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Hi, you're in the Archives, December 2006
- Part 1 |
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December
18, 2006 |
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TASTING
- THREE YAMAZING YAMAZAKIS
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Yamazaki
25 yo (43%, OB, Japan, 75cl, Bottled
+/- 2006) 
Colour: my God this one is dark!
Nose: whiffs of varnish at first
nosing, soon to disappear. Starts
then on heavy notes of plum sauce
and high-end balsamic vinegar, wine
sauce, prunes and armagnac. Just
superb. We have also lots of salty
liquorice, game and coffee. Really
concentrated, to say the least.
Mouth: here's a very heavy sherry,
with lots of bitter chocolate, coffee,
very ripe kiwis and cinnamon. Gets
just a little drying (flour). Goes
on with orange liqueur, hawthorn
tea… As concentrated as on
the nose – I can’t imagine
what it would be at cask strength
(but we'll have an idea - see below)!
Very long finish, with a great kind
of sourness. Brilliant whisky at
just 43%, for 'concentrated' people
;-). 90 points.
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| Yamazaki
1984/2005 (56%, OB, Japan, 70cl)
This ‘Vintage Malt’
won the non-plus-ultra award at
the Malt Maniacs Awards 2006 and
it was about time I published my
tasting notes. Colour: almost ebony.
Okay, not quite… Nose: hugely
concentrated again but with even
more oomph. The sherry is omnipresent
but it’s a truly beautiful
one, with a fabulous blend of smoke,
bitter chocolate, Corinth raisins
and game. Notes of old armagnac
again, candle wax, orange marmalade,
Christmas pudding, blackcurrant
and blackberry jam… extremely
demonstrative and not cloying at
all despite the high concentration.
Mouth: thick and fruitier now, with
a little icing sugar right at the
start, that will prevent the whole
from being too ‘fatty’
all along. Lots of orange marmalade
and spices (tons of nutmeg and cloves),
huge chocolaty notes, blackberry
jam again, prunes, small bitter
oranges… Amazingly concentrated
again. The finish is extremely long,
peppery, with lots of cocoa and
tea, propolis… Genuine showcase
whisky and a true sherry monster
(with big teeth). Totally extravagant,
too bad it’s so hard to find.
91 points. |
Yamazaki
1991/2005 (56%, OB, Japan, 70cl)
Another bottling from Suntory’s
famous ‘Vintage Malt’
series. Too bad it’s only
available in Japan. Colour: gold.
Nose: much peatier, let’s
say halfway between an Ardbeg and
a Highland Park. Lots of vanilla
and a little varnish, markedly oaky
like many Japanese malts. Hints
of soft curry, apples, gentian spirit,
fresh walnuts… Quite earthy
I’d say, well crafted. Mouth:
it’s even peatier now, bold,
powerful and oaky. Peppered vanilla
crème? Hints of Turkish delights
and strawberry sweets, quince, apple
skin… Rather hot. Gets sweeter
with time, almost sugary (nougat).
The pepper seems to be the main
ingredient, though. A Talisker from
the east? Finish: long, peaty, peppery,
vanilled and sweet at the same time,
with also quite some tannins. Not
extremely complex I’d say,
but nevertheless very good. 87
points. |
And
also Yamazaki
12 yo (43%, OB, Japan, 75cl, Bottled
+/- 2006) 
Nose: apple skin, walnuts and incense.
Hints of vase water (not bad). Smooth
and rounded. Mouth: rather perfumy,
rose jelly, apple compote, white
pepper, pear spirit. Slightly ‘flabby’,
maybe too fruitish but still above
the line. 79 points
(up 1 point from earlier batches). |
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| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 11 |
|
1963:
‘Beautiful, isn’t
it?’ Four Roses
is hitting hard with this new and
very Napoleonic decanter.
1963:
Schenley’s
Halmark Decanter with their weird
mascot Sunny the rooster telling
‘Give Schenley in the
exquisite Hallmark decanter…
the beautiful way to say Happy Holiday
– tastefully.’
Indeed.
1963:
‘Beam’s
Choice Bourbon in Delft
Blue – The choice gift of
bourbon at no extra cost (beautifully
gift wrapped)’. Is there
genever in the bottle? Another ueber-kitsch
bottle…
1964:
another Beam’s Choice
decanter, the even crazier ‘I
dream of Jeannie’. ‘The
Dec. 25th bottle of Beam’s
Choice’. Amazing. |
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E-PÏSTLE:
CONCERNS OF A WHISKY-LOVER
(or It's all in the woodworks...)
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by
Peter Krause (Germany)
Drinking
whisky – may it be
for leisure or even semi-professional
– is one of the greatest
hobbies of all time, no
doubt about it. However,
some clouds, e.g. in the
form of unreal price-policy,
decreasing quality and ‘ppm-uniformism’,
recently spoil the blue
sky for conoisseurs in whisky
heaven. Where will the road
lead in the industry? There
are lots of reasons to be
quite concerned: |
| At
the moment, aficionados have
already discovered the drop
in quality in recent years
as a result from the long-lasting
whisky boom and its ramifications.
Hence many of them are buying
older bottlings - and not
only from blockbuster distilleries
– to receive high quality
malts. Of course, it would
be unfair and exaggerated
to state that there are no
good whiskys out there these
days, but their number has
dropped and their price has
risen. Positive examples like
Benriach have just become
too few. |
| But
is this development a problem
for newbies? They haven’t
encountered the ‘old
stuff’ yet (most of
them never will) and, therefore,
don’t miss it. They
have been well-educated by
the marketers: gratefully
they consume younger and younger
malts masked by massive peat
or wood finishes, an old wish
from the industry that has
come true. It’s about
power, not subtle complexity
nowadays it seems. Why stack
up whiskies in warehouses
for decades if they can be
sold after five years already
and customers are happy. Why
select only excellent casks
if consumers and independent
bottlers buy anyway. The few
‘picky’ connoisseurs
do not really make a difference
in the balance sheets of multinational
conglomerates. That’s
why the malts going into blends
exceed the quality of some
bottled single casks more
often nowadays because the
blend masters – who
remain selective - know their
business well. |
| On
the other hand, quality bottlings
are slowly being turned into
luxury goods with expensive
presentations and their own
advertising campaign, as the
Laddie 40, the Ardbeg 1965
and some old Bowmores and
Macallans have shown. They
are made to fit the life-styles
of the rich and the famous
(‘The Envy of Islay’
says it all): I can already
picture Diddy on his yacht
popping open an Ardbeg 1965
for his entourage. So be it,
but it is quite sad that the
undoubted quality of these
whiskies might not even be
recognized by its consumers
- which cannot be average
malt enthusiasts due to the
price. Moreover, such bottlings
function as clever marketing
tools with tremendous advertising
effects. By being flagships
for their brands they broaden
recognition and help raising
prices for the whole product
range. Other great aged whiskies
below the top range –
or not even from the same
distilleries – profit
from such marketing as well
and increase in price. Gladly,
this trick doesn’t always
work with the aficionados
as recent price reductions
for bottles like Tobermory
1972 have shown. Now this
nice whisky has become attractive
again to the normal buyer
of fine malts. |
| Aside
from monetary issues, there
are more bad news looming.
It is quite sure to suspect,
that Single Malt Whisky quality
will decrease further: the
Bourbon distillers have more
and more problems in meeting
the worldwide demand for their
products. Maturing time of
around four years has already
been shortened quite a bit
and experiments with small
casks and woodchips are conducted
to produce more Bourbon/Tennessee
Whisky in shorter time. Rumour
has it that a law is being
discussed which would allow
Bourbon makers to sell one-year
old whiskies in the future
– an undertaking which
can only work by using small
casks. The oak trees used
for Bourbon casks used to
be around 250 years old in
the past, but due to the boom,
hundred years of age seem
to do nowadays, resulting
in drastically higher angel’s
share and less character.
Bourbon drinkers notice the
change already. |
| Now
go figure! The Scottish whisky
industry heavily relies on
casks from overseas that helped
making such beautiful whiskies
full of American oak character
in the past – and holding
the spirit for up to 60 years.
Those changes would make the
cask management even harder
for Scottish distilleries
after good Sherry casks have
become rare and expensive.
Consequently, the distilleries
are forced to use more wine
casks, and Bruichladdich/Murray
McDavid, Edradour/Signatory
and Arran pave the way. Only
time will show if such wine
casks can stand the the test
of time and the palates. |
| For
the distillers, the wine casks
bear more chances. Not only
are these barrels cheap and
available in abundance. They
can even help in gaining new
customers among the wine drinkers
(and vice versa) who may recognize
a GAJA- or Yquem-finished
whisky by the brand name and
become curious. Maltmaniac
Olivier should be able to
get rid of some barriques
and make a buck or two. I
can imagine a Gewürztraminer-Finish
in a Zind-Humbrecht cask quite
easily if the malt is not
too rigid. But to be honest,
I’d rather have the
excellent wine… . |
| How
to react to such news as a
sucker for great whiskies?
The answer to this question
is easy and can be found in
the development of prices
in the rarities’ segment.
These prices however –
in opposition to some recent
releases - make sense to me!
So is it worth seeking old
75cl-whiskies on shelves in
small bars in foreign countries
or in cellars of relatives
and friends? Is it essential
to remain critical towards
a young 50 ppm-Speysider finished
in a Chateau Migraine cask.
Hell, yeah! - Peter |
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| MUSIC
– Strongly
recommended ecommended listening:
the great, great Abbey
Lincoln sings a marvellously
moving Bird
alone.mp3 (from her 1991 album
'You gotta pay the band'). Stan
Getz is in, Hank Jones at the piano...
And Abbey is probably the vocalist
who's closest to Billie (no, no,
it's not Madeleine Peyroux ;-))
Please buy Abbey Lincoln's music! |
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December
17, 2006 |
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TASTING
- TWO INCHGOWERS
Inchgower
25 yo 1980/2006 (53,2%, Dewar
Rattray, sherry cask #14161, 486
bottles)
There are several casks of 1980
Inchgower on the market these
days, most being very good I think.
Nose: lots of sherry, roasted
nuts, caramel and cooked fruits
(blackcurrants, strawberries).
A little sulphur and a little
smoke, milk chocolate, coffee
beans, brownies… Classical.
|
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| Mouth:
very sweet, very thick, you almost
need a spoon. Gets a bit sourish
and rubbery. Chinese plum sauce,
strawberry jam. Gets even sourer
after a while, a little cloying.
Lacks a little balance I think,
although it does improve a bit after
a while. The whole is maybe a little
‘too much’, almost like
whisky-finished sherry ;-). But
the nose was really nice. 79
points |
| Inchgower
19 yo 1985/2005 (55.5%, Adelphi,
cask #5677, 257 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: lots of presence,
starting on a beautiful oakiness
and with great elegance. Lots of
apple skin, cider apple and, above
all, loads of salted butter caramel
and hints of acacia honey. Quite
some soft liquorice as well and
a little lemon balm, getting then
rather smoky as often with Inchgower.
A great nose. Mouth: very coherent
(lots of high-end caramel) but getting
then very spicy and peppery, with
also notes of cloves, curry, toffee…
Really bold. It gets then more tannic,
with quite some over-infused tea
but the balance is still quite perfect.
The finish is very long, at that,
with a pinch of salt. Very, very
good – Inchgower can be great,
even when virtually unsherried.
87 points. |
| E-PÏSTLE:
THE STATE OF WHISKY IN SOUTH
AFRICA |
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by
MM correspondent Larry Aronson
(South Africa)
It
was with some surprise that
I received an email from
Johannes asking me to report
on the state of whisky in
South Africa , in light
of the up and coming Whisky
live festival. Before I
start perhaps some history
is in order: |
South Africa has traditionally
been a beer and wine consuming
society, with our wine making
dating back to the 18th century
when French Huguenots settled
in the Cape of Good Hope bringing
French vines with them. Consequently
South Africa has been producing
wine and consequently brandy
for over two centuries. Understandably,
brandy has up until recently
been the spirit of choice.
In the last twenty or so years
there has been a big move
toward whisky (mostly blended
stuff) due in part to massive
marketing campaigns from the
major distributors (Brandhouse
, Pernod Ricard and company).
This has fortunately changed
as a number of niche importers
(The really Great Brand Company,
De Toren, and Forbes Distributors
amongst others) have started
to import brands that have
really only been available
at duty free or certain specialist
liquor outlets. Of course
one other main player William
Grant, with Glenfiddich and
its marketing muscle has really
pushed the malt experience.
So now we find with regularity
everything from Ardberg to
Talisker. We are also able
to get some Rare Malt and
Old Malt Cask bottling as
well. All of which are available
at most outlets. So things
are starting to look up. For
the sake of this report I
have focussed more on the
festival and what was available
rather than on the tasting
itself. Perhaps in future
I could contribute on recent
tastings but for now here’s
the feedback on the festival: |
Whisky
Live 2006
The Whisky Live festival 2006
was held for three days in
both Cape Town (the most beautiful
city in the world) and Johannesburg
(my home town) during November.
Judging by the attendance
this year, the future for
single malts in South Africa
is looking extremely bright
, close to 15 000 people attended
the festival. This is a significant
increase over last year which
saw about 10000 visitors,
I am told.
In addition to all the distributors
showing their wares, a number
of sessions were held on whisky
appreciation, whisky trends
etc. These were given by some
of the industries most respected
and knowledgeable people.
Amongst the session leaders
were; Dave Broom, Tom Morton
and Jimmy Bedford (Jack Daniels).
All of which were completely
sold out , indicating that
South African have not only
a thirst for good malt whisky
but also a thirst for gaining
knowledge on the subject –
a good sign indeed. In addition
to them there were also a
number of brand ambassadors
from several distilleries.
I was fortunate enough to
spend some time with Steven
Sturgeon – global marketing
director from William Grant,
who indicated that the growth
of single malts in South Africa
is very encouraging and the
sub continent is an important
part of their market.
So who was there? Well the
festival could be split into
3 categories: single malts,
blends and American whiskies
For the sake of this report
I will forego reporting on
the latter two.
As indicated above, we were
fortunate enough to see a
number of smaller brands being
shown in South Africa for
a first time through the “independent
“distributors. Of particular
note was Compass Box (distributed
by De Toren) which attracted
a large number of visitors
to their stand. Their Oak
Cross, Peat Monster and now
discontinued Spice Tree (which
I really enjoyed) was available
for tasting. It was a great
pleasure to see Glenfarclas
was on show from Forbes distributors
and I was fortunate enough
to taste their 25 yo (which
is definitely on the must
have list). Forbes is also
the distributor of Arran,
Achentoshan, Bowmore, Connemara,
Glen Garioch, Old Malt Cask
range and Yamazaki. Naturally
I, and a multitude of others
spent quite a bit of time
on their stand sampling their
wares.
The other major independent
distributor, The Really Great
Brand Company, had several
stands, each showcasing their
particular ranges, which include
some of the world’s
greats; Ardberg, Glenmorangie,
Highland Park (disappointing
though, no 18 yo available
to taste), Macallan and their
number one product, Famous
Grouse. The Famous Grouse
Malt range has done a tremendous
amount to highlight malt whisky
of late.
Moving on to the bigger players
– Brandhouse, who also
distribute Bell’s, J&B
as well as Johnnie Walker
, were showing their extended
range of single malts that
they represent in South Africa.
These included Caol Ila, Clynelish,
Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glen
Elgin, Glenkinchie, Lagavulin,
Oban and Talisker. Being the
size they are, they pretty
much dominated the floor space
with all their brands, and
yes they did have their entire
blended portfolio on show
as well.
Other notables were Pernod
Ricard, with Aberlour, Benriach,
Glen Keith, the Glenlivet,
Longmorn and Strathisla were
present albeit in a more subdued
fashion.
Of course one cannot forget
about William Grant &
Son who have been the longest
and most active company in
promoting single malts in
South Africa through their
Glenfiddich brand. They had
a great stand with an abundant
number of knowledgeable representatives
on hand (including Steven
Sturgeon). Understandably
Glenfiddich is the No.1 selling
single malt brand in the country.
I should also mention that
Balvenie and Laphroig had
a presence through the local
wine producer Douglas Green,
in fact, De Toren (mentioned
earlier) is also an excellent
wine producer. A number of
small importers were on hand,
some with obscure offerings,
some with well known product
, like Bruichladdich, and
others with some rare offerings
(managed to try some St. Magdalene,
a 21 yo I think – delicious!)
, but with the exception of
Bruichladdich they are inconsistent
with supply and generally
tend to be quite expensive
. |
To
sum it up then, there is quite
a wide offering in South Africa
(including Dalmore, Springbank,
Jura – who I did not
see at the festival) , and
growing all the time. It has
taken the S.African market
some time to acquire a taste
for single malts, but the
bug has hit ,and this can
only mean good things for
Malt lovers south of the Limpopo
river. If there is anything
that we are missing its perhaps
the independent bottlings
(Gordon and McPhails, James
MacArthur etc) that are available
in Europe and else where,
but I believe some enterprising
individual will recognise
this and start to import these
as well.
I would be remiss if I did
not acknowledge certain people
who gave me insight and provided
me with information which
helped in compiling this report:
Jason Duganzich - Brand Ambassador
- William Grant & Sons
Shane Cogill – Forbes
Distributors
Emil den Dulk jr. –
De Toren wine and spirit
Neil Hendriksz - Brand Ambassador
– The Really Great Brand
Company |
Until
next time
Slainte Mhor
Larry |
|
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 10 |
|
1962:
Beam (‘Gleaming
Holiday Gift Originals from Beam’)
try to kill five birds with one
stone and presents its complete
Xmas range, including the amazing
‘Beam’s Cleopatra’
(at the right) and the famous pin
bottle they have been using for
a few years.
1963: Old Taylor 86
issues a strange beehive decanter.
‘For That Holiday Spirit…
give the best America has to offer.’
All brands were still using almost
exactly the same headlines (we’re
the best, punto basta). .
1963:
I.W. Harper launches
a ‘Jean Patou’ inspired
decanter ‘What a handsome
way to give pleasure! In this brilliant
Holiday Decanter and elegant gift
wrap… the Prized Kentucky
Bourbon!’
1963:
Old Grand-Dad goes
wild again with a fairly modern
design and Latin lessons. ‘Dono…
I give – Donas… you
give – Donat… (s)he
gives – Donamus… we
give – Donatis… you
give – Donant… they
give. Everybody gives Old Grand-Dad.’
Now, the bust is still Grand-Dad’s,
not Julius Caesar’s… |
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December
16, 2006 |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
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| TASTING
- TWO INDIE IMPERIALS |
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TWO
INDIE IMPERIALS
Imperial 11 yo 1994/2005 (53%, Exclusive
Malts, sherry cask)
Colour: straw. Nose: a very sharp
start, mineral and grassy, with
no roundness whatsoever. Un-sugared
lemon juice, wet chalk, metal…
Incredibly austere. Rather spirity,
at that… Resembles some of
the sharpest sauvignons. Juts hints
of fresh pineapples. It's far from
being unpleasant, in fact, provided
you like what we could call 'super-austerity'.
I'm curious about the palate…
|
| Mouth:
very sweet, almost sugary now, developing
on green salad, concentrated lemon
juice, gin fizz… Gets more
and more bitter, vegetal, slightly
acrid. Now, again, all that is not
unpleasant if you like extreme malts.
What's more, it does improve with
time, getting slightly mellower
after fifteen minutes, with quite
some pineapple after that, bubblegum,
strawberry sweets… An interesting
development. Finish: rather long,
lemony, gingery… Jansenist.
78 points. |
Imperial
1990/2006 (60.4%, Mackillop's Choice,
cask #11968) 
Colour: straw. Nose: rather similar
for a while (austere, spirity, grassy)
but it does get a little more expressive
- alas, not exactly in the right
direction I'd say. Wet cardboard,
new plastic (brand new car - not
an Aston, that is), hints of Cologne…
Hard, very hard this Imperial. Rubbed
lemon skin… Bitter almonds…
Newly cut grass… Not exactly
sexy to say the least. Mouth: plain
weird at the attack, with tons of
plastic now, cheap tequila, Cologne
again (yeah, I know, I'm talking
about the palate). Extremely hard,
let's give this one some time…
It tastes more an more like 'burnt'
spirit… Ouch! Let's stop the
pain immediately - especially because
water doesn't work and will not
improve it. Strange that Mr. Mackillop
selected this one, he usually bottles
great whiskies. 35 points.
(Although, I mean, if you're really
masochistic ;-) …) |
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December
15, 2006 |
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| TASTING
- THREE GLENCADAMS |
 |
Glencadam
20 yo 1985/2005 (54,2%, Douglas
Laing Platinum, 306 bottles)
Why should a 20 yo Glencadam go
into the Platinum range? Should
be quite special… Nose: starts
on quite some marzipan, varnish
and wood polish as well as not too
ripe bananas. Lots of oak, it seems.
Develops on nice gingery notes,
soft spices, vanilla crème.
Very compact, very nice. Mouth:
very sweet, peppery and gingery
at first sip, getting woodier and
woodier. Rather green tannins, grape
and apple skin, marzipan again,
liquorice stick… Also hints
of green curry. Resembles these
new oakbombs (Glenmorangie). Good
finish, sweet, vanilled and oaky.
83 points. |
| Glencadam
30 yo 1975/2006 (54,4%, Dewar Rattray,
Bourbon C#7588, 216 bottles)
Nose: more complex
than the 20 yo but not that different.
Less of a woodbomb, more on caramel,
praline, crystallized fruits, figs…
Goes on with bananas flambéed,
roasted nuts, getting then a little
more herbal (hints of Provence herbs,
thyme…) Whiffs of smoke (barbecue,
wood). A very, very nice nose. Mouth:
quite punchy and very fruity. Lots
of bananas and pink grapefruits,
tangerines, papayas, getting also
rather spicy (lots of nutmeg, oak)
and even slightly salty. A little
green tea (tannins). Long finish,
balanced but assertive, on green
bananas and tea, plum jam and growing
notes of crystallised oranges. A
very good old one although maybe
it hasn’t got too much distillery
character. 87 points. |
| Glencadam
28 yo 1978/2006 (56.2%, Jack Wieber’s
Old Train Line, cask #2311, 402
bottles)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: very expressive
at first nosing, mixing coffee,
roasted nuts and bitter chocolate.
Hugely coffeeish in fact, smelling
almost like ‘café-schnapps’
(a sadly lost custom that consisted
in pouring a few drops (or glasses)
of eau-de-vie into a cup of coffee).
This Glencadam gets then more herbal,
with lots of dried parsley and lovage
and then classically meaty (the
usual ham), all that with quite
some wood smoke in the background.
Very typical oloroso but very excellent.
Mouth: much more vinous and fruity
now, very sweet. Lots of fruit eau-de-vie
(cherry plum, kirsch but also strawberry
and orange liqueur) and lots of
‘arranged’ rum (with
ripe banana and/or pineapple). Slight
sourness but nothing excessive.
Something like crystallised angelica…
Very expressive, maybe a little
too expressive for my tastes, as
I like a little more dryness in
sherried malts. Finish: not excessively
long but still very fruity and ‘eau-de-vie-ish’.
Interesting contrast between a beautifully
dry nose and a very sweet palate.
87 points. |
And
also Glencadam
15 yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
Nose: expressive. Dried oranges,
roasted nuts, mocha. Malty and farmy
(farmyard, clean stable). Hints
of pear juice. Mouth: very malty,
nutty and caramelly. Hints of strawberries,
marshmallows. Flawless but maybe
a little MOTR. 81 points
(unchanged from earlier batches). |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 9 |
|
1961:
Lord Calvert launches
‘nationalistic’ decanters
(progress indeed). ‘Created
from the Lord Calvert collection
of early Americana, commemorating
the watchwords that made America
great: Courage, Friendship, Liberty,
Plenty – Gifts of distinction
from Lord Calvert – The American
whiskey of distinction’.
1962:
Old Taylor 86 ‘It’s
a Jewel!’ Aimed at women?
1962:
Old Grand-Dad ‘The
Most Perfect Gift in Glass’.
Unlikely composition with the snow
globe. |
| |
MUSIC
–
Recommended
listening: the very excellent
Mos
Def does Umy
says.mp3 with that nostalgic
sound of the early 60's (Rhodes,
Hammond and all that 'jazz').
Please buy Mos Def's music, there
will be a new album shortly. |
 |
|
|
December
14, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- FOUR INDIE PORT ELLENS |
 |
| Port
Ellen 23 yo 1983/2006 (55.2%, Monnier
Trading, Switzerland, cask #2110,
300 bottles)
They already had a 39 yo Pulteney
in this series, with a nice label
showing an old motorbike. This one's
more 'classic'. Colour: straw. Nose:
extremely young yet relatively mellow,
starting on apple juice mixed with
lemon and a rather huge 'coastality'
(oysters, seashells, seaweed and
all that jazz). Nice minerality
as well, the peat being maybe a
little more discreet than what we're
used to but that gives the whole
more elegance. Very nice notes of
almond milk, grapefruit, apples,
hints of green bananas… Unusually
tamed, with no tarry / rubbery notes
whatsoever. Crystal-clean. Mouth:
superb attack, creamy, oily, much
bolder than expected. Almonds, lemon,
peat and oysters… And beautifully
compact, at that. Superb palate.
Gets then sweeter (possibly one
of the sweetest unsherried Port
Ellens I ever had), sort of candied,
with a little vanilla fudge…
It's not exactly complex but the
global feel is rather exceptional.
Finish, medium long, peaty, smoky
and jammy as well as spicy and peppery…
Pure pleasure, an anti-hard Port
Ellen. 93 points. |
| Port
Ellen 1981/2005 (57.7%, Scott's
Selection)
Colour: straw. Nose: another bourbon
cask it seems, probably refill.
Even more discreet than the one
for Monnier, as well as more almondy,
maybe even a tad papery. Very close
in fact, with maybe a little more
vanilla / oakiness. Other than that
it's all seaweed, lemon and oysters
again. And no tar, no new tyres,
no rubber. But will the palate match
the Monnier's? Mouth: hey hey, yes,
we're not too far. It's a little
more brutal and more 'direct', with
also more vanilla again and hints
of caramel making the whole slightly
sweeter (hence a little less perfectly
balanced) but other than that it's
another excellent, clean and hugely
satisfying Port Ellen. Finish: a
little longer than the Monnier's,
saltier but also a little simpler.
Excellent again, just a tad simpler
- but also a little peatier - than
its sibling. 91 points. |
| Port
Ellen 23 yo 1983/2006 (50%, Douglas
Laing Old Malt Cask, 716 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: as clean, pure
and elegant as the Scott, with super
notes of fresh almonds mingling
with the ‘Atlantic freshness’
(wait…) Great hints of high-end
Chinese green tea (second or third
water). Mouth: a little sharper
as well as sweeter in style, with
lots of white peaches. Very elegant,
close to the OB’s in style
although smoother. Nice pepper at
the finish. Classic Port Ellen.
91 points. |
| Port
Ellen 26 yo 1979/2005 (56,9%, Blackadder
Raw Cask, Sherry cask#2015, 497
bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: more tar in
this one, with hints of high-end
soap as well as notes of apple skin.
Interesting ‘greenness’,
also notes of lamp petrol. Less
classical. Mouth: powerful but also
fruitier (apples, Turkish delights,
apple juice, bubblegum). More pepper
as well and a longer, grassier finish.
Peppered bubblegum?. Unusual! Certainly
different, one to try – the
sherry is very discreet. 90
points. |
| |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 8 |
|
1960:
Old Charter ‘Time
bestows such noble gifts –
The bourbon that didn’t watch
the clock for Seven Long Years’.
Almost already the end of the ‘modern’
era, we’re definitely back
to classicism and kitsch with Old
Charter’s new decanter. Regression?
Not the ugliest, that is, the worst
is yet to come… Aaargh!
1960:
Four Roses ‘The
Olympian decanter by Four Roses
– America’s most respected
whiskey and most welcome gift. A
full quart decanter gift packaged
at regular quart price.’
Or the Return of Ancient Greece…
1961:
Seagram’s 7 Crown
‘A brilliant gift. In
every way: The nation’s most
respected whiskey. A classic diamond
cut decanter. Encased in glittering
foil. This is 7 Crown. It speaks
for itself… and you…
so brilliantly. Give Seagram’s
and be Sure.’ A decanter
that looks a ittle like a cheap
Italian liquor bottle. |
| |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: They are quite new and
they sound - and look -like America's
early punks (from Richard Hell to
Cherry Vanilla - nothing to do with
whisky) but I quite like their freshness:
it's Holy
Hail and they are playing
County
Fair Part II.mp3. Ah yes, something
of Talking Heads as well. So, please
buy their music... |
 |
|
|
December
13, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO NEW OLD BOWMORES |
 |
Bowmore
30 yo (43%, OB, 1,800 bottles, 2006)
A brand new version of the ‘Seadragon’,
now in glass and called ‘'Kranna
Dubh'’, who used to be a dragon
who once inhabited the depths of
Loch Indaal (another legend). Colour:
gold – amber. Nose: starts
very smoky and with quite some sherry
(dry like a fino) and something
rather vegetal (smoked tea, moss,
fern.) Hints of tropical fruits
after that (more oranges studded
with cloves than passion fruits
or mangos). Gets smokier with time,
with notes of coal oven… And
then lots of kumquats together with
something clearly farmy (wet hay,
‘clean’ manure). Also
dried kelp. Rather beautiful I must
say. |
| Mouth:
a bit dry at the attack, tannic,
but not overly so, quite bold considering
it’s only at 43% ABV. Quite
citrusy again, ‘candied’,
with a little peat and an enjoyable
smokiness. Goes on with bitter chocolate,
toffee, hints of rosehip tea, crystallised
orange zests… The finish is
rather long but alas, quite tannic,
drying, almost like over-infused
tea. But that’s no big flaw,
the whole is great whisky, with
rather more body than the older
Seadragon (the ceramic version).
90 points. |
| Bowmore
35 yo 1970/2006 (52.1%, Signatory
for Waldhaus am See Hotel, Switzerland,
cask #4691, 304 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: even more expressive
and bolder than the new 30 yo ,
and it’s not only the alcohol.
Lots of dried oranges, tangerine
liqueur and acacia honey, with a
balanced and rather subtle sherry
in the background. Less smoky than
the OB, more jammy, with also notes
of strawberry cordial, and then
the same kind of farminess, with
the peat coming through after a
moment (hints of diesel oil, shoe
polish). Lots of old pu-erh tea
as well, cigar box, incense…
Truly magnificent, getting more
and more complex with time. Also
hints of limoncello liqueur that
give the whole more zing. Wow. |
 |
| Mouth:
oh yes, this one’s rather
symphonic, with a bigger sherry
but also more peaty-phenolic flavours
than on the nose. Lots of dried
oranges, earl grey tea, bitter oranges,
getting then very spicy (cloves
and black pepper). Just like the
Seadragon, it does get a little
woody and tannic after a while,
though but again, no big deal. Beautiful
notes of citrons, lemon juice…
More and more peppery, with almost
notes of green curry and peppercorns.
Rather huge I must say. Finish:
very long, rather ‘green’,
vegetal, with quite some green tea,
tannins and a faint ‘cardboardiness’.
Okay, the nose was maybe better
balanced but the whole is great
old Bowmore, with probably more
oomph (and subsequently less subtlety)
than most of its siblings from the
same era. A wild oldie: 91
points. |
SHOPPING
-
Fellow Maniac Michel points us
towards a special
page by Suntory,
where they might explain how to
build (or buy?) furniture out
of old barrels. I wrote ‘might’
because it’s all in Japanese
- but it looks very interesting
indeed. |
 |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 7 |
|
1958:
doesn’t modern
design sell? Old Fitzgerald
is back with a much more classic
line ‘For hospitality’s
finest hours.’ First
attempts to sell decanters outside
the pre-Xmas times, but still in
winter and still for men (notice
the pipe).
1959:
more kitsch with Four Roses.
‘Four Roses proudly presents
The Diamond of Decanters’.
1959:
‘Sign your name to a holiday
masterpiece’. Modern
design strikes back with this Calvert
decanter – but what’s
that golden inkstand behind the
bottle?
1959:
Seagram’s 7 Crown
‘Give America’s
great whiskey and give it in beautiful
style – For Christmas…
a classic decanter of Seagram’s
7 Crown in its joyous jewel-like
holiday dress: What a beautiful
way to take the guesswork out of
giving! The regular bottle too is
available in the same glorious package!
Give Seagram and be sure.’
Yes, classic. |
| |
| MUSIC
– Highly
recommended
listening: There are bunches
of Zappa fans who play his works,
deconstruct them, reconstruct them,
and often come up with stupendous
pieces, such as this beautiful rendition
of Black
napkins.mp3 by Alexei
Aigui and Dietmar Bonnen,
violin and piano. (via the totally
excellent website zappafan). |
 |
|
|
December
12, 2006 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
DAVID ESSEX
Shepherds Bush Empire, London,
November 19th 2006 |
| Be
honest, we all get conceited,
a little bit self-satisfied, just
slightly “how bloody clever
am I” from time to time.
I mean, take tonight for example.
Who, apart from Whiskyfun’s
pair of irony-laden rock-reviewers
would be so crazy as to spend
Saturday night at the Brixton
Academy with Motorhead, and Sunday
at the Bush with seventies poster-boy
David
Essex? Are we cool
or what? Well as it turned out
the very nice lady sitting along
from the photographer had done
just that, without a trace of
our super-smug irony. Frankly
she put us to shame. “Where
was you? No I never stand there
– Brian May’s hair
always gets in the way –
he’s always there to see
Lemmy, a big fan, I was at the
front with my pals, we never miss
’em”. |
 |
| We
fall into an astonishingly well-informed
discussion on the merits of various
venues in the Metropolis, and
I start to get the uncomfortable
feeling that this girl goes to
more gigs than we do – is
that possible? Having trashed
Wembley Arena we move on to Earl’s
Court – which we have studiously
avoided in the past – “No
you should go – it’s
great – not a bad seat in
the house. What – you didn’t
get tickets for Iron Maiden?”
– her eyes are almost on
fire and her voice high with excitement
“I mean Lemmy’s good,
but that’s really what I
call rock and roll”. Sometimes,
as Vivian Stanshall once said,
you just can’t win. |
David Essex at the Bush
November
19th 2006 |
Mention
David Essex to most people and
they start singing the chorus
to his 1975 number one hit ‘Hold
me close’, usually in an
exaggerated mockney. Of course
his career was, and is, much bigger
than that. His is the classic
story of the East London boy (where
did you think that surname came
from) with smouldering good looks
made good. From his Romany roots
(until his recent move to the
United States he was Patron of
the National
Gypsy Council) Essex came
to fame through his lead role
(as Jesus that is) in the musical
Godspell, a sort of Jesus Christ
Superstar me-too. Parallel acting
and musical careers developed,
with film roles in the (still
very watchable) rite-of-passage
movie, That’ll be the Day
(with a surprisingly accomplished
Ringo Starr), Stardust (also worth
a watch on a wet Sunday afternoon)
and Silver Stream Racer (forget
it). |
| There
were musicals such as Evita (his
recording of ‘Oh what a
circus’ is still one of
the best) and in 1985 the self-penned
West End hit Mutiny, when he cast
himself as Fletcher Christian.
He had singing and speaking parts
in Jeff Wayne’s War of the
Worlds (you may remember he was
cursed with these optimistic lines
on the reconstruction of earth’s
civilisation: “We'll build
villages and towns and... and...we'll
play each other at cricket!”
– to which the Martians
replied “Ulla ulla”),
and of course a succession of
chart hits starting with his own
composition, ‘Rock on’.
He was on every teenage girl’s
wall and in many of their hearts
(and in many of their pants if
his candid and bestselling autobiography
A Charmed Life is anything to
go by). And tonight many of them
(the girls, not the pants) are
here to pay homage. You can count
the blokes in the audience on
your fingers and toes. I’m
surrounded. |
|
In Mr Essex’s defence let
me make it very clear that this
was no botched together greatest
hits show for fawning admirers.
From what I can gather he’s
never stopped writing, recording
and performing – he’s
just done a spell in the West
End musical Footloose, he’s
writing a new musical which he
hopes to stage next year, and
he’s got a new album out,
Beautiful Day. And it was much
to his credit that about half
of the evening’s songs came
from this, 2004’s It’s
Going to be All Right, and 2001’s
Wonderful. Time may have caught
up with Essex – he’s
lost the gorgeous flowing locks
– but he’s retained
his cheeky boyish grin, the eyes
can still smoulder, and his voice
is effortlessly effective. To
be honest although it’s
nice enough, much of the new material
seems to be over theatrical, but
I guess that’s only to be
expected. As for the old stuff,
well generally it’s aged
pretty well (except the stupid
one about the motorbike, of which
Serge, Mr Essex is, or was, an
avid collector). The audience
love every minute of it, and despite
our seats (a rare privilege in
the stalls at the Bush) everyone’s
up dancing from the start, the
ladies crowding round the edge
of the stage. Essex’s band
is excellent and naturally enough
the place explodes into uproar
with final number – ‘Hold
me close’ – even the
Photographer was singing. |
| So
not quite the Lemster, and certainly
not, we agreed with our new friend,
Bruce Dickinson and Iron Maiden,
but nonetheless a very satisfactory
Sunday night out, and a huge vote
of respect for Mr Essex’s
perseverance with the new, rather
than a cynical reliance on the
past. Rock on David! - Nick
Morgan (concert photographs by
Kate) |
| Thank
you, Nick. Well, I'm not a girl
so I don't know much about David
Essex (except that we used to
blush and/or laugh up our sleeves
very stupidly whenever our gorgeous
English teacher was mentionning
any word containing 'sex' at school,
like 'Sussex' - which sounds,
well, pretty horrible in French
or, for that matter, 'Essex'.)
But of course, Rock
on.mp3 did cross the Channel. |
| TASTING
- TWO 1996 SPRINGBANKS |
 |
Springbank
1996 ‘Spiritus Sulphuris Volatilis’
(57.5%, OB, private bottling, cask
#118, 306 bottles)
Funny name… Felix qui potuit
Rerum cognoscere causas! Colour:
gold. Nose: powerful, obviously
quite young but already quite balanced
despite the rough edges. Starts
on whiffs of wood smoke and lots
of caramel, together with some elegant
sherry and lots of liqueur-filled
chocolate. Then we have hints of
peat, wet hay, wood oven, something
like wet limestone… Quite
playful. |
| Mouth:
hugely powerful but not violent,
with a rather extreme fruitiness
like in most recent Springbanks
(bold notes of very, very ripe oranges).
Rather wild, kind of enjoyably dirty,
with hints of pear spirit and a
little cardboard (okay, and a little
soap). Quite some salt as well.
Goes on with cooked fruits, various
other fruit eaux-de-vie, bubblegum,
a little rubber… Gets almost
sugary. Finish: quite long, extremely
fruity (now on ripe bananas) and
a little spirity. Well, lots happening
in there… A wild Springbank,
very entertaining even if not perfectly
balanced on the palate. Probably
one of the best recent young Springers
I had. 86 points. |
| Springbank
9 yo 1996/2006 'Marsala Wood' (58%,
OB, 7740 bottles)
Matured for 7 years in refill bourbon,
then 2 years in fresh marsala. Colour:
bronze. Nose: immediately more interesting
than most other finishings done
at Springbank I think. We have a
huge farminess, with whiffs of wet
dog (pick your 'brand') and lots
of smoked tea. Sort of peaty, with
also lots of manure. Once those
wild aromas vanish a little we get
strawberries and apricots and much
more refinement, with also hints
of old walnuts and leather. Sort
of heady, nicely. Mouth: sweeter
and, alas, weirder, with smells
of rotting oranges, scented soap,
pineapple sweets and all kinds of
Turkish delights. Very strange,
closer to most other finishings
done 'on' Springbank or Longrow
recently. A bit hard I must say,
or maybe I'm not perverse enough.
The nose was quite beautiful but
the palate is, let's say wacky.
And I didn't mention the rubber
and the sulphur. Now, I really enjoyed
the nose, hence my 80 points. |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 6 |
|
1957:
right, this is no whiskey but I
love this hugely kitschy one by
Smirnoff vodka,
called the ‘Pinnacle Decanter’!
1958:
Old Grand-Dad ‘The
Head of the Bourbon Family…
at the head of your gift-list’
Interesting contrast between the
modern-shaped decanter and the…
er, bust.
1958:
Schenley strikes
back with their Heirloom Decanter.
Ueber-kistch composition with the
biscuit singers etc…
1958:
In the meantime, Old Forster
keeps issuing very modern shapes.
‘The same fine Old Forester…
packaged in the holiday spirit.’ |
| |
|
|
December
11, 2006 |
|
|
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| TASTING
- HIGHLAND PARK GALORE: SIX NEW
BOTTLINGS |
| Highland
Park 13 yo 1992/2006 'Jungfrau'
(58.7%, Angel's Share, Switzerland,
cask #20369, 288 bottles)
A crazy experiment by Swiss retailer
Angel's Share. In 2005 they bought
a cask of 1992 first fill oloroso
Highland Park and stored it for
one year at the Jungfraujoch (3454
m) where the temperature is very
cold and the air very dry. The whole
story is there.
I've been told the whisky lost around
5% alcohol in the process. Colour:
gold (must have been a very pale
oloroso). Nose: very fresh (of course)
and rather phenolic, with whiffs
of peat, smoke and then huge notes
of kiwis. Rather fabulous notes
of Riesling wine, freshly cut apples,
lemon, flints, matchsticks box,
cider… Extraordinary freshness
(of course), really. It's hard to
say what the experiment brought
to the whisky but it is brilliant
on the nose. |
 |
| Mouth:
oh yes, it's very good, zesty, citrusy,
sort of nervous. Not unlike a good
cask strength Rosebank in style.
Lots of crystallised lemon, tangerines,
kiwis again, small green apples…
Lots of vivacity and, I must say,
not too much sherry character. It's
also nicely spicy (pepper but also
notes of Chinese anise) and there's
quite some salt after that (that
simply could not come from the glaciers,
could it?) Finish: that's maybe
the best part, for it's so compact,
rich, nervous, continuing to play
with your tongue for ages. Well,
again, I don't know what comes from
Kirkwall and what comes from the
Jungfrau but I think the end result
is worth no less than 90
points. Btw, I've heard
our friends at Angel's Share's are
planning an even crazier experiment
in the near future… But shhh!…
|
 |
Highland
Park 14 yo 1991/2006 (46%, Coopers
Choice)
Matured in Scotland (pffff…)
Colour: straw. Nose: much rounder
and softer but not less expressive.
Starts on lots of fresh almonds,
marzipan, walnuts… Gets also
a little waxy, with notes of 'natural'
turpentine, linseed oil… Rather
beautiful in its own style. Gets
a little more 'classical' after
a moment, more on honey, nectar,
cake, apricot pie, quinces…
But it's another excellent cask
of Highland Park, I like its almonds.
Mouth: soft but again, hugely almondy.
Lots of marzipan, macaroons, mastic,
cough syrup, eucalyptus sweets…
It's almost like if the cask was
made out of fir. Other than that
the whisky's extremely good, with
also notes of honey, chestnut crème,
praline, milk chocolate… Long
finish, perfectly balanced and compact
again, on cough syrup and caramel
crème. Another wonderful
surprise: 90 points. |
| Highland
Park 14 yo 1991/2006 (56.7%, Jack
Wieber's Scottish Castles, cask
#8085)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: much more
austere, grassy and grainy, although
there is something almondy in the
background. Whiffs of peat smoke,
lemon juice, ham but also a little
cardboard and sort of chalkiness…
Gets then frankly citrusy, on more
lemon, grapefruits, with also a
slight farminess (wet dog - small
dogs). Nice profile in fact, with
also notes of salted butter and
maybe violets. Less directly enjoyable
than its siblings, though. Mouth:
powerful, big at the start, fruity
and quite spirity. We'll try to
add a little water now… (while
the nose got even farmier, which
happens often when you add water).
So, the palate gets a little more
caramelly and vanilled, with quite
some tannins now and notes of quince
paste as well as apple pie. Not
much added complexity but the whole
is quite enjoyable, although the
finish is maybe a little too tannic
and peppery. In short, a fairly
good 'natural' Highland Park. 82
points. |
 |
 |
Highland
Park 1985/2006 (43%, Mackillop's
Choice, cask #376)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: interestingly,
this one seems to be a crossbreed
of the Cooper's Choice and the Scottish
Castle, starting with quite some
almonds and marzipan but also that
faint chalkiness. It's also rather
grassy, vegetal, getting then quite
mashy (porridge, beer). Faint hints
of lavender. Not a winner but there's
no flaws either. Mouth: the attack
is quite interesting, on oranges,
apples and bergamot but the middle
is curiously 'absent'. Strange shortness…
But funnily, it takes off again
once you swallowed it, with a salty
and waxy aftertaste as well as quite
some pepper. Was that Morse? 79
points. |
Highland
Park 1992/2006 (46%, Wilson &
Morgan, Refill sherry)
Colour: gold. Nose: very fruity
– fruitier than most HP’s
I know. Starts on lots of red currants,
oranges, pineapples, strawberries…
Gets then quite farmy (farmyard,
rotting plants) which is very nice
here. Other than that we have the
usual honey and pollen, cider apples,
chamomile tea… Really nice,
this one. Mouth: playful, sweet
and fruity again, with a nice pepperiness
from the wood. It’s really
bold, quite invading. Classy Highland
Park, between the wood-influenced
OB’s and most raw IB’s.
Develops on caramel and nougat,
roasted nuts, chestnut honey…
Gets closer to the OB’s after
a moment. Long, soothing finish,
rounder and even more honeyed. Really
classy, excellent distillation and
very good cask I think. 88
points. |
 |
 |
Highland
Park 28 yo 1978/2006 (54,8%, Blackadder
Raw Cask, Sherry cask #4212, 328
bottles)
This old one starts unusually farmy,
with quite some peat, soaked grains
and both smoked and green tea. Develops
on quite some fruits (bananas, apples)
as well as a little honey. A true
Highland Park but wilder than most
OB’s. Very interesting. Mouth:
sweet, fruity and spicy, with also
lots of spearmint, lemon balm, cough
syrup… I really like it. Quite
resinous (fir honey), getting spicier
with time (nutmeg, cloves, huge
cardamom, Havana cigar), and a very
long, peppery and ‘tropical’
finish (rum-soaked bananas, mojito),
just a little drying. Very, very
good and rather unusual. Anything
but boring, 89 points. |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 5 |
|
1956:
we’re really in the ‘skyline’
era now that will last until roughly
1960. Schenley
introduces his ‘Skyline Decanter’
(but doesn’t it look like
a glass of beer?) ‘For
The Height of Elegance in holiday
gifts… give Schenley’.
1957:
Melrose Rare has
this ‘Magnificent new
“Gourmet” Decanter –
Here is whiskey of Rare Quality
indeed… in the “Gourmet”
Decanter of distinguished beauty…
that makes Melrose Rare a most treasured
Holiday gift – and the very
best you can serve at any time!
NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR DECANTER’
1957:
Calvert Reserve
‘Give the Jewel Decanter
by Calvert – Nothing finer
in American Taste – The Jewel
Decanter by Calvert sparkles with
a look of unmistakable luxury –
as rich and flawless as the whiskey
itself. This year, you’ll
be prouder than ever to give Calvert
– a gift worthy of the most
particular men on your list.’
Ah, not women…
1957:
THE Decanter! Leader of the pack
Old Forester launches
a stunning bottle designed by France’s
Raymond Loewy, father of industrial
design. ‘design for giving
– you give so much more when
you give the year’s most advanced
decanter and famous bonded Old Forester.’ |
| |
|
|
December
10, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO CRAIGELLACHIES |
 |
Craigellachie
1983/2006 ‘Aristocracy’
(45%, Samaroli, cask #2577) 
Colour: pale gold. Nose: immensely
flowery, almost soapy at first nosing.
Cologne? Chanel? (hence the name
‘aristocracy’ I guess…
Bizarre… Goes on with notes
of over-overripe oranges, ginger
ale, gin, with a rather heavy oak
taking control after a while (newly
sawn wood, cardboard). Hints of
lemon liqueur (limoncello). Strange…
|
| Mouth:
quite better now, but it’s
the lemon that takes the lead (lemon
drops, limoncello again) with something
perfumy again, Fanta… Lacks
also a better backbone, gets papery…
The finish is relatively short,
at that, with just the oak adding
its tannic notes. Not my idea of
aristocracy, I’d say…
I’m sorry, but I doubt it’s
Mr. Samaroli himself who selected
this cask. 68 points.
|
| Craigellachie
16 yo 1989/2006 (54,7%, Dewar Rattray,
bourbon cask #3881, 320 bottles)
There was already a 1989 bottled
in 2005 at 54.2% that I quite liked
(86). Nose: starts very meaty and
animal (horse, dog), with also notes
of soy sauce, gravy, maybe vase
water. Unusually wild. Hints of
lamp petrol, wet hay, hutch…
Back to more ‘normality’
after that, on roasted nuts and
caramel, cake… A little peat
as well? Mouth: assertive but round
and fruity, much less wild than
on the nose. Gets rather vegetal
(mustard), slightly rubbery and
finally a little meaty again (sausages).
Long, quite rubbery and salty finish.
Unusual to say the least, not to
be poured to newbies I’d say
but very interesting. 84
points. |
| |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 4 |
|
1956:
Old Fitzgerald
is back with a major improvement
since 1955: the new Candlelight
Decanter now bears two candles instead
of just one!
1956:
Kentucky Tavern
comes up with an amazing new decanter
for their 7 yo . Although they don’t
tell you, I’m sure the empty
bottle will make for another great
candlestick.
1956:
Old Taylor gives up with
all things Greek and introduces
a pin-shaped decanter. ‘The
gift of perfect taste’.
We won’t argue…
1956:
Pin-shape is the very latest thing
it seams, as Beam
has a ‘Pin-bottle’ decanter
as well. ‘No Other Bourbon
Is Quite Like It!. No kidding? |
| |
MUSIC
– It's Sunday,
we go classical with Bertold
Hummel's Melismen.mp3
(from his Trio opus 95c for flute,
oboe and piano, composed in 1992
in memoriam Olivier Messiaen),
here played by Trio Papillon.
Alas, Bertold Hummel passed away
in 2002. |
 |
|
|
December
9, 2006 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO GLEN ELGINS |
 |
Glen
Elgin 1976/2006 (45.1%, Jack Wieber's
Cross Hill, 224 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: an expressive
start, caramelly and floral with
hints of sherry. Very classical,
with a faint smokiness and quite
some vanilla, roasted nuts, cake,
a little oak, nectar, honey…
Nothing too special in fact but
the balance is flawless. Simple
pleasures… Another one that
I'd locate in Balvenie's cluster.
Oh, also fruit syrups and liqueurs.
The oak grows bolder with time.
|
| Mouth:
very coherent. Very sweet and fruity,
with notes of butter pears and ripe
apples. Powerful. Lots of vanilla
as well, oak, white pepper, tea…
Gets rather drying and sugary at
the same time after that but that's
okay. Finish: medium long, not too
complicated, fruity and oaky with
also a little salt… A good
one but there's little distillery
character that I can get. 81
points. |
| Glen
Elgin 1985/2004 (45%, Samaroli,
cask #1534)
Again this interesting comment on
the label: 'Bottled in Scotland,
using traditional methods, May 2004.
Refined inside the bottle since
the same date.' Colour: pale
straw. Nose: more powerful at first
nosing, starting on lots of tobacco.
Quite unusual! It then develops
in another unusual direction, sangria
and overripe citrus fruits (no need
to list them all) and then a rather
huge meatiness (ham, even sausages)
with also quite some smoke. Finally
smoked tea, raw turnips, celeriac,
cider apples… As unusual
as the Cross Hill' was 'MOTR'. Lots
of fun with this Samaroli. Mouth:
a little closer to the Cross Hill
now, before a true salty blast invades
your mouth. Amazing… and
strange! Lots of liquorice and tea…
But the saltiness is that huge that
it almost overwhelms the rest. Salted
butter caramel? Salted liquorice?
Rather incredible, especially the
bold finish on kippers and, again
salted liquorice like they have
in Holland. A true curiosity and
again, lots of fun. 88 points. |
| And
also Glen
Elgin 12 yo (43%, OB, Carpano, late
1970’s)
A rather smoky nose, very malty,
with lots of raisins, smoked tea
and caramel and hints of resin.
Great profile. The palate starts
bold and compact, malty again, with
notes of cake crust. Lots of body,
lots of classicism with an rich
finish. Not too complex but superbly
pleasant. 89 points. |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 3 |
|
1955:
Beam Kentucky Bourbons
‘Too good to wrap.’
Nice bicolour ad and an interesting
idea.
1955:
Kentucky Tavern
‘For People of Inherent
Good Taste’. A half-gallon
decanter that really looks like
a wine decanter. Lots of shelf room
needed, I guess…
1955: Schenley
is back with its old decanter. ‘It
wouldn’t be the same without
Schenley… the best-tasting
whiskey in ages!’ Weird
mix of the ‘worked’
decanter with gouda cheese, cigarettes,
potato chips and sausages.
1955: Old
Fitzgerald comes up with
a soberer design with this interesting
Candlelight Decanter. The cap makes
for a glass and the bottle for a
candlestick. Clever ;-). |
| |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: she's from Norway, she's
an excellent young jazz sax player
and her name is Froy
Aagre (please imagine
a slash on th 'o'). Let's listen
to her with her band 'Offbeat' -
they aren't at all - playing Afternoon
tea.mp3... Very good indeed,
so please buy her music! |
 |
|
|
| December
8, 2006 |
|
|
|
TASTING - FOUR INDIE LONGMORNS
(almost a strike) |
 |
| Longmorn-Glenlivet
1983/2003 (54.5%, Scott’s
Selection)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: typically
Longmorn, with these usual notes
of honey, nectar and quince jelly.
Quite punchy, getting then very
gingery (with even hints of ginger
tonic) and rather nicely winey (sweet
white wine, traminer). Goes on with
quite some apricot pie, very ripe
peaches and melons, whiffs of coal
smoke… Smooth but playful,
with these bold gingery notes. Mouth:
very sweet, very creamy, starting
on a very present oakiness and notes
of ripe apricots. Lots of pepper
as well, maybe even hints of chilli.
Kind of a sourness from the cask
but it’s ok. Goes on with
roasted fruits (mostly raisins)
and a little resin or chlorophyll
chewing gum, un-sugared tea. Faint
bitterness. Probably less fruity
than the nose. Finish: rather long,
with that ‘nice’ bitterness
and quite some fir honey as well
as a little burnt cake. Not one
of the most stunning Longmorns I
think but still an excellent malt.
The nose was much nicer than the
palate. 86 points. |
| Longmorn
1972 (58.3%, Jack Wieber’s
Prenzlow Collection, 120 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Amazingly bold
notes of ripe mirabelle plums (make
that any kind of yellow plums if
you don’t know mirabelles)
at first nosing with also lots of
nutmeg and cinnamon. Goes on with
loads of ripe fruits (overripe apples,
dates, melons, figs, quetsche (kind
of dark-red plum)… Gets also
beautifully oaky like a young high-end
white Burgundy. Lots of vigour at
such old age… Oh, and also
traces of peat smoke in the background.
Superb! Mouth: a velvety, soft and
fruity attack but it’s quick
to get almost violently spicy and
pleasantly dry. Lots of white pepper,
cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg…
And then maybe a little varnish
and then come the fruits, in a beautiful
manner: apricots, bananas, pineapples,
guavas, coconuts… Highly spiced
fruits, I’d say, plus quite
a few waxy and resinous notes like
in many old whiskies. A very long
finish, very bitter but nicely so,
not unlike these incredible German
liqueurs (Underberg, Jägermeister…).
A great, somewhat violent and restless
old Longmorn, just a tad too drying.
92 points. |
| Longmorn-Glenlivet
1971/1999 (58.6%, Scott’s
Selection)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: we’re
more on the sherried side now but
there’s still this trademark
fruitiness and quite some honey.
Quite some toffee, coffee and caramel,
again whiffs of coal smoke like
in the other Scott, then kind of
a meaty passage (lightly hung game),
then hints of black truffles (hurray!)
and then a whole procession of various
herbs and plants (eucalyptus, chives,
parsley)… And then it gets
very meaty again. Beautiful balance
and lots of complexity, a perfect
sherry I think. But let’s
check the palate… Mouth: oh-oh,
it’s beautiful indeed. Hugely
complex right at the attack, with
lots of Smyrna raisins, old rancio,
chocolate cake, all kinds of jams
(blackcurrant, strawberry, blackberry),
sherry brandy or marc, apricot pie…
Also a little icing sugar to keep
it playful and lively… Gets
nutty (walnuts, roasted chestnuts),
bitter oranges, pastries (butter
croissants)… Amazingly rich
but very elegant. The finish is
very long, developing on the same
kinds of flavours plus a little
liquorice and a wee pinch of salt.
Big and irresistible, 93
points. |
| Longmorn
1969 (62%, Gordon & MacPhail
– Jas. Gordon ‘Cask’
for Japan, old label, 1980’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: quite closed
at first nosing, like often with
these very high strength whiskies.
Let’s try to nose it ‘neat’…
Caramel, vanilla, something flowery
but also cardboardy… That’s
all. Water needed indeed: indeed,
it gets much more flowery –
superbly, at that -, honeyed and
fruity (melons and plums) with a
slight meatiness and a little mint.
Amazingly nice, I must say. Mouth
(neat): very oily and very drinkable
just like that, starting beautifully
on all kinds of ‘wood extracts’:
vanilla, resins, fir honey, varnish
(not that I’m used to drink
varnish but…), nutmeg…
Then some playful fruity notes (always
these yellow fruits and ripe plums)…
Very open despite the 62% ABV, I’m
wondering what will happen with
water: well, it already told us
a lot so there isn’t much
more happening actually, except
more coconut and more bananas. Now,
the finish is really long, on vanilla
ice cream and bananas plus a little
cloves… banana split? Another
brilliant Longmorn, that’s
for sure. What a grand distillery!
93 points. |
| CRAZY
WHISY ADS – THE WAR OF THE
DECANTERS part 2 |
|
1953:
Old Taylor ‘A
gift of rare beauty – Whiskey
of rare quality – Old Taylor
in the Grecian decanter’.
Bit unlikely...
1954:
Old Crow ‘Celebrated
Old Crow now in the handsomest of
gift decanters – Giving Old
Crow is Traditional at Holiday Time.’
1954:
MacNaughton’s Canadian
(Schenley) ‘Precious to
give Precious to Receive –
This Superb Canadian Whisky is available
in the Beautiful Decanter at No
Extra Cost’ Note the
maple leaf.
1954:
Old Forester ‘Famous
Old Forrester presents a new concept,
decanter beauty’ Compare
this one with the one from 1952;
lots of progress indeed. We’re
entering the new design era (much
more to come!) |
| |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Well, with such names
they'll probably never be the Beatles
or the Rolling Stones but their
music is quite good: it's Australia's
Machine
gun fellatio (but you
can say MGF) and their singer Bryan
Ferrysexual and they're doing Unsent
letter.mp3. Please buy their
music... |
 |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Bowmore
30 yo (43%,
OB, 1,800 bottles, 2006)
Bowmore
35 yo 1970/2006 (52.1%, Signatory
for Waldhaus am See Hotel, Switzerland, cask
#4691, 304 bottles)
Highland
Park 13 yo 1992/2006 'Jungfrau'
(58.7%, Angel's Share, Switzerland, cask #20369,
288 bottles)
Highland
Park 14 yo 1991/2006 (46%, Coopers
Choice)
Longmorn
1969 (62%, Gordon & MacPhail –
Jas. Gordon ‘Cask’ for Japan, old
label, 1980’s)
Longmorn-Glenlivet
1971/1999 (58.6%, Scott’s Selection)
Longmorn
1972 (58.3%, Jack Wieber’s Prenzlow
Collection, 120 bottles)
Port
Ellen 23 yo 1983/2006 (55.2%,
Monnier Trading, Switzerland, cask #2110, 300
bottles)
Port
Ellen 23 yo 1983/2006 (50%, Douglas
Laing Old Malt Cask, 716 bottles)
Port
Ellen 1981/2005 (57.7%, Scott's Selection)
Port
Ellen 26 yo 1979/2005 (56,9%, Blackadder
Raw Cask, Sherry cask#2015, 497 bottles)
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