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Hi, you're in the Archives, December 2004 - Part 2 |
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| TASTING
– THE ULTIMATE HEAD to HEAD
SESSION FOR THE VERY LAST DAY OF
2004 |
| Loch
Dhu 10 yo (40%, OB)
Yes, a true legend, that goes for
£150 in some circles! I rated
this legend from Mannochmore 55 points
last time I tasted it, so let’s
see whether my score can be lifted
this time. Colour: coffee, with a
reddish hue. Nose: a strange mix of
raspberry jam and cold coffee at first
nosing. Not utterly disgusting, I
must say. Develops on Christmas cake,
Chinese plum sauce (the one they serve
with the Peking duck), black toffee,
coffee drops, Tia Maria… |
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| It
all starts quite well in fact, but
alas it then gets a little too sour.
But in a whole, the nose is much
nicer than expected. Yes, Serge
talking. Mouth: well, now it’s
getting really worse! Bitter attack,
on burnt sugar, cold espresso, cheap
black toffee. It gets really too
drying, and going on would be really
too painful now, I'm sorry. Okay,
the nose is somewhat interesting,
but the palate is catastrophic,
really. I wouldn’t call this
Loch Dhu a swill, but I can’t
go any further than, say 49
points this time. Next
time I’ll try it on ice –
or in a sauce?
Cu
Dhub (40%, OB) This
time it’s the Speyside distillery
who’s in command. Well, sort
of. Colour: mahogany, quite lighter
than the Loch Dhu. Nose: starts
quite weirdly, on overcooked coffee
and cheap perfume, with some smoke
– some smoke from an exhaust
pipe, that is. Pear drops, orange
marmalade… Not ‘too’
bad in fact but the bigger problems
are soon to arrive, with some strange
notes of stale Campari, Schweppes,
‘chemical’ orange juice
(Tang), cheap grapefruit juice,
bubblegum, grape juice… Lots
of aromas you don’t usually
find in a single malt, in fact.
Funny, yes, it’s funny…
but almost disgusting as well! Mouth:
ouch! Weak and watery attack, on
old vase water. Develops on all
sorts of ‘chemical’
tastes: Nutrasweet, cheap sweets,
rotten orange zest, American restaurant
coffee at the end of the day, burnt
butter… Yuck! Now, this one
is a swill! Finally, the Loch Dhu
has found its evil master, it appears!
He he he… 35 points.
Next time I'll
oppose Glen Kella 'The White Whisky'
and an old White Duck. Not sure
'black' isn't nicer, to be honest... |
| MUSIC
- Recommended listening
- in the mood for some high-speed
'electrified bluegrass, garage country,
and Appalachian punkabilly'? I'm sure
you'll answer you could not have waited
any longer, won't you? Try Boston
based band '3
Day Threshold' playing
Whiskey,
you're the Devil (mp3) then. Energetic
- and to be enjoyed while sipping
Loch Dhu or Cu Dhub! |
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SPECIAL
RECIPE - After Sandy's
clootie dumpling flambé with
Brora 30yo, my good old friend Paul
Adam just sent me this new recipe
of the Fondue Savoyarde with Old Potrero
2 yo (old indeed). |
| Mind
you, the whisky's not been used as
an ingredient, but as the necessary
combustible. In fact, The recipe is
very easy: 1. pour some Old Potrero
into the burner instead of industrial
alcohol and light. 2. prepare your
mix with Swiss cheese, white wine,
kirsch, pepper and nutmeg and put
it onto the burner. Let it melt: it's
ready. Bon appétit! By the
way, that would probably work with
any high-proof malt as well, like
for instance Port Ellen 22 yo 1978
rare Malts or Brora 22 yo 1972 Rare
Malts, but maybe all these phenols
will then clog the burner... |
| NICK
MORGAN'S M.A.W. 2004 - By Nick Morgan
"Nick”
said Serge, “The reviews
they are ok for the website, but
we Maniacs need more than these
silly words and pictures. Where
are the stars and scores? Where
are the points and prizes? Without
these we cannot see truth, we cannot
sense beauty”. Well,
“Bah humbug” says I.
But with an unusually seasonal gesture
of goodwill to The Hooded Ones,
here’s my 2004
NM Music Awards Winners. |
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Gig
of the Year
With a long list to choose from –
and some excellent performances –
it just has to be Nick
Cave and the Bad Seeds
at the Brixton Academy. It was hard
to see much wrong on the night –
power- emotion- velocity – and
a tight, tight band. Ace ! |
Gig
of the Year that wasn’t reviewed
on Whiskyfun
This one provoked much debate amongst
the judges – but in the end
the winner by a long-neck was John
Prine, who delivered
50 minutes of still-non-conformist-after-all-of-these-years
country perfection in a circus tent
in Finsbury Park in June. “I
wrote this song about the Vietnam
War when I was a boy and never thought
I need to play it again …’till
now…” Heaven (how many
points is that Serge?) |
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Most
Irritating Performer
Sorry – but without exception
the judges found for Sarah
Slean, supporting Ron
Sexsmith in London and Victoria (with
her band). Just when the world had
thought it was safe to go outside
after Kate Bush we get this! Nice
voice, some decent tunes, but somewhere
in the personality mixing-pot a disaster.
No stars. 41 points. Ouch! |
On-stage
Nutter of the Year
A hybrid category that provokes affection,
fear, and loathing. Strong contenders
were Larry Love (we saw him with his
acoustic Show Band at Dingwalls as
well as with the A3), D. Wayne Love,
Jah Wobble, and of course, Jon Ottway.
But way ahead of the field was Edgar
Winter, supporting an
avuncular and still quite fast-fingered
Alvin Lee at the Albert Hall. Edgar
was dressed like an extra from an
early episode of Star Trek, and, blind
to the totally geriatric nature of
his audience, strode like a giant
across the stage assailing us with
“LONDON ARE YOU READY TO ROCK
!!!!” every few minutes –
particularly during the twenty painful
minutes when his keyboard failed to
work. For self-belief, self-deception
and self-confidence in the face of
absolute adversity, Edgar the award
goes to you with honours. |
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Performer
You Would Most Like Your Daughter
to Bring Home
The shy, sensitive, singer-songwriter
and General Troubadour Ron
Sexsmith. Ron, you’re
welcome any time Mate. And don’t
forget to bring the Telecaster … |
Performer
You Would Never Want Your Daughter
to be Seen Out With
Despite a strong push from Blues Tyro
Jon Spencer (“We Are The Blues
Explosion”) it’s a team
award to those nasty old men of rock
and roll, The
Bad Seeds. Today’s
youth could learn a lot from these
middle-aged musical mayhem makers. |
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Da
Bling Special Award for the most bejewelled
performer
To Mike
Love of the Beach Boys.
Thanks Mike, for showing us where
our thirty-five quids were going to.
50 carats. |
The
Best Concert I Missed
Hard to say. The conformists all wowed
to Brian Wilson (again – yawn!).
We tried hard for seats for Tom Waits
but eventually got a little disheartened
when even ‘my people’
were telling me that this had turned
out to be the celebrity gig of the
year – loyal Waitsters simply
priced off the market by the A-B-C-D
list celebs who just had to be seen
there. |
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teenage reviewers thought it was fad
and generally the best thing since
sliced-bread – like the new
album – which led me to believe
that they’d never heard or seen
Tom Waits before. I’m told Steve
Earle played a great, though understandably
low-key gig the week after the USA
Presidential Elections. But for all
their immature vulgarity the band
I most missed this year were Kings
of Leon; fired by the
impetuosity of youth these boys are
flying. So Kings – the prize
is yours – come back next year
please. |
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Album
of the Year
Simple. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,
Abattoir
Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus.
As I can’t write proper, here’s
a quote from a review I found on the
web which despite its artsy bollocks
prose says it all: “Abattoir
Blues and The Lyre of Orpheus are
so strong, so above-the-bar, that
they represent an ascension to a new
abstract plane of creativity. In their
evocations of sin and redemption,
lust and love, nature and religion,
Cave and the Bad Seeds have unleashed
a contentious vision of sound and
fury. It's a palette as dense and
complicated as life itself, a gauge
of our fears, hopes, and absurdities.
With Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus,
Nick Cave leads us into temptation
and delivers us from evil. Amen.”
Cor Baby! Plot that on a medals matrix
if you can. |
Best
Re-released Album
Amidst another year of more Nick Drake
nonsense – when will this insanity
end? – the star re-release was
a remastered Mr
Wonderful by Fleetwood
Mac – that’s the real
Fleetwood Mac rather than the ‘pure’
version. For me this has always been
the most complete of their offerings
– before Peter Green went bonkers
and took the band that way with him.
With original sleeve-notes by the
late John Peel (he really did get
everywhere didn’t he?), musings
from Mike Vernon on the recording
of the album (in a day!) and a few
bonus tracks, it’s a real treat
for British Blues aficionados. Only
problem is that despite a release
date of February Sony have made this
CD almost impossible to buy. So thanks
Santa – you get a prize for
this one too. |
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Nicest
Album
Good old Atlantic Records sessions
mesiters and star performers brought
together to produce The
Country Soul Review’s Testifying.
Play it, play it, and play it again.
It’s just nice. And if there
was a packaging award these guys would
have won it too. Great design and
materials, artfully constructed, and
(would you believe?) made in England.
97 points. |
Best
Album by an artiste I hadn’t
really known about before
Aimee Mann’s
2002 Lost
in Space. A really interesting
piece about her in the normally nauseating
Nick Hornby’s 31 Songs (after
all that trash he manages to produce
a decent book), and then she pop’s
up singing on Jim White’s Drill
a hole … And I would also recommend
Bachelor No. 2. Serge likes these
pretty ladies who sing like angels
too, so we’ll call this one
the Valentin Award. Well done Amy
! |
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Most
Politically Incorrect Album track
of 2004
On Steve Earle’s excellent Revolution
Starts Now, ‘Condi,
Condi’. If you
haven’t heard it then listen
now and get ready to laugh. Steve,
it’s so naughty its nice –
but now she’s the most powerful
woman in the United States will your
life ever be the same???? Five star
award. And finally ….. |
The
Non-Plus-Ultra Award
To Jim
White. For a studio perfect
gig in Islington, and then a truly
idiosyncratic solo-show at the Bush
Hall. For 2004’s quite excellently
weird Drill a hole in that substrate
and tell me what you see. For ‘Handcuffed
to a Fence in Mississippi’ (from
2001’s No Such Place) –
just a song without compare. And for
being such a dammed nice fellow too.
Jim – it’s simply privilege
to hand this year's NPU to you …And
that’s it from me.
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| Off
to Scotland now, so unless we catch
a cool gig in Inverary at Hogmany
(don’t hold your breath folks)
no more ‘till mid January 2005.
Thanks Serge! - Nick |
Dalmore
20 yo (43%, OB, bottled 1971)
Nose: very special. Lots of roasted
coffee beans and fresh herbs (dill,
celery). Gets then quite meaty (smoked
ham, beef bouillon). Some soy sauce
too… Mouth: very medicinal,
with lots of wax, old turpentine,
natural varnish, camphor. The finish
is very long, getting just a little
bitter. Another blast from the past.
91 points. |
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MUSIC
- Recommended listening
- star of the blues and 'undisputed
Earth Mother' Etta
James sings Take
it to the Limits (mp3 - live).
Just fabulous! Must have been a hell
of a set! |
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| ANTIQUARIAN
JOTTING ON WHISKY
'Sandy
Fawshawe', our new and occasional
antiquarian correspondent just wrote:
It saddens me to note that the once
common practise of ‘Flaming
the Spirit’, gradually bastardised
into that incendiary Yuletide celebration
known to so many in the islands
and coastal settlements of the remotest
parts of Scotland, is now almost
forgotten by all.
Its origins, of course, lay in the
early experiments of John Damien,
alchemist at the court of Richard
IV of Scotland. Damien, keen to
establish (or “proof”)
the strength of the spirit he was
working with devised the technique
that was to become known as ‘Flaming
the Spirit’, and still today
sometimes referred to by Italian
farming folk as ‘Ardente l'acqua
di vita’. |
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| Tycho
Brahe (1546 - 1601) |
Of
course what Damien was not to realise
was the absolute importance of the
host matter used to burn the spirit.
Quite what Tycho Brahe was doing in
Islay with a Clootie Dumpling in his
hand on that auspicious night of 25th
December 1478 (old style) still perplexes
antiquarians around the globe, but
without doubt this was both the turning
point in the science of establishing
(or ‘proofing’) both the
strength and quality of spirit by
fire, and in that annual Christmas
ritual of ‘Combustin da cloot’,
now so rarely performed.
Today of course we find ourselves
relaying on prosaic and generally
pedantic ‘tasting notes’
for a measure of the quality of a
spirit. But then, it was the robustness
of the flame, the depth of the colour,
and the length of fire (“Quanto
tempo da fiamma leccare” Brahe
is alleged to have asked his young
assistant that fateful ‘eve)
that judged all. |
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And
so imagine my delight when a figure,
bustling through the crisp and even
snowfall on St Stephen’s day
morn beckoned me from my cottage to
witness the great ceremony revived,
in a small byre hidden in a sequestered
Glen. “Burn af’ your dram”
(“Ustione af 'il vostro dram“)
we called as the flames rose and we
witnessed both a strong liquor and
a pudding of stout heart at work –
both testified to by the evidence
of our tongues and senses a few minutes
later.
So feel assured, dear readers, that
the great traditions of whisky do
linger on in the hearts and souls
of the few. And hopefully as the months
and years roll on I may bring your
more instances of its rude survival
despite the pressures of this modern
world, which we all so despise. -
Sandy (picture by Sandy) |
Thank
you, 'Sandy'. Not sure all your historical
points are 100% correct, but at least
all that is very funny - and besides,
we can see that the Brora 30 yo OB
burns like hell. Keep your notes coming,
I'd say, but save the Brora for me.
I can provide you with several other
cask strength whiskies that might
be more suitable to such a treatment.
Well, unless you have it for free...
By the way, my old friend Paul just
sent me another short - and new, and
true - story about how to use Old
Potrero. Yes, with a picture. Stay
tuned! |
| TASTING
- Dunglass 5 yo (40%, OB, Barton brands,
1970’s)
This one was made by the same owners
as Littlemill's, yet I'm not 100%
sure it was the Dunglass single malt,
i.e. the experimental malt they made
in the seventies, together with the
peated Dumbuck. Colour: white wine.
Nose: light and very grainy, as expected.
Gets quite grassy (hay, heavily sugared
iced tea). Dried flowers, caramel,
hints of praline. Mouth: aromatically
weak, sweetish… Hints of lavender
ice cream, pear juice, apple juice.
Rather long, and slightly peppery
finish. Not so bad, in the same vein
as the Glen Grant 5yo. 72
points |
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MUSIC
- Recommended listening
- Slither
Hither (mp3) by Soul-Junk.
Hip hop isn't my cup of tea at all,
but free jazz (often) and experimental
music (sometimes) are, and Soul-Junk's
work blends all that in a very interesting
and pataphysical way. The art of collage
is always thrilling when made with
craft, and it's the case here. Listen
to it, perhaps you won't make it to
1:00, but it's going to be interesting,
at least. Something (rather) new,
at last! |
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MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
The Jeni
Fleming Trio plays the
standard Invitation
(mp3 - beware, it's jazz ;-). Very,
very special, and very, very nice.
Wow! Please buy their music if you
like it. |
| TASTING
- THREE CLYNELISHES
Clynelish
10 yo (43%, James McArthur, Fine
Malt Selection)
Colour:
white wine. Nose: fresh, maritime
and fruity, with some lavender perfume.
Very clean. Mouth: again, fresh
and clean, perhaps a little spirity,
even prickly. Quite close to a newmake,
with very little wood influence.
The finish isn’t too long,
and quite grainy. 78 points.
Clynelish
28 yo 1976/2004 (46%, Murray McDavid
Mission IV, 600 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: some great
sherry, with some waxy notes and
some turpentine. A little oily.
Lots of crystallised kumquats and
oranges. Very, very nice! |
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Mouth:
the first mouthfeel is superb, with
lots of tropical fruits a la 60’s
Bowmore, passion fruits, pineapple
juice, beeswax. Gets quite spicy
(clove and pepper). The finish is
long and bold… A great Clynelish!
90 points.
Clynelish
32 yo 1971 (55.5%, Jack & Jack
Auld Distillers Collection)
Colour: light straw. Nose: fresh,
very flowery and delicate despite
the high alcohol level. Extremely
elegant and feminine, almost aerial.
Lots of wild flowers, very ‘nectary’.
Mouth: sweet yet rich and extremely
satisfying, on honey, nectar, light
caramel… Not overly complex
but highly enjoyable. 91
points. |
| MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
very good country-rock Baltimore-born
singer Amy
Speace sings Idle
hands (mp3). She offers lots of
very nice mp3 songs on her website,
cool! Too bad the photograph doesn't
feature some Single Malt Whisky instead
of wine... Anyway, please buy her
music if you like it! |
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TASTING
- THREE MALTS BOTTLED IN 2004
Isle
of Jura 1991/2004 (55.1%, James
McArthur Old Masters)
Colour:
white wine. Nose: a little closed
at first nosing, getting then spirity
and grainy. Lots of broiled cereals
and hot milk. Mouth: sweetish and
spirity – fruit eau de vie
(tutti fruity, kirsch). Strong and
long finish, on spirit. 79
points. |
| Lochside
14 yo 1989/2004 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC)
Colour:
white wine. Nose: lots of smoke and
sea air at first nosing. Then tons
of fresh fruits (tangerine, blood
orange). Absolutely fabulous young
Lochside, really in the style of the
best Bowmores from the 60’s.
Mouth: extraordinary! Campari-orange,
tangerine juice, Mandarine Impériale
liqueur, with whiffs of smoke. Long
and coating finish. A stunner by the
Laing bros, one of the best buys of
the moment, I believe.
Ah, when Lochside is good, it's very
good. 93 points. |
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Dailuaine
1976/2004 (57.1%, James McArthur Old
Masters, cask #5967)
Colour:
straw. Nose: beautiful, on sherry,
beeswax and turpentine. A fino cask?
Some great soft tannins, light oak,
and some elegant winey notes (hints
of rancio from the sherry). What a
nice nose! Mouth: bold and perfectly
balanced. Fructose, aspartam, kiwi,
lemon… goes on with tarte tatin
(caramelised apples). Long finish,
on some enjoyable notes of green apple.
A very, very good Dailuaine! 88
points. |
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TASTING
- Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, Bonfanti
Milano, bottled circa 1978)
This version was bottled just before
the ‘unblended’ ones (see
the October 10 entry). Nose: absolutely
stupendous, on all sorts of fresh
and cooked fruits. It left me speechless…
Mouth: fabulous attack on peat and
spices, with tons of dried fruits
and dried herbs. An incredible richness,
brilliantly elegant. The best Laphroaig
I have ever tasted, punto basta. I
know, these notes were short, but
I've been stunned - yeah, let's do
this!
96 points. |
Laphroaig
17 yo 1987/2004 (50%, DL OMC, cask
# DL 1217, 256 bottles, 6 month rum
finish)
Colour: white wine. Nose: wow, how
fresh, how floral at first nosing.
Alas, some grassy notes of white rum
and even tequila are soon to emerge.
Freshly mown lawn? Crushed leaves?
Green tea? Even vodka… I feel
it’s been that ‘muted’,
that it doesn’t really smell
scotch whisky anymore… It’s
nice, but it’s a little weird.
I’m wondering what’s the
story behind this particular cask
and why they’ve finished it
like that. Mouth: again, we have quite
a strange mixture here. Some peat
and smoke, sure, but also some tequila,
over infused tea, cod-liver oil…
Bitter orange, marzipan, bitter almonds,
walnut skin… Well, I understand
variety is good, and something different
from time to time is great, but this
one is off the limits for me. The
finish is rather long, on liquorice,
turpentine and orange zest.
70 points. |
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It's
with this quintessential American
whiskey ad from 1962 that I wish
you a
Merry Christmas
I
hope Santa will be generous with
you! |
| TASTING
- Glenfarclas 21 yo (51.5%, OB, Pinerolo
Torino, Square bottle, circa 1980)
Nose: waxy, with lots of roasted nuts.
Light coffee, cappuccino. Gets then
very flowery (nectar, dandelion, buttercup),
and develops on dried fruits. Mouth:
quite bold, with lots of gingerbread
and eucalyptus at first. Then you
get a superb mix of both fresh and
dried fruits, with some toffeeish
notes. Really majestic, and so fresh
and lively for such an old bottle.
A thrill. 93 points. |
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MUSIC
- Recommended listening
for Christmas: this
and this.
What else? |
| CONCERT
REVIEW
ALABAMA
3
The Astoria, London
Tuesday
December 14th, 2004 - by
kllo-yotta-deluxe guest writer Nick
Morgan
It’s
almost a year to the day since I
was last in the Astoria –
then as now to see that most peculiarly
British rock and roll band, the
Alabama
3. Twelve months on
and a few things have changed. |
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| Last
time I had ‘flu – this
time its going to creep up on me in
a few days (so hence the late review
Serge, for which I apologise). Last
time we were deep in the Pit with
the Coldharbour Lane Crew (most of
whom seemed to be medicated with something
stronger than my Beecham’s Powders).
The south London crowd are here in
force tonight too, but with them are
a lot of people who have come a very
long way for this gig. Last time it
was the last night of a fairly long
UK tour. Tonight is a one–off
‘Christmas Special’ –
and as it turns out the show is being
recorded and filmed. Last time the
sound was Astoria-crap. It's much
better tonight – aided by our
position overlooking the pit just
to the right of the mixing-desk. And
last time joint front man D. Wayne
Love was a shambling incoherent mess.
Tonight – well, he’s a
shambling lucid and highly articulate
mess. As he confides to the audience
early in the second of this two-set
gig, “I don’t mean to
sound Parochialist, but I’m
buzzing!” |
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Now,
let me tell you about the Alabama
3. First – they’re not
from Alabama. Sort of Brixton via
the Celtic fringes of industrial Wales
and Scotland. And there aren’t
three of them. More like eight plus
various support musicians, singers
and ‘performers’ (more
of that later). And the style? In
their own words – “sweet
pretty country acid-house music”.
Actually it’s a lot more than
that – but if you’ve never
heard them – or tried once and
switched off – you need to understand
that they approach most of their songs
with the same compelling recipe that
produces a sort of layer cake of sound.
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First
its Tekno style samples and loops
(the first song, ‘I’m
Johnny Cash’ was introduced
by a long Moby style sample of Robert
Johnson’s ‘Me and the
Devil’). Then drummer L. B.
Dope and percussionist Sir Real Love.
At this point gently sprinkle some
harmonica (from The Mountain of Love
– who also does most of the
samples – I think) and add a
little keyboard (by the wraith-like
and chain-smoking Spirit of Love).
Then bring in the bass (Segs, ex punk
band The Ruts) – which it has
to be said really hits your chest
like a jackhammer – and guitarist
Rock Freebase, who works his way through
a series of feisty Telecasters (including
a beautiful Telecaster Thinline –
see it here).
And finally sprinkle lightly with
lead singer Larry Love (whose gyrations
speak loudly of a sustained dose of
cod-liver oil tablets, and who makes
Nick Cave look like a nicotine abstainer)
and singer, rapper, narrator and general
philosopher on the state of the world,
The Reverend D. Wayne Love. And there
you have it. Did I mention the daft
names?
We get almost two and half-hours of
songs spanning the A3’s four
‘official’ albums, and
then a number scheduled for inclusion
on the forthcoming album Outlaw. Highlights?
Too many to mention, but of course
including ‘I’m Johnny
Cash’, ‘REHAB’,
‘Bullet Proof’, ‘Hypo
full of love’, ‘Ain’t
goin’ to Goa’, ‘A
Heaven somewhere’, ‘Speed
of the sound of loneliness’,
‘Mao Tse Tung’, ‘Peace
in the Valley’ – almost
everything that any A3 fanatic could
have wished for. And more …
The A3 aren’t just funky –
they’re painfully and artfully
funny. But they don’t pull their
punches either. Subtle their politics
may not be – but their sometimes
uncompromising messages, picked up
from a ragbag of influences, ring
through loudly and sincerely (folks)
in their songs. ‘Let the caged
bird sing’ is a real classic.
And so is ‘Woody Guthrie’,
which opens the second set with a
wonderful agitprop set-piece (ah yes,
brothers and sisters, just like the
good old days!); slinky red-robed
burlesque stripper at the front of
the stage, Palestinian (and other)
women freedom fighters projected on
the rear screen, ‘sing a song
for the asylum seeker - for the frightened
baby on some foreign beach’
(which, ignoring the rather offensive
final line of the song about marketeers
- how could they? - puts me in mind
of a great read for Christmas –
for those who are interested in more
reality than Whisky Scotland often
seems to represent – have a
go at Ian Rankin’s Fleshmarket
Close). |
| The
great cause of the A3 is their fight
against miscarriages of justice –
Birmingham Six (no – its not
another band) member Paddy Hill toured
with them last year. This year they
raise a slightly different question
– which is when do criminals
become folk-heroes? The song –
no doubt destined for Outlaw –
is in praise of Britain’s Great
Train Robbery and in particular its
mastermind Bruce Reynolds. And guess
who joins D. Wayne on stage to rap
his way through a long list of villains,
some home grown, others not? A rather
bewildered (if not disequilibriated)
Bruce Reynolds himself. |
|
 |
Reynolds
was a known admirer of Butch Cassidy’s
Hole in the Wall gang – the
original great train robbers –
so there’s a sort of symmetry
at work here. He ends by addressing
the audience “We used to ‘av
our own train robbers in Engerland,
they’re all geriatrix nah, but
no one eva writes songs abaaat ‘em”.
Well – they do now; and no one
should be in doubt of the likely theme
of Outlaw.
And all the time the beat pounds,
the bass bounces off your chest, and
the harmonica wails. Lights flash
– dollar bills (issued by the
United Sates of the Alabama 3) flutter
to the floor from the packed balconies.
Larry Love works the audience up to
a frenzy (us included I’m ashamed
to say) – “Just dance
for the fuckin’ cameras will
you – you’ll all be on
fuckin’ TV”. D. Wayne
rails against J. Edgar Hoover (who
did sell acid for the FBI?) worries
about his hair and is wordperfect
– when he needs to be. The Spirit
lights up – again. “Whisky
flows like the crystal streams they
say flow in heaven…” Its
almost a bit too much but then they
crash to an end with what ended up
sounding like a full-on version of
‘Last train to Mashville’.
“Happy fuckin’ Christmas”
leers a departing Larry. Last to leave
the stage, D. Wayne invites us all
to a party in Brixton “where
you can meet the real me in person”,
and true to his word there’s
an already overcrowded bus outside
in the street waiting to take the
unwary to meet their fate …
- Nick Morgan (photos by Kate). |
| Thank
you very much, Nick. I like Alabama
3 - and I could find some nice mp3s,
like, yes; 'I'm
Johnny Cash', or 'Woke
up this morning' which is part
of the Sopranos' OST. I also like
Alabama 3 's website
quite a lot - true rebels, eh! - with
it's Prozac pills and crushed cigarettes.
|
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| CHRISTMAS
WHISKY ADS - left:
Black & White,
1963 - How
to say "Merry Christmas"
in Scotch: "Black & White".
Middle: Black
& White, 1971-
'A
man can never have too many friends'.
Right:
Black
& White, 1974-
'They
melt in my paws when I give them Black
& White - You dawg you! Arf. Arf.'.Design
or humour? Dogs or no dogs? The equation
wasn't too simple to resolve, it appears... |
 |
|
TASTING
- TWO MUNDANE MALTS FROM THE 70's
Glenesk
12 yo (40%, OB, Wm Sanderson, 1970’s)
colour:
straw. Nose: very grainy and malty,
with some cooked apple and caramel,
not much else. Mouth: weak and watery,
on grain and diluted apple juice.
Very short finish. Okay, not all
malts were great in the 60’s
and the 70’s! 60 points.
|
| Tullibardine
10 yo (40%, OB, 1970’s)
Colour:
straw. Nose: olive oil, diesel oil,
very mineral. Really special! Engine
grease, ginger tonic… Mouth:
grainy and oily, really strange. Old
cardboard, wet straw, grenadine syrup…
The finish is short and grainy. I
don’t like it, but I feel the
fact that it’s so special allows
me to give it 77 points. |
 |
|
TASTING
- BLAST FROM THE PAST: TWO 'OLD
YOUNG' BOWMORES
Bowmore
7 yo (43%, OB, Sherriff, COGIS Milano,
60’s)
Colour:
straw. Nose: a superb mix of diesel
oil (yes, I like that), citrus,
old books and smoke. So fresh! Sea
water, marzipan, freshly crushed
nuts, wet grass, lamp petrol…
The fruits strike back: tangerine,
orange zest… It’s endless.
Mouth: great attack on freshly squeezed
oranges, tangerine, white pepper,
pink grapefruit. It then gets very
mineral (wet stones, riesling).
Really superb, so clean and pure.
Lots of elegance… And lots
of nostalgia. This, is a ‘legend’…
95 points. By the
way, I’d like to insist on
the fact that buying some very old
bottles for drinking based on some
simple tasting notes by others,
can be very tricky, as two old bottles
from the very same batch can taste
completely different after twenty,
thirty or forty years of 'glass
maturing'. |
| Bowmore
NAS ‘Ship label’ (43%,
OB, Sherriff, EMMEPI Roma, 60’s)
Colour:
straw. Nose: grassier, and much less
smoky than the 7yo, but again, quite
mineral, on oil, stone, lamp petrol,
clay. Hints of ripe apple and pear.
Some bitter almonds and cod oil. Not
too enjoyable, I’m afraid…
Mouth: very nice this time, with quite
a lot of fruits and smoke. Too bad
it then gets a little dusty and drying,
with some strange hints of green olives.
Gets a little flat. The finish is
rather short, on cardboard. Perhaps
was this bottle a little tired? 75
points will do.These two
Bowmores were tasted at Whiskyship
Zurich. |
| MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
multi-artist Everett
Griffiths sings My
Alibi or Glinko
the Cat (both mp3s from his CD
'Chinese Music Paste') Really excellent,
with a clever guitar playing. Please
buy his music! |
|
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| CHRISTMAS
WHISKY ADS - left:
Old Jim Gore, 1954
- 'Holidays
call for the gift that's "Best
in the World". Right: Ambassador,
1968 - 'New
York's 3rd largest selling Scotch,
America's fastest growing Scotch,
The World's Lightest Scotch'. What
did the advertisers learn within just
14 years? That's it's always better
to give evidence of what you claim,
even if the result somewhat lacks
romantism... |
| |
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|
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| CHRISTMAS
WHISKY ADS - left:
Lord Calvert, 1961
- 'Gifts
of distinction from Lord Calvert.'
The decanters are embossed with, from
left to right: 'Friendship', 'Horn
of Plenty', 'Liberty' and 'Courage'.
Right: Glenmorangie,
2003 - 'Peace
on Earth'. Well, I like this
headline better than these 'finished'
whiskies. But whiskymakers
for true values? Humanists? Hmmm...
Why not? At least they have a message
;-). Oh, by the way, speaking of these
'finished' Glenmorangies... |
 |
|
TASTING
- OLD AND NEW GLENMORANGIE 'WINE
FINISHINGS', HEAD TO HEAD
Glenmorangie
‘Sherry Wood Finish’
(43%, OB, ‘plain label’,
circa 1999)
Colour: light amber. Nose: very
sherried, winey, but neither bold,
nor ‘creamy’. Quite
fragrant and fruity (ripe kiwi,
cooked apple). Gets more and more
winey, yet it stays quite fresh
and rather clean. A lively malt!
Mouth: very nice and youthful! Lots
of sherry, butterscotch, vanilla
fudge, caramel. And a very nice
balance at that… Rather long
finish, on rum and raisins. In short,
a very good dram to pour your guests
at home – provided they are
no hardcore malt fans, that is.
82 points. |
Glenmorangie
‘Sherry Wood Finish’ (43%,
OB, ‘stripe label’, circa
2004)
Colour: light amber (just the same).
Nose: similar in style but more restrained,
much less expressive and lively. More
caramel too. Gets a little grassy.
Mouth: strong attack, quite spirity
and sour. Overcooked caramel, burnt
cake, candy sugar. It gets more and
more sourish… Some offbeat notes
(vinegar, overcooked wine sauce).
Not too enjoyable, I must say. Long,
but kind of dirty finish, on raisins
and cheap rum. I don’t like
it too much, I’m afraid.
72 points. Maybe it was just
the batch, but what a downfall! |
Glenmorangie
‘Madeira Wood Finish’
(43%, OB, ‘plain label’,
circa 1999)
Colour: gold. Nose: quite strong Madeira,
raisins, pink grapefruit. Rather nice
at first nosing. Develops some funny
notes of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar,
apple juice. Quite enjoyable. Gets
a little mat: chocolate, sawdust,
cardboard… Mouth: starts on
lots of caramel, sugar, sweet wine
(young Banyuls). Gets quite toffeeish,
burnt caramel, roasted beans. Medium
long finish, with a pinch of salt
on the tongue. Not bad at all, although
I liked the sherry version better
(much livelier). 79 points.
|
|
 |
Glenmorangie
‘Madeira Wood Finish’
(43%, OB, ‘stripe label’,
circa 2004)
Colour: gold (again, just the same).
Nose: like with the sherry version,
it’s much more restrained. Some
caramel, citrus, white wine. Goes
on with some apple skins and pepper,
not much else. Mouth: again the same
phenomenon happens: this more recent
batch is much bolder, but also even
less defined. Burnt caramel, cooked
wine, meat sauce, lemon juice. Gets
very sour and rubbery… The finish
is long but bitter… I don’t
like it at all – good luck with
this one, LVMH. 69 points. |
Glenmorangie
‘Port Wood Finish’ (43%,
OB, ‘stripe label’, circa
2004)
Colour: amber (again and again, the
same). Nose: again, the more recent
version is (even) less expressive.
Cooked butter, caramel, cooked wine…
Getting quite sourish after a moment.
Stale wine. Develops on cardboard
and old wood. Well…Mouth: ah,
quite a nice attack on toffee and
port, but it then gets quite weirdly
perfumy – like some Bowmores.
Some honey, Chinese sweet and sour
sauce, mango chutney. Hints of cheap
fruit liquor… Gets a little
bitter… The finish is medium
long but a little watery, on candy
sugar and Turkish delight. Okay, not
a very big difference with the older
version, this time. Good news, but
still not a great rating, I’m
afraid: 72 points. |
 |
|
BONUS
- Glenmorangie 12 yo ‘Golden
Rum finish’ (40%, OB)
Colour: straw. Nose: very clean, fresh
and lively, on fresh butter and flower
nectar. Tons of fresh apple(golden
delicious) and a little oak. I must
admit I don’t really get the
rum, but maybe that’s good news.
It’s simple, not complex at
all, but very clean and full of youth.
I like it! Some apple skin develops
after a few minutes. Mouth: very nice
and clean attack, on apple juice,
vanilla and oak. A little bourbonny.
Again, not too complex, but nicely
balanced. Some caramel and some milk
chocolate do emerge after a moment…
The finish isn’t too long but
nicely balanced, getting quite malty.
Again, it’s very nice whisky.
Much nicer than all ‘wine’
finishes from Glenmorangie’s
core range, that’s for sure.
84 points. |
| |
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| MUSIC
- Recommended listening
- ultra-highly energized queen of
the blues Koko
Taylor sings 'Bring
me Some Water' (mp3). Wow, imagine
her singing about whisky instead!
She really makes Tina Turner sound
like Norah Jones, if you see what
I mean... Please buy Miss Taylor's
music if you like... the blues. |
|
 |
| BRORA
NEWS - After
the 3rd bottling of the 30 yo OB (I
didn't taste it yet but rumours say
it's quite good) and the new Peerless,
Signatory just launched two new 22
yo 1981 (one is in the 'Unchillfiltered'
series and the other in the new 'Cask
Strength Collection' - beware, the
tin box is pretty but the lid is very
fragile if you let it been shipped
to you). The Laings have a new 22
yo 1982 OMC 'sherry' and a 34 yo 1970
'Platinum', and the SMWS has a new
1978 '61.22' - for UK only, I've been
told. Gasp, I didn't even know there
has been a 61.21! The Society has
lauched no less than five new Broras
in 2004 - not available everywhere,
that is. But hey, what a machine gun! |
| MUSIC
- Recommended
listening: Norwegian band Beady
Belle (nope, it's not
Madonna) playing Loose
& Win (mp3). A great singing,
mixed influences (R&B, electronica,
jazz...) and an interesting result
that's easily above the usual so called
'indie radio' music. |
|
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|
TASTING
- FOUR OFFICIAL ARDBEGS
Ardbeg
13 yo 1990/2004 ‘Cask Strength’
(55%, OB, Japan, 1140 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: freshly
cut Golden Delicious apple, gentian
spirit again, oak smoke. How clean
and fresh! Spectacular. Gets quite
waxy, with hints of varnish. Mouth:
lots, lost of gentian, roots, lapsang
souchong tea and pepper. Develops
on clove, and even dried ginger.
Bold and long finish. 88
points. |
| Ardbeg
1975/2001 (43%, OB)
Colour: straw. Nose: a little closed
at first, even slightly dusty. Some
tropical fruit and some smoke, plus
some sea air. When nosing deeper,
some fine farmy aromas do appear.
Some say all 1975 were the same whisky
that had been vatted once, and then
kept in some steel tanks. But when
comparing the ‘2001’ with
the ‘2000’, the whiskies
indeed are different. The 2000 is
bolder, stronger and peatier. Mouth:
bolder than the nose suggested. Peppery
attack, with even some chilli. Gets
nicely fruity (apricot), but also
a little bitter. The finish is quite
long, on some pink grapefruit. A good
one, yet not as satisfying as the
2000. But that ‘might’
be batch variation. 86 points. |
|
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|
Ardbeg
32 yo 1972/2004 (48.3%, OB Manager’s
Choice for Oddbins, bourbon cask #866,
239 bottles)
This one is said to have been sold
out within one hour and thirty minutes.
Colours: straw. Nose: so beautiful,
so complex! Well done Douglas Laing
– oops, Ardbeg! A whole beehive
(wax, pollen, honey, propolis…)
Grandma’s cupboard, camphor.
Hints of eucalyptus and turpentine.
Smoke, garden bonfire… Perhaps
it could have been smokier, but it’s
so complex! Mouth: splendid, waxy
attack. Gets grassy (liquorice stick)
and farmy (hay). Perhaps the mouth
is slightly less complex than the
nose. Pine syrup? Long finish, with
some Chartreuse and Jägermeister
(a little bitter). 93 points
- and £300, roughly.
Addition:
strange,
even if some have said it's been sold
very quickly, oddbins still have it
on their website. |
| Ardbeg
1976/2004 (51.4%, OB for Feis Isle
2004, sherry butt #2398, 504 bottles)
Colour: cognac/tobacco. Nose: very
sherried attack. Some wax and some
rancio, plus lots of burnt rubber
and alcohol and hints of orange marmalade–
but there isn’t too much of
Ardbeg’s usual smoke…
Lots of roasted coffee beans too.
Let’s try the mouth: big attack,
very peppery. Cooked apple, compote,
clove, orange marmalade. Bold and
compact, but not overly complex. Long,
bold finish. Not the best ‘Feis
Isle’ Ardbeg (ah, the 2002!)
but a very nice Ardbeg, for sure.
88 points. |
|
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| CHRISTMAS
WHISKY ADS - left:
Dewar's, 1932 - 'Some
Christmas, eh?' Funny to see
that the maid is so happy about the
fact that her 'masters' will get flat
drunk with this full case of whisky
for Christmas! Right: Teacher's,
1937 - 'It's
the flavour'. At that time, whisky
was to be offered to your best buddies,
because it's so good. In other words,
keep it simple and stupid: tell the
truth... And oh, about Teacher's... |
 |
|
...
I've seen this funny wall calendar
in Italy a few weeks ago. I guess
it dates from the early 1970s or so...
Cool, eh? You just can't spend all
your time with your best buddies,
can you? Yes, the masses must be educated. |
There
are some whiffs
of deep forest after the rain, moss,
fern developing after a few minutes.
Really fantastic! Goes on with dill,
freshly crushed mint leaves, apple
skin… Sharp like a blade, I
really love it. Mouth: oh! This one
is like no other whisky I ever had
before. First, it’s very bold,
which is amazing considering both
its ABV and its age in glass. Second,
peat, cooked apple, and pepper rush
into your mouth at the very same time,
with a lot of fructose and bitter
almonds following very closely. It
then gets very bitter indeed (grape
seeds), and I don’t quite know
whether I like that or not. I feel
like if I just drank some turpentine!
What’s sure is that it’s
like no other whisky, but I must admit
it’s one of the first times
I taste an ‘Old’, pre-refurbishment
Caol Ila, so… Hints of white
rum and tequila – even mescal.
The finish is long but, again, quite
bitter, with also some dusty notes
(flour, cocoa powder). It even sort
of sparkles on the tongue! In short,
the nose is totally stupendous, and
perhaps the mouth is great, but I
just lack reference regarding the
latter. Maybe it’s an acquired
taste? Okay, let’s give it a
conservative rating: 90 points.
Caol
Ila 15 yo (57%, OB, Bulloch &
Lade, orange label)
- thanks for this one, Luc - Colour:
straw (just a little lighter than
the G&M). Nose: much fruitier
than the G&M at first nosing (freshly
cut pear), with some butter and creme.
Then comes the peat, again very maritime
(bold seaweed) and then some tropical
fruits a la Bowmore (I mean, Bowmore
as it was in the 60s). The whole is
superb again, more complex and bolder
than the G&M, but perhaps a little
less ‘pure’. Feint hints
of aniseed, dill, fresh parsley. It
keeps developing after ten minutes,
getting a little medicinal (camphor)
and slightly peppery (white pepper).
Let’s be clear: I love it. Some
dried fruits strike back, like dried
pineapple or guava. Hard to say which
one I like best for now, between the
G&M and the official… Both
are stunning. Mouth: wow, what a bold
and strong attack! Very, very medicinal
and ‘rooty’: camphor,
gentian spirit, liquorice stick, horseradish…
Yet, the balance is perfect, this
time. It then gets very peppery and
salty while the malt really invades
your mouth, together with some maritime
flavours like oysters, smoked fish,
glassworts. What a beast indeed! Perhaps
it’s not overly complex, but
what a great ‘compactness’!
The finish is very long and salty,
getting more and more drying (the
tongue ‘sticks’ to the
palate). Again, a stunning nose, but
also a great mouth, perhaps just lacking
some extra-complexity to make it to
95 points or more in my book. 94
points, then. |
| |
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| CHRISTMAS
WHISKY ADS - left:
Crown Royal, 1979 -
'Can
you look this man straight in the
eye and honestly say you deserve Crown
Royal?.' Erm... the answer is
'no'. Right: Chivas
Regal, 1982 - 'Why
settle for Champagne?'. The answer
is 'because I prefer champagne in
this situation'. In other words, never
ask questions. |
| |
| MUSIC
- Recommended listening
- especially for a good laugh: Willie
Nelson singing the Whisky
Waltzer in... German! That was
in... 1964 - and his accent was absolutely
terrific! Try it again, Mr Nelson:
'Ich trink einen Whisky, und ich denk'
an dich...' Hard, these 'ch',
eh? (Via great website allcountry.de) |
|
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| CHRISTMAS
WHISKY ADS - left:
Crown Royal, 1984 -
'Anyone
who has to work on Christmas Eve deserves
a lot more than milk and cookies.'
Right: Crown Royal,
1989- 'No
title'. Christmas ads are usually
much less creative than normal, very
codified and somewhat 'rushed', but
these Seagram ads are, let's say 'above'
the average, especially the one from
1989. Yeah well, at least we're in
the mood... |
| |
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|
TASTING
– HEAD TO HEAD, OLD AND NEW
HIGH-STRENGTH GLENMORANGIES
Glenmorangie
10 yo ‘100 proof’ (57.2%,
OB, circa 1999)
Colour:
pale straw. Nose: powerful and youthful,
starting on caramel, cooked butter
and vanilla. It’s soon to
get very grassy, vase water, hay.
Whiffs of peat and rubber –
the latter growing stronger and
stronger. It gets very farmy at
the same time, and then develops
on lavender perfume, before it goes
back to cooked butter and stays
there. Nice, and much more complex
than expected! |
| Mouth:
a very sweet, yet powerful attack,
but it’s soon to get spirity,
malty and grassy again, with lots
of liquorice and cold infused tealeaves.
Violet sweets, toffee, liquorice
stick, cold strong coffee. Perhaps
it lacks some complexity now, but
I guess that isn’t the main
purpose of a 10 yo malt bottled
at 100 (UK) proof. The finish is
long and bold, getting a little
too bitter. I still like this now
discontinued malt, hence my very
good rating: 85 points.
Glenmorangie
‘Traditional’ (57.2%,
OB, circa 2004)
Colour:
pale straw. Nose: much more subdued
than its older brother at fist nosing,
jumping then almost directly to
the grassy and farmy notes. Again,
some whiffs of peat and rubber,
and then some very flowery notes,
like lilac and buttercup. It gets
somewhat cleaner than the ‘100
proof’. Some vanilla fudge
and butter caramel do emerge after
a while, though… In a whole,
it’s a little more restrained,
a little less farmy, and also a
little fresher, but it’s still
rather similar. Again, nice! Mouth:
again, a strong and punchy attack,
and again a somewhat ‘simpler’
feeling, with more caramel, cold
tea, malt – and more fruits
too. Cooked apple, caramelised pear,
cassata. A very nice retro-olfaction
on fresh fruits and violet sweets.
Again, perhaps it’s somewhat
fresher than the ‘old’
one, but also a little less complex
and a little more ‘smack in
your face’. Okay, I’ll
go for one point less, but I wouldn’t
say it’s ‘less good’,
just a little livelier, but also
simpler. 84 points
– almost tie. |
| MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
Franco-Algerian singer Rachid
Taha sings Valencia
(1995 - mp3). This has been produced
by Steve Hillage! Please buy Rachid
Taha's music if you like it. |
|
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| WHISKY
ADS - left:
Old Forester, 1957
- 'Design
for giving - You give much more when
you give the year's most advanced
decanter...' Right: Old
Crow Traveler, 1967 - 'The
tuckaway fifth that packs as flat
as your shirt'. When looking
at these two old ads - and considering
the replica age we're living in, one
can wonder if today's designers aren't
sort of exhausted. On the other hand,
we consumers keep asking for 'tradition',
whatever that means, and perhaps these
two funny bottles haven't pulled huge
success when they were launched anyway...
But hey, weren't they cool? (design
of the Old Forester bottle: Raymond
Loewy). By the way, I'll publish some
interesting old Xmas whisky ads in
the coming days. Stay tuned! |
| |
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|
TASTING
- FOUR INDIE HIGHLAND PARKS
Highland
Park 1990/2000 (59.1%, James McArthur,
cask #5152)
Colour:
white wine. Nose: very spirity and
even a little soapy, almost a newmake.
Very little wood influence, if any.
Mouth: bold and pungent, extremely
fruity and flowery (courgette flowers).
Just like an excellent newmake,
with a long and almost pungent finish.
Another straight shooter.
81 points.
Highland
Park 1989/2004 (53.5%, James McArthur,
cask #10535)
Colour: white wine. Nose: quite
closed at first nosing, quite grainy
and very vegetal. Some great hints
of smoke, peat and heather. Mouth:
sweet and bold, very enjoyable.
Some burnt tyre notes, pepper and
smoke. Long and almost burning finish.
A smoky Highland Park, great! 83
points. |
Highland
Park 19 yo 1985/2004 (54.1%, Signatory,
cask #2908, 303 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: smoky, malty
and rather straightforward. Very little
fruit if any. Hints of heather and
sour milk. Mouth: sweet but pungent.
Lots of fruits this time, like peach
and melon. Too bad it gets a little
too drying and peppery at the end,
because otherwise it’s a very
good HP. 83 points.
Highland
Park 1980/2000 (46%, Moon Import 20th
anniversary, cask #4765)
This one’s rather sweet and
smoky at the same time, nicely balanced.
One of the smokiest Highland Parks
I ever had. Very good! 86
points. |
|
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|
MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
Diana
Darby sings Sarah
(mp3). When I first heard the song,
I thought it was an unknow early Pink
Floyd song! Please buy Diana's music
if you like it. |
| TASTING
- A MIXED BAG OF 2004 BOTTLINGS |
| Brora
22 yo 1981/2004 (56.4%, Signatory,
cask #1561, 611 bottles)
Here’s the one we could taste
before bottling at WhiskyLive Paris.
Colour: straw. Nose: smoke and coffee,
quite fresh. Lots of burnt cake, raisins…
Not too maritime, this time. Some
nice hints of peat, though. Mouth:
bold, strong and very fruity. Very
close to a Clynelish. Lots of English
liquorice, acidic fruits. Not typically
Brora in fact, but perfectly balanced,
with lots of nice fruits. Develops
on apples and ripe pears, with a long
and nicely balanced finish. A good
one, even if not a stunner. 87
points. |
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Oban
20 yo 1984/2004 (57.8%, OB, 1260 bottles)
Matured in American refill casks.
Colour: white wine. Nose: smoky and
farmy, with some great coastal notes.
Lots of white fruits, apple, pear.
Quite some peat, but the whole isn’t
too demonstrative – perhaps
a little understated. A nice freshness,
still. It gets then smokier and smokier,
on garden bonfire. Mouth: very sweet
first mouthfeel, but with a lot of
punch. A superb balance. Lots of tannins
but they are sort of balanced by the
‘sugary’ feeling. Very
interesting! I think this one is a
very good example of a malt for wine
freaks. 91 points,
no less. |
| Tomatin
12 yo (40%, OB, 2004)
Colour: straw. Nose: malty, on toasted
bread. We’re in blend territory
here – nice blend, that is.
Charred wood, rum, getting a little
floral (nectar) and slightly sourish
(old wood, cider, sherry). Somewhat
farmy. Mouth: very nice, sweet attack,
with some hints of rubber. Lots of
caramel, apple juice, rum, herbal
tea. Some funny winey notes (sherry?)
Rose jelly, Turkish delight…
Quite complex! Medium long attack,
on sweets, strawberry jam. A smooth,
very good everyday whisky. 81
points. |
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Strathisla
27 yo 1977/2004 (43.9%, The Bottlers,
cask #4472)
Refill
sherry hogshead. Colour: straw. Nose:
fresh, flowery and youthful. Clean
and pure, on flower nectar (dandelion,
buttercup, daisy) – getting
a little sweetish. Mouth: nice attack,
on light fruit syrup (apple, melon).
Gets a little peppery, yet sort of
sugarish. This one’s a little
too simple, very different from the
usual great malts by The Bottlers.
81 points. |
| Port
Ellen 23 yo 1981/2004 (50%, Douglas
Laing OMC, 675 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: burning
matches, smoked ham, charred wood.
Not too balanced, this time…
Mouth: fruity and very mineral at
the same time, perhaps a little drying.
Not a stunner this time, but I guess
all OMC Port Ellens can’t be
like the stupendous 21 yo 1982 ‘420
bottles’. 85 points. |
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Old
Pulteney 39yo1964/2004 (49.5%, Jack
Wiebers for Monnier, cask #1084)
Colour: straw. Nose: so much younger
than expected! Fresh and little grassy.
Hints of fern, dill, parsley…
Some fruity notes (melon, pear). Very
nice. Mouth: sugary attack, with lots
of typical old wood notes (varnish,
wax polish). Lots of fructose, kiwi,
passion fruit, with a rather long
and peppery finish. Nice! 85
points. |
| MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
this might well be the 15,247th time
somebody records 'Whiskey
in the Jar' (mp3) but I quite
like this 'live in a pub' feeling
offered by the band Pubcrawler,
from Austin, Texas. Please buy their
CDs or attend their gigs if you can!
Now, perhaps you'll prefer the funniest
version I've everheard: Whiskey
in the Jar (mp3) by a 10-12 yo
school choir from Monza, Italy. |
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| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS- Elliptic
Cutty Sark campaign 1992.
Left: 'Drinking Cutty Sark won't
make you seen more attractive. Or
help you get a date. But if you really
want to score points at a bar, there
are other ways.' Right: 'If
you're the type of person who thinks
caviar tastes better when it costs
$120 an ounce, you'd probably like
Cutty Sark better if it cost $120
a bottle. Let us know. Our price tag
can be easily changed.' I guess
the copywriter had to taste the product
a lot before he started writing these
funny teasers. |
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NEWS
- Jean Donnay's Breton
distillery Glann
Ar Mor is now completely
equiped - state of the art - and will
get 'active' early next year. Now,
Jean has also got a smaller wood-fired
still he already used in 1999 at the
very same place, hence his first official
bottling: Taol Esa (see
picture - no, it isn't a Bruichladdich
valinch - Jim's influence? ;-). The
whisky is said to be very good, but
there are just 99 bottles... be quick!
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| TASTING
- FOUR SPRINGBANKS, OLD AND NEW
- GRANDS CRUS INDEED
Springbank
12 yo 100 proof (57.1%, OB, imported
by Samaroli, early 80’s, 2400
bottles) Colour:
deep amber. Nose: extreme beehive,
wax, propolis, old papers…
Mirabelle jam, quince jelly…
absolutely brilliant. Bold, coating…
Gets then quite smoky, with some
mocha. Then banana flambéed,
coconut… Then some high-end
wine (great old Pomerol –
no, not just any merlot)…
Then chicory… Then lots of
pineapple liqueur, Malibu, old Muscat
wine. Really breathtaking. Gets
then buttery, with some crème
brulée… Hay jam, apricot
jam… Just an endless development.
Mouth: so extraordinarily bold!
Almost pungent, after more than
20 years in its bottle. All sorts
of jams, orange, crystallized kumquats.
Lots of spices, nuts, smoke, herbs…
I could go on for hours. S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G.
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Second
go after some breathing, one hour
and a half later, from the very same
glass (no refill!): the nose gets
quite similar to a very old Sauternes
or a Sélection de Grains Nobles
(by Zind-Humbrecht, no need to say).
Raisins, quince jelly, very old rum.
The mouth is still very strong: old
Port, grilled beef, balsamic vinegar…
even some Japanese sake! A complete
catalogue of aromas and flavours.
Yes, this one is well a ‘Grand
Cru’, or a malt
king.
98 points (record!) |
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Springbank
21 yo (46%, parchment label, ‘Archibald
Mitchell’, 80’s)
Colour; apricot. Nose: starts on all
sorts of dried fruits, honeys (pine,
chestnut, lavender, acacia), wax,
cooked apricot… Goes on with
tarte tatin, butter caramel. It gets
rather smoky after ten minutes or
so, with some great crumb. Notes of
old rum and vanilla. Perhaps it just
lacks a little bit of vivacity. Mouth:
lots of herbal tea and dust, cocoa
powder and cinnamon, getting slightly
bitter. Yet there’s a lot of
light toffee, caramel, cooked apple,
candy sugar… It even gets quite
hot, but also tannic and dusty. The
finish is quite long but again, rather
tannic, that’s why my rating
is ‘only’ 91 points. |
| TASTING
- Springbank 34 yo 1969/2003 (54.7%,
Signatory Rare Reserve, butt #262,
408 bottles)
This one’s been matured in a
second-fill sherry cask. Colour: pure
gold. Nose: not too bold at first
nosing but it’s soon to become
extremely interesting. Or even stunning.
Furniture polish, eucalyptus and beeswax
at first… And then some incredible
notes of Indian curry and mustard.
Amazing – I only had that once
– it was a Banff. Develops on
some heavy marzipan, clove…
And yes, quite some peat! Really unusual.
Goes on with some dried fruits (apricot,
pear) before some heavy eucalyptus
and camphor do return – and
even some malt, yes. Really amazing,
so special! |
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| Mouth:
very strong and quite bitter and tannic
(cocoa powder). Quite peaty as well,
almost like a Talisker. I’d
never have said this one’s a
Springbank, had I tasted it blind.
Lots of resin, seaweed, pepper (certainly
from the wood). Grapefruit, orange
zest, ‘old’ walnut, burnt
cake, dark acid coffee (Ethiopian).
Grape seeds. It gets more and more
peppery and bitter – but nicely
bitter. Some will argue it did spend
too much time in its cask, and it’s
true it’s very tannic, but I’m
sure that’s what made it so
special. I really like it for its
'bitter
sweetness' even if it’s
sort of full of flaws. I’d say
they’re ‘good’ flaws.
The finish is long, but rather bitter.
87 points. |
| Springbank
32 yo 1971/2004 (46%, OB)
Matured in re-fill sherry casks, bottled
last September. Colour: astonishingly
light (pale straw). Nose: very waxy,
grandma’s cupboard, vanilla,
natural varnish. Hints of spices (cinnamon)
and flowers (lavender). The whole
is still quite fresh and so nicely
balanced. A little coconut developing
after a while, but perhaps that’s
the mind’s work. Mouth: sweet
and quite oily, on resin and propolis.
Really a great mouthfeel. Some bitter
orange and a little Turkish delight.
Quite complex! The finish is long
and bold, on orange marmalade. An
excellent new-old official Springbank!
91 points. |
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MUSIC
- Oldies but Goldies:
French yé-yé star France
Gall sings Bébé
Requin ('Baby Shark', mp3, 1967,
words by Serge Gainsbourg). Sweetest
sweetness... Funny to see that the
yé-yés are very popular
in... Japan these days. |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
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Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Ardbeg
32 yo 1972/2004 (48.3%, OB Manager’s
Choice for Oddbins, bourbon cask #866, 239 bottles)
Bowmore
7 yo (43%, OB, Sherriff, COGIS Milano,
60’s)
Caol
Ila 15 yo 1969 (40%, G&M Connoisseur’s
Choice)
Caol
Ila 15 yo (57%, OB, Bulloch & Lade,
orange label)
Clynelish
28 yo 1976/2004 (46%, Murray McDavid
Mission IV, 600 bottles)
Clynelish
32 yo 1971 (55.5%, Jack & Jack
Auld Distillers Collection)
Dalmore
20 yo (43%, OB, bottled 1971)
Glenfarclas
21 yo (51.5%, OB, Pinerolo Torino,
Square bottle, circa 1980)
Harrods
12 yo (70 proof,
G&M, from Speyside distilleries, bottled
early 1970’s)
Laphroaig
10 yo (43%, OB, Bonfanti Milano, bottled
circa 1978)
Lochside
14 yo 1989/2004 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC)
Oban
20 yo 1984/2004 (57.8%, OB, 1260 bottles)
Springbank
12 yo 100 proof (57.1%, OB, imported
by Samaroli, early 80’s, 2400 bottles)
Springbank
21 yo (46%, parchment label, ‘Archibald
Mitchell’, 80’s)
Springbank
32 yo 1971/2004 (46%, OB)
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