 |
|
Hi, you're in the Archives, February 2009 - Part 1 |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
February
13, 2009 |
|
 |
 |
TASTING
TWO
RARE MACALLANS |
Macallan
‘Golden Jubilee’ (47%,
The Whisky Exchange, 50 decanters,
2002) 
A marriage of 50 different vintages
to celebrate 50 years since the coronation
of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Colour:
dark amber. Nose: starts on beef stock
and dark chocolate, more oloroso than
the olorosoest of all olorosos and
gets then extremely complex, with
no obvious aromas standing out anymore.
It’s rather an assemblage of
myriads of tiny notes, such as raisins,
beef jerky, milk chocolate, walnuts,
bread crust, burnt caramel, rum, strawberry
jam, ash smoke, ham, wine sauce, toffee,
kirsch, coffee, bacon, moss, mushrooms…
Agreed, what a litany! Oh, and maybe
cooking turnips. Mouth: well, the
first feeling we get is ‘old
Macallan!’ It’s big, robust
whisky and really, it’s very
Macallan (I know this is of little
use, sorry.) Smyrna raisins, toffee,
liquorice, smoked ham, prunes, coffee…
Oh well, you see what I mean. Very
Macallan indeed and this is adorable,
even if it does get just a tad dryish
after a moment. Finish: long, a tad
rawer now, salty and balsamic but
also more candied and fruity at the
retro-olfaction (apricot liqueur).
Comments: very interesting dram, more
polished and ‘old gentleman’s
club’ on the nose than on the
palate. Very good of course. SGP:553
- 90 points. |
| Macallan-Glenlivet
18 yo (54.9%, Cadenhead's, Black Dumpy,
+/- 1985)
Colour: very dark amber. Nose: Jesus!
But this is magnificent! It is extremely
demonstrative and what a fabulous
‘toffee-ish’ sherry! And
what a fantastic smokiness! Look,
I’m going to cut the crap right
now, this is the epitome of a sherried
Macallan. Museum quality as they say
in the art world. Mouth: exceptionally
good. Extreme, huuuuge sherry but
fantastically well balanced. Call
the anti-maltoporn brigade. Finish:
endless (less, less, less, less…).
Comments: none. This is why we’re
into whisky. This kind of thing happens
only once or twice a year. A GTO of
sherried whiskies. Why the distillery
didn’t bottle more of their
sherried wonders at cask strength,
I don’t know. It’s also
to be noted that classic olorosoed
Macallans are very seldom to be found
at independents’. Congrats to
the Cadenhead people who, around 1985,
decided to buy/bottle/issue this (whatever),
they deserve the Légion d’Honneur.
SGP:474 - 95 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: The Tuareg band Tinawiren
is one of our favourite recent discoveries
(but they’ve been around since
quite some time). They come from
the Ifoghas’ Adrar in Mali
and I doubt there’s any contemporary
music that’s as entrancing
as theirs. Please have a listen
to Mano
Dayak and then buy all of their
music (or better yet, go see them
live). |
 |
| |
|
February
11, 2009 |
|
|
| TASTING
– ’76-’72, A SHORT
LONGMORN VERTICALE |
 |
Longmorn
31 yo 1976 (51%, Scotch Malt Sales,
Distillery Collection, Japan)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts very
fruity, as these old Longmorns can
be, on a lot of apricot and yellow
plums, with whiffs of fresh mint and
coal smoke underneath. Develops more
towards both honeyed notes and something
very earthy and kind of resinous.
Pine needles, wet moss, dead leaves,
mint liqueur (reminds of a liqueur
that was called Ricqlès, I
don’t know if it’s widely
known, sorry). Also quite some wax.
Not one of these easy but great überfruity
old Longmorns but still a very pleasant
nose, rather fresh, with even something
coastal. Water: I don’t think
water is needed here, let’s
not take chances. Mouth: very punchy
and very green, with a huge tannicity,
pretty unexpected. Sharp and woody,
all fruitiness having almost vanished
on the palate, as if it was wiped
off by the heavy woodiness. It’s
only at the very beginning of the
attack that one can feel that there
are quite some fruits beneath the
wood. With water (let’s try
this!): on the nose it’s the
fruitiness that stands out (more apricots
and ripe bananas) but on the palate,
the oak still rules. Finish: same
comments, oak plus mint this time.
Comments: a very drying version of
Longmorn. SGP:261 –
79 points. |
Longmorn
1975/2007 (53.2%, Jack Wieber, The
Cross Hill, 130 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: starts very
similar to the 1976 but the fruitiness
is bigger whilst there’s a little
less smoke. The development happens
more on all things chocolaty plus
hints of bananas, acacia honey, nougat
and fresh oak, with again hints of
pine resin and a pleasant greenness
(apple skin). Very nice and once again,
I don’t feel like adding water
to this one. Mouth: once again, there’s
quite some wood, but other components
manage to shine through, such as crystallised
oranges, dried bananas and roasted
nuts. It’s very good actually,
but you have to like oak in your whisky.
With water (while the nose got pleasantly
nougatty): no further development,
big oak encapsulating (sorry) dried
fruits and mint. Nice honeyed notes.
Finish: long, the oak being decomposed
into various spices (cinnamon first,
then nutmeg and white pepper). Notes
of cooked strawberries at the retro-olfaction.
Comments: another rather rough and
punchy version of Longmorn but this
time balance is maintained. Not one
of the best but it’s still of
high quality. SGP:461 - 88
points. |
Longmorn-Glenlivet
13 yo 1974/1988 (46%, Cadenhead's,
Black Dumpy) 
Colour: straw. Nose: this is much
drier and much more spirity and grainy,
it’s as if Longmorn’s
fruitiness needed thirty years or
more to come out. It’s also
very grassy and almost acrid for a
while, before all that mingles with
notes of fresh butter and liquorice
and gets much nicer as well as a little
beefy. Much more ‘Highlands’
than straight ‘Speyside, with
little fruitiness, even after a good
fifteen minutes of deeeeep nosing.
Mouth: very powerful and once again,
there’s quite some oak, but
the rest is well there and it’s
very nice. Just like on the nose,
it’s a very grassy combo, with
a lot of pepper on top of that. A
very powerful whisky, Longmorn being
totally unrecognisable here in our
opinion. Finish: long, with traces
of ‘a sherriness’ but
the aftertaste is very grassy and
peppery, with even a little salt.
Comments: raw and brutal and in that
sense quite spectacular. An unusually
beastly Longmorn. SGP:272
- 84 points. |
| Longmorn
1973/2005 (56.2%, Gordon & MacPhail,
cask #2198, First Fill Sherry Butt)
Colour: full amber. Nose: once again,
this is very punchy but it’s
the sherry that plays first parts.
Milk chocolate, burnt bread, cappuccino
and wood smoke, then mushrooms and
even the noblest of them: truffles.
All that is very nice but once again,
the distillery’s trademark fruitiness
doesn’t quite manage to shine
through. With water: well, there are
more fruits but also a little too
much wine, or say a vinosity (with
its banner-bearer blackcurrant jam).
Other than that it’s fine sherried
Longmorn. Mouth (neat): dry oloroso
at full speed. Need I tell you more?
A little ‘too much’. With
water: it’s good, it’s
okay, it’s pleasant. More fruit
jams but also a little too much drying-ness.
Finish: long, both dry and fruity.
I know… Comments: perfectly
good old whisky but G&M had dozens
of old Longmorns that were much superior
in our opinion. SGP:361 -
84 points. |
| Longmorn
29 yo 1972/2001 (57.6%, Blackadder,
Caledonian Connection, Japan)
Colour: full amber. Nose: quit some
sherry again but this is more complex,
with many more ‘secondary’
aromas such as game, metal polish,
tarmac, cigar box, soot… A lot
of dark chocolate as well. With water:
ooooooh yes! The fruity cavalry finally
arrived, mangos, papayas, bananas…
Also jamón ibérico (right,
dry cured ham), chestnut purée,
coal smoke, leather, lit Habano…
Fantastico whisky! Mouth (neat): ah,
once again, this is more like it.
A load of sherry but also all of Longmorn’s
fruits, tangerines, oranges, guavas…
Frankly, all the four siblings we
had before have been a little tiring
but this is very, very nice. With
water: top notch! All honeys and all
fruits (right, despicable shortcuts
but the other Longmorns have been
really tiring). Finish: long, majestic,
on nougat, fudge, various jams and
just hints of coriander. Comments:
a beauty – lucky Japanese friends!
SGP: 662 - 92 points. |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Louis
Prima on Whiskyfun!
Yes but it’s his stunningly
unlikely version of Sympathy
for the devil, with nice cracks
(! - today's bands fake them anyway,
don't they?) and a roaring and groovy
Hammond organ! Please buy Louis
Prima’s music… |
 |
| |
|
February
10, 2009 |
|
|
 |
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
THE BUZZCOCKS
Shepherd’s Bush
Empire, London, January 30th 2009
|
| I
know I saw the Buzzcocks way back
in the 1970s, but as I think I’ve
explained before, and am ashamed to
confess, this distant memory is shrouded
by a surfeit of Boddingtons (still
then made in Manchester) consumed
in the parlour of a pub next door
to the sadly-missed Strangeways Brewery.
At
the time, the
Buzzcocks cut a bit of
a dash: a frenetic guitar-led sound
touched by an unusual Pop sensibility
in their angst-laden and sexually
challenging lyrics largely the responsibility
of front man Pete Shelley, now lauded,
like Martin Peters, as being somewhat
ahead of his time. Despite some chart
singles, commercial success and the
more widespread recognition it brings
never greeted this Manchester foursome
who went the inevitable way of all
things until the recent new wave of
Seventies nostalgia saw them re-form
in a partly changed line-up, and even
record some new material. But tonight
is firmly about the past as the band
work through all the tracks from their
first two albums, Another Music In
A Different Kitchen and Love Bites
(albeit in a rather eccentric order),
supplemented by a few other early
‘hits’. |
| Much
to my surprise, the Bush is packed
to the rafters – it’s
even pretty full when support act,
the
Lurkers, fronted by the
gloriously unreformed Arturo Bassick,
take the stage. Introducing ‘Come
and reminisce if you think you’re
old enough’ he opines, “Being
a punk’s about not growing old
in some home, sitting in a chair and
pissing and shitting your pants, although
frankly that’s what I do now
most nights when I’m on tour”
(those closest to the stage reeled
back at this point). As they say,
you couldn’t make it up. But
when they finished the set with a
two-hundred-mile-an- hour rendition
of Dean Martin’s ‘Little
old wine drinker me’, I got
the strong impression that, conceivably,
their day was past. The same could
not be said for the Buzzcocks, who,
but for the exception of Pete Shelley’s
voice (not helped by a pretty poor
sound balance) sounded as fresh as
a daisy, their material positively
vibrant, and their music a lot louder
and heavier than I recall through
the beer haze. They were, somewhat
to my surprise, and the Photographer’s
(“I couldn’t take my eyes
off the stage all night”) very
impressive. |
| Shelley
couldn’t have been as disinterested
as he looked. Although his vocals
were strained (I think there was some
sort of echo or reverb on them, an
attempt to make them carry a little
further perhaps?) and his occasional
remarks terse and indifferent, he
gave a magnetic performance. He looked
an unlikely character for the job
– with a Mondrianesque design
shirt and an ill-matched well-worn
pair of baggy Jolliman
style Action Trousers (with a
roomy cut and elasticated waist).
His sparring partner, guitarist Steve
Diggle (who displayed a surprising
aversion to barre chords), was sipping
Moet and Chandon NV from a pint-sized
plastic glass and looked just the
part whilst clearly having the time
of his life. New band members, bassist
Tony Barber and drummer Danny Farrant
turned in more than creditable performances
– in fact Farrant was a commanding
figure. Together they created a sense
of energy that quite took hold of
the audience. Beer and (plastic) glasses
flew around in all directions, one
girl was swiftly restrained from lurching
off the balcony into the crowd below.
In the sizeable mosh, there was a
heaving mass of bodies, crashing and
crushing, sometimes quite violently
– to be truthful it was hard
to know if they were ‘dancing’
or fighting. And it was illuminating
to see, along with the kids (who seemed
to start at the age of about 16, many
a bald or grey head (and bouncing
beer-belly) in the thick of it - clearly
some were more than old enough to
know a lot better. This of course
only added to the delight of many
of the kids upstairs with their Dads
(and just occasionally Mums) who were
witnessing a real flashback, and a
glimpse into their parent’s
past. |
 |
I
suppose it’s far too late for
the Buzzcocks to become fashionable
again, but when you see a performance
like this, and realise just how contemporary
much of their music still sounds,
you can’t help thinking than
they deserve a little better than
the footnote in the history of rock
and roll that they seem doomed to
occupy. The current tour is extensive,
with dates across Europe, so why not
go and see them and make your own
mind up, or invest in the new series
of re-released albums? - Nick
Morgan (photographs by Kate)
<- Pete Shelley
in his Mondrian shirt
Listen: The
Buzzcocks on MySpace |
 |
FESTIVAL
- The very excellent
Gordon over at Spirit of Islay reminds
us that the first Newcastle
Whisky Festival will
take place on Saturday May 9th, 2009.
Wait, Newcastle... isn't that on the
road to Scotland? Another good occasion
to kill two birds with one stone...
|
 |
TASTING
– THREE OLD AND YOUNG YOUNG
TOMINTOUL |
Tomintoul-Glenlivet
NAS (40%, OB, perfume bottle, circa
1975) 
Tomintoul was a very young distillery
when they issued these strange ‘perfume’
bottles, as it first distilled in
1965. A good way of catching attention
for sure! Colour: amber. Nose: round
and rather pleasant, malty and orangey
(marmalade), with hints of leather
and tobacco and whiffs of pinewood
smoke. A very nice surprise, this
wasn’t a very young whisky it
seems. Mouth: right, it’s rather
weaker now, chocolaty but drying and
cardboardy, even a tad dusty, lacking
roundness. Very malty as well, with
notes of orange marmalade just as
on the nose. Not too interesting I’d
say – less so than the container.
Finish: short, dry, chocolaty. Comments:
very nice nice nose but there isn’t
much to see on the palate in our opinion.
SGP:232 – 73 points.
|
| Tomintoul-Glenlivet
8 yo (43%, OB, Perfume bottle, +/-1992,
75cl)
Colour: gold. Nose: certainly younger
and yeastier than the NAS version,
much more on porridge and soaked grains.
Notes of honey, heather and the same
kind of smokiness as in the NAS. Rather
pleasant again but a tad blander.
In both versions there was something
that reminded us of Highland Park
(the smoky honeyness, if you see what
I mean). Mouth: more body than the
NAS at this point. Bigger honeyed
notes, quite some chocolate again
and a big maltiness. Old bottle effect
starting, slight mouldiness, tea…
Finish: medium long, very caramelly
now. Comments: better than the NAS
on the palate, rather satisfying.
SGP:341 – 76 points.
|
| Tomintoul
NAS (40%, OB, 'Peaty Tang', +/-2007)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: ever visited
a malting plant? Huge notes of malted
barley, then flints and porridge,
wet hay and… More porridge.
Hints of wet dogs as well. From the
countryside, definitely. And Islayer
without the sea and without the hospital.
Mouth: clean, grainy and smoky, with
a little aniseed and notes of apple
juice but other than that there’s
not much development. Gets a little
sugary. Finish: medium long, grainy,
peaty. Comments: it’s good whisky
but it’s a tad narrow and weakish
for our taste. These peaty batches
will probably be much better with
more age and a few extra-percents.
The Old Ballantruan that they issued
in 2006 at 50% ABV was a good example…
(82) SGP:336 - 78 points.
|
| |
|
February
9, 2009 |
|
|
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
 |
TASTING
TWO
RECENT 1972 CAPERDONICH |
| Caperdonich
35 yo 1972/2008 (48.3%, The Whisky
Fair, 188 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: at first nosing,
it seems that it’s one of these
pretty exuberant and very fruity Caperdonichs
that we like so much (apricot pie
galore), with what we call ‘a
whole beehive minus the stings’
first in the background, and then
quickly coming to the front. That
is to say honey of course, but also
pollen, old wood, putty, pine resin,
wax… Also notes of very ripe
butter pears, faint whiffs of wood
smoke, hints of bergamots… And
then these notes of ‘old Sauternes’
that are so entrancing in whisky (when
they don’t come from actual
Sauternes casks). Well, even then
that can be excellent as we could
find out, for instance in Celtique
Connexion’s double maturing…
Right, I digress. Anyway, this Caperdonich
is more than perfect on the nose,
we love this kind of profile, especially
when there isn’t the tiniest
flaw. Superb. Mouth: punchier than
expected, maybe even a tad wild at
the attack but it’s equally
smooth… Let’s say ‘wildly
rounded’ (which doesn’t
make any sense, does it?) Bananas,
oak (firm and solid but not plankish),
orange marmalade, yellow plum jam,
many spices… And then a slight
grassiness that keeps it alive and
nervous. Excellent again. Finish:
long, with an unexpected peppery blast
that really transforms it. Comments:
a very rich dram, sometimes charmingly
candied and sometimes wilder and spicier.
High quality and a magnificent nose.
SGP:652 – 92 points. |
Caperdonich
1972/2008 (49.9%, Gordon &MacPhail
Cask for LMdW, first fill sherry butt,
cask #1976) 
Colour: mahogany (really!) Nose: pour
0.5l wild strawberry liqueur and 0.5l
coffee liqueur into a shaker, add
a few spices (star anise, cinnamon,
cloves), shake well and then nose.
Very concentrated, close to being
a bit heavy but highly expressive,
reminding us of some old Armagnacs.
Not too sure the original spirit brings
much more than ‘the engine behind’
but what’s sure is that the
whole is extremely, well, luscious.
Hints of roasted chestnuts. Mouth:
this is really a matter of taste!
It’s not the first time I’m
trying this puppy and if I remember
well, the scores were all over the
place at the MM Awards 2008, some
adoring this and others (such as your
truly) staying rather cold. Indeed,
this is rather a sherry and oak decoction,
and actually closer to a very old
Palo Cortado than to ‘a malt
whisky’. That is to say that
there are loads of bitter chocolate
and balsamic vinegar, lorryloads of
cinnamon and shiploads of walnut liqueur.
Of course it’s not forbidden
to be a fan of this kind of brew!
Finish: long, still dry, still tannic
and still full of cinnamon, with also
a little salt. Comments: this is extreme
and of course sherry worshippers should
be totally fond of this. Really spectacular
but a bit too extreme for our taste.
Indeed, a matter of taste. SGP:472
- 85 points (still, because
in its own genre, it’s probably
a winner). |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Can you sing the jazz
when you’ve got anything but
a jazz voice? Here’s
White
Hinterland’s
answer – it’s called
Dreaming
of the plum trees. Please buy
White Hinterland’s music.
(right, it's not exactly jazz.) |
 |
| |
|
February
8, 2009 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
TWO
1982 ST MAGDALENE |
| St
Magdalene 1982/2008 (46%, Berry Bros
& Rudd, cask #2199)
This one gave us a lot of trouble
when we first tried it blind. Colour:
straw. Nose: extremely waxy and grassy,
all on walnut skin, lemon zest and
wet hay, getting then bizarrely papery
and butyric. Quite some rubber (bands),
ginger tonic, cut grass, plastic (brand
new car – if they still make
some.) Not easy for sure. Mouth: sugary
and paraffiny but certainly nicer
than on the nose. Crystallised lemons,
green tea, grapefruits and butterscotch.
Very, very ‘Lowlands’
now, very recognisable when tried
blind. Finish: long, lemony, with
some added pepper and just a little
salt. Comments: once again, this isn’t
very easy whisky and maybe it’s
more for closed distilleries fetishists?
(no, I didn’t mean necrophiles!)
But it is interesting whisky, from
a rather inactive cask, obviously.
SGP:361 - 73 points. |
| St
Magdalene 25 yo 1982/2008 (61.8%,
Blackadder Raw Cask, cask #2180, 603
bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: the same kind
of ‘waxy citrus’ as in
the BBR but also more orangey and
coffee-ish, which really complements
the whole here. Nice farminess as
well (wet hay again) as well as quite
some chocolate. With water: same,
with more grass, flints, linseed oil,
chalk and tobacco. Nice. Mouth (neat):
powerful and completely different
from the BBR. Much, much fruitier,
mostly on pineapples and pears, but
also very hot and peppery so let’s
add water. With water: even fruitier,
even kind of bubblegummy. Pomegranates,
strawberries and white chocolate.
Not for children, though… Finish:
long and still as fruity, with just
more white pepper and a little cinnamon.
Comments: according to the cask numbers,
this was probably distilled on the
same day as it’s sibling and
then filled… in a much better
cask (and/or stored at a better place).
SGP:551 - 83 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: The New York based
Jacques
Schwarz-Bart was born
on the Guadeloupe island (French
West Indies), that’s probably
why he recorded this great tune
called Déshabillé
with ex-Kassav gutarist and singer
Jacob Desvarieux. Please buy these
two excellent musicians’ music! |
 |
| |
|
February
6, 2009 |
|
|
| OUR
TRIBUTE TO ROBERT BURNS |
 |
| Sometimes
we can be extremelty late and slow
at Whiskyfun, a good example beeing
this homage to Robert Burns that we're
posting more than one week after his
250th birthday. Having said that,
we believe that this original drawing
by our friend Bruno Marty (also a
member of the excellent whisky-distilleries
forum) is absolutely wonderful! |
 |
TASTING
– TWO GLEN MHOR |
Glen
Mhor 32 yo 1975/2008 (40.6%, Duncan
Taylor Rarest of the Rare, cask #4041)
Isn’t it great that Duncan Taylor
have quite some old Glen Mhors left?
Colour: gold. Nose: ah, it seems that
this cask was much less extreme and
wild than its ‘colleagues’,
as what we get here is rather a gentle
fruitiness that’s even got something
Irish. Not too ripe bananas, melons,
pears and blackcurrants plus hints
of earl grey tea. Unexpected indeed,
Glen Mhor was usually a big dram…
After five minutes there are also
whiffs of eucalyptus that start to
pulsate (Vicks) but it’s still
a rather delicate and slightly shy
Glen Mhor. Mouth: there’s quite
some oak here, obviously. Strong tea
and white pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg,
then only shadows of ‘a fruitiness’
(more green bananas here). Something
leathery as well. Rather drying but
it doesn’t quite ‘glue’
your tongue and your palate together,
as some other very oaky malts do.
Finish: rather short but clean, with
added hints of raisins and dried figs.
Comments: actually, this one is an
interesting old malt where the oak
is extremely, say ‘present’
but that’s still pleasant to
sip. At just a little over £100,
it’s worth trying but don’t
expect to find any smoke or even beefiness
like in other Glen Mhors. One may
prefer earlier bottlings of these
1975 by DT. SGP:461 –
82 points. |
| Glen
Mhor 1978/1990 (60.9%, SMWS 57.2,
screw cap, 75cl)
Colour: straw. Nose: Jah! Pencil shavings
juice and vanilla powder… And
that’s pretty all. It’s
probably the high alcohol that masks
all the rest. With water: ouch! Ether
and fermenting grass and not much
else. Raw spirit, even at +/-45% vol.
Mouth (neat): huge, spirity and extremely
sweet. Pineapple drops and bubblegum.
With water: pineapple liqueur and
white pepper plus heavily sugared
water. Finish: long but still on the
very same easy-easy notes of tinned
pineapple. Comments: I’m surprised,
I was very glad to be able to try
a young Glen Mhor in its natural state
but I must say there isn’t much
happening here. Now, there aren’t
any flaws either, only a huge…
simplicity... SGP:630 - 78
points. |
 |
|
CRAZY
WHISKY AD: FOR THE SAKE OF INNOVATION
Canadian Club Classic 12yo.
Copy: 'Dr Wilsmere Greenwood administers
his automatic retina adjustment apparatus
on a nervous patient. – Of course,
some discoveries are greater than
others.'
It might be wondered what caused the
patient's retina problems. |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: A very fresh and very
poppish little song called Monday
morning.mp3 by Stockholm’s
The
Charade. Warming music
from Sweden! Please buy The Charade’s
music… |
 |
| |
|
February
5, 2009 |
|
|
 |
TASTING
TWO 1986 HIGHLAND
PARK |
| Highland
Park 1986/2007 (45%, Samaroli, Coilltean,
cask #2291, 346 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: right, it’s
one of these very ‘natural’
Highland Parks that nose much younger
than they actually are, with very
little oak influence but some pleasant
floral and fruity notes. Quite a lot
of orange squash, lemonade, a little
mint and aniseed, porridge, yoghurt
and ginger. A little more citrusy
(and finally grassy) than the ‘average’
unsherried indie Highland Park. Not
unpleasant. Mouth: good, big, peppery
and lemony attack, something like
a more mildly peated Talisker. Then
more butter, more grass, more liquorice
and even more lemon. Nice bitterness.
Finish: medium long, all on pepper
and lemon, with a faint saltiness.
Less peat and more honey in the aftertaste.
Comments: a good dram and a worthy
counterpoint to the officials. SGP:353
– 83 points. |
| Highland
Park 22 yo 1986/2009 (55.7%, Duncan
Taylor, Rare Auld, cask #2254)
It’s
this moment when we’re trying
the very first whisky that’s
been bottled in the new year…
2009, already… time flies! Colour:
pale gold. Nose: very similar to the
Samaroli at very first sniffing but
gets then much flintier, waxier and
grassier, with more ‘earthy’
wood plus even more aniseed and mint.
With water: same as the Samaroli,
please read above. Mouth (neat): very
good citrusy and grassy attack, with
less peat and pepper than in the Samaroli
but more oomph. With water: once again,
exactly the same as the Samaroli.
Maybe just a slightly bigger grassiness.
Finish: same, just a little grassier
and earthier but that may well come
from the waters that were different
(for reduction) as we’re using
Vittel, which the excellent Mr Samaroli
probably does not do. Comments: another
anti-honeyed HP. One more point for
the extra-10% vol. SGP:353
- 84 points. |
IS
THE CAT IN THE BAG?
Remember the famous old joke,
“There are two things a Scot
likes naked, and one of them is whisky”?
Well, according to some fearless Aussies,
only one of them remains true. Indeed,
as seen on The
Shout website, a young company
called ASM
Liquor just launched
a new Scotch named Naked Scot that’s
‘free from residual herbicides,
pesticides, and fungicides.’
Their CEO said that “Consumers
really have very little choice and
frequently pay a premium for poor
quality products (read full of
chemicals - Ed). Our brands are
sexy in style and price tag, but they’re
also better quality than many commercially
advertised brands in the $70 to $80
range”. Ermnlmrml…
Right, frankly, we don’t find
the bottle too sexy, especially the
tartan cap, but we also know that
many Scots are working on organic
whiskies. Benromach’s is already
out and we believe Bruichladdich,
among others, have several batches
maturing in their warehouses. Now,
we also remember the Springbank Da
Mhile, no big success at the time
but maybe the average Scotch drinker
is now ready to pay a few extra-quids
for genuinely organic whisky? |
 |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: exceptional piece by
an exceptional trumpet player, Donald
Byrd and his exceptional
band (Ron Carter, Lew Tabackin,
Frank Foster, Duke Pearson et al)
doing Fufu
in 1969 (on the famous Kofi LP).
It's 'modern' hardbop at its best,
please buy Donald Byrd's music! |
 |
| |
|
February
4, 2009 |
|
|
| TASTING
- TWO YOUNG PEAT MONSTERS |
 |
Good,
time to add our tasting notes to the
incredible volume that has already
gone about Ardbeg’s Supernova.
We have been wondering about which
other whisky we were going to use
as a sparring-partner. Octomore? Nah,
that’s exactly what everybody
will do or already did, so we’d
rather use the recent Ar1, probably
a young ‘regular’ Ardbeg
(‘probably’ peated to
+/-55ppm instead of the Supernova’s
100ppm). |
| We’ll
also have another Ardbeg on the side
as ‘benchmark’, an unsherried
1974 of excellent, but not stellar
quality (30yo, cask #2739). |
| Ar1
(58.7%, Specialty Drinks, Elements
of Islay, 2008, 50cl)
Colour: straw. Nose: starts extremely
‘Ardbeg’, right on soot
and coal smoke mixed with sea air
and soaked grains, and more of that
after that, with only hints of vulcanized
rubber and antiseptic. Also a little
fresh butter and sweet apple (golden)
that mellow it down just a little.
Fresh apple juice. Hints of metal
come through after a while (gunmetal).
With water: ever tried to put your
head into a coal stove? Err…
Other than that, it smells just like
‘the distillery’, or like
the kiln at a neighbouring distillery.
Mouth (neat): explosive! Huge whisky,
less fruity/sweet than expected, except
during the two or three first seconds.
‘Green’ bitterness (green
tea, chlorophyll gum), capsicum, cumin,
cardamom, strong liquorice, Turkish
coffee, herbs liqueur (more Underberg
here)… Very concentrated and
powerful! There’s also a faint
sweetness (honeydew) that prevents
it from getting maybe a tad bitter
and acrid. Rather spectacular and
not for the fainthearted, as they
say. With water: it does get fruitier
now, with more dried apples but the
same big smokiness and spiciness are
still there on the back of your palate.
Smoked cardamom? Finish: long, with
more coastal notes, such as oysters.
Big peat at the retro-olfaction. Comments:
it’s young but it’s more
complex than anticipated (feared?)
Excellently big. SGP: 268-
89 points. |
 |
Ardbeg
'Supernova' (58.9%, OB, advanced Committee
release, 2009)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: it is more
peaty, ashy and tarry for sure, with
also very big notes of fresh walnuts
and various other grassy and earthy
notes such as gentian roots, wet earth,
fresh mushrooms, moss… Quite
some coffee as well. Big, big smoky,
ashy and sooty notes that, quite funnily,
give it fino-like touches (flor, ‘nose
of yellow’). |
| Not
exactly ‘extreme’ so far,
but most certainly sootier than a
regular young Ardbeg and in that sense
it’s closer to our benchmark
1974 than the Ar1. With water: now
it noses almost exactly like the Ar1,
with not much noticeable differences.
Maybe added hints of pencil lead/shavings
and even more soot. Yes, even deeper
into a coal stove ;-). Mouth (neat):
right, there were rather obvious differences
on the (undiluted) nose but it’s
not the case on the palate, these
two whiskies being very similar at
this point. This one is maybe just
a tad grassier again, but other that
that it’s another big, phat,
rich, concentrated and extremely liquoricy
peat monster. It seems that the extra-45ppm
are more noticeable on the nose. With
water: all the ‘tarry smokiness’
went to the back and the front has
more sweetness, on dried apples again.
Finish: long, ‘oystery’
again but with more pepper, more ‘good’
rubber and more liquorice plus just
hints of bitter oranges. Extremely
present in the aftertaste, the latter
being rather similar to the much older
1974's. “Like if you had swallowed
a pair of rubber boots” said
a friend the other day about another
Islayer. Comments: well, this IS peatier
but it’s not a different planet.
Let’s simply quote the famous
guitarist Nigel Tufnel (of Spinal
Tap fame): “This one goes to
eleven - whilst regular Ardbegs may
go to ten.” Very excellent young
peat monster nonetheless – and
I mean it. A little more complexity
may have propelled it to 90. Oh, and
it's very drinkable! SGP:
269- 89 points. (and
thank you Alexandra) |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: PLEASE don't take this
too seriously, but I think we found
the perfect music to match a very
heavy peat monster. It's called
Towards
the infinite.mp3 and the band
is named Colosseum
(not the original Colosseum of course
but the 'Finnish funeral doom metal
morticians'). I think it's good
fun (!) even if it lacks a little
groove, err...You may buy this colossal
music... |
 |
| BONUS
– You say these
Ardbegs aren't that heavy? Right,
right, better have something like
the Swingle
Sisters doing a nice
little fugue
then... (and then buy their music.) |
| |
|
February
3, 2009 |
|
|
TASTING
- FOUR TULLIBARDINE |
 |
| Tullibardine
1992/2006 (46%, OB Vintage Edition)
Colour: white wine. Nose: this one
starts very smoky and porridgy, reminding
me of the Littlemills we had the other
day. It gets then much grassier, very
fresh, with a lot of cut grass as
well as hints of redcurrants and not
too ripe gooseberries. Maybe hints
of asparagus and leek as well as a
little paraffin. Finally lager beer
(Pilsner Urquell) and baker’s
yeast. The smoke grows bigger. Mouth:
much more fruitiness here, with quite
some apples, pears and pineapples,
then notes of bubblegum and this curious
grassiness that reminds us of some
white rums. Good but maybe just a
tad more ‘vulgar’ than
on the nose. Finish: long, grassy
and peppery. Comments: very good malt
whisky, that’s all I can say.
I think Tullibardine’s bottlings
are improving at the speed of light.
SGP:261 - 81 points. |
| Tullibardine
16 yo 1992/2008 (56.9%, Blackadder
RC, Bourbon cask #745, 180 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: similar to
the official 1992, only bigger and
even more spectacular in its own very
grassy genre. With water: a very heavy
but rather beautiful oak strikes hard
now. This one smells almost exactly
like newly sawn oak but even if it
may sound excessively woody, it isn’t.
No easy vanilla here. Beautiful association
between the big grassiness and the
big oakiness. Mouth (neat): now, this
tastes very ‘modern’,
with much more vanilla and ginger
than in the official and on the nose.
Less fruits and more grass. With water:
excellent! A little olive oil, lemon
peel, peppercorn, less vanilla, a
little resin (and cough syrup). Truly
excellent. Finish: long and, just
like the official, very grassy and
peppery again. Comments: I like this
one a lot, even if it’s no complex
nor subtle whisky. Perfect for your
hipflask. SGP:272 - 89 points.
|
| Tullibardine
1993/2007 (46%, OB, Moscatel Finish)
Colour: gold. Nose: let’s put
it this way: we don’t get any
moscatel at all, nor any winey notes.
Let’s say this one smells almost
like the two excellent ones we just
had, only a tad rounder and mellower.
Funnily, the whiffs of lager are even
bigger. Gets then a tad more coastal
and briny. Very nice!!! Mouth: once
again, the wine is very discreet.
Maybe it brought this faint roundness
that wasn’t in the unfinished
versions. Very good waxiness, notes
of cherry stem tea, green tea, apple
peel and a little kirsch. Finish:
rather long and rather peppery once
again. Ginger tonic, hints of kriek
beer. Comments: it seems that the
Moscatel wood (not first fill I think)
brought cherry notes. Strange and
unexpected… But excellent! SGP:361
- 85 points. |
| Tullibardine
1993/2008 (46%, OB, ‘Sauterne’
Finish)
As the good people at Celtique Connexion
in Britanny or Glenmorangie, Signatory
or Bruichladdich in Scotland have
already shown us, Sauternes can work
very well with whisky. I said ‘can’
;-). Colour: gold. Nose: extremely
close to the Moscatel, only a little
rounder and more honeyed. Like if
someone had poured a few litres of
mead into a regular cask – as
for the rest, please read above. Mouth:
right, the wine is more obvious here,
but it does not overwhelm the whisky
at all. Hints of rose jelly and ripe
apricots added to a very nice cask
of Tullibardine (please see above).
Finish: long, candied, fruity (more
quinces here) and slightly smoky.
Quite some pepper once again. Gets
maybe a tad too ‘exotic’
in the aftertaste (pineapple drops).
Comments: once again, this is very
good, but the shier moscatel finish
worked a little better in my opinion.
SGP:451 - 84 points (But
pssst, dear distillers, there’s
an ‘s’ at the end of Sauternes.) |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: but who had that dirty
sound on Stroll
on? Of course, it was the Yardbirds
with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page and
it was in 1966 (it's on the OST
of Antonioni's famous Blow Up film)!...
Please buy the Yardbirds and all
their descendents' music... |
 |
| |
|
February
1, 2009 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
FOLK AMERICA
HOLLERERS, STOMPERS
AND OLD TIME RAMBLERS |
 |
The
Barbican, London
January 21st
2009
Things
have certainly come a long way for
‘hobo’ bluesman and collector
of largely dysfunctional guitars,
Seasick
Steve, since your Whiskyfun
reviewers saw him at the Borderline
just over a
couple of years ago. |
| You
may remember that he’d just
been ‘discovered’ –
courtesy of the patronage of London
DJs such as Charlie Gillet and Joe
Cushley, and the ‘novelty spot’
on Jools Holland’s 2006 Hogmanay
Show (this year’s contenders,
a ‘humourous’ harmonica
four-piece from Finland or thereabouts,
didn’t quite hit the same spot).
He moved seamlessly from the Borderline
to Festival stages throughout the
country and has been a must-have performer
at the likes of Glastonbury and Reading
ever since. At the end of last year
he toured the UK – starting
with a sell-out show at the Royal
Albert Hall (the Borderline, capacity
275, Albert Hall, capacity 7,000),
which I would have predicted to be
a disaster, given the cold nature
of that late-Victorian structure,
but typically Steve delivered a “hugely
entertaining, at times staggering
show”, according to the Guardian.
He’s even been nominated for
a Brit Award (“I didn’t
know what a Brit was, but if it means
I’ve done a good job, then that’s
ok”), and having won us over
with his insouciant charm, self-deprecating
manner, and genuine sense of humility
(not to mention his wonderful playing
and singing), is in danger of becoming,
if he isn’t already, a certified
National Treasure. And I can’t
help thinking that his presence on
stage as compere of this first of
two ‘Folk
America’ concerts at the
Barbican, has helped fill the hall
with a wonderfully disparate and enthusiastic
audience, because a lot of us, like
Steve, haven’t heard of any
of the mostly young performers on
this bill of ‘Hollerers, Stompers
and Old Time Ramblers’. |
| The
two concerts are part of a BBC series
on American roots and folk music,
so depending on where you live, you
may be able to see some of the wonderful
films that have been assembled for
this, including concert footage, on
the equally wonderful BBC iPlayer.
And whilst the first night was a sell-out,
the second, ‘Greenwich Village
Revisited’ was apparently struggling
to shift seats, judging by the 20%
discount that was being offered, and
the fact that it was still being advertised
two days after the event – desperation
indeed. No doubt down to the Billy
Bragg effect, as the Braggster was
introducing night two – and
let’s face it, who wants to
be harangued by Billy about Woody
Guthrie, like a classroom of ignorant
school children, in the middle of
a recession that might just be as
deep as the dust bowl? |
 |
|
No
– Seasick’s laid back
approach was far better, starting
the evening with a few tunes like
‘Falling down blues’,
and then sitting back in his rocking
chair, giving the briefest introduction
to each artist. It was his rocking
chair, and the clothes on the hokey
washing line behind him were his,
as was much of the other bashed-up
furniture, purchased largely, we were
told, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
which as any of you whisky travellers
will know, is on the road to the Jack
Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg. Tonight,
no doubt to abide by BBC regulations,
Seasick’s bottle of Jack, his
ever-present on-stage companion, is
suitably disguised with a mock label
and surely a collector’s item
by now. |
| The
evening’s performers were an
eclectic bunch, and frankly it was
one of those occasions when the second
half somewhat failed to live up to
the promise of the first. Final act
The
Wiyos, were entertaining enough
with their take on Blind Willie McTell’s
‘Dying crapshooter’s blues’
and “pick-me up murder ballad”
‘Leaving home’, aka ‘Frankie
and Johnny’, but were in reality
only a rather inferior ‘roots’
take on Spike Jones and His City Slickers
– playing very well but not
as amusing as they thought. And their
urbanity (they’re from Brooklyn)
was somewhat at odds with all the
other performances. Preceding them,
Diana
Jones (“she brought the
silence on me” said Steve of
her rehearsals) was worthy, with songs
about dying Scottish miners trapped
in the bowels of the Appalachians,
and the indignities suffered by native
American children at the hands of
‘educators’. But her vocal
range seemed somehow stunted, and
without her accomplished accompanists
on tenor guitar and fiddle, her set
would have been weak in the extreme.
Compared with this, the first half
was a delight. Allison
Williams, on claw-hammer banjo,
and fiddler Chance
McCoy powered their way through
tunes such as ‘Dance all night
with a bottle in your hand’
(a new Whiskyfun anthem perhaps?)
and ‘Wild Bill Jones’
(“Wild Bill Jones and that long-necked
bottle have been the ruin of me …”)
with a remarkable energy, and the
dancing of guitarist Danny Knicely
brought the audience to their feet.
The talkative fiddler and accordionist
Cedric
Watson and his Bijoux Creole gave
us a slightly different take on the
Louisiana Zydeco style, with some
wonderfully percussive full-body washboard
playing from Joseph Chaisson. |
| However
pick of the bunch was the unlikely
American/Australian bluesman C.
W. Stoneking, with a voice and
style that has to be heard to be believed.
“Man, he lost in the 1920s”
said Steve, which is a pretty good
summary of Stoneking’s ‘hokum’
style. But it would be wrong to dismiss
him as simply a pastiche performer
– his songs, which in this short
set ranged from ‘Darktown strutters’
ball’, ‘Dodo blues’
and the “Jungle calypso murder
ballad” ‘Love me or die’
have real depth and colour, and an
edge which means that Mr Stoneking
has been filed in my very favourite
‘Weird’ box. And I don’t
think I was alone in my enthusiasm
– the rush for his CDs from
the merchandise stall was such that
they were as rare as, well, Dodos.
Catch him if you can. |
 |
 |
|
Seasick, accompanied by drummer Dan
Magnusson, ended the evening with
two more tunes, but not before he’d
given us some cookery tips on how
to make an apple pie in a skillet
– “an apple pie without
cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze”.
They played ‘Waiting for the
train’ and ‘Chiggers’,
a tribute to the little critters who
inhabit the tall grass of the Mississippi
Delta and will eat you up if you give
them the chance (who else could get
away with the line – “I
wear my socks up to my knees”?),
before the entire company returned
for the obligatory big encore, Uncle
Dave Macon’s ‘Won’t
get drunk no more’. At which
point the audience delivered the ovation
it had rehearsed with the BBC’s
film crew at the start of the evening,
although by this point it had been
well and truly earned by all. -
Nick Morgan (concert photographs by
Kate) |
Listen:
C.W. Stoneking (and his gothic
hillbilly music) on MySpace
Seasick
Steve's MySpace page |
 |
TASTING
– TWO 30yo GLEN GRANT |
| Glen
Grant 30 yo 1976/2007 (50%, DL OMC,
cask #3745, 228 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: ah yes, it is
one of these superb old sherried Glen
Grants, in a slightly rough version.
No need to write a novel about it,
let’s only say that it’s
full of espresso coffee, prunes, wood
smoke, tarmac, parsley, bitter chocolate
and roasted chestnuts. Perfect dryness,
no sulphur as such. With water: a
bigger fruitiness (blackcurrants,
blackberries) and more herbal notes.
Whiffs of leather, mushrooms and rubber
(bicycle inner tube). Mouth (neat):
excellent attack, lively, all on dried
fruits and spices, getting maybe just
a tad too peppery and drying after
‘the first wave’. Cherry
jam, crystallised chestnuts, cocoa
and a lot of cloves. With water: goes
on in the same vein, getting a tad
more raisiny and round and less drying.
Water works very well here. Finish:
long and very classic, very pleasantly
old-style. Guinness? Comments: a perfect
sherried Glen Grant, extremely drinkable.
SGP:451 - 89 points. |
| Glen
Grant 30 yo 1977 (57.4%, Douglas of
Drumlanrig for www.whisky.com.tw,
Sherry butt)
Colour: dark straw. Nose: this one
is different, with much, much less
sherry influence but also more straight
oak (quite some cinnamon and whiffs
of incense plus apple peeling). Hints
of vanilla and fresh oranges, then
fresh mint. Very nice nose, not overpowering
at all. With water: the mint grows
bigger, and we even get hints of celery
and dill. More complexity and an unexpected
‘coastalness’ (sea air,
even shells). Lemon and apple juice.
Mouth (neat): powerful and very vegetal,
with truckloads of fresh walnuts and
an unexpected saltiness. Lemon balm,
pepper and ginger. Assertive and,
well, ‘good’. With water:
excellent, with more crystallised
ginger, almonds, lemon marmalade and
even kind of a peatiness. Finish:
long and funnily minty, salty and
peaty. Comments: did they fill this
excellent Glen Grant into an ex-Islay
cask? Very, very good and interesting.
SGP:452 - 88 points. |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Caperdonich
35 yo 1972/2008 (48.3%,
The Whisky Fair, 188 bottles)
Longmorn
29 yo 1972/2001 (57.6%, Blackadder,
Caledonian Connection, Japan)
Macallan
‘Golden Jubilee’ (47%,
The Whisky Exchange, 50 decanters, 2002)
Macallan-Glenlivet
18 yo (54.9%, Cadenhead's, Black Dumpy,
+/- 1985)
|
| |
|
|
