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Hi, you're in the Archives, May 2005 - Part 2 |
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OFF
TO ISLAY WITH THE MALT MANIACS! Back
on June 4th. GPRS is working just
fine on the island, and Bruichladdich
has now a Wi-Fi hotspot, so we should
be able to keep you updated on what's
happening during the festival. Crazy
tours, tastings, meetings, joint sessions,
masterclasses, bottlings for the Festival...
and even the Malt Maniacs' official
10,000th score, that will be given
to a very, very special malt. I can't
tell you more right now - it's almost
a state secret - but you'll find all
that right on time on our Vacation
Special page, which will
be updated on a regular basis. So,
stay tuned - and wish me luck ;-).
- Serge. |
| CONCERT
REVIEW: MOSE ALLISON
Pizza Express Jazz Club, London,
May 1st 2005 - by
Nick Morgan |
England: Food
(21st Century - personnal
archives)
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|
Hey
Serge, have you tried that new Pizza
thing? I’m not sure if you have
it in France yet, but I’m sure
you soon will. Apparently it was invented
in America (I think by a man called
Domino Pizza) – and it’s
a bit like a pork-pie. Flattened that
is, and without the pork, and with
a much thinner pastry crust, covered
with white gooey stuff, tinned tomatoes
and lots of bits and pieces of foodie
thingies. Yummy! And you can eat it
with your fingers, so there’s
much less washing up to worry about.
Ace! |
| The
reason I got to eat one was that Mike
(remember him – Racoon skin
hat and French cigarettes?) was in
town. “Let’s go and see
Mose
Allison at the Pizza
Express” he said. Well I have
to confess that I know almost as much
– or as little – about
Mose A. as I do about Pizza. And much
of what I do know is thanks to covers
by other artistes, amongst whom I
should mention the good old Barcodes
(although the list is endless), who
are great fans. Anyway, Mike was very
excited (if you can imagine that)
so off we went to see Mr A. performing
during one of his twice yearly three
week visits to London (if you want
to share the Pizza fuelled atmosphere
then check out the two live CDs recorded
at this venue). |
|
Mose Allison (left)
with Mike Nicolson (right), blues
guitarist extraordinaire and ex-distillery
manager at Lagavulin, Caol Ila,
Royal Lochnagar etc. You can read
an interesting and funny interview
with Mike on Maltmaniacs. |
| Nice
venue, good seats, Pizza (hmmmmm …)
and a full house to welcome this diminutive
septuagenarian and his band, bass
player Andy Weinberg and drummer Paul
Clarvis. Now I should apologise to
Andy if I’ve misspelt his name
but would point out that these two
London based performers were quite
excellent, particularly given that
they were chasing Mose most of the
night as he moved from song to song,
calling out numbers (a bit like ordering
in a Thai restaurant then) to guide
them through the extensive song book
that he carries round with him. And
not all his; so we were treated to
tunes by Percy Mayfield, Jimmy Davies
(‘You are my sunshine’
– a real treat for Morecambe
and Wise fans everywhere), Johnnie
Fuller, Big Joe Williams (‘Baby
please don’t go’) Robert
Lockwood and Willie Dixon (several
times, including ‘I live life
to love and love life to live’).
But no matter the writer, each song
came through strongly with a real
Mose twist (sometimes a twist of the
knife). |
| Born
in the Mississippi Delta, inspired
by early jazz greats (such as Fats
Waller, Louis Jordan and Duke Ellington),
an English and Philosophy graduate,
a pianist to the stars (Stan Getz,
Gerry Mulligan) Allison appears to
combine a wide array of influences.
Whilst his piano playing (and frankly
I’m somewhat out of my depth
here) seems to move from laid back
blues through fairly free running
jazz with a hint of well-informed
classicism, his voice and lyrics suggest
(the highly unfashionable) Hoagy Carmichael,
Tom Lehrer, and the mightily misogynistic
James Thurber. |
|
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But the end result is hugely compelling,
the music great, and the songs so
wickedly funny that it was hard to
keep a straight face. “This
guys over 70 and he’s still
taking the piss – I like that”
said Mike.
‘Ever since the world ended
I don’t get out much anymore’,
‘Look what you made me do’
(with a rhyming sequence of “avenue”,
“Suburu” and “moon
blue”), ‘The foodkiller’,
‘What’s your move’
(“are you the artist that’s
misunderstood, or the bad guy who’s
trying to do good”), ‘Certified
senior citizen’ (a Barcodes
favourite), ‘Who’s out
who’s in’, ‘Your
mind is on vacation’ (“but
your mouth is working overtime”),
(“I’m not downhearted
but I’m almost”) ‘Getting
there’, ‘The more you
get’ (“the more you’ve
got to loose”). Well you probably
begin to get the picture. Razor sharp
lyrics with a deadpan delivery (is
that some sort of Pizza service too
Serge?) and elegant improvised musical
discursions in between. Over thirty
songs in two sets. Pizza heaven indeed.
Nick Morgan (photos by Kate, except
pizza by London Institute of International
Studies of Biological Weapons of Mass
Destruction) |
| Many
thanks, Nick! I knew Mose Allison
quite well and I do own a few of his
old records - yes, I like him. But
what's this thing again? Pizzo? Pitza?
Bitza? Wait, oh yeah, pizza! Strange
name. Do you have a lot in London?
I think I read something in a medical
review here... Isn't it what they
serve with kind of a brownish lemonade
called Caco Loco or something? And
don't the people get sick and fat?
As for Mose Allison, let's see what
we have... Oh, yes, here we have him
singing You
are my sunshine.mp3 live. Perhaps
his voice got a little less sure after
all these years but he's still very
special indeed. |
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BONUS
CONCERT REVIEW:
NINE BELOW
ZERO
100 Club, London, May 5th 2005
by Nick Morgan
Serge,
as you know I’m behind with
my reviews, so in keeping with the
electric pace that this gig was
played at, I’ll try and keep
this one short and quick. |
| Oh
yes – band background for the
uninitiated. Well, established in
1977 by a South London (Tulse Hill
of all places, hardly the Delta) bloke
called Dennis Greaves (guitarist)
and his pal, shy yet Ace harmonica
player Mark Feltham, and two others.
A few decent albums, notably Live
at the Marquee (1980), then lots of
people leave, other join (e.g. Barcodes
harpster Alan Glen), band does not
a lot, then sort of reforms with Greaves
and Feltham and ex Rory Gallagher
rhythm section Gerry McAvoy (bass)
and Brendan O’Neill (drums),
various CDs (including the not bad
2004 Hat’s Off) and this gig
at the 100 Club. Phew! Read the rest
on what is even by my standards the
somewhat anal band website (“Brendan
has his own special sticks made to
his own specification by Shaw Stix,
which he is very satisfied with”
– I mean to say!) |
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|
Anyway
if I was confused at being here –
it wasn’t my idea I should say,
but a treat for a Scottish Pal and
Big Fan who almost cried when his
name was read out on stage by Dennis,
“This is a song for a bloke
from Furnace who wants to buy us some
whiskies” – my confusion
was nothing compared to the Japanese
couple transfixed in front of the
stage. |
| “Albert
Hall not as big as expected”
confided the man to me, “and
Ginger Baker, he look much better
than expected”, “Why there
four not three?” Well, I suppose
that’s what you get if you get
your Cream tickets from touts –
but I can’t help thinking that
we (and the Japanese couple) had more
fun than the staid middle aged liggers
who filled the AH for four nights
or so on vastly overpriced corporate
entertainment beanos. |
| For
the 9
Below 0 boys played their
hearts out – worked through
all their (and everybody else’s)
classics – and had the place
absolutely humming. They have a truly
British turn on the Blues greats –
try out their version of Muddy Walters’
Willie Dixon special, ‘I wanna
be loved’. And Feltham –
with his wonderful collection of harps
- was something very special –
at least until he sang – which
was probably the weak spot (not just
him, but Greaves also) of the whole
band. |
|
 Mark
Feltham's harmonica collection on
stage |
|
I would also have to observe that
although we had the photographer and
another lady in our party this was
really boy’s R&B. So I was
hardly surprised that when it kicked
off in front of the stage (as it had
too) John yelled “Let’s
rumble”, and only failed to
join the fray when no-one volunteered
to hold his beer. Meanwhile the Japanese
guy was giving it off to all-comers
shouting ‘No show disrespect
to Eric like that”. The band
grinned, turned up the volume, and
once the casualties had been removed
cranked it up for another half an
hour or so. Oh what a night –
and I’m so glad we were there
paying our dues rather than down at
the crossroads with the toads and
politicians getting it all for (I
feel) free. Nick Morgan (photos
by Kate) |
SECOND
BONUS CONCERT REVIEW: THE
ST KILDA 7
MEET THE
ALABAMA 3
Carling Academy,
Glasgow,
May 21st 2005 - by
Nick Morgan
Normally
the thrill of the gig is that
marvellous sense of being there.
In this instance however it’s
possible that it was getting there
that provided the greatest excitement,
the A3
being the final icing on the cake
of a fantastic journey. And instead
of cats and dogs my companions
were Maniac (Malt and otherwise)
shipmates on a voyage that started
a week earlier on the West Coast
of Scotland.
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| Sailing
to Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides to
view the site of the SS Politician’s
sinking we then (after a few weather-foiled
attempts) made an overnight dash for
that island on the edge of the world,
St Kilda (‘Ann is as ro do bhracaist!’
as the ancient motto of the St Kilda
Yacht Club would have it). Our return
– in the teeth of the gale that
had pursued us like a pack of hounds
on our outward journey – was
suitably epic, and we finally blew
into Glasgow on Saturday evening like
Outlaws from the frontiers of hell.
Or at least that’s what we thought.
Our taxi driver said, “St Kilda?
Nice beaches eh? And bloody hot at
this time of year”. As Vivian
Stanshall once said, “sometimes
you just can’t win”. |
Robert Brown and Paddy
Hill |
|
Paddy
Hill, a member of that other numerically
handled and well beaten-up combo,
the Birmingham Six, has no doubt endured
worse journeys than ours. Tonight
he’s on stage, along with Glaswegian
Robert Brown (cleared for murder after
serving 25 years in jail) appealing
for support for MOJO,
the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation
in Scotland, and a favourite cause
of the Alabama 3. And perhaps he’s
the right sort of guy to introduce
an evening dedicated to showcasing
the new A3 album (it’s out now
folks) Outlaw. |
| So
from a content perspective the gig
was divided between some raucous renditions
of old A3 favourites – ‘Mansion
on the hill’, ‘Mao Tse
Tung said’, Peace in the valley’,
‘Hypo full of love’ et
al. – and a selection from Outlaw,
including ‘Last train to Mashville’,
‘Hello…I’m Johnny
Cash’, ‘Have you seen
Bruce Richard Reynolds’ (the
previously reported homage to the
Great Train Robbers featuring –
on the album - BR himself), the remarkably
mellow and soulful ‘Honey in
the rock’ and ‘How can
I protect you’ (surely not a
hit single boys – steady on)
and a full band version of the previously
recorded acoustic gem ‘Up above
my head’. All great stuff struggling
against a recalcitrant sound system
that fell apart at the seams as the
volume was inexorably pumped up as
the evening wore on. |
| The
night belonged partly to the diminutive
and feisty singer Devlin Love (Zoe
Devlin), member of the Larry Love
Showband and regular support singer
with the A3. Her singing is really
quite remarkable and she stole the
show on ‘Up above my head’
and ‘How can I protect you’.
But of course, back on his home turf
(“Its great to be back in Glasgow,
Scotland, my favourite part of London”)
D Wayne Love moved into surreal overdrive,
regaling us with head nodding narratives
about his early years in Glasgow,
football, sectarianism, boy meets
girl romance Glasgow style (“I
met a girl in Buchanan Street and
said, ‘hey baby, let me get
into your pants’ – and
she said, ‘why should I when
there’s one arsehole there already’”)
and just about anything else that
came into his mind - or mouth. |
|
 |
Deranged and demented D Wayne (and
the band) provided a suitably diverting
and bizarre entertainment to draw
our Odyssey to a close, when five
minutes after everyone else he finally
left the stage with the Trojan phrase
“My name’s Mr Fancy Knickers.
Goodnight”.
Editor’s note: the
St Kilda 7 refused to be photographed
for this review. The St Kilda Yacht
Club is a registered trademark.
Nick Morgan (photos by Nick's Nokia) |
| Wow,
Nick, three reviews in a row! Thanks!
As for your illustrations, I must
say we like the great art of pointillism
too and no doubt Seurat,
Signac
or Cross
would have appreciated your superb
efforts. I especially like both your
works #1 ('A Bunch of Drunk Martians
Landing Near Glenkinchie at 23:32
pm') and #3 ('Intergalactic War Near
Jupiter or Why the Dark Forces Will
Always Win'). Is that what we should
call the 'St Kilda 7 school'? Now,
as for Alabama 3 aka A3, we have Rehab.mp3.
Thanks again! |
| |
| TASTING
– 10 VERY OLD BLENDS BEFORE
ISLAY |
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What could be more appropriate than
a bunch of mundane blends gathered
by Olivier to prepare our palates
for the magnificent Islay malts, especially
old versions of these blends? Indeed,
all blends we have on the table have
been bottled between 20 and probably
more than 40 years ago. Let’s
go (short notes only, sorry)…
Big
“T” Black Label (40%,
Tomatin Distillers) 
The label says, in golden letters:
”Delicate and very rare”.
Really? Nose: very grainy but with
quite some character. Hints of violets
and a bit of liquorices. Rather nice
and not dull in any way. Mouth: quite
bold and rather creamy, with some
notes of toasted bread and lots of
malt. A bit of toffee and burnt caramel.
The finish is rather long, on overcooked
coffee. Better than expected, IHSWM
(I’ve had some worse malts).
70 points.
King
George IV (70 proof, The Distillers
Agency Limited)
This bottle is probably more than
30 years old. Nose: wow, very perfumy,
on bitter orange, rosewater, with
some notes of old books and fresh
vanilla. Hints of (good) gin. Very,
very nice! A great surprise. Mouth:
wow, again it’s rather powerful
but there are too many notes of rotten
fruits, alas. Lots of overripe orange
and rum. The finish is long but perhaps
a little bitter. Now, IHSWM. The Big
“T” was more balanced
on the palate. 68 points.
The
S.S. Politician (43%, for the USA)
This one should be younger, but it’s
the younger one by Dunacn Taylor.
Nose: lots of caramel, crème
caramel, vanilla. Sort of bourbonny.
It then gets very grainy but with
quite some balance. Mouth: nice, caramelly
attack but it then gets very sugary
and falls apart, with just some bitterness
remaining on the palate. This one
mustn’t have been blended that
carefully, but it’s still drinkable.
60 points.
The
Antiquary (40%, J&W Hardie Ltd)
Probably bottled 20 years ago. Nose:
quite weaker than all three I had
before, but perhaps a bit more complex.
Quite yeasty, on mashed potatoes,
with some hints of freshly mown grass
and even some meadow flowers. It smells
like a light, young Speysider. Mouth:
rather delicate, on tea, herbal tea,
all sorts of dried herbs and some
toffee. It’s nicely balanced
and quite enjoyable. The one I prefer
for the moment. IHSWM. 72
points.
Haig
Gold Label (70 proof, John Haig &
Co, Ltd.)
Probably bottled 30 years ago or earlier.
Nose: more “commercial”
but also more balanced. Grainy, yeasty
and caramelly, rather fresh and developing
on toffeeish notes. Whiffs of coastal
notes. I like it! Mouth: ouch, it’s
bold and powerful, but also very bitter.
Lots of burnt caramel, over-infused
tea, with quite some pepper at that.
In short, lots of body but not a nice
one. 65 points.
Johnnie
Walker Red Label (70 proof, John Walker
& Sons, Ltd)
Probably bottled 40 years ago or even
earlier. Nose: a bit more closed,
with some notes of old books, papers…
It then gets even more maritime than
the Haig, with some sea air, iodine,…
Develops on tea (oolong). Very complex
and highly enjoyable. What a surprise!
Too bad this one is too old to contain
some Brora – but there must
be Lagavulin in there! Mouth: wow,
it’s quite good again. Possibly
not as complex than on the nose but
there are still lots of flowery notes,
dried oranges, fudge, cappuccino…
I’m impressed. 80 points.
Bell’s
Extra Special (70 proof, Arthur Bell
& Sons, Ltd, white plastic twist
cap)
Probably bottled 30 years ago or earlier.
Nose: grainy and quite malty, on burnt
cake, with quite some smoke. Again,
a nice balance. Hints of wet stone,
lacking some fruitiness and floweriness.
Mouth: punchy attack, again quite
bitter, similar to the Haig. Lots
of toffee again, sugar, caramel…
but not much else. But how powerful!
66 points.
White
Horse Fine Old Scotch Whisky (70 proof,
White Horse Distillers)
Probably bottled 30 years ago or earlier.
Nose: a little lighter but also more
elegant, without the usual toffeeish
notes. Gets nicely yeasty and malty,
with some notes of fresh apples and
apricot. Very, very nice! Mouth: wow,
classy stuff! The usual toffeeish
notes again but with quite some added
complexity, with some cake, roasted
peanuts, and some interesting notes
of lavender cream. Lots of oomph too!
77 points.
Ballantine’s
(70 proof, George Ballantine &
Son, Dumbarton)
Probably bottled 25 years ago or earlier.
Nose: much fresher this time, with
lots of herbal tea and quite some
smoke and coastal notes. Is that Laphroaig?
Gets grainy and yeasty, but with no
toffeeish notes this time. A completely
different style – I like it!
Mouth: ho-ho, that’s very good!
Starts on some liquorice and butter
caramel, developing on herbal tea,
and getting quite spicy with some
aniseed, parsley, dill… Very
complex, I like it as much as the
old Johnnie Red. 80 points.
VAT
69 (70 proof, WM. Sanderson &
Son Ltd)
Probably bottled 30 years ago or earlier.
Nose: that’s funny, it’s
very close to the Ballantine, but
perhaps grassier, with even some diesel
oil, stone, cold ashes. Wow, it’s
beautiful! Mouth: again, it’s
very similar but even better than
the Ballantine’s. Much more
phenolic tastes, some camphor, truffles
(the cheapest truffles ever ;-), hints
of peat and a bit of Turkish delight.
Extremely complex for a mundane blend.
It’s the clear winner, and with
just a little more oomph it would
have approached the 85 points. Imagine!
82 points.
I’m not used to blends so I
won't draw any conclusions regarding
these blends’ supposed ‘dumbing
down’ and all that jazz but
all I can say is that I really liked
most of these old bottlings. As I
said before, IHSWM! |
| |
| ISLAY
DISTILLERIES: CRAZY RUMOURS BEFORE
FEIS ILE (Is that right???) |
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|
CRAZY
RUMOUR #1 - Yes, it's
rumoured that a famous Islay distillery
is looking for a new manager. Luckily,
we could get hold of this photograph
of one of the new candidates, Kuster
Beaton, taken as he had just entered
the distillery's courtyard.
The company's official comment just
in: 'Mr. Beaton's candidature
has been rejected, but we wish him
lots of success!' |
A
second candidate, Willibald Python,
has been asked: 'Mr Python, how
would you prepare the distillery to
welcome the hundreds of anoraks and
self-styled whisky connoisseurs who
will assault it during the Islay Festival
at the end of May? Which special measures
would you take?' Again, we could
get a photograph of Mr Python answering
that cunning question (see at the
right).
The
company's official comment just in:
'Mr. Python's candidature has
been rejected, but we wish him lots
of success!' |
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CRAZY
RUMOUR #2 - A little
known old custom has just been revived
at some distilleries: casks that gave
poor whisky, especially casks used
for finishing, are beaten with two
oak sticks until they fall into pieces.
That's called 'finishing the finisher'
(see picture taken at a famous Islay
distillery - starting with a B - where
they call that '4B', or 'Beating
the Bourbon Barrel at B....'). |
| Now,
another source just told us that the
picture does in fact represent a drummer
playing the 'Pelodaiko', which is
a large drum constructed from a white
oak Bushmills whisky barrel. Beating
the Bushmills Barrel? More here. |
| CRAZY
RUMOUR #3 - Aficionados
from all over the world are wondering
why a certain distillery has problems
keeping its managers. Perhaps we have
the answer, as we just got this picture
of the Manager's Official Appartment,
which is in warehouse #17. Yet, it
was OK, until the marketeers decided
to let the people visiting the distillery
have a look at the appartment (see
the photograph). 'That's too much,
I quit!' said the latest manager
to The Scotsman. Understandable, isn't
it? |
|
 |
 Wernie
checking the empty UF6 casks
arriving at the distillery. |
|
CRAZY
RUMOUR #4 - It's also
rumoured that a famous Islay distillery
- sorry, no names - will be starting
a new experiment during the Islay
Festival 2005. 'Some of our finer
spirit will be finished for 6 months
in some depleted UF6 casks (depleted
uranium hexafluoride) coming directly
from the Czech Republic', said
to The Scotsman new manager Wernie
von Brown. And he added: 'We're
still looking for a name, but we expect
a lot of oomph!'. Of course,
the Malt Maniacs will be there - due
reports to follow! |
| TASTING
- TWO YOUNG INDIE ARDBEGS
Ardbeg
12
yo 1992/2004 (46%, Silver Seal for
Collecting Whisky)
Colour:
full amber. Nose: perfectly balanced,
with a very refined, yet powerful
peat. Nice notes of crystallised
oranges and white peaches…
Again, a perfect balance instead
of a peat storm like in many other
(too) young Ardbegs. Great! Mouth:
ah, it’s curiously watery
at first sip, and even the middle
is a bit ‘sleepy’, but
like often, it then wakes up with
some delicate peat growing bolder
and bolder, lots of dried fruits
and even these gentian flavours
I cherish. An highly enjoyable young
Ardbeg that isn’t just peat
and peat plus peat, congrats to
our Milanese friends from Collecting
Whisky for having put it on the
market (although I’ve heard
it’s already sold out –
too bad). 89 points. |
|
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| Ardbeg
10 yo 1994/2004 (59.9%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society, 33.51)
Colour: dark straw. Nose: very peaty
but rather simple. Lots of smoke but
also lots of grainy notes. Notes of
apple juice. Quite nice but lacking
complexity. Mouth: bold and extremely
powerful, extremely peaty and extremely
sweet. But again, not extremely complex.
A bit too sweet for my tastes, in
fact. I think Ardbeg needs more ageing.
Now, it’s not bad at all, of
course: 82 points
(but I know some other Maniacs who
rated it up to 93 points) |
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CRAZY
CANADIANS - Fellow
malt maniac Davin de Kergommeaux,
from Ottawa, reports: "It
is known here that you can buy a recently
emptied whisky barrel to use as a
rain barrel or whatever, but if you
add a bit of water, seal it up and
then roll it around you can extract
a lot of whisky from the wood and
make a type of home-made hooch called
"Swish". I know the barrels
at the garden centres often smell
very much like whisky and they are
often very charred inside which would
provide a lot more places for the
whisky to soak into the wood (...)
But I have never actually done this
myself, so maybe it's just an urban
legend..." |
| Well,
according to Mile
High Distilling from Colorado,
Swish does exist as they are selling
various 'essences' that will help
you convert your 'swish' into either
Bourbon, or into a famous 'red label'
whisky, or even, yes, into a more
'classic Canadian whiskey'. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: French and German DJ's
Miss
Kittin (photo) and Sven
Väth do Serge Gainsbourg's
scandalous Je
vais et je viens.mp3... Thirty
five years later, the technique seams
to be as popular as ever! Please buy
their music if you're into that kind
of stuff... or fly to Ibiza this summer! |
|
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|
TASTING
– TWO OLD INDIE SPRINGBANKS
Springbank 1965/1998 (46%, Murray
McDavid, cask 580, 204 botles)
One of Murmac’s old presentations.
Colour: pure gold. Nose: very honeyed,
with some big notes of bitter orange,
fudge and candy sugar. It goes on
with some fresh tropical fruits
like guava, mango and pineapple,
and whiffs of dried herbs. Nice
but perhaps a little too ‘laidback’.
Mouth: rather punchy this time,
but also a bit too tannic. It gets
surprisingly peppery, with some
heavy notes of black tea. The finish
is long but curiously herbal and
grassy, more austere than what you’d
expect from such an old Springbank.
Anyway, it’s a good one but
not one of the best old Murray McDavid
Springbanks (some, including from
1965, are thrilling). 87
points. |
| Springbank
1969/1997 (51.6%, Dun Eidean, butt
#2381, 590 bottles)
Colour: mahogany-brownish. Nose: wow,
a beautiful sherry that smells like
some old Bourgognes. Notes of game,
old books, smoked ham…Quite
close to being sulphury but it isn’t.
Very special, with no fruitiness.
It then develops on some very bold
coffee, Tia Maria, dark chocolate…
Not too mach distillery character
but it’s still excellent. Mouth:
now it’s much more complex and
fruity (dried fruits, banana flambéed).
Lots of white pepper and ginger, with
quite some vivacity (kiwi, fructose).
The finish is very long and amazingly
fresh… Just superb! 92
points. |
|
 |
| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - NO MORE PRESSURE AT WORK! |
 |
 |
| Left:
Johnnie Walker Red Label 1972.
'Stay calm under pressure. If
you wilt you won't win. Stay cool.
Keep calm. And collect. You see, when
all about you are losing their heads
you'd do well to keep yours. So methodical.
Orderly. Pull rank, and let others
do the filing. Remember, "success
is an empty in-bray". We know.
We're the acknowledged experts when
it comes to succeeding. Johnnie Walker
- the world's most successful Scotch
whisky. The smooth, mellow worldleader
that's still out front after 150 years
in the business. And one of the greatest
calming influences known to man. Johnnie
Walker. Take it from us, we're the
world's most successful Scotch whisky'.
In other words, if you're into
trouble, just get drunk! I guess that
would also work with traffic jams,
family problems, taxes, whatever...
O Tempora, o Mores! |
| Right:
Hennessy 1984. 'The
civilized way to call it a day' Well,
it looks like it's not only the Cognac.
By the way, guess who's on the phone?
Yes, his wife... "Are you coming
home soon, Bernie? Remember we have
the Smiths tonight... - Wait, Suzan,
just a bit of work to be done and
I'm coming!" |
 |
 |
| The
Macallan 2003. 'Lead
a more colorful life - The Macallan
Single Malt Whisky - rich in color,
rich in taste.' Wow, special
effects indeed! Feeling you take off,
hallucinations... Better than the
best Morroccan dark chocolate, no
doubt! ;-) As somebody said, there's
no traffic problems when you can fly... |
| |
 |
|
MUSIC
- Recommended listening:
this is not Mister Clean, but the
excellent blues guitarist and singer
Dean
Hall. Have a try at his
great sound (Albert Collins anyone?)
on Ice
house blues - mp3 and please buy
his music if you like it. Now, not
sure I agree with this journalist
who wrote: 'If Jimi Hendrix had
grown up in rural eastern Kentucky
he may have sounded a lot like Dean
Hall'. |
TASTING
– Talisker 21 yo 1952 (43%,
G&M Connoisseur’s Choice
black label, for Pinerolo)
Nose: extraordinary smells of seawater,
seaweed, humus, forest after the rain…
Fern, Darjeeling tea… Whiffs
of resin, eucalyptus, mastic, old
turpentine. So subtle, delicate and
complex! Mouth: unexpectedly full
bodied, starting with some tea jelly
and fresh oysters, and developing
on all sorts of herbs and smokes.
What a maelstrom of flavours! There’s
also some mushrooms and a bit of dill…
A thrill! A magnificent whisky, that
aged perfectly well in its bottle.
93 points. |
|
 |
| WINE
TASTING – A MEDITERRANEAN SUNDANCE |
 |
| I
don’t want to bother you with
wine too much, but I think this
time it’s really worth it.
Indeed, friend Christophe just organized
a super tasting session and I must
say almost all reds we had were
high-flyers. Here’s the honours
list with short notes:
Château
La Nerthe Cuvée des Cadettes
1997 (Châteauneuf-du-Pape,
France)
Colour: cooked strawberries. Nose:
very fragrant, on rosewater, oriental
pastry, Turkish delight. Beautiful
notes of syrah. Lots of cooked fruits.
Powerful yet extremely elegant and
balanced. Develops on lilac and
old rose. Wowie! Mouth: superbly
balanced yet bold, but not monstrous
in any way. All sorts of fruits
and spices. An absolute winner,
a grand wine. 97 points.
Les
Terrasses 2000, Alvaro Palacios
(Priorat, Spain)
Colour: dark ruby. Nose: wow, elegance
at its best. Spicy and fruity, with
again some notes of oriental perfume,
violets, lavender ice cream. Extremely
refined. Mouth: very coating, sensual
but not lumpy in any way. Notes
of praline and liquorice. Thrilling.
96 points.
Clos
Mogador 1998 (Priorat,
Spain)
Colour: blackcurrant juice, rather
opaque. Nose: beautiful mix of fresh
grape and cooked wine. Rose, books,
balsamic vinegar. Perhaps a bit
more austere than the Terrasses.
Mouth: bold, rich, on all sorts
of jams. Lacks a bit of vivacity
but the powerful aromatics sort
of counterbalance that. Bunches
of red fruits, melon… Long
finish, more nervous this time.
92 points.
Château
de Pibarnon 2001
(Bandol, France)
Colour: dark cherries. Nose: very
spicy, on fresh pepper – very
‘mourvèdre’.
Notes of nutmeg, mulled wine, mulberry
and blackcurrant jam, grenadine
syrup. Excellent. Mouth: beautiful
attack, very ‘jammy’
yet nervous and fresh. Provence
herbs, cooked red fruits. Long and
very satisfying finish. Pibarnon
gets better and better these days,
it appears; congrats, Monsieur de
Saint-Victor. 91 points.
Château
de Beaucastel 1999
(Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France)
Beaucastel uses all 13 grape varieties
that are authorized at Châteauneuf:
grenache, mourvèdre, syrah,
cinsault, vaccarèse, counoise,
terret noir, muscardin, clairette,
picpoul, picardan, bourboulenc and
roussane. So much better than many
dull ‘single grape’
wines! Colour: dark and opaque.
Nose: rather austere, in a good
way. Quite some green tannins at
the start and some lactones (not
from the wood) but also lots of
blackcurrant and sweet pepper. How
elegant! Hints of soy sauce and
balsamic vinegar. Mouth: lots of
strawberry jam, tomato jam. Nice
acidity, getting curiously ‘bourguignon’.
Not too bold but highly drinkable.
Pure pleasure. 90 points.
Mas
de Daumas-Gassac 2000
(Vin de Pays de l’Hérault,
France)
Colour: dark ruby. Nose: very ‘Bordeaux’
this time, with lots of Cabernet-Sauvignon.
Blackcurrant jam, mulberry jam…
notes of toasted bread. Very ‘classical’,
bold but elegant. Mouth: lighter,
with some rather green tannins and
sweet pepper. Not very bold but
nicely balanced. Rather long finish
on fresh blackcurrant. 88
points.
Domaine
de Trévallon 1993
(Côteaux d’Aix en Provence,
France)
Colour: garnet-red. Nose: very vegetal,
on fern, sweet pepper, parsley.
Develops on game, getting quite
sulphury. Quite metallic at that,
and fishy too. Very special if not
too enjoyable. Mouth: very ‘Bordeaux’
again, typically Trévallon.
Somewhat narrow, with some notes
of cold tea. The finish is a bit
too short. Trévallon never
really convinced me, and this 1993
(not the best vintage, that is)
had some hard time against all the
other winners we had. Besides, it
went flat quite quickly.
79 points.
Many thanks again, Christophe and
team!
|
 |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Finnish jazz/soul singer
Lassi Lehto, aka Jimi
Tenor (!) sings a most
enjoyable little piece of easy bossa
nova called Beyond
the stars.mp3. Nicely crafted,
don't you think? Please buy Jimi Tenor's
music if you like it. |
| TASTING
- Glen Flagler (40%, OB, ‘Gothic
Label’ for Italy, 70’s)
I’m not sure this one was a
'single' Glen Flagler. Colour: white
wine. Nose: very yeasty, grainy and
spirity, with no particular aromas
other than that. Rather close to a
gin or, perhaps, to the (in)famous
Italian Glen Grant 5 yo . Mouth: sugary
and surprisingly creamy… Really
close to some diluted raw sugar, and
aromatically weak. Just a rarity,
that was most certainly used for mixers
or on lots of ice cubes. A flavourless,
but rather flawless malt. Not too
bad, after all... 60 points. |
|
 |
 |
|
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: I'd bet you had never expected
to see some African raggamuffin on
whiskyfun, right? Right, but what's
better than something like Gabonese
singer KM David's
Les
Demoiselles - mp3 on a sunny day
like today? (well, sunny in Alsace...)
How to buy his music? Sorry, I have
no clues, even the Web doesn't know.
PS: well, as Maniac
Roman once wrote, weather doesn't
depend on weather forecasters. It's
raining cats and dogs this morning. |
|
BET
- My old friend Paul was wondering
if I would have the guts to publish
this
picture he just sent me. Ha! Perhaps
we'll have a Scot one day? |
| |
| TASTING
- Port Ellen 22 yo 1982/2004 (61.1%,
Douglas Laing for PLOWED, sherry cask
#748, 264 bottles)
Colour: light amber. Nose: subtler
and more delicate than expected at
first nosing. Some big notes of banana
flambéed with lots of fresh,
‘genuine’ farm butter.
At the same time, it’s rather
fresh and clean, with lots of sea
air that mixes with the butter. A
farm at the sea? It gets a bit musty,
and the usual rubbery notes are soon
to emerge. Formula 1 tyres, no need
to say (Michelin, of course ;-) Hints
of fresh cream… It goes on with
quite some chocolate and some coffee…
Wow, it’s endless! Yes, so complex…
Mouth: powerful and simply very big.
Much more sherry than on the nose,
but it’s surprisingly easy to
drink at such high strength. It switches
to meat, balsamic vinegar and soy
sauce… Notes of hot ham…
Then it gets sweeter, with some candy
sugar and raisins. Some big notes
of burnt sugar and heavy caramel.
Perhaps a little less distillery character
than on the nose, but it’s still
superb. |
|
 |
| Definitely
in the same league as the Port Ellen
Old Malt Cask that won the Top Sherry
Cask Award at the Malt Maniacs Awards
2004, and which I rated 94 points.
I think this PLOWED version is even
more complex, but on the other hand
it’s just a little too much
on burnt sugar… Okay, let’s
rate it just the same: 94
points. Well done again,
guys! (and thanks, Jay). |
 |
|
TASTING
– TWO OLD GLEN GARIOCHS
Glen Garioch 8 yo (43%, OB for Lemar
Italy, 1970’s)
This batch is said to be much better
than some other versions made for
some other Italian importers. Let’s
see… Colour: dark straw. Nose:
beautiful smoke, getting resinous
and waxy. Wow! Develops on old papers,
‘good dust’. It then
gets rounder, with some praline
and caramel, dried flowers, tea…
Very delicate and subtle. Mouth:
rather bold and ‘wide’,
with lots of refined peat, all sorts
of smoke, developing on resins,
crystallised angelica and earl grey
tea (bergamot)… The finish
is very long, subtle and supremely
balanced. Superb! 91 points. |
Glen
Garioch 21 yo (43%, OB, green decanter,
90’s)
Colour: amber. Nose: starts quite
smoky and a bit meaty, but it’s
a little weak – weaker than
some older 21 yo ’s, in any
case. Does that come from the decanter?
It goes on quite delicately, with
some dried fruits and some dried flowers.
Nice but again, it lacks a little
oomph and expression. Mouth: quite
creamy, and more nervous than expected.
Good news! Spicy, fruity, with quite
some vanilla crème and light
toffee. In short, it’s obviously
less smoky than the older expressions
– especially from the 80’s
– but it’s still a very
nice whisky. 85 points. |
|
 |
 |
|
MUSIC
– Very highly
recommended listening: not a big name
yet, but I'm bloody sure these guys
will 'do something' in the near future.
Quick, have a listen to Moishe
Lichtfuss & the a-signifying semiotics
(Lol!) playing Firetrucks.mp3.
Yes, something of Momus and perhaps
it's still a bit rough around the
edges, but all that is very clever...
Please buy it! |
 |
|
TASTING
- TWO SPRINGBANKS
Springbank
21 yo (46%, OB, dumpy ‘John
Mitchell’)
This one is older than the one signed
‘Archibald Mitchell’
in golden letters. Colour: gold.
Nose: extremely complex this time,
with some see water, bunches of
dried fruits and fresh fruit juice.
Develops on liquorice root, gentian
root, flower jam, fudge… Endless
and absolutely fantastic. Mouth:
extremely delicate and satisfying,
with some mullein flowers syrup,
some pollen and some praline. Flower
nectar, beeswax, Turkish delight…
Thrilling! Some whiffs of white
pepper and smoke counterbalance
the sweetness, making the whole
a total stunner. Extremely impressive,
even better than the more recent
‘Archibald Mitchell’
version. 94 points. |
| Springbank
1968/2004 (51.4%, Dun Bheagan, cask
#1415, 432 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: quite powerful,
but starting too oaky, gingery and
spicy. The wood seams to have taken
too much of its share… It then
gets rather grassy and herbal, with
just some hints of oil and cooked
meat. Not bad at all but aromatically
rather narrow. Mouth: starts a little
prickly and bitter like Campari. Very
vegetal, peppery and tannic, getting
suddenly very sugary. Not extremely
enjoyable, I’m afraid, but I
wouldn’t say it’s a bad
one. Just a small miss… 81
points. |
|
 |
 |
|
MUSIC
– JAZZ - Recommended
listening: Whiskyfun favourite Barbara
Dennerlein plays a grooovey
Give
it Up - mp3 with Dennis Chambers
on drums, Roy Hargrove on Trumpet,
Ray Anderson on trombone and various
other top-notch musicians such as
Don Alias or Lonnie Plaxico. Please
buy Barbara Dennerlein's music! |
| Glenfarclas
12 yo (43%, OB, Frattina, 80’s)
Nose: nice but a bit dusty, with some
orange marmalade, some honey and some
caramel. Quite simple, in fact…
Mouth: nicely balanced, with a lemony
attack. Unusually citrusy, and quite
spicy with quite some cloves. Medium
long finish, on lemon seeds. Lots
of vivacity! 84 points. |
 |
|
Glenfarclas
1976 ‘4th fill sherry’
(WIP, cask #3104)
An astonishing cask sample brought
to Limburg by George Grant (thanks
again, George). Colour: very pale
white wine. Nose: extremely fresh,
youthful, lively, and so refined and
delicate. Great notes of rosewater
and orange juice, together with meadow
flowers and almond milk. Highly enjoyable.
Mouth: superb balance, on crystallised
fruits and lavender ice cream. Goes
on with some fresh pineapple and light
tea, as well as lots of lemon juice
and tangerine. Long and refreshing
finish. Not to far from the best Rosebanks,
I’d say. It’s a thrill
to get the distillery’s character
with very little oak and wine influence.
Wow! 88 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Vic
Chesnutt sings a tender
and lunar What
do you mean.mp3 from his new album
'Ghetto Bells. The glorious interplay
between Chesnutt and accompanying
vocalist Liz Durrett makes it really
vibrant and moving, not to mention
the fact that the man at the guitars
is the great Bill Frisell himself.
Please buy Vic Chesnutt's music! |
|
 |
CONCERT
REVIEW: ALBERT LEE AND HOGAN'S HEROES
The Borderline, London
30th April 2005 - by
Nick Morgan |
 Left:
Brian Hodgson, right: Albert Lee |
|
You
might think it’s strange that
the man whose ‘phone rings when
the great and good of rock and roll
want an ace country guitarist was
born not in Nashville Tn., but in
England’s most rural Herefordshire. |
But
that’s simply the way it is
with veteran ace picker Albert
Lee, once of Head, Hands
and Feet, accomplished solo recording
artiste and performer, the man behind
the reconciliation of the Everly Brothers
(and now their guitarist and arranger)
and the owner of the magical fingers
that have graced more recording sessions
than you’ve had the proverbial
hot dinners. And who knows, maybe
it’s his pastoral origins that
also account for the fact that his
appearance is something akin to an
overgrown hobbit.
When he’s not recording (he’s
just finished an album with a motley
assortment of guitar gods and Scotty
Moore), touring with the Everly Brothers
et. al., or being one of Bill Wyman’s
Rhythm Kings, he still tours and records
fairly frequently with his band, Hogan’s
Heroes. |
| Led
by pedal steel guitarist Gerry Hogan,
with bass player Brian Hodgson, drummer
Peter Baron and featuring ex Jellybread
and top-ten artiste hit-record producer
and session man extraordinaire Pete
Wingfield (“I’m eighteen
with a bullet, got my finger on the
trigger and gonna pull it”)
on keyboards (who I last saw playing
more years ago than I would care to
remember at the famous Blues Attic
– not really an attic as you
will recall - behind the Jolly Weavers)
they provide and effective and good-humoured
backdrop for Lee’s guitar, his
surprisingly still effective singing,
and his occasional soulful forays
on the keyboard. |
|
 Pete
Wingfield |
| On
the second of two steamy and sweaty
nights at the Borderline (when I have
to add it was impossible to take notes
– hence, or partly hence, my
somewhat dim recollection of the evening’s
proceedings) we enjoyed two sets when
Lee worked his way through much of
his past solo material, tracks from
his most recent album Heartbreak Hill
(funnily enough ‘Two more bottles
of wine’ is one of the few songs
that comes to mind), and Tear it Up
with Hogan’s heroes, favourite
songs from Elvis (“Hound dog”,
on which they got the swinging rhythm
down to perfection), the Everly Brothers
(also apparently their most obscure,
so how the hell am I supposed to remember
what it was?), Hoyt Axton, the Beach
Boys (another one that had us scratching
our heads) and Tommy Steele (yes,
I said Tommy Steele – ‘Singing
the Blues’), helped out by Wingfield
who performed a classy couple of Floyd
Kramer tunes. |
 |
|
If
you want an introduction to young
Albert then I would commend his 1979
album ‘Hiding’. This of
course is something of an albatross
round his neck as it contains the
hit song ‘Country boy’
with Lee in fretboard burning form
(he probably outplayed that other
Lee fellow for speed on this one).
But it’s a shame when clearly
much of the audience have really only
come along to hear this one song,
not least when there’s far more
subtlety, style and guile in his playing
than he can ever display at 100 miles
and hour. |
| Nonetheless
he gives the audience what they want.
And clearly he and the band really
enjoy themselves – an admirable
reminder to those untouchable superstars
who will only grace mega stadiums,
that this is what rock and roll is
really all about, even for guys who
spend most of their days in studios
covering up for the flaws of the supposedly
great ones. Nick Morgan (first
photo by Kate). |
| Thanks,
Nick. Faster than Alvin Lee on Going
home? Is that possible? Anyway, here
we have a very 'classical' Rock
and Roll Man.mp3 from Albert Lee's
eponymous album (1982). Not too fast
but highly enjoyable! Oh, speaking
of speed, did you know this great
Italian 'picker' named Luca
Oliveri? Have a try at
Hot
wired.mp3 and tell me what you
think... |
| |
| TASTING
- TWO INDIE HIGHLAND PARKS
Highland
Park 13 yo 1990/2003 (46%, Silver
Seal, 680 bottles)
Colour: vegetal and perhaps a bit
too much on burnt bread and burnt
sugar. Goes on with some notes of
cider, light caramel, apple pie…
Not bad but not overly complex.
Mouth: sweet and rounded but lacking
body. It then develops rather weirdly,
on Schweppes and salt… Well,
it’s not one of the best,
I’d say. But perhaps the bottle
had a problem (cork?) as I rated
it fairly higher last time I had
this one. 78 points. |
|
 |
 |
|
Highland
Park 25 yo 1976/2001 (43%, Signatory
Millenium, cask #1984, 372 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather fresh,
on apples and peaches. Quite clean
despite it’s age, and very lively.
It’s not too complex but really
enjoyable. Goes on with some notes
of apricot pie and vanilla crème.
Mouth: quite bold and very fruity
(apple, pear, gooseberry) with just
a dash of white pepper. Again, it’s
not too complex but it’s nicely
balanced and very enjoyable. 85
points. |
| CONCERT
REVIEW: STAX - SOULSVILLE USA
The Barbican, London
25th April 2005 - by
Nick Morgan |
 |
Have
you ever thought that there
might be just too much love
in the house? |
|
|
 |
| It
went like this. First the lady who
used to run the tea and biscuit trolley
at Stax
Records in Memphis – she’s
now the curator of the recently opened
Stax Museum in a recreation of the
demolished studios – loved us,
for about ten minutes. |
|
| In
fact she loved us so much that she
came back after the interval and loved
us some more. Then Skip Pitts, front
man and guitarist with warm-up act
the
Bo-keys (who played the
wicha wicha wah wah bit at the start
of Shaft) loved us, as did drummer
Willie Hall (who played the tsshp
tsshp hi-hat on the same Issac Hayes
mega-hit). |
Mable John |
|
Ben Cauley, trumpeter for Otis Redding,
sang for us and loved us too, and
Marvell Thomas (son of Rufus, brother
of Carla) bowed his head in an almost
reverential act of love every time
the word was mentioned. Mable
John, who was guest vocalist
with the Bo-Keys loved us in every
key except the one the band were playing
in, and performed her hit ‘Your
good thing is about to end’,
during which she indicated more than
once that she had a particular affection
– if not love - for the good
thangs of the men of old London town. |
| The
solemn and scholarly Booker
T Jones (Hammond Organ
supremo par excellence), when he finally
climbed down from the elevated Altar
of Groove that he occupied for most
of the evening to speak to us, loved
us from the bottom of his heart. |
|
 Booker
T and the MGs |
| Pony
tailed Steve
Cropper – wonder
guitarist, genius songwriter, arranger,
engineer and ace producer, loved us
for being the people who brought Memphis
Rhythm and Blues to the world. Donald
Duck Dunn loved us for
giving him the opportunity to strut
the stage, with awesome Fender bass
guitar gently perched on an equally
awesome beer-belly. William
Bell loved us for making
‘Private Number’ such
a huge hit, and Eddie
Floyd loved the bald
man in the front row so much that
he couldn’t stop stroking his
head. So much love on one stage going
out to a long fully sold out Barbican
for the last night of the It Came
From Memphis series of concerts. |
 Booker
T Jones |
|
Of
course the guys had got this love
fest the wrong way round. We were
there because we loved them, and no
disrespect to the Bo-Keys, or Mable
John (who did eventually get in tune),
or William Bell, or Eddie Floyd, but
the ones we loved the most were the
quite remarkable Booker T and the
MGs. Here were three guys (performing
with with drummer Steve Potts in place
of original skins-man the late Al
Jackson) who simply rewrote the book,
and whose influence on soul and rock
music was arguably as profound and
long-lasting as the mercurial Beatles. |
| We
loved Booker T for his deeply soulful
no-nonsense playing – understated
in gesture and flourish for a Hammond
player – and for the occasional
smiles that flashed across his face
when Potts, Dunn or Cropper delighted
with their playing. We loved Dunn
for his jovial presence but simply
wicked bass playing – his short
improvisations astonishing even his
colleagues on stage. And of course
we loved Cropper, not just for being
one half of the partnerships that
produced ‘Knock on wood’,
‘Midnight Hour’ or ‘Dock
of the Bay’, but also for his
elegant minimalist guitar work, and
of course his Peavey ‘Cropper
Classic’ guitar, one for everyone’s
Christmas wish list. We also discovered
that we loved drummer Potts for his
rip-roaring power drumming. And we
loved the MGs together for ‘Melting
Pot’, ‘Summertime’,
‘Soul limbo’ (a notable
contribution to English cricket),
‘Hang ‘em high’,
‘Time is tight’ and ‘Green
onions’ – all of which
featured in their set, which was a
timeless, and as fresh, as it was
some thirty years ago. And we did
love Bell, Floyd and Thomas when they
all joined the stage towards the end
of the set, arguing between themselves
like slightly forgetful old men over
who played what on which hit record
and why. |
| Actually
forget it – sometimes there
is simply never too much love in the
house. - Nick Morgan (concert
photo by Kate). |
 |
| Thanks
a bunch, Nick. That must have been
quite an historical moment! Love and
jumping hearts, I'm sure... (roll
your mouse over the heart just above).
There are loads of hits by these guys
to be found on the Web, so let's just
have one: Green
onions.mp3 by Booker T and the
MGs. Yes, that's the original version... |
| |
 |
|
TASTING
- THREE PUNCHY LAPHROAIGS
Laphroaig
10 yo Cask Strength (57.3%, OB,
1 litre, ca 1995)
This is the first version, for duty
free only. Colour: straw. Nose:
extremely smoky, and not only on
peat smoke. Lots of grapefruit juice,
getting very rubbery (brand new
tyre). It then develops on lots
of tropical fruits such as passion
fruit, guava, mango… Really
big and powerful, yet perfectly
balanced. Fantastic. Mouth: again,
big, bold and superbly balanced.
Lots of spearmint, smoke, lemon
and all sorts of tropical fruits,
with an endless finish. A stunning
whisky, perhaps the best of all
the Laphroaig C/S I ever had, although
all versions have been great, including
the latest ‘green stripe’.
Worth buying by the case, considering
the price. 94 points.
|
| Laphroaig
13 yo 1991/2005 (55.8%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society, 29.43)
Colour: pure gold. Nose: typical Laphroaig,
with lots of peat smoke and mango
juice plus various herbal teas. Very
good, perhaps a little simpler than
the official C/S and less ‘compact’
at the same time. Mouth: again, typically
Laphroaigish, with quite some liquorice
roots and some nose of rose water,
like in some Oriental pastry. Very,
very nice but, again, lacking a little
extra-complexity. 86 points. |
| Laphroaig
18 yo 1966/1985 (54%, G&M for
Intertrade, 250 bottles)
An oldie this time. Colour: full amber.
Nose: much farmier, and less ‘maritime’
than usually. Some notes of sweat
and toasted bread. Lots of rubbery
notes, at that… Very special!
Certainly a love it or hate it Laphroaig,
with something of Port Ellen. Beautiful,
I think. Mouth: fantastic, much more
classical this time. Lots of smoke
and fruits, getting very peppery a
la Talisker. Some notes of wet hay,
dog and salted liquorice, with a very
long finish. Not too clean and completely
uncivilized, I’d say –
I really loved it.. 92 points. |
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| TASTING
- Jack’s Pirate Whisky 8 yo
(55.2%, Jack Wieber, cask #26703,
347 bottles)
A cask vatting of 50% Laphroaig and
50% Caol Ila. Colour: white wine.
Nose: full smoke and peat with lemon
juice and cooked apples. Not complex
at all but very, very enjoyable. Mouth:
more rounded and balanced, a bit sweeter
than Laphroaig but also a little cleaner
and fresher. A perfect vatting, certainly
better than a 8 yo Laphroaig or a
8 yo Caol Ila. Does a vatting bring
more maturity to whisky? That’s
also what for instance the Bruichladdich
‘3D’ suggests… Anyway,
86 points for this
most friendly German pirate. |
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MUSIC
– Recommended
listening (again something arty a
la Momus): Dr
Nick (yes) plays Romance!
(full movie+credits).mp3. He's
quite good at playing 'detuned' on
purpose (it's on purpose, right?)
and I like his work pretty much. Please
buy Dr Nick's music if he ever sells
it! (via demusement.com) |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews |
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Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Laphroaig
10 yo Cask Strength (57.3%, OB, 1 litre,
ca 1995)
Laphroaig
18 yo 1966/1985 (54%, G&M for Intertrade,
250 bottles)
Port
Ellen 22 yo 1982/2004 (61.1%,
Douglas Laing for PLOWED, sherry cask #748,
264 bottles)
Springbank
21 yo (46%, OB, dumpy ‘John Mitchell’)
Springbank
1969/1997 (51.6%, Dun Eidean, butt
#2381, 590 bottles)
Talisker
21 yo 1952 (43%, G&M Connoisseur’s
Choice black label, for Pinerolo)
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