’,
as we sometimes say about wine) but
also strawberry and blackcurrant liqueur,
Chinese plum sauce, all kinds of raisins,
burnt brioche, kirsch, tobacco (pipe
smokers will understand), liquorice,
even salmiac... Well, this is hyper-big.
Finish: yes, long as a day without
bread – or whisky, for that
matter. In short, an old Springbank
that’s not really particular
about details. Rather extreme and
for thrill-seekers only. SGP:475
– 90 points. |
 |
CRAZY
WHISKY ADS
We've
got quite a few requests for old
whisky ads like we had in the past.
Well, the reader is king, isn't
he? So, let's kick things off again
with this unlikely ad for Four
Roses that ran in 1937.
An American whiskeymaker dressed
like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is visiting
a vineyard in Champagne, France
and fraternises with the winemaker,
who’s certainly not dressed
like a French winemaker (more like
a Californian orange grower if you
ask me, or a Columbian coca planter?)
Notice the truly immense grape?
(early GMO?) Bottom line: Four Roses
is the champagne of bourbon, even
if the 'two worlds' used to ignore
each other until that unlikely meeting. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Oldie but goldie - we're
in 1968 and Alexander
'Skip' Spence (Moby Grape,
Jefferson Airplane) records his very
cult solo album 'Oar', of which War
in peace.mp3 is one of the highlights.
Fantastic, isn't it? Please buy the
late Skip's music! (and by the way,
dou you recognize the musical quote
at the very end?) |
 |
| |
|
November
22, 2007 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
– TWO SWEET BRORAS
Brora
24 yo 1981/2006 (48,5%, Dun Bheagan,
Fino Sherry Butt cask #1524, 726
bottles)
Long time no new Brora, time to
put things straight. Colour: amber.
Nose: unsmistakenly Brora at first
sniffs, but barely, I’d say,
although it does get much more phenolic
after that. Starts rather butter
and leafy, with a rather winey sherry
and quite some tobacco and molasses,
but Brora’s smoke and ‘minerality’
are soon to win the fight and impose
their beauftiful sharpness and straightforwardness.
Notes of gunflints, ashes, wet dog
and hints of game, old rancio and
balsamic vinegar. Gets wilder and
wilder with time. Apple peelings.
|
| Mouth:
very good balance between a rather
bold sweetness (orange jam, pear drops)
and the smokiness, with also a lot
of butter caramel. A lot, really.
It goes on with buttered caramel for
a very long time, with secondary aromas
coming and going (pepper, cloves,
orange liqueur, nougat, marshmallows...)
certainly less smoky than on the nose
after a while. Finish: medium long,
with almost no smoke left at this
stage but quite some honey, caramel
and strawberry jam instead. Very good
but maybe not one of the best. SGP:454
(wazzat?)
– 88 points. |
| Brora
22 yo 1982/2004 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, ref #313, 644 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: little peat and
smoke here it seems, rather big notes
of marzipan and quinces, as well as
wax and heavy buttery notes. Also
a little mint, coffee (cappuccino
actually), bitter oranges... Gets
then much meatier (ham, beef stock)
and finally a little smoky (garden
bonfire). Big whisky for sure but
it’s probably one the less smoky
and peaty Broras I could try, and
maybe the most buttery (yeah, butyric).
|
 |
| Mouth:
softer than expected, mildly peaty,
leafy, leathery and a little buttery
again. Soft smoke and a little salt.
Same at the medium long finish. In
short, another good Brora but it lacks
its peers’ oomph and wildness.
Too much cask influence? SGP:444
– 84 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Portland's young Leigh
Marble doing Killed
instantly.mp3. A rather distinctive
sound even if the harmonica is a bit,
well... Anyway, please buy Leigh Marble's
music. |
 |
| |
|
November
21, 2007 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
SIOUXSIE
The Roundhouse,
Chalk Farm, London, November 5th 2007 |
| I’ve
been away, and as a result missed
two much anticipated gigs on the Whiskyfun
schedule. Rufus Wainwright ended a
UK tour at the Hammersmith Apollo
(he’s now touring continental
Europe). “Weird” said
the Photographer, who attended in
my absence, “especially when
he put on the lederhosen and long
white socks”. And the malt-whisky
loving KT Tunstall turned in a couple
of nights at the Roundhouse –
“Good – but most engaging
when she played without the band”.
Which is where we are tonight (although
you might be forgiven for thinking
we’re in the middle of a war
zone as over-specified fireworks explode
in the sky all around us). But not
before we’ve paid a quick trip
to the noodle house round the corner
for some chicken chow mein and chop
suey. |
 |
| Yup
– it’s the feisty ‘Ice
Queen of Punk’ and ‘Queen
of Goth’, the Bill
Grundy baiting Siouxsie,
aka Siouxsie Sioux, notably once of
the genre-defying Siouxsie and the
Banshees
and no doubt occasionally still called
by someone plain Susan Ballion. |
| Siouxsie
is back with her first solo album
Mantaray and a clutch of London gigs
to promote it, before heading off
to the US of A. The Roundhouse is
sold out; it’s a mixture of
ageing punks, Goths, gays and the
odd civilian. The audience is, well
let’s say, boisterous (actually
I noticed on one of the Siouxsie forums
that they were described as “c***ts”
which seemed a little unfair). We’re
jammed in front of the sound desk.
Someone appears to have written “Gangway”
on the back of my otherwise rather
cool charity shop leather jacket.
The Photographer can barely see a
thing (see photograph). As in fact
neither can the professional snappers,
who’ve been banned from the
front of the stage and are climbing
all over us and the sound desk trying
to get a shot of this most photogenic
of performers, cursing their luck. |
Siouxsie |
Siouxsie’s
band take the stage – drums,
keyboard, bass, guitar and a very
atmospheric glockenspiel. They start
playing the opening chords of ‘They
follow you’ as Siouxsie strides
to the stage in some sort of glossy
bondage playsuit (as I believe they’re
called), hair as black as pitch, make
up exemplary. They work through two
more songs from the new album before
reeling off three oldies (which I
did get the feeling, as a non Siouxsie
fan, that I might have recognised),
‘Arabian Nights’, ‘Spellbound’
and ‘Night shift’. |
| The
rest of the main set is devoted entirely
to Mantaray. I’ve read that
this material isn’t really Siouxsie
at her darkest, but it’s certainly
gloomy enough for me. And as the evening
progresses it begins to feel as though
the songs are really nothing more
than a backdrop for Siouxsie’s
physical presence on the stage, which
is, to say the least, imposing. It’s
certainly much stronger than her voice,
which is tired, sometimes flat, limited
in range compared to her earlier years,
and occasionally makes me think “Bring
back Lene Lovich”. But she dances,
menacingly sways, kicks and karate
chops her way through the performance
with a remarkable energy, and manages
to finish off on a high note with
‘Into a swan’, her single
taken from the new album (where her
singing reminded me, strangely enough,
of Wreckless Eric). As a first encore
she sings ‘Nicotine stain’
(soon to be banned in the UK, I’ve
no doubt) and turns in a cover of
Basement Jaxx’s ‘Cish
cash’. At this point, slightly
deaf, and dumbed by the good-humoured
jostling we decided to make a sharp
exit, to the tones of ‘Hong
Kong Garden”, which was, or
so I’m told, followed by ‘Israel’
and a long standing favourite cover,
“Hello I love you”. |
|
An entertaining enough night, with
a rousing performance weakened only
by the noted deficiencies in Ms Siouxsie’s
voice department. And I could rather
get to like some of the tracks off
the new album – ‘though
heaven knows what sort of mood I’d
need to be in to play them at home.
Anyway, if you get the chance to lash
out a few quids on a ticket to see
her then I certainly wouldn’t
miss the opportunity. Such single-minded
performers as Ms Siouxsie are few
and far between, and they deserve
all the support they can get.
- Nick Morgan (concert photograph
by Kate) |
 |
| Thank
you Nick. Oh well, all I would say
is that Ms. Siouxsie looks well-preserved
for her age, she could be a brand
ambassador for l’Oreal, although
probably not in the same league as
Mses. McDowell, Cruz, Evangelista
or Adjani, but her music is certainly
not made-up, is it? Some of her new
tunes are on her MySpace
page (remember MySpace?) -
S. |
 |
TASTING
– THREE OLD BLENDED MALTS |
| Berry's
All Malt Blended Scotch Whisky (43%,
Berry Bros, 'Best - Milano', early
1980’s)
This old version has always been a
favourite of all whisky lovers. Colour:
full gold. Nose: oh yes. Fresh fruits,
fresh nuts and great resinous notes
to complement the whole. Directly
on ripe bananas, quinces, tangerines
(big notes), guavas, fresh hazelnuts
and almonds plus fresh mint, eucalyptus
and orange squash. Maybe not the most
complex whisky ever but it’s
sooo lively and lovely... Mouth: superb.
Maltier, more resinous and Diplaying
more OBE now, with a little less fruits
and a bigger grassy bitterness (chlorophyll
gums). Notes of orange liqueur, cough
syrup, toasted bread and marshmallow.
Excellent. Finish: maybe not too long
but with new notes of raisins and
fir honeydew appearing. Great ol’
whisky. SGP:713 (wazzat?)
– 89 points. |
| Blue
Hanger 30yo (45,6%, BBR, 3rd Limited
Release, Blended Malt, Bottled +/-
2007)
A vatting probably involving some
old Glenlivets and Glen Grants. Colour:
full gold. Nose: again, it’s
very demonstrative whisky, but this
one starts almost like an old gewurztraminer,
on lychees, rose water and pink grapefruits,
getting then a bit more classic, on
crystallised oranges, honey, nougat
and chamomile tea. Very delicate oakiness
in the background (vanilla, mocha,
mint). Also whiffs of old clean wine
barrels, getting slightly but pleasantly
mushroomy. 100% pleasure, this one
should please everyone. Mouth: it’s
a bit hard to bear comparison with
the old All Malt now but the general
profile is nice, balanced, with good
oak, malt, vanilla and cappuccino.
Finish: medium long, with a few salty
notes complementing the oak. I like
this one better on the nose than on
the palate (a bit mundane) but the
whole is great old whisky, no doubt.
SGP:432 - 84 points. |
| Famous
Grouse 30yo (43%, OB, Blended Malt,
Bottled +/- 2005)
Colour: full gold. Nose: a bit shier
than the Blue Hanger at first nosing,
also straighter and less extravagantly
fruity. Develops on heather honey
(HP?), pollen and nectar, beeswax,
apricot jam and oranges, with pleasant
minty/liquoricy undertones and a rather
discreet oak. Also various herbal
teas (chamomile...) Mouth: rather
close to the Blue Hanger now, maybe
a bit more rounded. Pleasant spiciness
and oakiness but other than that,
there’s not much character I’d
say. Finish: relatively short, getting
oakish but also pleasantly orangey.
Again, the nose was much nicer than
the palate I think, only the nice
oranges lifted it to 79 points.
(SGP:431) |
| |
|
November
20, 2007 |
|
|
| TASTING
– FOUR LONGMORNS |
 |
| Longmorn
27 yo 1969 (43%, Prestonfield for
LMDW, cask #4252, 296 bottles)
This one was bottled around 1996 –
obviously. It is to be noted that
all Prestonfields since 1994 were
exclusive bottlings for La Maison
du Whisky. Colour: full gold. Nose:
unmistakably Longmorn but without
the usual sherry notes, that is to
say that it starts on big bold fruity
notes (butter pears, bananas, oranges,
very ripe mangos and passion fruits)
and gets then rather meaty and beefy,
with quite some ham, beef stock, oxtail
soup and even marrow. And just as
it was about to get almost ‘perverse’,
some very fresh herbal notes appear
and make the whole fresher and cleaner
(dill, chives). No need to say this
is as brilliant as expected. Mouth:
oh yes, this is beautiful. Amazing
freshness and truckloads of fruits
(same as above, with maybe bigger
citrusy notes) really reminding us
of old Bowmores, with even touches
of peat (but that may well be our
freewheeling mind). Fabulous body
and mouth feel at just 43%. Gets spicier
over times, as often (mulled wine)
and even slightly cloying (well, not
quite) due to its high flavour concentration.
Hard to imagine hwo this one was when
still at cask strength. Finish: a
bit shorter than anticipated but very
nicely citrusy and meaty. ‘Duck
à l’orange’ as
the SMWS would say. SGP:852
(wazzat?)
- 92 points.(thanks
Alexandre – and Thierry) |
| Longmorn
16 yo (48%, OB, Bottled circa 2007)
We were quite disappointed with the
first batch of the new Longmorn (a
piece of leather and a piece of tin
don’t make it), especially when
compared with the very good old 15yo
that was so cheaper, but maybe the
16 got better after two years... Colour:
pale gold. Nose: not really. Oak,
vanilla, grass, lemonade, grapefruits,
porridge, yoghurt sauce. Something
‘chemical’ (cheap orange
soda) and bizarrely meaty (nothing
to do with stellar 1969). Frankly
underwhelming. Mouth: a bit better
at this point, honeyed, spicy and
oaky, with a very oily mouth feel,
but the extreme simplicity is quite
puzzling. Banana liqueur with vanilla
and nutmeg. Finish: more of the same
for quite a long time. It really tastes
‘modern’, not unlike,
well, mid-range Australian or Californian
chardonnays (‘xcuse my Frenchness).
Not bad whisky at all but I think
it is to be wondered where Longmorn’s
reputation would be without the indie
boys. SGP:251 – 79 points. |
| Longmorn
1964/2007 (50%, Gordon & MacPhail
for LMDW, cask #1538)
Colour: mahogany (really). Nose: oh,
this is great! Obviously very sherried
but it’s not all sherry here...
Indeed, it all starts on thuja wood,
cigar box (cedar), cellulose varnish,
peonies, old leather (carefully maintained
old Jag) and strawberries, getting
jammier with time (strawberries again
but also oranges as usual, kumquats,
rum-soaked pineapple and banana, coconut
liqueur, fruit ganache...) as well
as meatier (ham). Little coffee/raisins/chocolate
this time, which says long about how
sherry and spirit ‘melted’
here. Quite exceptional I must say.
Mouth: the attack is more on ‘classical
sherry’ now, with a lot of blackcurrants
(berries, buds and leaves), sultanas,
cherry stems tea and bitter chocolate,
with a bigger sourness. Also peach
soup with a little mint, nectarines,
cider apples... Bigger tannins but
the whole is far from being unbalanced,
especially at 43 years of age. Finish:
long and in the same vein. In short,
a deeply sherried old Longmorn that
stayed quite nervous and oomphy. Just
great, even if it’s a bit tannic
‘after the finish’ (water
needed!) Fairly priced considering
its age: 220 Euros at LMdW. SGP:654
– 91 points. |
| Longmorn
1973/2006 (54%, Gordon & MacPhail
‘Cask’, cask #3650,
first fill sherry butt)
We got this through various friendly
sources, which may mean that it’s
great whisky. G&M had several
other fab old Longmorns in their CS
range anyway... Colour: pale mahogany.
Nose: very interesting, as it’s
kind of a ‘synthesis’
of the 1964 and more classical Longmorns,
i.e. more floral and honeyed ones.
So, we have all kinds of honeys and
roasted nuts, prunes, marron glacé,
pollen, blackcurrant jelly, praline,
black nougat, old sweet wine, rancio,
old mirabelle eau-de-vie (after 50
years of glass maturing), ham... And
only god knows what else. Perfect
balance between sweetness and dryness.
Mouth: okay, there’s a slightly
disturbing rubber at the attack but
after that it’s all a ‘velvet
carpet’, with various honeys
(rather strong ones, such as chestnut
and orange), dried and crystallised
fruits (all kinds), raisins, liqueurs
and pastries. Gets slightly rougher
after that (tannins) but that brings
an enjoyable wildness to the whole.
Big whisky! Finish: long, candied,
nutty and sherried, maybe a tad tannic
but again, that may well prevent this
one from getting a bit cloying as
it’s heavily concentrated. Yeah,
big whisky indeed. SGP:645
– 91 points. |
| |
|
November
19, 2007 |
|
|
| TASTING
- ANOTHER FOUR OLD GLEN GRANTS |
| Glen
Grant 1958/2006 (40%, Gordon &
MacPhail)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: it’s
not a blast of sherried notes that
happens at first nosing, rather something
like cold coffee, cold beef stock
and chocolate. It gets even meatier
after that (ham, game) but never bold.
All elegance and dryness. Keeps developing
on parsley and lovage, hints of oyster
sauce, old Bourgogne and quite some
spearmint and even lemon balm. Very
complex. Mouth: superb, even at 40%,
such is this one’s depth of
flavours. Starts on raspberry jam
mixed with mint leaves and chocolate
(ganache, truffles), then prunes and
raisins, then it’s back to strawberries,
then bitter oranges, old armagnac...
There’s also a little dryness
from the wood but just enough to keep
this one straight. Also notes of blackcurrant
jelly and then spices (a little pepper
and quite some cloves). Finish: as
long as a 40% malt can get, perfectly
balanced, with added notes of liquorice.
Beautiful sherry cask. SGP:545
(wazzat?)
- 91 points. |
 |
 |
Glen
Grant 37 yo 1970/2007 (50.3%, Duncan
Taylor, cask #3474, 116 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: quite floral
and fruity, with no traces of sherry.
Yet, it’s quite meaty again
(stock) getting then rather grainy,
a little porridgy and a little sour.
Rather big notes of overripe apples
and warm butter... It’s also
quite marked by the oak and develops
more on vanilla, coffee, lactones
and cinnamon and hints of cloves and
nutmeg. Gets spicier and spicier with
time, but the fruitiness manages to
shine through the oakiness. Also notes
of rubbed mint leaves. Good balance.
Mouth: a good attack, on sugared apple
compote and even ripe kiwis. Then
it’s the wood that takes part
of the control again, with quite some
tannins but also a little mint again.
Finish: long, certainly minty now,
liquoricy, getting quite drying (heavy
nutmeg and cinnamon). A good old malt
but you have to like oak. Actually,
we had several other casks of 1970
Glen Grant by the same bottler that
we liked a little better (#3493, 824,
861...) SGP:352 - 87 points. |
| Glen
Grant 36 yo 1970/2006 (53,2%, Blackadder
Raw Cask, sherry cask #7216, 173 bottles)
Colour: dark mahogany, almost black.
Nose: close to the 1958 but at cask
strength. Very concentrated, all on
coffee, Smyrna raisins, bitter chocolate,
grilled beef, mint and raspberry jam.
Fantastico. Mouth: ditto. Fabulous,
heavily concentrated sherry, maybe
just a tad dryish at the finish but
otherwise it’s exactly what
I’d call a classic old sherry
monster. No more, no less. SGP:645
– 92 points. |
 |
 |
Glen
Grant 1972/2007 (54.9%, The Single
Malts of Scotland)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: superb,
not unlike the Blackadder, only fruitier
and more nervous. Fantastic notes
of very ripe black cherries, fresh
strawberries, very ripe peaches, and
then all what’s associated with
strongly sherried whiskies (headed
by prunes here). Exceptional nose
that reminds me of the best LBV Ports,
and this is no joke. I absolutely
adore this nose, totally balanced
in its extreme fruitiness. |
| Mouth:
I had expected the palate would leave
us in peace but not a chance! Very
lively, as fruity as on the nose but
probably more sherried as such (not
quite as sherried as the Blackadder,
that is) and maybe more classic. Coffee,
prunes, chocolate, strawberries, blackcurrants,
toffee, raisins, dried oranges and
all that jazz. And very powerful,
at that. Finish: very long, concentrated,
classically sherried but maybe a tad
less drying than a true sherry monster
(such as the Blackadder). Oh well,
this is partly why we’re into
whisky. Not yet on The Whisky Exchange’s
website so I couldn’t tell you
about the price but it’ll probably
be fair so... Well... - SGP:822
– And just for the ripe black
cherries on the nose that remind me
of a 1978 Latricières: 94
points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| MUSIC
– Heavily
recommended listening: Do you know
the excellent Josh
Small, from Richmond?
Have a listen to his wonderful Move
your hips.mp3 and you'll see that
he's big! Please buy Josh Small's
music... (another revelation - and
we love the banjo! - he's WF artiste
of the month!) |
 |
| |
|
November
18, 2007 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
CHRISTY MOORE AND DECLAN SINNOTT
Hammersmith Apollo, London, October
27th, 2007 |
| It’s
surreal. We step out of the restaurant
towards the car and there hurtling
along the pavement, like a cross between
the Batman’s Penguin and Alice’s
White Rabbit, is Jozzer. |
 |
| “Can’t
stop. Theatre. Tickets. Late”
he pants as he disappears into the
gathering darkness of the West London
evening. He’s way off his patch.
Well out of the safety of his Rotherhithe
manor. Not like Christy
Moore then. The big man’s
come home to the Hammersmith Apollo
for two nights with accompanist Declan
Sinnott, and for two
and a half hours or so on each night
this little piece of London has been
transported across the water to Ireland. |
| It’s
the second night – a boisterous
beery Saturday night crowd. We’re
in the second row of the stalls (the
receipt tells me I booked the tickets
eleven months ago). Actually because
of the way the seats have been installed
it’s like being in Club Class
– but the poor sods behind us
(who were also here last night as
it turns out) are in danger of losing
their knees every time I sit back.
Somehow – largely I’ve
no doubt because of the quality of
the evening – we all manage
this in very good humour from start
to finish. It’s very close,
just off centre, with Moore to our
left when he takes the stage, Sinnott,
with a cluster of guitars, to our
far left. In front of Moore there’s
a large print songbook – not
lyrics as far as I can see, just song
titles. And it becomes clear there’s
no set list as such. Moore either
simply starts a song, leaving Sinnott
to clutch for the right guitar, or
calls a tune before breaking into
it – “Are you right there
Deccy?” |
| To
call him an intense performer would
be a mastery of understatement. |
|
He’s as taught as a coil. Lost
in that performance space that singers
talk of. It’s a tough place
to be because the folks are here for
the craic. “Come on Christy”.
“You’re the man Christy”.
“Christy I love you”.
Most of it good humoured – but
from where we are you can see the
muscles in that big neck tightening
with anger. Then he loses it –
he makes two attempts to sing Richard
Thompson’s ‘Beeswing’
but both times is stopped by the timeless
clapping. |
 |
| “All
right, good luck to you” he
mutters as he breaks into Jim Page’s
‘Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian
Roulette’ as jaunty a take on
nuclear war as you can get. Then he
relents “Ok, I’m sorry
for being such a bad tempered gobshite,
and I know you’ve paid to be
here and have a good time. But some
songs are for clapping and some aren’t.
And this one isn’t. So keep
your hands in your pockets, and yours
[looking up the balcony hecklers]
in your mouth”. Silence. ‘Beeswing’. |
 |
| It’s
a long and crowded set, full of anger,
grief, death, oppression, injustice,
love and lost innocence. And that’s
just in the first song – ‘Yellow
furze woman’, which is followed
by ‘North and South of the river’,
Ewan McColl’s ‘Sweet Thames
flow softly’, ‘Biko drum’,
’Does this train stop on Merseyside?’
(an uber-depressing journey through
the North of England which even manages
to include the Hillsborough
Disaster), Mike Waterson’s
‘Van Dieman’s Land’
(transportation to Australia), ‘Missing
you’ (the fate of the Irish
Diaspora in London), ‘Yellow
triangle’ (which I’m sure
speaks for itself), ‘Viva La
Quinta Brigada’ (with one of
many huge side swipes at the Irish
Catholic Church) and ‘Ride on’
(phew – a love song). That’s
page one of my notebook – there
a three-and-a-half others that I’ll
not trouble you with. The simple point
is that Moore, with his wonderfully
lyrical voice and Sinnott’s
delicate and perfectly textured accompaniments,
really put you through the emotional
wringer in the name of entertainment.
But the audience simply love it. “You’re
the boy Christy, you’re the
boy”. And suitably chastised
they even turn in a few good turns
as a choir towards the end when Moore
is relaxed, and gives in to the tumult
with crowd-pleasing songs like ‘Don’t
forget your shovel’, ‘Lisdoonvarna’,
and the self-penned ‘Delirium
tremens’, and the very beautiful
ballad “Cliffs of Dooneen’
– of which Moore says “I
seldom sing [this] now, only when
conditions are perfect. Its a temperamental
song and cannot be done at will”.
Well, obviously tonight was just perfect.
And it says something about the man
that, returning for an encore, he
plays the intensely intimate ‘Black
is the colour’ and Jackson Browne’s
moving ‘Before the deluge’,
holding the audience as if he had
us all in eye contact in the back
room of a tiny pub. |
| Have
you noticed, by the way, that in the
space of a week we have seen Jim White,
Richard Thompson, John Hiatt, Nick
Lowe and now the masterful Christy
Moore? Pinch me. Wake me up. Have
I fallen from my super-executive club-class
seat on a plane and landed in a musical
heaven? -
Nick Morgan (concert photographs by
Kate) |
|
Great, thanks Nick. Very busy here
with the MM Awards... Slurp, sniff,
sip, sip... Have to be done by the
end of this month... Results on Dec
1 here on Whiskyfun... Only forty
to go... Sniff, slurp, sip, spit...Ride
on.mp3... - S. |
| TASTING
– OLD MACALLANS AT THE HARRY'S
BAR IN PARIS |
 |
| Short
notes for a few Macallans we had with
our maniacal Austrian friends Heinz
and Konstantin at Whisky Live Paris'
Off-festival (that is to say the Harry's
Bar, rue Daunou). |
| Macallan
1938 (43%, OB, Corade France, early
1980’s)
This one should be roughly 45 years
old and has been opened for ‘the
Austrians’ and yours truly at
Paris’ Harry's Bar. Yippee!
Colour: gold / amber. Nose: oh well...
this is, I mean, just amazing. Incredible
smokiness and a full tanker of acacia
honey as well as lilac, beeswax and
leather polish. Goes on and on...
ripe apricots, flower nectar, Seville
oranges, orange syrup, whiffs of seawater...
Absolutely exceptional. Gets smokier
with time (Havana smoke). Hints of
apple peelings. This nose just leaves
me speechless (who said good news?)
Mouth: amazingly lively, nervous,
fruity... Apricot jam, ripe plums,
chestnut honey, toasted brioche, high-grade
pepper... Totally fantabulous. I’m
afraid the rest will be censored by
our anti-maltoporn police department.
SGP: 845 (wazzat?)
- 96 points. |
| Macallan
1963 (43%, OB, square crystal decanter,
early 1990’s)
Colour: amber with brownish hues.
Nose: starts a little mouldy, also
on roasted nuts and quite some peat.
Gets very tarry after a while, on
new tyres and even something like
burnt plastic. I know, sounds terrible
but it isn’t, although some
could say this is flawed. Just like
sulphur in whisky, those are ‘controversial’
aromas. Notes of torrefaction, charcoal...
A slightly scary old Macallan I’d
say. Mouth: fat, thick and honeyed,
slightly syrupy, even sugarish at
the attack. Candied. Gets more classic
after a moment. A lot of chestnut
honey, the whole getting bolder with
time, almost brutal. Hints of salt.
Finish: interminable, candied, with
a slight bitterness (gentian, chlorophyll).
A beast – and who said whisky
in decanters don’t keep well?
Maybe it lacks the old Macallans’
usual lusciousness, that is. SGP:
852 - 89 points. |
| And
also Macallan
25 yo 1957 ‘Anniversary’
(43%, OB)
Stunning whisky, all on wood smoke,
lovage and game, with also a slight
mouldiness both on nose and palate.
Very big, very dark Macallan with
huge sherry. Takes no prisoners. SGP:
826 - 93 points. |
| And
also Macallan
1950 (43%, OB, Corade France, early
1980’s)
Tried quickly (yes, a shame). Unusual
mouldiness, tar, smoke, mushrooms,
crystallized oranges and roasted nuts.
Maybe a tad too mouldy. SGP:
643 - 87 points. |
| |
| |
|
November
17, 2007 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
NICK LOWE AND HIS BAND
The Royal Festival Hall, London, October
23rd 2007 |
| I
don’t think you get much casual
trade at a Nick
Lowe gig, especially
not at the recently refurbished Royal
Festival Hall on London’s arty
South Bank. We’re mostly all
of a certain age and probably beyond
the point at which we could be called
‘fans’, having in some
respects all been through too much
together and managed, more or less,
to come out on the other side. |
 |
| So
the interval is almost like a reminiscence
therapy session – and have you
noticed Serge, how loudly blokes like
to reminisce at gigs? The two behind
us are talking high volume, hard core
bollocks – “Never thought
I’d see the day when we’d
pay to see Basher in a place like
this”, “Yeah, or be here
with all these middle classes”,
“It’s never going to be
as good as that night down the police
club”, “Yeah – I
mean do you remember when we’d
go down to gigs like that at the Ricky
Tick club”, “Always
with knives, pills, and birds”,
“And some top nights in Leytonstone…”,
“Of course she never liked us
going there”, “Seen much
of your kids since the divorce?”,
“Not really, how about you ...?”
So it goes. |
At My Age (Nick Lowe) |
Lowe
has just released a new album, the
first since 2001’s The Convincer.
At My Age is a perfectly crafted piece
of work – nine original songs
and three covers, including a country
meets skiffle version of Charlie Feather’s
‘The man in love’ and
“Not too long ago” –
originally performed in 1965 by Joe
Stampley and the Uniques but sounding
every bit like a Lowe original. Of
the Lowe compositions ‘I trained
her to love me’ (the song that
drew some sharp intakes of breath
when we first heard it performed at
the Barbican – more middle classes
– a few years ago) is probably
the one that stands out most. But
actually they’re all –
characteristically of Lowe’s
compositions - so good, so economic,
so precise, so perfectly produced,
and so carefully performed, that they
provide a complete and compelling
body to the evening’s set. |
| It’s
not quite the studio band on stage
– long time collaborators Robert
Treherne – aka Bobby Irwin -
(drums) and Geraint
Watkins (organ and piano) and
new boy Matt Radford (double bass)
are there, but in place of Steve Donnelly
on guitar it’s sometime Van
Morrison band-member Johnny Scott.
And for songs like ‘A better
man’, ‘Long limbed girl’
and ‘Other side of the coin’
(written originally for Solomon Burke)
there’s a brass section, featuring
Martin Willing on tenor sax and clarinet
and Annie Whitehead on trombone (in
place of blues veteran Chris Barber
who features on the album). Lowe normally
performs solo these days, but he likes
to put a band together for “special
occasions” – and this
is very special, even if an irritating
hum from the sound system does take
away some of the glow. |
| Oh,
and I should have said that the new
Lowe songs follow his well-established
groove of lost love, regret, hope,
fear and all that other universal
stuff that makes them so attractive.
And – in case you’re wondering
he’s gone on record as saying
that he doesn’t hate women –
“but singing about people who
hate women is very good fun”.
He kicks off solo with ‘People
change’, ‘Soulful wind’,
‘What’s shaking on the
hill’ and ‘All men are
liars’ before being joined by
the band. “Welcome”, he
explains, “to an evening of
first class light entertainment”,
before the band tear into ‘Without
love’ (the other Lowe song recorded
by Johnny
Cash), ‘Lately I’ve
let things slide’, ‘Has
she got a friend?’ and ‘I
trained her to love me’. To
be frank most people could have stopped
at that and felt pretty pleased with
themselves. Lowe and his band continue
with ‘Indian Queens’,
‘Cruel to be kind’, a
studio perfect version of ‘You
inspire me’ and then five in
a row from At my age, before ‘Shting
shtang’, ‘Rome wasn’t
built in a day’, Lowe’s
Rockpile classic ‘I knew the
bride’. Solo, Lowe finished
the set with that song –
twelve years in the writing, his Jekyll
and Hyde classic that formed the centrepiece
of Johnny Cash’s American Recordings
– and you could have heard a
pin drop as he sang the final lines
of ‘The beast in me’. |
| The
vacuous veterans behind us leave to
get their buses back to the lonely
suburbs as Lowe returned for a solo
‘Heart of the city’, played
‘What’s so funny about
peace love and understanding’
with the band and then finished solo
again with Moon Mullican’s rockabilly
hit ‘Seven nights to rock’.
It’s a standing ovation –
and quite rightly so, for the variously
described “Headmaster of rock”,
“Jesus of cool”, and “PhD
of pop”. With his unmistakeable
haircut, unmistakeable voice, quite
excellent band and perfectly hand-crafted
artisanal songs Lowe is a performer
of huge accomplishment. You should
buy his new record, and if you get
the chance to see him, then go. Isn’t
that right, Serge? - Nick Morgan
(concert photograph by Kate) |
 |
| Many
thanks, Nick. Oh yes, I remember that
gig at the Barbican very well. Just
a man and his guitar, singing in a
foreign language (no, I never get
everything they say, because even
if their English is probably perfect,
mine really isn’t as all readers
of Whiskyfun may have noticed.) Should
have been a bit... err, difficult
but it wasn’t at all actually,
quite the contrary. And Geraint Watkins,
whom I didn’t know before, is
now a favourite in the house! So,
I thank you again, and let’s
listen to a little Nick Lowe, with
I
love the sound of breaking glass.mp3
(yes, an oldie). |
| TASTING
- TWO ABERFELDIES |
 |
Aberfeldy
1989/2007 (43%, G&M Connoisseur’s
Choice)
Colour; straw. Nose: starts floral
and buttery, with also quite some
fresh oak, getting grassier after
that. Also quite some vanilla, cereals,
porridge. And honey, pollen... Rather
clean but also rather discreet. Mouth:
very light attack, a little fruitier
than on the nose that is. Apple juice
and cornflakes plus a little maple
syrup. Again, the oak is quite present
(tea, tannins). Gets a little spicier
over time (pepper). Finish: rather
short but quite clean, on peppered
and buttered apple pie. A good everyday
dram. SGP:330 (wazzat?)
- 80 points. |
| Aberfeldy
19yo 1978/1997 (43%, Signatory, cask
#5032)
Colour: straw. Nose: very discreet,
whispering, with hints of fresh butter
and cereals plus almond milk and avocado.
Shy but the overall balance is quite
perfect, it’s a very elegant
dram on the nose. Mouth: a little
bigger than the G&M at the attack
and marginally more phenolic. Hints
of toasted bread. Other than that
it’s all on vanilla, cereals,
tea and something slightly resinous.
Yes, another good everyday dram. SGP:331
– 82 points. |
| |
|
November
16, 2007 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
– FOUR CAOL ILAS (yes, again)
Caol Ila 1996/2007 (48%, Wilson
& Morgan)
Wilson & Morgan already had
great Caol Ilas in the past so let’s
see is tradition is respected. Colour:
white wine. Nose: yes, just a very
clean, very sharp, very lemony,
very smoky, very ashy and rather
lemony Caol Ila. Which means that
it’s not a mashy / porridgy
/ buttery and ‘organic’
kind of Caol Ila. Right, right...
Mouth: smoky lemon juice with a
little gentian spirit and smoked
tea. No more, no less. Finish: long,
getting a bit salty. Very good (wasn’t
that short and sweet?) SGP:246
(wazzat?)
– 86 points. |
| Caol
Ila 25 yo 1980/2006 (50%, Douglas
Laing OMC, Refill Hogs, Ref 2405,
327 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: it seems that
this one developed more towards a
rather big oiliness. At random, we
have apple peelings, lamp oil, linseed
oil, paraffin, fresh butter, fresh
almonds, putty, orgeat, whiffs of
ink, roots... Oh, and smoke of course.
And fresh walnuts. Mouth: apple juice,
lemon juice, pepper, smoked oysters
and kippers and salt. A bit thicker
and oilier than the youngster. Finish:
long, waxier and leafier. Very, very
good (wasn’t that just as short
and sweet?) SGP:346 –
88 points. |
 |
 |
Caol
Ila 16 yo 1991/2007 (57.5%, The
Single Malts of Scotland)
Colour: white wine. Nose: somewhere
between the 1996 and the 1980, really.
And a big farminess (raw wool, wet
hay etcetera). A big Caol Ila it
seems. Mouth: indeed. A bit sweeter
than the 1996 and 1980 and also
spicier. Finish: extremely long
and very salty. Very, very good
(yeah). SGP:347 –
87 points.
Caol
Ila 32 yo 1975/2007 (58.4%, Signatory,
cask #458, 221 bottles)
Okay, let’s be a little serious,
this one is a venerable old Caol
Ila, dating back from the times
when the distillery had just been
reconstructed (1974).... |
| Colour:
gold. Nose: big, very big and in no
way ‘32yo’ in spirit.
Three main directions here: stony/mineral/ashy
on one side, then waxy / grassy /
lemony, then smoky / peaty / coastal.
All that is, well, very big... (excuse
me but it’s getting a bit hard
to write tasting notes for Caol Ilas,
there are so many versions around!)
Now, it seems that ‘the evolution
of peat’ created some rather
beautiful notes of tangerines and
grapefruits here, but in no way as
bold as in Laphroaigs, Bowmores or
Ardbegs of similar age. Mouth: oh,
good news, it’s rather more
‘mature’ than on the nose,
even if it’s still a relatively
‘young’ malt. Big bold
lemony notes (almost extreme in fact)
plus all of the usual smoky/peaty
cavalry, pepper, chilli... And even
more pepper. This is very powerful
whisky, not for the fainthearted that
may think that ‘old = smooth’.
|
 |
| Finish:
interminable, as peppery, smoky and
lemony as whisky can get. Geez, this
is almost an ode to immortality –
1975, really? Anyway, great whisky
all around and yes, more of a peat
monster than many much younger Ardlaphlagas.
SGP:368 - 90 points. |
 |
And
also Caol
Ila 1968 (58.5%, Gordon & MacPhail,
green lettering, 1980’s)
There’s also been a version
for Meregalli in Italy at same strength
but printed in brown
instead of green. On the nose, this
one is more honeyed and resinous than
smoky strictly speaking, also quite
almondy. Notes of plum jam. Mouth:
big, bold, with more peat this time.
Superbly candied, lemony, extremely
smoky. Big whiffs of coal and wood
smoke. SGP:427 – 94
points (and thanks, Michel) |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: the fabulous Claude
Nougaro sings Dansez
sur moi.mp3 (Live at the Théâtre
des Champs-Elysées). He was
a great, great man, please buy his
'musing' music. |
 |
| |
|
November
15, 2007 |
|
|
 |
Linkwood 1979/1993 (46%, Moon Import,
The Sails in the Wind, butt #6097,
660 bottles)
Colour: brown amber. Nose: this beautiful
thing (we have a friend in Vienna
who should like this label a lot)
starts right on oxtail, old rancio
and barbecued beef and develops on
slightly more civilised notes such
as Corinth raisins, espresso coffee,
old walnuts, Havana cigar (lit –
big smokiness here) and smoked ham.
Superbly dry, a truly fantastic sherry
here (even if the spirit can’t
tell us much here). Also notes of
shoe polish and game. |
| Mouth:
oh yes! Tobacco again, game with bilberry
sauce, chocolate (loads), coffee-schnapps,
soy sauce, lovage, burger with genuine
ketchup (not the cheap sugar and GMO-loaded
swill we all know too well), nuts,
sultanas, cough syrup... How great!
Finish: long, with all flavours mingling
into some sort of umami. Holy crow,
this is sherried whisky. SGP:337
(wazzat?)
– 92 points. |
| Linkwood
16yo 1990/2007 (49,3%, Adelphi, cask
#9733, 269 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: oh, this
is interesting, this one smells much
waxier and even more phenolic than
most Linkwoods we could try. Notes
of linseed oil, paraffin, olive oil...
It gets then more vegetal and a little
resinous (pine needles), then more
candied and jammy (very ripe yellow
plums, honey sauce), and finally very
minty, with big notes of a pack of
mint drops that you just opened. Also
dried flowers, roses... Oh, and also
a beautifully balanced sherry in the
background, probably second fill.
This is very beautiful. Mouth: oh
yes this is beautiful, sweet like
a candy store but firm like, like...
Whatever. A true hotchpotch of various
jams, honeys, sweets, jellies, pastries,
and spices. Only the finish is maybe
a little less assertive and a little
simpler, more on ‘simple’
caramel and honey. One for Hansel
und Gretel? 90 points
(and exactly the opposite of the Moon,
SGP:733 vs. 337). |
| And
also Linkwood-Glenlivet
1956/1979 (80°proof, Cadenhead)
An hyper-floral and hyper-honeyed
nose, with also a lot of wax and notes
of old furniture. Hints of high-end
scented soap and cologne.Wonderful.
The palate is a bit bitterer but still
beautiful. Also rose jelly and marzipan.
Rich and complex. SGP:835
- 90 points. (and thanks,
Heinz) |
 |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: let's go African if you
please, with the magnificent Malian
singer Oumou
Sangare and her Saa
magni.mp3. Please buy her music
and support Africa (yeah, I know...) |
 |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Adelphi
15 yo 1991/2006 'Breath of Speyside' (60,2%,
Adelphi, cask #5642, 615 bottles)
Caol
Ila 1968 (58.5%,
Gordon & MacPhail, green lettering, 1980’s)
Caol
Ila 32 yo 1975/2007 (58.4%, Signatory,
cask #458, 221 bottles)
Compass
Flaming heart '2nd release' (48,9%,
Compass Box, 2007)
Glen
Grant 1958/2006 (40%,
Gordon & MacPhail)
Glen
Grant 36 yo 1970/2006 (53,2%, Blackadder
Raw Cask, sherry cask #7216, 173 bottles)
Glen
Grant 1972/2007 (54.9%, The Single
Malts of Scotland)
Linkwood
1979/1993 (46%, Moon Import, The Sails
in the Wind, butt #6097, 660 bottles)
Linkwood
16yo 1990/2007 (49,3%, Adelphi, cask
#9733, 269 bottles)
Linkwood-Glenlivet
1956/1979 (80°proof, Cadenhead)
Longmorn
27 yo 1969 (43%, Prestonfield for LMDW,
cask #4252, 296 bottles)
Longmorn
1964/2007 (50%, Gordon & MacPhail
for LMDW, cask #1538)
Longmorn
1973/2006 (54%, Gordon & MacPhail
‘Cask’, cask #3650, first fill sherry
butt)
Macallan
1938 (43%, OB, Corade France, early
1980’s)
Macallan
25 yo 1957 ‘Anniversary’ (43%,
OB)
Springbank
37 yo 1970/2007 (53.9%, Signatory,
butt #1621, 370 bottles)
|
| |
|
|
