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Hi, you're in the Archives, May 2007 - Part 1 |
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May
13, 2007 |
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| TASTING
– TWO 1975 DAILUAINES BY G&M |
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Dailuaine
1975/2002 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail,
Connoisseurs Choice)
Colour: amber. Nose: smooth but not
weak, starting on quite some caramel,
light honey and orange marmalade.
Then it’s the oak and the vanilla,
hot baguette, orange cake, oriental
pastries (baklavas), hints of apricot
pie and white pepper, wax polish…
Also wild flowers and fresh walnuts…
Rather expressive and nicely balanced,
with something a little antique (old
furniture). Mouth: good attack, no
weakness at all, very orangey and
quite candied. Notes of earl grey
tea, vanilla fudge, very ripe apricots
and watermelons… Nice, discrete
oakiness. Gets slightly cardboardy
towards the end but that’s not
disturbing at all. Nice clean finish,
medium long, on candy sugar and crystallised
oranges, with also a nice nuttiness.
‘Nice’ is the word. Harmless
and very drinkable. 85 points. |
| Dailuaine
31 yo 1975/2006 (55%, Gordon &
MacPhail Reserve, sherry cask #4374,
197 bottles)
Colour: deep amber – mahogany.
Nose: classical sherry, starting coffee-ish
and chocolaty, quite dry in fact.
Notes of old books and rooibos tea
as well as a little soy sauce, getting
then a little more vinous (it ‘ranciotes’)
but still quite dry (walnut burs).
Little fruitiness. With water: no
major changes except for a little
mint coming through and maybe hints
of peat. What’s more, the whisky
got completely opaque. |
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| Mouth
(neat): much sweeter at the attack,
hyper-concentrated, with lots of brown
sugar and cloves. It’s quite
tannic in fact, getting drier and
drier with time, very chocolaty and
certainly more vinous than on the
nose (lots of blackcurrant jelly,
cherry stalks tea, highly reduced
wine sauce…) Very drinkable
without water but let’s still
see what happens with a few drops:
it does get less dry and more orangey
and honeyed indeed, as well as spicier.
Lots of cloves again but also a little
pepper and soft paprika. Bigger notes
of raisins as well but then the tannins
strike back. Finish: long, on raisins,
bitter chocolate and coffee –
probably the nicest part in fact.
A very compact finish. Maybe not the
best sherry monster ever but certainly
a good, thick one. 85 points. |
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May
11, 2007 |
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| TASTING
– ONE 1992 BEN NEVIS (okay,
make that two – what’s
the plural again?) |
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Ben
Nevis 14 yo 1992/2007 (55.8%, Signatory,
1st Fill Sherry Butt, cask #2301,
733 bottles) 
Colour: straw. Nose: starts very powerful,
strong, heady and vinous in a very
nice way. It’s got something
that reminds me of ‘blanche’,
which is unaged armagnac. No need
to tell you that I like this. Very
nice kirschy notes, cooked strawberries,
baklavas… A little sulphur but
it’s prompt to disappear. Develops
a little more classically, on caramel,
honey sauce, coffee and sultanas as
well as a little soy sauce as often
with fresh sherry and hints of unlit
Havana cigar. Funny hints of iodine
and chicory. Rather restless, this
one. |
| Mouth:
oily, thick and a little rubbery at
the start but soon to get much cleaner
although still very bold and a little
wham-bam. We have kirsch again, strawberry
liqueur, muscat eau-de-vie, orange
marmalade, ginger… Then it’s
a little cardamom, coriander, soft
curry, ripe quetsches (purple plums
we have here)… It’s also
slightly resinous, liquoricy and salty…
Restless indeed. Finish: quite long,
rounded, candied and jammy (these
purple plums again). Lots happening
here, all this is very satisfying
even if a little rough and ready.
88 points. |
Ben
Nevis 11 yo 1992/2003 (59.6%, Blackadder,
cask #687) 
Colour: white wine – straw.
Nose: a punchy as the Signatory but
much more ‘neutral’ and
‘natural’. Extremely grainy,
porridgy, milky and vanilled, with
just something perfumy in the background,
like often with Ben Nevis. Very simple
but maybe water will make it ‘wider’:
no, that doesn’t work, it’s
even more mashy and grainy with also
notes of ginger tonic and stale beer.
And things don’t get any better
with time. Mouth (neat): very sweet
and oily, fruity (pineapples and pears)
and immensely grainy but too hot to
be sipped just like that. With water:
sugared porridge. Finish: medium long,
still very grainy. Really too simple
and lacking ageing I think. 68
points. |
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May
10, 2007 |
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TASTING
- TWO GREAT BOWMORES
Bowmore
15 yo 1991/2006 (56.5%, Dewar Rattray
Cask Collection)
Colour: gold – amber. Nose:
very powerful and much peatier than
usual, with nice candied sherry
tones and an enjoyable sharpness.
Truly coastal (fisherman’s
nets) and very smoky. Huge plate
of oysters with kind of caramel
sauce? It gets then more animal
and meaty, with hints of game, soy
sauce, then shoe polish, wet dog…
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| Truly
superb but a tad too powerful for
me, let’s try it with water:
ho-ho, now we have superb notes of
beeswax, old pu-erh tea (and you may
know what I think of old pu-erh teas),
tiger balm, leather (brand new high-end
car), unlit pipe tobacco… Fab!
Mouth (neat): amazingly creamy and
silky yet very punchy. Extremely oily
mouth feel. Beautiful peat, crystallized
oranges, vanilla-flavoured toffee,
quince jelly, white pepper, butter
caramel, white nougat, orange liqueurs
(pick your brand), violet sweets,
strawberry jam… Fantastically
rich, sweet and peaty. Not unlike,
let’s say a peaty orange liqueur.
I love this. No need of water on the
palate, let’s go directly to
the palate which is long, yet incredibly
compact, candied, smoky and delicately
spicy. Top notch Bowmore, hugely satisfying.
92 points. |
| Bowmore
16 yo 1990/2007 (58.4%, Whisky-Doris)
Colour: white wine – straw.
Nose: ah, this is the ‘natural’
counterpart of the 1991. Clean, sharp,
a little less peaty and a tad more
spirity, more lemony but then just
as coastal, with again these oysters
but with lemon juice this time. Nice
whiffs of smoke and coal oven as well
as fresh almonds. Now, it is very
strong, so water, please! Right, now
we have whiffs of diesel oil (old
fisherman’s boat?), kelp, ‘the
harbour late in the afternoon after
a hot day’ (will you stop this,
Serge?), clean wet dog, linseed oil…
Beautiful, really. As close to ‘coastality’
as a whisky can get. Mouth (neat):
again we’re very close to the
1991 but just without sherry. The
result is lemonier, sharper, more
‘nervous’ but still extremely
compact, peaty and maybe even more
maritime now (clams with lemon). Pleasant
notes of icing sugar, grapefruit sweets
and marzipan. With water (although
it’s very drinkable when neat):
okay, maybe less development here,
except for lots of salt covering your
tongue now. Finish: long, peaty, more
resinous now, almondy and salty. And
very clean. Extremely satisfying and
very typical of Bowmore’s improvement
since the early 1990’s (methinks).
Congrats for having selected this.
90 points. |
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May
9, 2007 |
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TASTING
OLD
AND NEW 12yo ABERLOURS |
Aberlour-Glenlivet
12 yo (40%, OB, 'pure malt', square
bottle, 1970's) 
Colour: gold. Nose: superbly honeyed
and fragrant, starting on notes of
old roses, sandalwood, incense, old
leather and moist cigar box plus acacia
honey and pollen. Superb, extremely
elegant. The possible sherry is very
discrete – or maybe it vanished.
Develops on camphor and eucalyptus
as well as crushed fresh peppermint
leaves, getting then more classically
caramelly and vanilled but also with
quite some coal smoke and hints of
old sweet white wine (Sauternes and
such) as well as plum jam. Top notch
– and such strong smokiness
is quite unusual. Mouth: alas, it’s
much weaker now, faded, slightly cardboardy
and tea-ish. Too bad because one can
feel it used to be great once, but
the mouth feel is really thin, there’s
almost no body. As often, the finish
is a little oomphier though, mostly
on almonds and vanilla. But what a
nose! 80 points. |
Aberlour
12 yo 1994/2007 (46%, Duncan Taylor
NC2) 
NC2 stands for Non Coloured and Non
Chillfiltered. Colour: white wine
– straw. Nose: it’s funny
because there’s a little smoke
again but the rest is much grainier,
milky, vanilled and cereally. And
then we have these roses again, just
even stronger here. It’ gets
frankly perfumy after a moment (quality
cologne) and also rather lemony. Also
notes of freshly cut apples. Quite
peculiar. Mouth: sweet and rather
simple at the attack but we have a
good mouth feel this time. Apple juice,
vanilla crème, orange drops,
hints of muesli, white chocolate,
a little white pepper and a little
ginger… All that is rather drinkable.
Finish: not too long but nicely gingery,
with also notes of dried pears. Good
malt without the fuss. 83
points. |
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May
8, 2007 |
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TASTING
– THREE YOUNG SPRINGBANKS
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Springbank
6 yo 1997/2003 (45%, Stills of Scotland,
Hogshead #182) 
Colour: white wine – almost
white in fact. Nose: spirity, yeasty
and very grassy as well as quite milky.
Soaked barley, newly cut grass, lemon
zest, wet cardboard, porridge…
As young and immature as it can get
but sort of pleasant, without any
dull fruitiness usually associated
with such youngsters (pears, pineapples
and all that). Tequila-like. Mouth:
an extremely lemony attack, developing
on citrus skin, pepper and faint hints
of mustard with also a little salt.
Ah, simple life… Finish: medium
long, still very lemony and nicely
bitter. Good spirit. 78 points. |
| Springbank
11 yo 1989/2000 (45%, Signatory, Stills
of Scotland, cask #105)
Colour: white wine. Nose: more of
the same but a little toned down,
although it’s even more on grains,
porridge, mashed potatoes… A
little vanilla coming through now,
but the cask wasn’t too active
it seems. It’s younger brother
was probably more interesting in its
flying youth. Mouth: very close to
the 6yo but also more unbalanced,
with these rather weird notes of rotten
oranges and aspirin that one can find
in many recent expressions from the
distillery. Chemical. Finish: rather
long, lemony, cardboardy and with
hints of cologne. Certainly not undrinkable
but below par – I like the 6yo
much better (which may also prove
that Spirngbank’s more recent
distillates are cleaner and better
again (in my opinion). 68
points. |
| Springbank
10 yo 1996 (51.5%, Exclusive Malts,
cask #589, 374 bottles, 2007)
David Stirk has changed his label
and abandoned the flashy Scottish
flag. Smart move methinks. Colour:
amber. Nose: completely different,
much more on sherry and caramel. Still
something very yeasty in the background
(lots of yoghurt), but other than
that it’s all on praline, vanilla-flavoured
toffee, honey, nougat… Not too
complex but nicely balanced and much
pleasant, with also a slight meatiness.
Mouth: lots of sherry at the attack,
oranges, caramel, milk chocolate,
roasted nuts… But also something
a little ‘dirty’, sour
and a little too drying, like old
cocoa or old white pepper. That’s
the only bad side of this malt but
the rest is pretty enjoyable, even
interesting. Finish: rather long,
orangey, nutty and, again, just a
tad drying. A playful young sherried
Springbank that I like. 82
points. |
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May
6, 2007 |
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TASTING
– THREE SPEYSIDES (distillery) |
The
Speyside 10yo (40%, OB, circa 2005)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather balanced
but not bold, with a little bit of
this (yellow flowers), a little bit
of that (vanilla) and a little bit
of grain. Hints of lilac and light
honey. That’s pretty all. Mouth:
sweet, grainy, caramelly and vanilled.
A little weak I must say, not much
happening on the palate. Quite close
to some blends. Finish: not too short
but grainy and caramelly. No flaws
as such but this one is probably not
for malt drinkers… 70
points. |
| The
Speyside 12yo (40%, OB, circa 2006)
Colour: gold. Nose: very similar,
with just a little bit more of everything.
Which still doesn’t make much
but it’s pleasant if harmless.
Maybe faint whiffs of mint leaves.
Mouth: again, more body than the 10
but the profile is just the same.
It’s even closer than on the
nose actually. Finish: same comment.
Both should be perfect on ice. 71
points. |
| The
Speyside 15yo 1991/2007 (53.7%, The
Whisky Fair, bourbon, 190 bottles)
Colour: pale gold.
Nose: there’s more happening,
obviously, and it’s not only
the strength. It’s a little
less grainy than the OBs and showcases
more wood influence, with notes of
coffee, toasted bread, ripe strawberries
and then butter and vanilla. Quite
clean I must say but it still isn’t
expressive malt. Mouth: rather thick
and oily but very sweet, almost sugarish,
starting on notes of orange drops
and apple compote. Quite some spices
as well (white pepper), pineapple
sweets, plums… That’s
all. Ah, no, also a little chamomile
tea. Finish: longer than the OBs’
but still a little indefinite and
sort of neutral. Again, no flaws but
no real thrill, although we should
say thank you to the Whisky Fair for
having brought this variant to the
market as there were very few until
now (I only knew a Hart Bros and a
Scott’s). 74 points. |
MUSIC
–
Recommended
listening: it's Sunday, we go classical
with the fabulous Anna
Netrebko again, this
time singing the Arioso
No1.mp3 from Tchaikovsky's Iolanta.
Please buy Anna Netrebko's records
and go see her on stage. |
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May
5, 2007 |
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| CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan |
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JOHNNY
WINTER AND HIS BAND
The Astoria,
London, April 27th 2007
We’ve
just demolished a delicious plate
of crispy fried eel and the table’s
being cleared. “Where you
go tonight” asks our waiter,
“Show, maybe drinking?”.
“Concert, Johnny
Winter”. “Who?”
he replies, faced etched with puzzlement
– then he relaxes, “Ah
yes, isn’t he some country
and western guy?”. |
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In the Astoria on the stairs there’s
a punter on the ‘phone: “No,
I told you last time he was fucking
shite. He was so shite I said I’d
never go and see him again. It was
fucking awful. I don’t know.
Yes I know I said I’d never
go and see him again, but well,
you know ….” The omens
aren’t good. And
upstairs with the old folks in the
Pickle Factory (actually it’s
old folks downstairs too) there’s
a prescient atmosphere, but I can
tell that the toothless soothsayers
around us (some have brought their
sandwiches to sooth on with their
warm canned beer) are only foretelling
doom. Me – I’m just
surprised to be here. I had honestly
thought Johnny Winter was dead.
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| And
for the benefit of our charming waiter
at the Fung
Shing let me remind you that in
his day Johnny Winter was the king
of hot-shot blues-rock guitarists.
Plucked from obscurity by the magazine
Rolling Stone ("Imagine a 130-pound
cross-eyed albino bluesman with long
fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest
blues guitar you have ever heard.")
his striking features and equally
striking guitar style were a constant
features of the early seventies music
scene. Plagued by ill-health since
childhood, Winter’s response
was to plunge himself into drug and
alcohol addiction from which he returned
in the late seventies to produce Muddy
Waters’ final three albums,
including the outstanding Hard Again.
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| Since
then he’s turned himself increasingly
to the blues, and although his fame
has somewhat diminished, he has continued
to tour and record – 21 albums
in all, several of which, including
the 2004 offering, I’m a Bluesman,
have been Grammy nominated. |
| Opening
is Scott
Mckeon and his band, playing Hendrix-tinged
pedal-fuelled (to be accurate a Blues
Power Fuzz, an 808 Tubescreamer, a
Roger Mayer Octavia, a Voodoo Vibe
Jr, a Line 6 DL4 and not forgetting
a Fulltone Clyde Wah) blues –
he was also warm up man for Joe Bonamassa.
But despite the polite reception he
gets the audience is only here to
see one man. It’s a Friday night
– the Pickle Factory goes GAYE
at 11.00 pm so we don’t have
to wait long for Winter’s band
to take the stage. Guitarist Paul
Nelson, drummer and occasional
vocalist Wayne
June and bassist Scott
Spray run through a noisy rhythm
and blues piece before Winter
is helped up onto the stage. He’s
accompanied to his chair, walking
with a deep stoop like a seriously
old man – he’s cadaverous
– his arms skin and bone. Once
in his chair he crouches painfully
over his lightweight Erlewine Lazer
and it’s clear that while the
mind seems willing the body ain’t.
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| His
playing is very stiff and slow –
and strangely guitarist Nelson
has left the stage. I always imagined
in situations like this it’s
the guitarist’s job to cover
for his boss – but he only returns
for the final number, leaving Winter’s
frailties cruelly exposed. There are
odd flashes of real class –
notably in the first solo on ‘Blackjack
Blues’ (attributed by some to
Bob Dylan but thought to be a Ray
Charles original) for the most part
his playing is a shadow of the past.
That’s not to say it doesn’t
get better as the night goes on but
it’s always careful and restrained.
He’s also lost his voice –
‘though he does sing on a number
of songs and occasionally rises to
the moment – such as encore
‘Highway 61’. It’s
a desultory affair – almost
painful to watch at times - with the
crowd I think just relieved that he
makes it through each song. In the
end he plays for about 75 minutes
(an unduly long portion of which is
taken up by a very indifferent ‘Hoochie
Coochie Man’ during which Wayne
June narrates the story of Johnny
and Muddy, as if we didn’t know),
finishing on slide and his famous
Gibson Firebird. Then his assistant
and band carefully help him to the
back of the stage and down the steep
stairs to his dressing room. |
| You
can’t help wondering why artistes
put themselves through this sort of
thing – can it really just be
for the money? Or is there something
about the adrenalin rush of being
on stage that they simply can’t
give up? Either way my advice to Mr
Winter would be to rest on your laurels,
embrace your great past, and stay
at home. By the way, in case you’re
wondering, Johnny does have a brother
called Edgar,
who he still teams up with occasionally,
and who unlike his brother is in pretty
good shape. We saw him a couple of
years ago – as a result he’s
a Whiskyfun Music Award Winner –
and if he turns up in your town I’d
happily suggest you go along for some
fun. It’s a shame I can’t
say the same about his brother. -
Nick Morgan (concert photographs by
Kate) |
Edgar (left) and Johnny Winter,
1976
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| Many
thanks, Nick. So the Texan guitar
slinger isn’t who he used to
be anymore… This is sad news
indeed but I guess we can always try
to keep our spirits up with one of
his earlier live renditions of Red
house.mp3... - S. |
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TASTING
– TWO OLD TAMDHUS AND A YOUNG
ONE |
| Tamdhu
34yo 1969/2004 (40.2%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #7314)
Colour: straw. Nose: as fresh and
fruity as a 34 years old malt can
be, which already happened several
times with old Tamdhus. Starts on
lots of gooseberries, apples (golden
delicious), mangos, oranges, bananas
and pears, getting then unusually
smoky (wood smoke) and quite gingery,
with also notes of cinchona. Really
starts to smell like ginger tonic
after a moment, or orange soda for
that matter. Then we have hints of
mint and lemon balm, freshly sawn
oak, hints of horseradish… It’s
rather complex and quite entertaining,
with an amazing freshness. Keeps developing
for a long time, switching to chamomile
and mint tea after a moment –
and loads of fresh peppermint. Mouth:
excellent attack, full bodied, vibrant,
very fruity and delicately spicy.
Litres of orange juice and banana
juice plus nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves
from the wood, with a little saltiness,
a little liquorice, strongly sugared
mint flavoured tea like they make
in north Africa, white pepper…
Sure there’s tannins but they
are of the silky kind. A little less
complex on the palate than on the
nose, as often with these old casks.
Finish: very long (at 40.2%!), even
saltier than before, liquoricy, slightly
resinous now. Excellent old Tamdhu,
not tired in any way. 90 points. |
| Tamdhu-Glenlivet
29yo (43%, Moon 'The Cars', 176 bottles,
early 1990’s)
No vintage on this series. Colour:
straw. Nose: roughly the same profile
here but the whole is more discrete,
less wham-bam than the Duncan Taylor.
We have a little smoke again, orange
and apple juice, fresh oak, fresh
ginger… Gets a little grassier
than the 1969 after a while, with
also quite some apple skin and almond
milk. A shy variation – but
an elegant one, with more and more
vanilla, that is. Mouth: more body
now but also more wood. Starts ‘nicely’
cardboardy, with also notes of wheat
flour, tea, liquorice roots…
Then a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg
as well as white pepper, with the
tannins starting to bite your tongue
a bit. Very dry. Finish: even longer
than the Duncan Taylor’s but
drier and more tannic – just
below the limits I’d say. A
little salt again. Another good one
but you have to like oak. 85
points. |
| Tamdhu
11yo 1994/2006 (61%, Signatory, cask
#1995)
Colour: amber (it’s a sherry
cask). Nose: quite spirity and rather
sherried as expected, starting quite
meaty (barbecue, ham) and rubbery.
Quite dry actually, smoky, fresh ground
coffee, burnt wood… Lots of
vanilla and caramel as well, but let’s
try it with water now: there’s
a little sulphur now but it’s
temporary. Gets a little farmier (wet
hay) but also even meatier. Proteins,
anyone? Mouth (neat): powerful of
course, dry, as coffeeish and caramelly
(bitter caramel) as on the nose, quite
rubbery again, with quite some coca
powder, but it’s getting hot.
At 61%, no wonder, so let’s
try it with water again: it got sweeter
now, with notes of strawberry jam
(from the sherry) and a little orange
marmalade. Quite some fudge as well,
vanilla flavoured toffee… All
that is still slightly rough but already
balanced. Finish: long, very toffeeish
now, salty and liquoricy like many
young sherried whiskies. A good youngster
that sort of reminds me the excellent
old 10yo OB’s except that this
one’s a little rougher –
and it’s not only the alcohol.
85 points. |
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May
4, 2007 |
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| TASTING
– SIX 1990 CLYNELISHES AND A
SUPER-BONUS |
| Clynelish
13yo 1990/2004 (46%, Signatory UCF,
cask #12737)
Colour: straw. Nose: fresh, fruity
an playful at first sniffs, with a
typical waxiness (something like orange-scented
candles here) as well as newly cut
apples and a little pear juice. We
have quite some wood smoke after that,
lemon… gets frankly maritime
after a moment, with whiffs of very
fresh oysters. Otherwise it’s
quite ashy and stony. Very clean and
very pure. Mouth: very sweet and very
fruity, a little more indefinite this
time. Closer to fruit spirit (plum
eau-de-vie) and grain, with just a
little vanilla and hints of spices
from the wood, as well as a little
ginger. Not bad at all but maybe a
tad too ‘neutral’. Finish:
rather long, still very fruity (pears).
Good whisky but the markers are a
little absent on the palate whilst
the nose was crystal clean. 82
points (up, I had it at 78
points before). |
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Clynelish
13yo 1990/2004 (46%, Murray McDavid,
refill sherry, MM0402)
Colour: straw. Nose: a little hotter,
a little more spirity, but otherwise
quite similar, with maybe even more
smoke (matchsticks) but the sherry
isn’t too clean after that and
gives the whole a little too much
vinosity. Quite some cooked strawberries
and hints of kirsch. Still quite nice
but maybe it lacks the Signatory’s
cleanliness. Also a little yeastier.
Mouth: now there’s more happening
than in the Signatory. It’s
hugely kirschy, really resembling
fruit spirit now, with little wood
influence but quite some strawberry
liqueur along the kirsch, triple-sec
or other kinds of orange liqueurs…
Very faint notes of rubber. Finish:
a tad longer than the Signatory’s,
also spicier and even a little tannic,
pleasantly so… But we’re
in the same category regarding my
global feelings: 82 points. |
| Clynelish
17yo 1990/2007 (46%, Alambic Classique,
cask #51135)
Colour: dark gold. Nose: smokier,
peatier, with more body and less fruitiness
at first nosing. Also more buttery,
vanilled, waxy (here we go) and apricoty,
with a very pleasant oakiness in the
background and a little honey (and
hints of heather). That’s right,
this could as well be Highland Park.
Rather classy nose. Mouth: it’s
the sherry that strikes first –
a dry one – with notes of prunes
and wine sauce. Gets then more on
chocolate, vanilla toffee, white pepper,
getting rather drying after a moment.
Quite some tannins that sort of confine
the middle nd even the finish, which
isn’t too long but slightly
cardboardy, with quite some bitter
chocolate again. This one kept dwindling
from the great first sniffs till the
end of the finish… Bizarre!
79 points. |
 |
| Clynelish
16yo 1990/2006 (56%, Whisky Galore
Gold for Aalborg Whisky Club, 614
bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: this is different
again, and it’s not only thanks
to the higher ABV. Starts mainly on
waxed paper but then we have a lot
of olive oil, praline, bitter chocolate
and humus. A rather beautiful dryness
altogether, the whole being much more
organic than all three we had before.
It’s also a bit rougher and
less ‘urban’ (eh?), with
its hints of (nice) manure and even
horse dung. Mouth: an oily mouth feel
and punchy but not too powerful attack,
fruity, phenolic and slightly vinous
(pleasantly so). The spices are quick
to strike with quite some ginger,
a little nutmeg, cloves… hen
we have that olive oil again, oranges,
honey, something slightly resinous…
Quite some tannins again but they’re
much more bearable than in the ‘Alambic’.
Very ripe strawberries. Finish: long,
maybe a little ‘dirty’
(in the sense that it’s not
really clean (good one Serge) and
linear but rather fruity, oily, sugary
(icing sugar) and phenolic at the
same time, with hints of rubber again.
But a very good Clynelish from –and
for - the countryside. 86
points. (thanks, Al) |
| Clynelish
15yo 1990 (58%, Blackadder Raw Cask,
cask #3954)
Colour: straw. Nose: this is even
rougher but there’s no sherry
at all (although it does come from
a sherry butt!) and very little cask
influence I must say. Just plain fruit
juice, a rather pleasant cocktail
of apples, strawberries, tangerines
and bananas. Gets then a little more
organic, farmy (faint peatiness),
waxy indeed, with also notes of linseed
oil. Something funnily meaty after
that (sausages?) and finally a little
fresh oak, caramel and vanilla. Mouth:
we’re closer to the ‘Aarlborg’
now, going into many directions, fruit,
eau-de-vies, chocolate, pepper, tannins…
But it’s even rougher and maybe
over the top for that matter. Finish:
rather long, very fruity but kind
of indefinite (it’s fruity but
it’s hard to pick with which
fruit). Truly from the countryside!
80 points. |
 |
Clynelish
1990/2004 (58%, Scotch Single Malt
Circle, cask #MM1238, 168 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: even cleaner
but also less talkative, more on wet
stones, that wax, cider apples, pilsner
beer, ashes, lit matchsticks…
Then we have apple skin, fresh walnuts,
oak, grains, maybe a little porridge…
Hints of ginger as well, vanilla.
Maybe a little shy but… wait,
now it gets much more orangey, more
gingery, with a little cinchona…
Campari-orange, anyone? Mouth: excellent
ueber-fruity attack, completely different
from what the nose suggested. Litres
of orange liqueur, apple liqueur (Spanish
manzana verda), all that with that
waxiness again, a little ginger tonic,
then lots of black pepper, even horseradish,
gentian spirit… Very assertive,
a Clynelish for big boys. Finish:
certainly the longest, orangey and
peppery, with also a little kiwi…
In short, a big and excellent Clynelish.
87 points. |
| BONUS:
THE CLYNELISH ROYAL MARINE HOTEL (well,
one of them) |
| To
be honest, I used to fear this one
would be a fake. Sure I saw the label
in Ainslie’s label book in Scotland,
so there used to be such an official
bottling, but how come could all full
bottles I ever saw be in Italy? This
bottling was done in the very late
60’s for a famous hotel in Brora,
so imagining that a bunch of Italian
tourists would have snaffled all those
in Sutherland forty years ago sounded
very unlikely. What’s more,
the label in Ainslie’s book
and the ones on these ‘Italian’
bottles aren’t quite the same
(see pictures). Yet, the fact that
some crazy (and trustworthy) exhibitors
had an opened bottle at the Whisky
Fair Limburg and were serving drams
of it was great news, although one
could have poured just anything into
that opened bottle beforehand. So,
of course I took a sample, let’s
try it now… |
 |
 |
|
Left, the 'Italian' version that
was poured at the Whisky Fair Limburg.
Above, only label in Ainslie's label's
book (Diageo Archives). Can you spot
the differences? (colours are irrelevent
here, just a matter of different cameras). |
| Clynelish
14yo ‘Royal marine Hotel’
(92°proof, OB, late 1960’s)
Colour: full gold. Nose: yesssss,
it must be Old Clynelish. Peaty like
a Laphroaig from the 60’s, starting
on old walnuts, metal polish and leather
as well as cigar box, it gets then
more resinous and mineral at the same
time. Notes of gunflints, fir honeydew,
unlit Havana cigar, fern… Extremely
complex. Then it’s all on orange
marmalade, then even more on unlit
cigars (amazing), then fully on parsley
and lovage, then it’s rather
coffee beans, Smyrna raisins and caramel,
then, then, then… (censored
by the anti-maltoporn brigade)…
Mouth: excellent attack, vibrant,
nutty, bitter and peaty like no other
distillery. A lot of bitter orange
peel, smoked tea, bitter caramel,
toasted bread… Granted, it’s
probably not as magnificent as on
the nose and less multidimensional
but it’s still very excellent.
And still quite malty and almost hot
after all these years. OBE is more
obvious on the palate than on the
nose, that is. Gets cleaner after
a little breathing, more definite,
more resinous as well. Mastic? Argan
oil? Interesting notes of gin-orange,
chlorophyll chewing-gum… Dry
martini? Okay, this isn’t James
Bond so let’s switch to the
finish, which is amazingly long for
an old bottle, resinous, a little
bitter like some German herb liqueurs
(no names) and finally curiously meaty
(grilled beef). Wow, this one was
entertaining, to say the least. The
palate was one class below the nose
but the whole is truly beautiful whisky.
Had a forger made this one up, he’d
have been the stupidest forger in
the world. 93 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Duke
Ellington & His Orchestra
play a gem composed by the duke's
son, Mercer, in 1941. It's called,
er... Blue
Serge.mp3. Vanitas vanitatum,
omnia vanitas. |
 |
| |
May
3, 2007 |
|
|
| TASTING
– TWO YOUNG BALBLAIRS + FOUR
OLD ONES |
 |
Balblair
1997 (43%, OB, 2007)
Here’s Balblair’s brand
new bulky bottle. Traditionalists
don’t like it but I do –
proof that I’m no old dusty
blasé sipper. Yeah! Colour:
plain gold. Nose: rather light, fresh,
clean, slightly malty and mashy with
hints of fresh pears, apples and pineapples
and just a little mint. Simple and
pleasant – one of the first
vodskies? (or whiskas, err…)
Mouth: a sweet, rounded and spicy
attack, with quite some oak, vanilla,
ginger and sultanas. Nice mouth feel,
a little oily. Gets then quite peppery
and even more gingery. Goes on on
apricots and a little aniseed. Finish:
medium long, sweet and fruity, with
touches of vanilla. Typical crafted
American oak maturing. It won’t
make you scratch your head but it’s
very drinkable and totally flawless.
80 points. |
| Balblair
16yo 1990/2006 (58.5%, Cadenhead,
174 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: much less sweet
and much oakier at first sniffs, with
notes of beer (lager), cinnamon and
lavender. Rather uninteresting so
far, but maybe water will make it
more appealing… Right, there’s
a little more apple skin and fresh
walnuts but that’s all. Mouth
(neat): punchy, sweet, oaky and gingery
but that’s all, folks. With
water: same, just rounder and maybe
a tad more vanilled. Finish: not too
long, spirity and vanilled. No flaws
(except extreme simplicity) but devoid
of interest. Typical 75 points
malt in my books. |
 |
| Balblair
1964/1999 (40%, Gordon& MacPhail,
screw cap)
Colour: amber. Nose: more oomph than
expected, starting on caramel and
lots of orange marmalade, with also
whiffs of smoke. Gets then a little
yeasty, beer-ish, grainy… Almost
sharp at 40% and at 35yo, which is
surprising of course. Lacks maybe
a little more definition. Caramelized
peanuts, Grand-Marnier, hints of soy
sauce and lovage, parsley. Gets better
with time but also more sherried and
vinous, even minty like often with
these old malts. Mouth: a rather punchy
attack, coffeeish and raisiny but
alas, it sort of falls down after
that and the middle is rather weak,
leaving only the ‘sheriness’
on your palate. Quite some caramel
but that’s pretty all. Finish:
short, with only caramel and a little
liquorice. Too bad, I’m sure
this one was excellent before it got
reduced. Now, it will please all our
friends who think that whisly is usually
too strong. 78 points.
|
| Balblair
27yo 1974/2001 ‘Highland Selection’
(46%, OB, cask #2254, 241 bottles)
There’s been
another version of the 27yo with 550
bottles and no cask #. Colour: full
amber with red hues. Nose: a rather
superb start on an elegant sherry
and ‘improved’ coffee
(that means with a little schnapps
in it). Not too far from an old rum,
with lots of raisins (Smyrna rather
than sultanas), bananas flambéed,
coconut milk… We have the same
notes of soy sauce as in the 1964,
also balsamico. Hints of smoke…
Really beautiful. Mouth: yes, it’s
beautiful sherry, although maybe not
as complex as on the nose. Thick,
creamy mouth feel, with the same caramel
and liquorice as in the 1964 but lots
of other ‘stuff’, mostly
the usual marmalade, raisins, rum,
very ripe bananas, chocolate and coffee.
State of the art sherry indeed. Finish:
long, fruity (fruitcake) and caramelly,
with also notes of Turkish delights.
A very, very good sherry monster.
90 points. |
| Balblair
1975 (46.2%, Jack Wieber’s Prenzlow
Collection)
Colour: gold. Nose: certainly closer
to the distillery’s character,
with a ‘fresher’ fruitiness
and all kinds of fresh herbs. Parsley,
chives, a little mint… Then
it’s the bananas, freshly sawn
oak, nutmeg, tea… Quite some
wood but the whole is balanced. Notes
of vanilla fudge, custard, then mint,
liquorice and aniseed… Mouth:
great fruity attack (butter pears)
but the wood is a little dominant
now. Quite some tannins, a little
sourness, apple skin, walnut skin…
Gingery, peppery (white pepper), also
quite some cardamom. Finish: medium
long, now frankly drying but still
quite fruity (bananas). Nutshell:
it’s not going downhill but
it’s really on the verge of
getting overly oaky on the palate,
but the nose was almost perfect.
83 points. |
| Balblair
10yo (57%, Gordon & MacPhail,
late 1970’s)
This is the ‘pure highland malt’
version. Colour: pale amber. Nose:
where straight on coffee, mint and
meat here, the style being closer
to a traditional highlander. The sherry
starts to shine through after a moment,
the whole getting nicely vinous (clean
wine barrel – when you put your
nose over the bung). Also espresso
coffee, barbecue, bread crust, hints
of cardamom… Great nose. Mouth:
nicely hot and very coffeeish, probably
wilder than on the nose. Lots of salted
liquorice, rum, hints of bubble gum,
strawberry sweets, maybe even Jell-O…
Really playful. Goes on with ripe
pineapple, hints of lemon balm, lemon
sweets… Excellent at just 10yo,
this old Balblair! Or maybe it was
older, actually (it does taste older
than 10yo I must say). A good old
classy G&M. 90 points. |
| MUSIC
–
Recommended
listening (excellent experimental
electronica): Dorine
Muraille aka Julien Locquet
plays Bbraallen.mp3
(it's on his almum 'Mani'). Atmospheric,
in a certain way. Please buy his music
if you can find it. |
 |
| |
May
2, 2007 |
|
|
| MALT
MANIACS NEWSFLASH by
Johannes van den Heuvel |
| 
|
|
Hip,
hip, hurray... Malt
Maniacs #103
is now on-line, together with
the first few issues of our
'revisionist' archive, covering
the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
We kick things off with two
brand new glassware tests
by Lawrence and Craig. For
a long time the Big Glassware
Test from Klaus Everding was
the only proper article on
the topic in Malt Maniacs.
|
|
That article was published quite
a few years ago and only covered
a relatively limited number
of glasses. Lawrence and Craig
cover 18 and 16 different glasses,
respectively. Furthermore, MM#103
is enriched further by an episode
of 'Olivier's Travels', a book
review by Davin, an article
by Konstantin about the prohibition
in the USA and an interview
with Andy Watts from the James
Sedgewick Distillery in South
Africa. Malt Maniacs #103 is
a nice and 'thick' issue too;
just one webpage, but on an
average computer you'll have
to push 'Page Down' more than
30 times to get to the end.
Around 30 pages may not seem
like a lot compared to your
average 'paper' magazine of
60 - 80 pages, but then again
about half of those pages are
advertising - and then you'd
often STILL have to pay for
the pleasure of reading it...
Malt Maniacs is still free as
a bird! |
|
| TASTING
– TWO INDIE 1968 HIGHLAND PARKS |
 |
Highland
Park 26yo 1968 (43%, Hart Bros)
Interesting early label for Hart Bros.
Colour: amber. Nose: an extremely
typical old Highland Park, roughly
similar to the old OB’s. We
have quite some smoke, toasted brioche,
honey, resin, caramelised nuts, sultanas,
apricot pie… All that is just
a little toned down when compared
with the old officials (that are rather
on ‘11’ like The Spinal
Tap’s amps, whilst this one
is on ‘10’). Gets then
meatier and even more resinous, organic,
with lots of tobacco and a little
shoe polish. The only slightly disturbing
note is a little ginger tonic, but
the whole is truly beautiful. |
| Mouth:
maybe at tad weakish at very first
sip but it gets more opulent after
that – okay, not really opulent,
let’s say the ‘second
part of the attack’ is quite
full, on tobacco again, grilled meat,
roasted nuts and honey, getting then
more vinous, tannic and drying. It’s
no sherry monster at all, that is.
Alas, the middle is a little more
so-so, coffeeish and toasted but a
little weak, whilst it takes off again
at the finish, getting quite nicely
bitter, roasted, but a little drying
again. Stunning nose, good palate,
it’s a well-known song when
dealing with old whiskies. 89
points. |
| Highland
Park 39yo 1968/2007 (41.8%, Duncan
Taylor For The Nectar, Belgium, cask
#3460, 183 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: ho-ho, but this
is just as beautiful – maybe
even more beautiful – yet completely
different. It starts much more resinous,
waxy and orangey (marmalade), with
whiffs of fresh putty, cough syrup
and even a little tar and rubber (bicycle
inner tube). Then it starts to smell
just like an orange cake that you
just sliced, then it’s back
to Vicks Vaporub, then tobacco, then
fresh tropical fruits (bananas, passion,
mangos), then old pu-erh tea, then
old roses and Muscat wine... All that
isn’t violent, rather subtle
but very assertive with, good news,
no excessive woodiness whatsoever.
Extraordinary nose, but like with
all these old casks, the true truth
will lie on the palate… Let’s
see… Mouth: just like the Hart’s,
the attack is a little shy but certainly
cleaner and fruitier… And just
like the Hart, it does get livelier
after a few seconds, although never
bold. Subtly fruity (plantain, very
ripe apples and pears), delicately
spicy (nutmeg and cinnamon, white
pepper), vanilled… It’s
all slightly fragile but certainly
not ‘broken’. There’s
a little pipe tobacco in the background,
notes of quince jelly, earl grey tea…
The finish isn’t too long, as
expected, but very elegant, still
fresh, with a delicate oaky signature.
In a nutshell, an old Highland Park
that’s maybe a little diaphanous
on the palate but that has got one
of the most stunning noses I’ve
encountered in the recent months.
In other words, a HP by Chanel. 92
points. |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
|
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Karen
Mantler is the daughter
of the great Carla Bley and trumpetist
Mike Mantler. Today she's singing
a much beautiful How
to.mp3 with David Garland (whom
we already heard not so long ago).
Please buy Karen Mantler's music
- and David Garland's too while
you're at it. |
 |
| |
May
1, 2007 |
|
|
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
HARRY CONNICK JR. AND HIS BAND
Radio City Music Hall, New
York, April 21st 2007 |
 |
Move
over King Kong – stand aside
Empire State Building, for I have
seen the eighth wonder of the world
and it’s a few blocks away on
Sixth, the Radio
City Music Hall. And for all the
times I’ve walked past its neon-drenched
exterior I’ve never been in,
and never anticipated just what a
breathtakingly glorious monument to
modern music it is. |
| This
art deco masterpiece was opened in
1932, part of the Rockefeller Centre
development, which I read (in a book!)
“in its architecture stands
as distinctly for New York as the
Louvre stands for Paris”. But
it’s the striking deco interior
that would really blow you away. Designed
by Donald Deskey (who was also responsible
for, among other things, the Tide
detergent logo and the original Crest
toothpaste tube) it features a cavernous
atrium and an auditorium that’s
dominated by a spectacular proscenium
arch. Oh yes – it’s also
full of security guards and ‘no
photography’ signs, so no pictures
from us I’m afraid. But the
best part is what we refer to back
in London as ‘the bogs’.
With very few exceptions London’s
live music experience is accompanied
by malodorous urinals with piss and
beer-swimming floors. Not here –
as Harry
Connick Jr. rightly said,
“This is New York. This is the
Radio City Music Hall. This is high
class”. We’ve got a Gentleman’s
Lounge – a spotless period decorated
48 stall (plus cubicles – I
didn’t get time to count) temple
to the lost male art of passing water.
The eighth wonder of the world indeed! |
| Young
Harry
Connick Jr. is on the road with
his band promoting two new albums,
Chanson du Vieux Carre, and Oh, My
Nola, “an unprecedented musical
cornucopia of songs inspired by and
associated with the Crescent City”
says Harry’s website. Harry
is a native of New Orleans and has
been in the fore of those musicians
supporting efforts to rebuild the
city and its musical heritage post
Hurricane Katrina, so ‘proceeds’
from the CD sales will go to the New
Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village
with which Connick is heavily involved,
along with his label-owner Branford
Marsalis, brother of Wynton (who Harry
tells us, is teaching his eleven year
old daughter how to play the trumpet),
and son of pianist Ellis, who along
with pianist James Booker mentored
the young Connick in music. |
 |
| It’s
all bit New Orleans incestuous. In
case you didn’t know Connick
is, not to understate matters, a hugely
talented polymath of performing arts
– he composes, he plays, he
sings and he also acts. With such
a sickening array of accomplishments
it’s nice to note that he also
exudes an easy and open personality,
befitting of his birthplace. |
| He’s
on stage with his big band –
Connick on piano, with drummer, string-bass,
three trumpets, three saxophones and
three trombones – playing tunes
mainly from the Nola album. It’s
mostly a collection of standards like
‘Working in a coalmine’,
‘Bill Bailey’ Jambalaya’,
‘Hello Dolly’. ‘It
had to be you’, ‘Down
on Bourbon Street’, ‘If
you go the New Orleans’, ‘Basin
Street Blues’ along with songs
such as Allen Toussaint’s ‘We
can make it’. Many are set in
artful but over-complex arrangements
that frankly mystify many of the audience
around us who seem to have a relatively
short attention span – but they
allow Connick to showcase his keyboard
skills. Connick moves from his Steinway
to an old upright (for a Mrs Mills
style “Sunnyside of the Street’)
and also a Hammond B3 – his
singing is good, but it’s when
he leaves the keyboards that he really
turns on the vocal style. |
| The
whole evening is a bit like a TV special
(maybe to accommodate the short attention
span folks) - there’s a great
backdrop of New Orleans style cast-iron
balconies and a couple of lit old-style
lampposts. Two star guests –
trumpeter Leroy
Jones and trombonist Lucien
Barbarin, with whom Harry fools
around and also performs what I have
subsequently learnt is called a “three
fanny booty shake”. Drummer
Arthur
Latin performs a tour-de force
solo with the sticks on the Steinway
lid (ouch), lampposts and almost anything
else he can hit. What else –
oh yeah – Harry’s third
trombonist proposes to his intended
on stage, Harry introduces us to his
wife and kids (whom he loves very
dearly, I’m glad to say), and
the little girls appear to dance on
stage at the end of the show. Very
TV special indeed. |
|
|
|
 |
| But
for all the schmaltz Harry Connick
Jr. is simply charming. He adopts
the persona of the naive southern
boy in the dizzy-dazzling Big Apple
(a bit odd as he’s just been
on Broadway for several months in
the Pyjama Game) and uses that as
a platform to mercilessly rib metropolitan
mores. This includes a very funny
story about trying to buy a ‘beat-up
piano’ from the City’s
Steinway dealers. He is suitably self-depreciating
(particularly about his shiny black
shoes, which must be the shiniest
I have ever seen) and also clearly
having fun, as are the audience who
lap it up. |
 |
For
his encore he tap dances on the Steinway
(sans shoes) and shouts to his daughters
“don’t do this at home
girls, this is a rental piano, the
one at home I paid for”. He
leaves the stage to a standing ovation,
and we leave for a burger (me via
yet another pilgrimage to the Gentleman’s
Lounge for a quick pass). A very satisfactory
Saturday night show in the Big A –
and even if you never go and see Mr
Connick Jr. you should certainly buy
his Nola album, as it’s supporting
a very good cause. - Nick Morgan |
| Thanks
a bunch, Nick. A little entertainment
can’t do no harm and these artistes
who spread jazz into a wider audience,
like Diana Krall, even Norah Jones
and yes, Harry Connick Jr.–
but not Kenny G (will you stop bashing
Kenny G one day, Serge?) – sure
deserve thunderous applause. Now,
purists may rather agree with Ahmad
Jamal who, in his DVD ‘Live
in Baalbeck 2003’ (which I watched
right yesterday), says that ‘our
music is designed to stimulate the
thought process, we’re not entertainers,
we’re artistes… In order
to be an entertainer, you have to
go to a circus. You have to have some
background to absorb our music…’
Well, I’m no purist then. But
enough two-cent musicology, let’s
listen to Mr. Connick Jr. now, doing
Jerome Kern's popular standard The
way you look tonight.mp3. -
S. |
| TASTING
– TWO 1979 GLENROTHES |
 |
Glenrothes
1979/2004 (43%, OB)
Approved in the sample room on 13.02.02.
Lol. Colour: full gold – amber.
Nose: superbly smooth and complex
at first sniffs, very honeyed and
extremely floral (roses). Starts developing
on cooked apples with cinnamon and
musk, then baklavas (orange blossom),
speculoos, candy sugar… Then
we have old sweet white wine (it’s
slightly muscaty) and hints of celery
as well as a little leather and tobacco.
Very complex indeed but getting maybe
a little evanescent… Just a
whisper after a moment, but a great
one. |
| Mouth:
good attack, not weak nor even smoothish
but simpler. Quite some toasted brioche,
caramelized nuts, malt, chocolate
and fruit jam (strawberry), honey…
Gets a little dry after a moment but
still quite elegant. Finish: not too
long but nicely candied, fading away
on light honey and vanilla-flavoured
sponge cake. Great nose, good palate…
Delicacy indeed. For an early digestif?
89 points (a little
more oomph would have put it at 90
– easily). |
|
Glenrothes
27yo 1979/2006 (50%, Douglas Laing
OMC, red wine finished, 363 bottles)
Red wine finished! Lol again. Colour:
brownish with yellow hues. Nose: er,
this is quite nice actually. It smells
nicer than it sounds. Much less complex
than the OB but bolder and more compact
and, to tell you the truth, close
to first fill sherry with quite some
chocolate, coffee, rum and raisins.
Quite some soy sauce and balsamic
vinegar as well, liquorice, barbecue
smoke. There isn’t much left
of Glenrothes’ usual silkiness
and daintiness but the general profile
is pleasant. More and more ‘smoked
liquorice’. Mouth: and you tell
me this isn’t first fill sherry?
Or do they make reds near Jerez? Indeed,
this is a sherried as it can get –
and a dry sherry at that. Huge chocolaty
and coffeeish notes, raisins, armagnac-soaked
prunes, old dark rum, liquorice, blackberry
jam… Lacks a little fruitiness,
that is, and all that is a bit heavy
and maybe too concentrated. Especially
the finish is a little thick, tannic
and drying… But it’s certainly
good sherry, even if Glenrothes as
such is rather absent. But red wine?
87 points. By the
way, I tried to mix both 50/50 and
it worked quite nicely. Dare I say
it was better than each of the components? |
Check
the index of all entries:
Whisky
Music
Nick's Concert
Reviews
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only - alphabetical:
Balblair
10yo (57%,
Gordon & MacPhail, late 1970’s)
Balblair
27yo 1974/2001 ‘Highland Selection’
(46%, OB, cask #2254, 241
bottles)
Bowmore
15yo 1991/2006 (56.5%,
Dewar Rattray Cask Collection)
Bowmore
16yo 1990/2007 (58.4%, Whisky-Doris)
Clynelish
14yo ‘Royal marine Hotel’ (92°proof,
OB, late 1960’s)
Highland
Park 39yo 1968/2007 (41.8%, Duncan
Taylor For The Nectar, Belgium, cask #3460,
183 bottles)
Tamdhu
34yo 1969/2004 (40.2%, Duncan Taylor,
cask #7314)
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