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Hi, you're in the Archives, November 2005 - Part 1 |
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| TASTING
- NO LESS THAN EIGHT VERY RECENT
ACES BY GLENGOYNE |
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Glengoyne
15 yo 'Scottish oak wood finish'
(43%, OB, 2005 bottling)
Colour: gold. Nose: quite some body,
starting on lots toasted notes together
with some funny notes of mushroom
soup, smoked ham, Maggi, soy sauce…
Very meaty, really. Is that what
Scottish oak smells like? Gets smokier
and smokier, on burnt bread, oxtail
soup… It then gets a little
more ‘normal’, with
quite some toffee and some nice
flowery notes but with always some
bold ‘organic’ notes.
Dried boletus? Even truffles…
(gosh, now I’m getting hungry).
After a good quarter of an hour:
it’s switched to overripe
apples with a bit of eucalyptus.
Mouth: sweet and certainly simpler
but still quite special, with a
mix of wax and dried fruits, vanilla
crème, smoked meat again,
butter caramel, orange and olive
oil, mead… Very ‘different’,
definitely. Just a strange aftertaste
after a few seconds, something like
salted coffee but it’s almost
subliminal, thank god. The finish
is medium long and caramelly, on
Chinese plum sauce. A very interesting
whisky in any case, it seems that
Scottish oaks have something particular
to tell us! 87 points.
Glengoyne
15 yo 1989/2005 'Duncan's Choice'
(55.7%, OB, sherry hogshead #1204,
350 bottles)
Colour: bronze – mahogany.
Nose: punchy but not overpowering.
This one is on full sherry mode,
as expected; lots of chocolate and
Smyrna raisins, burnt cake, rum,
fruits in liqueur, bigarreau cherries,
dried prunes… And some great
notes of old fortified wine as well,
such as Maury, old Rivesaltes…
Something of an old Bourgogne too
(Chambertin – the black cherries
indeed). A sherry monster for non-sherry
freaks, maybe, as the balance is
almost perfect, not oafish at all.
It smells more and more like a great
old red wine, in fact… Wow!
Mouth: oh, this is even nicer. Some
big, bold sherry, very creamy but
not clumsy at all. Tokay essencia,
caramel sauce, prunes, ling honey,
old tangerine liqueur, fruitcake,
pecan pie… Absolutely perfect,
and not the faintest hint of rubber
or sulphur. A grand sherry monster,
not the embodiment of complexity
but a superb balance and richness,
with a long and almost invasive
finish, on alcoholised fruit jams
and old Cognac. Wow, congrats, Duncan!
91 points.
Glengoyne
22 yo 1981/2004 (49.1%, OB for The
Whiskyfair, cask #410, 234 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: extremely
discreet at first nosing, slightly
floral with hints of coffee and
old cardboard, limestone, wet chalk…
It gets then rather herbal, grassy,
on freshly mown lawn, lily of the
valley, a little violets…
Also a little mashy and yeasty,
with some dairy cream, mashed potatoes…
It finally opens up after quite
some time, getting quite farmy.
An interesting ‘natural’
Glengoyne. Mouth: sweet and rather
creamy, much more expressive than
expected. Quite some liquorice,
salted butter caramel, dried parsley,
light soy sauce. Develops on dried
tropical fruits, pineapples, coconut
(better than Malibu), ginger…
Very nicely balanced, at that, even
if it gets gingerier and gingerier.
Long and, you guessed it, gingery
(and honeyed) finish. Extremely
enjoyable on the palate, sort of
rounded and sharp at the same time.
Very satisfying. 88 points.
Glengoyne
22 yo 1982/2005 'Ronnie's Choice'
(53.6%, OB, bourbon barrel #449,
200 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: powerful
and very bourbonny indeed, sweet
and rounded, with lots of vanilla
and dried white fruits (apples,
pears, bananas), getting rather
rummy (both white and dark rum)
before all sorts of beautiful ‘natural,
farmy’ notes emerge. Cow stable,
horse manure, dried flowers…
Chicory, café latte, white
chocolate. Gets then rather herbal,
with some dill, chive. Again an
interesting one, very different
and rawer than most Glengoynes I’ve
tasted. Well done, Ronnie. Mouth:
very similar to the Whisky Fair
but even bolder and creamier, and
certainly more complex. The coconut
notes are really huge now (that,
was an active cask), with also lots
of beeswax and strong honey, bananas
flambéed, old rum. Bold vanilla,
dried oranges, sultanas… Really
creamy but not plump in any way.
And a very long, perfectly balanced
finish at that, with even a pinch
of salt and caramel. Extremely good,
very satisfying again. Again, excellent
work, Ronnie. 91 points. |
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Glengoyne
19 yo 1985/2005 (55.8%, OB, refill
sherry, cask #1227, 697 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: hot, smoky,
powerful and a little spirity at
first nosing. Lots of salted caramel,
sweet wine and hot butter, getting
a little rubbery and slightly feinty.
Whiffs of cold smoke, flintstone.
Keeps developing on apple pie and
sweet cider and gets finally quite
fruity, with some nice notes of
overripe melons and pears…
And oh, also some playful notes
of dried herbs, thyme, bay leaf,
sage… Gets more and more complex,
even if not extremely bold. Funny:
the smoke might make you think it’s
an Islayer at first nosing. Mouth:
sweet but rather hot and powerful
attack, with both some mint and
liquorice and something unusually
bitter and herbal at the same time
(lavender, Swiss herbal candies).
Goes on with some bold notes of
dried oranges, marmalade, hot brownies,
apricot liqueur. More and more hot
pastries, praline, sugared whipped
cream. Marzipan. A whole pastry
shop! The finish is rather long,
on almond milk and fudge, maybe
just a tad too tannic and bitter.
Water doesn’t really improve
it, and makes it even a little bitterer.
Anyway, another excellent Glengoyne,
even if not one of the very, very
best ones in my opinion. 86
points.
Glengoyne
19 yo 1986/2005 'Ewan's Choice'
(51.5%, OB, sherry puncheon #441,
600 bottles)
Colour: brown – mahogany.
Nose: oh, lots of sweet sherry in
there! Incredibly rich and dense,
opulent and silky. First, there’s
a bit of each of the other great
‘brown’ spirits: cognac,
armagnac, calvados, rum… Then
we have all sorts of raisins and
other dried fruits (prunes, orange
rinds), fruitcake, clootie dumpling,
Grand Marnier, cherries in kirsch,
guignolet... Gets superbly toffeeish,
with also some leather, Havana tobacco,
beeswax… Faint whiffs of camphor
and then fresh butter, dairy cream,
hay. Extremely demonstrative, almost
extravagant yet very balanced and
not ‘sticky’ at all.
A thrill. Mouth: as rich and full
as expected, with no clumsiness
at all. Maybe not as complex as
on the nose but that would have
been miraculous. Bold notes of slightly
burnt fruitcake, bitter chocolate,
old rum, with some dried coconut,
bananas flambéed, baked apples…
Lots of cocoa, chocolate liqueur,
toffee, with some acidulous notes
that keep the whole playful and
not over-coating. A very nice sherried
mouth, maybe a bit ‘classical’
but again, totally flawless, with
a long, creamy but not tiring finish.
Not very far from perfection and
probably appealing to non-sherry
freaks as well. Ewan’s the
man! (Yeah, I’m a sucker for
these ‘real people’
tricks.) 92 points.
Glengoyne
32 yo 1972/2005 (48.7%, OB, white
Rioja cask #985, 328 bottles)
In case you don’t know, white
Rioja is made in Spain out of macabeo
and sometimes malvasia, and is a
dry wine but with low acidity. This
is a full-maturing, no finishing
or ACE. Colour: full gold. Nose:
wow, this is extremely aromatic
and concentrated like an ice wine.
Yet, it’s superbly fresh and
clean. Very rich and compact, presenting
three main aromas at the same time:
fruits, flowers and caramel. Yes,
lots of dried oranges, apricot liqueur,
quince jelly, overripe mirabelle
plum, nectar, yellow flowers, pollen,
light honey, caramel crème…
it’s endless and marvellously
balanced. Something of a late harvest
Alsatian tokay-pinot gris…
Ah, and some beautiful notes of
ripe strawberries and a whiffs of
beeswax… Sumptuous! (For my
own references, I added ‘blend
of 1972 Clynelish and 1970 Balvenie’).
Mouth: silky again, sweet, creamy,
fruity and waxy, rounded but rather
nervous… And also a little
oaky and peppery (white pepper).
Probably a little less explosive
than the nose but still beautiful.
Lots of pear and apricot jams with
cinnamon, vanilla beans, quince
jelly, bitter chocolate, getting
quite gingery after a moment (some
wood indeed). The weaker part is
probably the finish that’s
a little metallic and not extremely
long, but quite unexpectedly not
drying at all. Anyway, I’m
nitpicking, it’s a fabulous
malt altogether: 92 points.
Glengoyne
37 yo 1967/2005 (47.6%, OB, sherry
butt #975, 246 bottles) Colour:
pale amber. Nose: oh, this is just
as stunning, yet quite different.
Much more winey, superbly sweet
and sour, with some very bold notes
of cooked rennet apples topped with
hot butter and caramel. Almost a
sin. Much more humus, earthy notes
as well, fresh mushrooms, high-end
pu-erh tea, and again all the litany,
from quince jelly to mirabelle plum
and from nectar to sweet white wine.
It’s a beauty, perhaps a tad
more discreet than the 1972 but
certainly more complex and delicate.
Fascinating. Mouth: oh yessss! That’s
the kind of attack I just can’t
resist. Some ‘western’
fruits, some tropical ones, some
waxy, empyreumatical and smoky notes,
a little spices and that’s
it, you have a winner – in
my opinion, at least. This Glengoyne
have them all, with some big notes
of crystallised quince topping the
whole. It is not very complex, it
is not very bold, it is not full-bodied,
but it’s superbly balanced
and even if the finish is a bit
drying (but I can’t remember
a malt that wasn’t at least
a little drying at more than 35
years of age) I think the whole
is just a thrill. 93 points
(but it would have reached 95 with
a little more oomph and just a little
less tannins). |
| TASTING
- TWO FINE AULTMORES |
Aultmore
1991/2005 (46%, Wilson & Morgan,
sherry wood)
Colour: gold. Nose: lots of dry
sherry at first nosing, with again
some bold rubbery notes (that will
then vanish), burnt herbs, dark
toffee, hot coffee beans (torrefaction).
It gets then quite curiously farmy,
on wet hay and cow stable, with
also some bold liquorice. It grows
farmier and farmier, and even meaty.
Smoked ham? Quite wild for a usually
gentle Speysider. Something Islayish,
don’t ask me why. I like it
a lot, in any case. Mouth: sweet,
creamy and coating, with lots of
toffee and dried fruits (Smyrna
raisins, dates). Rather nervous,
at that, with also some fresh fruits
such as apples and bananas…
It’s really thick, almost
like a liqueur. Goes on with some
burnt cake, liquorice, and this
strange thing I taste once: tar
liqueur. The finish is long, on
Armagnac and fortified white wine
(or, er… sherry). Flawless.
86 points. |
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Aultmore
14 yo 1989 (60.5%, James MacArthur)
Colour: gold. Nose: more powerful
of course, but nothing excessive.
Similarly sherried, with again some
bold rubber and toffee, notes of
hot metal (still), coffee, and again
some feint farmy notes. A little
closed, though. We’ll try
it with a few drops of water later
on. Mouth: incredibly drinkable
at 60%, again very similar but simply
hotter and rougher. Let’s
add a few drops of water…
How funny, the nose got very farmy
as well, almost as ‘peaty’
as, let’s say Caol Ila. Also
very cheesy… The palate got
much better too, with more salted
caramel and liquorice, smoked meat,
high quality balsamic vinegar (not
the cheap, watery ones)… And
lots of coffee. The finish lasts
for hours and is very invading -
very ‘full’. A more
than perfect, full-bodied Aultmore.
88 points. |
| MUSIC
– It's Sunday,
we go classical: mezzo soprano Olga
Borodina and her deep,
rich voice sing Mon
coeur s'ouvre à ta voix.mp3
(from Camille Saint-Saens' Samson
et Dalila, Welsh National Opera
Orchestra, Carlo Rizzi, Philips
- excerpt of Olga Borodina's CD
'Arias'). Please buy her recordings. |
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| TASTING
- TWO OLD GLENLIVETS |
| Glenlivet
1967/2000 ‘Cellar Collection’
(46%, OB, sample code 2GC2003)
Colour: gold. Nose: surprisingly
spirity at very first nosing, but
it’s quick to get much mellower,
extremely fruity and flowery. Lots
of vanilla but no excessive oak,
although one could describe it as
being sort of bourbonny. Lots of
nectar, honey, plum cake, herbal
tea. Big notes of fudge, praline,
white chocolate, hot cake, together
with some hints of orange and apple
juice. Not too complex, I must say,
but extremely enjoyable. Mouth:
very drying and tannic attack, oaky,
with lots of cinnamon and fruit
jam (orange marmalade, plums). Goes
on with some cocoa powder, cardboard,
getting even sort of ‘chalky’.
This one went over the hill, no
doubt. Moreover, the finish is rather
short and weak, but not short of
dryness. Too bad, the nose was great.
No comment on the quality/price
ratio. 82 points. |
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Glenlivet
36 yo 1968/2005 (48.6%, Duncan Taylor,
sherry cask #6195, 136 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: rather
smooth but with quite some varnish
at first nosing, extremely waxy
and resinous, which are signs of
a rather active cask, I think. Whiffs
of rubber but nothing excessive.
Goes on with some refined sherry,
lots of dried oranges, fruit cake,
honey, sultanas, rum (Barbancourt?),
dried figs and dates. Whiffs of
smoke and burnt caramel. A classical
sherry but with a little extra-freshness
that prevents it from being too
‘sticky’. Very, very
nice and more complex and bold than
the OB, in any case. Mouth: very
creamy, nervous, rubbery and resinous
again, with a nice bitterness (there’s
good and bad bitterness, this one
is good). It gets very rummy (maybe
I’d have said it’s a
rum, had I tasted it blind), hotter
and hotter but not burning at all.
Lots of raisins, Xmas cake, roasted
pecan nuts, with maybe some feint
smoky flavours (close to rubber
in fact). Still a little rough at
such a venerable age, which is amazing.
The finish is medium long, on caramel
and cake. Very, very nice, sherry
just the way I like it. 90
points. |
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MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Frenchies Thierry
Bellia, Jérôme Didelot,
Alexandre Longo and Jacques Tellitocci,
aka Variety
Lab do London
in the rain.mp3. Yes, maybe
it's lounge music but we can't
always listen to pub music, can
we? Please buy Variety Lab's music. |
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| TASTING
- TWO CRAGGANMORES AT 60.1% (but
does that make any sense?) |
| Cragganmore
10 yo 1993/2004 (60.1%, OB, Bodega
European oak casks, 15000 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather smoky
at first nosing, slightly rubbery
and ashy, with some rather dry sherry.
Notes of burnt breadcrust, roasted
nuts, barbeque. Quite some coal
as well, fireplace… Unusually
anti-sweet, I’d say, with
also some hints of cow stable coming
through after a moment. It doesn’t
lack balance at all, that is. |
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Mouth:
ah, it’s much sweeter now,
with quite some sherry and kind
of a tingling sugarness at first
sip. Lots of dried fruits (shall
we say ‘of course’?),
nougat, mint chocolate, over-baked
cake… Nice but quite simple,
let’s try it with some water…
While the nose gets even smokier
but also farmier, the palate stays
on the same kind of flavours, with
just a little more caramel (Werther’s
Originals) and dried oranges. The
finish is very long, that is, on
dried and crystallised oranges.
In short, a nice sherried Cragganmore,
not too complex but very compact
and satisfying. 84 points.
Cragganmore
1978/1996 (60.1%, Gordon & MacPhail
‘Cask’, cask #4959)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: much sweeter,
vibrantly flowery and fruity (apple
juice) but again with quite some
smoky and ashy notes. More complex
on the nose, and less mono-dimensional.
Very nice notes of fresh butter,
dairy cream, candle wax… And
also old books, praline, cake…
A very nice one, highly satisfying.
Mouth: powerful but drinkable at
that strength, very fruity but,
alas, a little soapy. Lots of lavender
and violet candies, a little Cologne,
lots of marzipan and almond milk,
olive oil… Let’s see
whether water will improve it or
not… Ah yes, it gets creamier,
fruitier (boxed pineapples, pears)
but there’s still kind of
a soapiness – nothing too
disturbing, that is. The finish
is rather long, slightly smoky,
on dried oranges again. Anyway,
a nice one again – the nose
was nicer than the OB’s, but
the palate didn’t fully make
it. Let’s give it the same
rating then: 84 points.
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| CRAZY
WHISKY ADS - From
my good old friend Paul, who's just
back from Tokyo, this huge ad for
Nikka. I still
don't quite get what the link between
HenryVIII and Japan or the Nikka
company is, but afterall, Paul also
told me that some girls there serve
Japanese beer while dressed like
Bavarian gretchens. I really have
to fly to Japan one of these days...
Seems to be a lot of fun. |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Do you like old European
gangster movies? You know, Alain
Delon and all that? Then you should
listen to Belgium's Jean
'Toots' Thielemans
whistling this fantastic piece called
Wives
and lovers.mp3. Feeling a little
nostalgic? Anyway, please buy Toots'
music, he's also a brilliant jazz
harmonica player (you should listen
to his works with Jaco Pastorius
or even Pat Metheny) and a very
good guitarist.(Photo Jos Knaepen) |
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| TASTING
- TWO RARE BEN NEVIS
Ben
Nevis 34 yo 1970/2005 'single
blend' (50.3%, Adelphi, cask #4640)
This one is very interesting,
because thanks to Adelphi, we
have the opportunity to taste
a ‘single blend’,
made out of malt and grain distilled
at the same distillery (with different
equipments). Colour: gold. Nose:
smooth, extremely fresh and clean,
very fruity and flowery. Lots
of ripe mirabelles, quince, apricot,
oranges mixed with nectar, light
honey, flowers from the fields,
maybe lilac… |
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| Very
nice, even if not too aromatic in
fact. Quite some sweet white wine
(like a Vouvray), with also hints
of beeswax and herbal teas. Harmless
and maybe a little feminine (sorry,
girls), but it’s much more
than just a curiosity. Wait a minute,
it gets more complex after quite
some breathing, with the grain and
some pastry coming through, roasted
nuts, praline… I like it.
Mouth: oh, that’s very different
now. The attack is on fruit eaux
de vie, grappa, grain indeed, calvados,
with maybe a little lack of body,
even if it’s very far from
being ‘thin’. Lots of
herbal teas, wax, hints of tar and
rubber, caramelized apples. Much
grainier on the palate than on the
nose. Something slightly rummy…
The finish is a little thin but
long, if you see what I mean, mostly
on candy sugar. Very interesting,
in any case. 85 points. |
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Ben
Nevis 35 yo 1967/2003 (52.5%, OB
for Alambic Classique, cask #2218,
165 bottles)
Colour: gold/amber. Nose: wow! This
is really something else, for it
starts on some extremely bold notes
of apple juice. Amazing how ‘pure’
it is, and it stays on apples for
quite a long time, before some other
fruity notes start to make it through
those. That means oranges, tangerines,
a little mango, ripe bananas…
Really beautiful, especially because
there’s a little smoke to
spice all that up… And now
we have some bold notes of lovage,
Maggi, fresh parsley… Hints
of amaretto, olive oil, argan oil.
Something funnily metallic (hot
engine). Quite some dried oranges
as well, old books, propolis. It’s
incredibly complex ‘behind’
the huge apple notes! I love this
nose. |
| Mouth:
oh yes, we probably have a winner
here. The nose was ‘apples’,
the mouth is ‘dried oranges’.
Truckloads of dried oranges, plus
tangerines, pink grapefruits…
really full-bodied, with a creamy
mouth feel. Almost like the very
best cuvees of Grand-Marnier, minus
the sugar. Then we have some huge
waxy notes, old rum, raisins (sultanas),
marzipan… A beautiful sherry,
at that. It gets then very bitter,
but beautifully so, with lots of
herbs, cardamom, bitter almonds,
maybe some olive oil… Granted,
somebody who doesn’t like
bitterness, apples or dried oranges
won’t like this Ben Nevis
too much, but otherwise, what a
thrill! Besides, the finish is very
long, as expected, on ‘bitter
wax’ (does that exist?) Anyway,
that’s a 92 points
malt in my books (and thanks,
Carsten) |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Sure it's a bit too
'lounge' but I still quite like
Cibo Matto's Miho
Hatori singing Blue
glasses.mp3. Lots of freshness
and, contrarily to many young pop
artists having a go at jazz or Brazilian
classics, she's rather got a voice.
Please buy Miho Hatori's music. |
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CRAZY
WHISKY ADS – There's
something strange in this brand
new leaflet advertising the very
recent Bowmore 34 yo 1971,
don't you think? Indeed, can you
imagine a 'connoisseur' adding ice
cubes to such a 'beautiful and stylish'
whisky? And truckloads, at that...
Or is there something I don't get? |
| TASTING
- TWO FETTERCAIRNS |
| Old
Fettercairn 10 yo (43%, OB, 1980’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: a very grainy
and malty attack with quite some
hot caramel and distant whiffs or
wax polish, eucalyptus, resin…
Very nice! It develops on rum and
raisins, dried oranges, old rancio.
It makes me think of some super-ultra-premium
blends. Gets perhaps just a little
hot, not unlike some rums again,
but calms down after a few minutes,
getting rather flowery and gaining
quite some freshness. Not overly
complex but hugely enjoyable. Mouth:
quite nervous but a little thin,
alas, with lots of alcohol and rummy/raisiny
notes but not much else, except
quite some dried fruits and lots
of malt. What’s more, the
finish isn’t too long and
quite coffeeish. In short, another
old one that’s got a stunning
nose but that doesn’t deliver
on the palate. Yes, just like some
high-end blends (but don’t
blenders work using their nose alone?)
84 points, still.
|
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Fettercairn
13 yo 1980/1993 (46%, Cadenhead)
Colour: amber. Nose: haha! This
one smells really old-stylish, with
a superb sherry (not the lumpish
dark oloroso style) and bunches
of waxy/resinous smells (mastic,
embrocations, furniture polish).
Lots of dried oranges, butter caramel…
Develops on nectar, honey, pollen,
together with some herbs liquors
such as Charteuse or Verveine du
Velay. This nose is tremendously
appetizing, and proves, once more,
that one can find some stunning
casks in any Scottish distillery.
|
Mouth:
oh yes, this time it’s perfect
and with a profile that’s
very similar to the nose’s.
Some big, bold waxy and resinous
notes mixed with a more than perfect
sherry, sweet but not too much,
powerful but not too much. Lots
of dried fruits, marmalade, jams,
spices (quite some clove) and a
very nice bitterness that prevents
it from getting too heavy and tiring.
The finish is very, very long, on
mastic and marzipan… Another
stunner, definitely! 92
points.
And also: Fettercain
1824 30 yo (45%, Stillman’s
Dram, circa 2005)
Sweet and a little oaky. Rather
creamy, grainy, malty, lots of oak
but not too tannic. Good but not
outstanding. 83 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Well, if all self styled
hip hop bands were to 'play' like
UK's duo The
Herbaliser, I'd have
much more hip hop CD's on my shelves.
That' not hard because I don't own
any, but after you'll have had a
go at their great piece Something
wicked.mp3, I'm sure you'll
just do the same as me: rush out
and buy one of their CD's. |
 |
| NEW
ON WHISKYFUN – The
weather forecast
for France. Just click here
(yeah, even if you're not in France
just now). |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| TASTING
- TWO EXCELLENT BLADNOCHS |
| Bladnoch
14 yo 1990/2004 (43%, Signatory)
Colour: white wine. Nose: starts
extremely sour, yeasty, on fresh
yoghurt, sour cream, empty white
wine cask… yet, it’s
really enjoyable and nicely balanced,
quite curiously. It develops a bit
in the same direction (porridge,
muesli) before it switches to vanilla
cream, light caramel, grains, fudge.
There are some citrusy aromas as
well but much less than usually,
and also some rather bold notes
of fresh pineapple. Yes, pineapple
yoghurt! I like it. Mouth: ah, this
one doesn’t lack body at all!
A very nice blend of lemony flavours
and cake, vanilla fudge, crystallised
fruits, camomile… Hints of
liquorice and yoghurt sauce (Indian
yoghurt to drink), hay jelly, peach
pie… A very enjoyable young
Bladnoch, exactly what you’d
expect from a young Lowlander. In
that sense, it’s just perfect.
87 points (thanks
Antoine). |
 |
 |
Bladnoch
18 yo 1980/1998 (46%, Kingsbury,
cask #3429)
Colour: straw. Nose: ah, this is
rather less demonstrative but more
compact and more stylish, whatever
that means. Bold notes of lemon
pie with caramel, lemon fudge, crystallised
cedrat, with some very refined oaky
tones and lots of milk chocolate.
Some nicely sour notes developing
as well (cider apples). A very classy
Bladnoch! Mouth: wow, what a body
for a Lowlander. Rather creamy but
still playful, starting on all sorts
of crystallised citrus (cedrats
again, kumquats) and variations
on caramel and pastries, fudge,
marzipan liquorice candies. Gets
very nicely herbal too, with quite
some tea. A perfect balance, at
that. Pure pleasure again, but this
time it tends more towards the full-bodied
Highland malts, even if it’s
still typically Bladnoch. Perfection
made near the border! 90
points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - As the picture suggests,
this band is 'ultra-cult'! It's
Chile's Senor
Coconut. The driving
force behind the band is Germany's
Uwe Schmidt, who 'bored with the
European music scene', moved to
Chile to explore the possibilities
of Latin music. Listen to the cha
cha Showroom
dummies.mp3 (an old Kraftwerk
piece) and check out the results.
Then please buy Senor Coconut's
music. |
 |
| TASTING
- THREE OLD GLEN GARIOCHS |
 |
Glen
Garioch 10 yo (40%, OB, early 1980’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: amazingly peaty
at first nosing, with lots of tary
notes, rubber… Some bold grainy
and malty notes too. Perhaps a little
soapy. It then gets very winey,
hot wine sauce, some notes of old
wood, old papers, liquorice…
Very interesting. Whiffs of seawater.
Mouth: very cardboardy in a nice
way (if that’s possible),
with some very big notes of dried
Chinese mushrooms, dried boletus.
Very strong salted liquorice, and
lots of organics. The finish is
very long, on strong tea and candy
sugar. One of these very special
old peated Glen Gariochs! It’s
not very ‘orthodox’
but extremely interesting and unusual.
87 points.
Glen
Garioch 10 yo (43%, OB, late 1980’s)
Colour: straw. Nose: much grainier
and fruitier, and also much simpler,
mostly on apples. Almost no peat
if any. Lots of grains and lots
of pears. Drinkable but uninteresting.
What a shift in profile! Mouth:
a little bitter and very cardboardy,
with quite some punch. Notes of
over infused tea, burnt caramel,
burnt wood. Not too enjoyable, I’m
afraid, and somewhat dirty (not
in the nice Springbank way). 72
points.
Glen
Garioch NAS (70° proof, OB,
bulky,1970’s)
Colour: light amber. Nose: wow,
this is beautiful! Lots of eucalyptus,
camphor, wax polish, lemongrass…
A superb, very subtle peat, with
some nice notes of paraffin, olive
oil, grapefruit and passion fruit.
Also resin, old books… Extremely
nice. Mouth: oh yes, very nice indeed,
and again so ‘different’.
Very punchy, starting on lots of
waxy notes, pine candies and mastic,
argan oil, Turkish delights, chestnut
honey, pine honey… A beauty,
really. 90 points. |
| |
| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening - Mali's diva Oumou
Sangare sings a superb
piece called Nebife.mp3
that's very creative despite the
rather heavy 'western' producing.
Please buy Oumou Sangare's music
if you like it. |
 |
| TASTING
- AN OFFICIAL SPRINGBANK AND A HALF |
Springbank
Bond n°3 (54,9%, Cadenhead,
bottled 05/04/2001)
Colour: gold. Nose: rather discreet
at first nosing but getting nicely
fragrant, with quite some wax polish,
varnish (good varnish ;-)), beeswax…
Very delicate, in fact, not too
expressive but quite refined and
elegant. Notes of nectar, flowers
from the fields, getting a little
smoky and rubbery (new rubber band).
Very nice, although there’s
also some smells of hot metal (hot
still?) Mouth: more powerful this
time, quite rubbery again, with
some burnt bread, overcooked fruit
sauce. Nice, quite balanced and
showing lots of oomph but not too
complex. The finish is very nice,
though, on all sorts of roasted
things. In short, a very good one,
very enjoyable. 87 points.
|
 |
 |
Springbank
NAS (46%, OB, House and Tree label,
Germany, mid 1990’s)
Colour: gold. Nose: much more powerful
than expected and rather spirity
at first nosing, but it’s
soon to retrieve balance, with all
sorts of cooked or dried fruits
(apples, apricot, strawberries…)
and notes of beeswax, honey and
quite some smoke. Dried coconut,
hot breadcrumb, smoked tea…
Very nice indeed even if less intensely
aromatic than expected... Wait,
no, now comes the cavalry, with
lots of wax, smoked ham, apricot
pie, balsam, dandelion, chestnut
honey… And it keeps developing
for a long time. Great nose! Mouth:
bold and subtle at the same time,
with lots of dried fruits, sea ‘stuff’,
smoke, salt, kiwis, freshly cut
green apples… Very ‘coherent’.
A perfect balance, with these typical
slightly ‘dirty’ notes
(as Luc would say) that are so enjoyable.
Gets also a little tary, with a
dash of ground nutmeg. Very nice
indeed, with a long, creamy and
very satisfying finish. A classic:
91 points. |
| MUSIC
– It's Sunday,
we go classical - Recommended listening:
excellent Korean soprano Sumi
Jo sings a staggeringly
beautiful Ach,
ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden.mp3
(from W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte,
English Chamber Orchestra, Kenneth
Montgomery, Erato). Please buy Sumi
Jo's recordings! |
 |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan - JOHN PRINE
Shepherds Bush Empire, October 31st
2005 |
 |
| The
last thing I want to do is cause
offence, or be thought to be disrespectful.
But you know, it has to be said,
and it can’t be gainsaid,
John
Prine has just got
the haircut from hell. And it’s
not a new thing – take a look
at the tonsorial confections that
adorn most of his album covers,
from the eponymous John Prine of
1971, to the just released Fair
and Square, and you’ll see
what I mean. And just watch out
for 1978’s Bruised Orange,
which apart from featuring two of
tonight’s classic Prine numbers,
‘Fish and Whistle, and ‘That’s
the way the world goes round’,
shows a Prinesque rug that would
frighten the pets far more than
a whole night’s worth of Guy
Fawke’s fireworks. And the
children naive creatures that they
are blessedly are, obviously thought
it was a seasonal thing. “Is
it the Bad Halloween Man Mommy?”
asked a little girl (eyes covered
by her mother’s trembling
hands) who sat close by us in the
Bush’s exclusive upper-deck
Executive Class 5/9s, “Tell
me Daddy’s hair will never
look like that”. |
| Well
who cares? There’s a Shepherd’s
Bush Empire full of Moms and Dads,
kids, suited after-office workers,
old men with their sandwiches, new-age
punks, west London media types,
and me and The Photographer, who’ll
tell you that this is a man who
can in all probability walk on water,
and as such the presence of the
sad remains of a seventies mullet
is nothing. This is John Prine back
with his first album of new songs
for nine years, a period during
which he’s survived major
surgery for cancer, and the subsequent
chemotherapy (“the doctor
said, ‘John, we’re worried
about damaging your throat’,
I said, ‘Doc, have you ever
heard me sing?’”) which
saw his voice drop several points
on the scale. |
 |
He’s
just won some big shot Nashville
award for Musician of the Year,
and Fair and Square may well have
Grammy written all over it. And
haircut notwithstanding, he’s
just such a nice bloke. He smiles,
grins with pleasure at his own lyrics,
seems genuinely overwhelmed by the
warmth of the reception, and just
seems to be having a wonderful time.
And he’s got a cough almost
as bad as mine and spends much of
the night swigging back Benylin
from the bottle as if it was Jack
Daniels. Even the little girl gently
removes her mother’s protective
hands from her eyes and gawps with
undisguised admiration and affection.
John Prine has that sort of effect
on you. His clever little songs
sneak up on you when you’re
least expecting it – wit,
melancholy, wry observation, regret,
stoicism, anger, guilt, all played
out in little domestic vignettes
of American life. |
 |
Of
course he’s no friend of the
powerful. He came to fame partly
through the songs he wrote that
were inspired by Vietnam –
‘Sam Stone’, ‘Your
flag decal’; well, what goes
around comes around, and thirty
or more years on (“I got this
song out of the attic for George
Bush and his friends, I hope they
all go to jail”) they’re
no less relevant than they were
then. If anything even more poignant.
|
| And
reinforced by ‘Some humans
ain’t human’ from the
new disc. Which features a lot during
the evening, so we get ‘Crazy
as a loon’, ‘Long Monday’,
‘Taking a walk’ ‘Bear
Creek’ and ‘She is my
everything’ (“This is
a song about my wife. It’s
a nice song. It’s good to
have a nice song about your wife,
‘Cos you can just go ‘round
the house humming it when things
ain’t too good”). All
sung as well as can be expected
from a man on a Benylin binge, with
support vocals from Mindy Smith
(she was dressed for Halloween too)
and backed by his superb band of
several years: David Jacques on
string and electric bass, and the
outstanding Jason Wilber on mandolin,
lead and slide guitar. |
| And
of course the new material was spiced
up with the best of Prine’s
back catalogue, not easy to choose
from such a vast collection of impressive
work. But we got ‘Souvenirs’,
‘Fish and Whistle’,
the gorgeous yet resentful ‘Angel
from Montgomery’, ‘Dear
Abbey’, ‘Donald and
Lydia’, ‘Sam Stone,
‘Ain’t hurting nobody’,
‘Hello in there’. ‘Lake
Marie’, and to finish ‘Paradise’.
It’s remarkable that any writer
can have such a strong body of work
to call from, and to be frank even
more of a surprise that after a
considerable gap he can come back
with vibrant new material that equals
the old. |
 |
|
But then I suppose, as his haircut
signals, Prine is no ordinary person.
Like some other artistes we’ve
reviewed on Whiskyfun he gets the
‘national treasure’
treatment from the juvenile critics
who don’t quite get it. But
for once they’re almost right
– but please don’t put
John in a Museum, put his haircuts
there instead, and charge all the
people a dollar and a half just
to see ‘em. - Nick morgan
(concert photos by Kate) |
 |
Thank
you so much, Nick. Here's John Prine's
excellent new album, 'Fair &
Square'. Something strikes me: the
road. I mean, did they shoot this
picture on Islay? Doesn't the road
look like the 'old' one between
Bridgend and Port Ellen? You know,
the one that literally floats on
peat? Anyway, we have two nice songs
by John Prine today: Your
flag decal won't get you into heaven
anymore.mp3 and a another nice
one with Dar Williams: The
Ocean.mp3. The ocean? Islay
again? (nope, I'm no obsessive mono-maniac...) |
| TASTING
- TWO INDIE SPEYBURNS
Speyburn
1971/1992 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail
CC old map label)
Colour: gold/amber. Nose: punchier
than expected, starting on some
bold notes of dried oranges, caramel
crème and fine oak. Typical
of this series (as far as Speysiders
are considered) but with more
oomph. Notes of bananas flambéed,
nectar, sugared herbal tea and
vanilla. Distant whiffs of smoke.
Very classical and nicely made,
with an enjoyable freshness. Mouth:
sweet and peppery, with a punchy
attack again, on burnt caramel,
rum and raisins but sort of falling
apart after a few seconds, leaving
just a rather burning taste on
the palate (burnt cake and alcohol).
Quite meteoric, this one! The
finish is almost non-existent,
with just a little bitterness.
Nice nose, rather weak palate,
it’s a well-known song.
Too bad. 78 points. |
 |
 |
Speyburn
10 yo 1990/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing
Old Malt Cask, 450 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: very typical
again, but from the yeasty, grainy,
fruity style that comes from young
refill casks. Lots of porridge and
muesli, mashed potatoes with lots
of butter (but not of the exquisite
but heavy half-half kind), with
also lots of pineapple syrup, white
peaches, milk cream. Very fresh
and clean. Whiffs of cider and lager.
Mouth: powerful attack, on lots
of fruit liqueurs such as apricot
liqueur, curacao, pineapple liqueur.
Extremely sweet and sort of chemically
fruity. Tang? Fanta? It’s
also very malty, with some notes
of burnt caramel and infused tealeaves.
Some spices as well, clove, ginger
and pepper, the whole getting quite
bitter and a little burning. Let’s
try it with water now: the nose
got more herbal and almost farmy,
while the palate got creamier, with
much more cooked apples notes and
a little praline. Nice! The finish
is rather long, on caramel and pepper.
83 points. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: ex Veruca Salt member
Nina
Gordon sings Straight
outta Compton.mp3 from her first
album Bring the Rock. Lots of other
nice free songs on her website,
but please buy Nina Gordon's music. |
 |
| TASTING
- THREE YOUNG INDIE MORTLACHS |
 |
Mortlach
10 yo 1995/2005 (46%, Murray McDavid,
Port ‘affined’)
Colour: straw with pink/orange hues.
Nose: extremely fragrant, starting
on incense, gewürztraminer,
old roses, boxed lychees and developing
on strawberry jam, redcurrant jelly
and maple syrup. A fruit bomb indeed
and a different product, in a certain
way, for it doesn’t smell
exactly like a single malt whisky
anymore. There must have been quite
some wine remaining in the cask!
|
| Some
slightly yeasty/mashy notes do emerge
after a while though, and also some
whiffs of smoke, wet dog and vase
water (after a good ten minutes).
Nicely made but not my cup of tea.
Mouth: extremely sweet but not vinous,
quite enjoyable in fact. Lots of
pepper and even chilli, which is
quite strange considering the general
profile. Develops on ultra-ripe
bananas, cooked fruits (all sorts).
Really full-bodied! Lots of Port
after a moment, cooked wine, strawberry
candies... The finish is very long
but a little burning and bitter,
yet quite sweet and fruity. Not
bad at all but a bit strange…
79 points. |
| Mortlach
10 yo 1994/2004 (46%, Eilan Gillan)
Colour: white wine. Nose: much more
‘natural’ this time,
with again some notes of old roses
but also lots of various fresh fruits:
mangoes, guavas, Williams pears
and pineapples with a dash of white
pepper. Hints of vanilla crème,
vanillin, freshly baked cake, and
also whiffs of ginger ale and lilly
of the valley. Not an highly distinctive
stunner but a flawless, young, fruity
Speysider. Nice! Mouth: very nicely
malty and fruity at the same time,
with some cooked peaches and apricots,
fresh raspberries and kiwis…
Notes of vanilla fudge, sabayone,
rose jelly, cappuccino, getting
just a little cardboardy and quite
peppery. Definitely a nice unsherried
Mortlach! 86 points. |
 |
 |
Mortlach
6 yo 1997/2004 (61.6%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society 76.42)
Colour: white wine. Nose: powerful
but not too hot at that high strength.
Extremely clean and sharp, in fact,
with lots of fresh vanilla beans
and coffee . Some rather bold notes
of smoked ham, cold ashes, matchsticks…
It gets then quite stony and citrusy,
starting to smell like ferociously
dry Champagne (extra-brut), aspirin,
paper dust… Rather austere,
in fact, but not immature, contrarily
to what I had expected. |
| Mouth:
punchy but not aggressive at its
full strength. Lots of coffee and
lots of fruits, with some bold citrusy
notes playing with your mouth. Some
Turkish delights, lychee syrup,
almond milk and marzipan…
Okay, time to add a few drops of
water: it gets even fruitier and
sort of creamier, with some added
vanilla, nougat… The finish
is long, mostly on vanilla and pepper.
Okay, this one as matured at full
speed, it appears – it must
have been a hell of a cask! 86
points. |
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan - MICHAEL
MARRA
Ye
Olde Rose and Crowne, Walthamstow,
October 30th 2005 |
 |
Who
in their right mind would want to
go to Walthamstow on a Sunday night,
particularly if they feel as rough
as I do? It’s a drive from
one end of London to the other,
with all the second-home owners
making their way back to the City
after a weekend in the country,
via the King’s Cross Euro-terminal
bottle-neck and through Clapton’s
famous ‘shooting alley’.
And what is there in Walthamstow?
|
Well,
pioneer socialist, typographer and
wallpaper designer William Morris
(you know, the one they named the
car after) lived there, and his
home is now a fine museum. The town
hall is a testimony to all those
design principles cherished dearly
by Mussolini. And there’s
a dog track, which Serge, is a track
where they race dogs, and you bet
lots of pounds to see which dog
can chase a bunch of rags (known
as a rabbit) fastest. But none of
that matters, because we’re
going on a pilgrimage, to Walthamstow’s
worlde famous Ye Olde Rose and Crowne
pub.
Not that I go into pubyes too often,
and at seven o’clock on a
dark autumn night this one comes
as a bit of a shock. |
 |
 |
We’re
sitting in the medieval section,
all reproduction shields and swords
on the wall, suits of armour, faux
paintings of flat fat faced monarchs
and their cod pieces, and seven
TV sets, plus a huge video screen,
all showing football matches that
none of the dozen or so solitary
drinkers in the place wants to watch.
On the other side of the bar is
the heritage section, which boasts
a pool table, and seems to house
much of the kit that Scott must
have taken with him on The Discovery,
or that Shackleton must have loaded
onto the Endurance for his ill-fated
Trans-Antarctic Expedition. You
know, sledges, tennis racquets for
walking in the snow on, old suitcases,
fishing rods (very useful in the
Antarctic I’m sure). |
| Funny
how so much of this junk seems to
have found its way back to British
pubs. Fortunately for us there’s
also a charming young Thai guy renting
space in the kitchen (as there also
seems to be in so many London pubs
these days) and cooking decent cheap
food, so at least we manage to get
some dinner. Then, after a brief
visit to the alarmingly industrial-sized
urinals (fit only for the disposal
of vast quantities of spent ale)
it’s through the side door,
and up the stairs, to the The Folk
Club. |
| I’d
forgotten about folk clubs. Do you
have them in France Serge? The last
time I was in one must have been
fourteen years ago or so in Edinburgh
(strangely, to see Michael
Marra), and before
that, well modesty prevents me from
going into detail. But let’s
just say, they ain’t changed.
De-rigueur, as you say, is: shabby
‘function’ room above
or behind pub bar; filthy carpet;
lonely ‘Happy 40th Birthday”
balloon trapped for eternity on
the ceiling; ripped curtains hanging
from falling curtain rails; a variety
of broken wedding reception chairs;
a few tables; improvised stage and
sound system with more safety hazards
than the Titanic. Oh yes –
and the people, trapped, like the
balloon, in a time warp. They could
have come from Cyril Tawney’s
folk club in Lancaster in the 1970s,
waistcoats, beards, sandals and
all. |
 |
| Having
said that, if it weren’t for
these die-hard finger-in-their-ear
folkies, then a great many quality
musicians would struggle to find
anywhere to play. At least that’s
the thought I tried to console myself
with as I downed a fistful of aspirin,
grimaced at the mindlessly smiling
faces (about twenty of them at most)
of welcome (“Gosh Nigel, he’s
new, do you think he’s going
to sing us a song?”), took
a swig of water and aggressively
sat at the back of the room, notebook
and pen in hand. Oh yes, and while
we were here to see MM, I should
give an honourable mention to support
act Adrian May, a large bearded
lugubrious type in baggy corduroys,
who had some nice self-penned tunes
and made us all laugh with his ukulele
interpretation of ‘Heaven
knows I’m miserable now’.
Michael Marra cut a different dash
entirely. |
 |
Small, wiry, strong eyes, fierce
stare – if you met him in
a bar in his native Dundee you’d
probably carefully move across to
the other side and quietly keep
yourself to yourself. He’s
a Scottish rock veteran, suffers
from being too often described as
a ‘national treasure’
(just how patronising is that),
but is, cutting to the quick, probably
one of the best living songwriters
in the country. His songs are closely
observed pieces, many based on an
intriguing mixture of the past and
the present, and mostly all firmly
rooted in Scotland, and of course
in particular the bonnie town of
Dundee. I should probably add that
I’ve always suspected that
Marra is a bit of a fucked-up Roman
Catholic, as religion pumps through
the veins of many of his creations.
Lest you’re getting worried
I should assure you that for all
this there is nothing parochial
about his work (how could there
be with song titles like ‘Frida
Kahlo’s visit to the Taybridge
bar’). |
| I
remember when I worked with Scottish
historians that we would always
claim (mostly when trying to figure
out why we didn’t work in
Oxford, or Chicago or somewhere
like that) that Scotland was a great
laboratory for global historical
studies, where you could test hypotheses
and methodologies. Well so it is
for Marra and song writing. Not
only can he bring New Orleans to
the most unlikely places (‘Dr
John’s visit to Blairgowrie’),
but in the turn of a phrase he can
transform the most closely focussed
piece into something gloriously
universal (“Hamish stokes
young men’s dreams into a
burning flame” from Hamish,
a tribute to Dundee United’s
great goalie of their 80’s
European campaigns). Oh yes –
and did I mention that Marra has
a voice like sandpaper rubbing on
gravel? |
| Well
you can’t hide in a room with
a few dozen people in it, and in
fact, with his guitar leaning on
a chair and his keyboard propped
up on an old ironing board, it’s
a bit like having him play in your
living room. And talk – he’s
not spare of a few humorous words
to explain where his songs come
from (though we rarely get the whole
story, so there’s a bit of
a joke going on here too), or to
share his views on matters topical,
such as Scottish History. |
 |
| Some
of you may not know that for many
years Scottish History wasn’t
taught in schools in Scotland, so
as Marra explained his history came
from the likes of pot-boiling author
John Prebble (arrgh – not
really the best starting point).
But it hasn’t done him any
harm, as a searing and often cynical
sense of history runs through many
of his songs like ‘Mincing
wi’ Chairlhi’, or the
gentle ‘General Grant’s
visit to Dundee’, He’s
also not bad at nationalism either
– tackling the subject head
on in a tune written for Martin
Carthy, ‘If I was an Englishman’
and in his finale, and nomination
for Scotland’s National Anthem,
‘Hermless’, a parody
of Scottish meekness in the face
of authority which caused some controversy
when it was released (letters in
the Scotsman as I recall) due to
its references to then Liberal Democrats’
(or whatever they were called at
the time) leader Robert Maclennan.
Actually – let’s just
cut the crap – the songs,
‘Bob Dylan’s visit to
Edinburgh’, ‘The Guernsey
kitchen porter’, ‘Beefheart
and bones’, ‘She said,
he said’, ‘Neil Gow’s
apprentice’, ‘Like a
rolling stone’, ‘Reynard
in paradise’ and ‘The
lonesome death of Francis Clarke’
are simply wonderful. Full stop. |
 |
So,
for all you Whiskyfun Scotophiles
out there, here’s the Michael
Marra challenge. Think you know
about Scotland from those rubbish
whisky books you’ve read?
Think you understand this most complex
of little countries? Well how many
Michael Marra albums have you got?
None? Then just bloody think again!
Go out and get some, and if you
can’t buy them all then join
Michael in cyberspace and do that
downloading thing instead. It’s
well worth the price of a bottle
or two of your favourite, and it’ll
last a lot longer too! - Nick
Morgan (concert photos by Kate) |
| Many
thanks for several things, Nick.
First, for the historical and almost
archaeological parts of this review
– both English and Scottish.
By the way, a friend of mine, who’s
working at Edinburgh University,
told me it’s hard to find
any ‘old stuff’ in good
shape in Scotland’s ground,
as it’s often dissolved by…
peat. Well, by the very acidic soil,
in any case. Second, thanks for
the good laugh I had with my Mac,
‘who’ wanted to correct
the word ‘Scotophile’
obstinately. No comment. And finally,
thanks for Michael Marra. His most
recent album ‘Posted Sober’
(isn’t that an oxymoron considering
a Scot? – hmm, okay, clichés…)
is truly fantastic indeed. We do
have a little Marra music: a clip
of All
will be well.mp3 I already posted
last year in July and Hermless.mp3,
that famous nomination for Scotland's
national anthem. |
| |
| TASTING
- TWO SUPERB YOUNG INDIE BOWMORES
Bowmore
1995/2005 (57.2%, Whisky-Doris,
bourbon cask)
Colour: white wine. Nose: wow,
it’s very similar to the
magnificent recent Berry Bros
1993 cask #500061 everybody’s
raving about, even if it’s
a tad simpler. A great mix of
peat, farmy smells and vanilla
at first nosing, with quite some
tar and rubber. Develops on the
awaited notes of tropical fruits
(pineapples, pink grapefruits,
passion fruits, oranges) even
if they aren’t as bold as
in the older Bowmores from the
sixties (let’s not dream).
Lots of sea air of course, wet
seaweed, fresh oysters, iodine…
Ashes, fireplace. A great surprise!
|
 |
| Mouth:
very powerful but easily drinkable
at its natural strength, for it’s
so full of flavours. Crystallized
fruits, fresh apples, pears and
pineapples and lots of very clean
peat smoke. Some icing sugar to
keep it playful, not too ripe kiwi,
strawberries… A little liquorice,
quite some pepper and a more than
perfect bitterness… Okay,
the palate is a little simpler than
the nose but it’s still very
nice, while the finish is long and
perfectly balanced, on fruits and
peat. Really excellent! Shall we
run with the pack and shout “Bowmore
is back”? … Maybe soon!
90 points. |
 |
Bowmore
11 yo 1992/2004 (61.2%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society 3.92, 624 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: much rubberier
at first nosing, but also very smoky,
with some bold notes of bonfire,
torrefaction, roasted nuts, meat
on the barbeque, toasted bread.
Goes on with lots of fruit jams
and bitter orange before it gets
both a little farmy and maritime.
Wet hay, sea air and all that jazz.
No medicinal smells, that is. Most
enjoyable, very clean – yet
less clean than the Whisky-Doris
version. Mouth: punchy, powerful,
and quite similar to the Whisky-Doris
this time, even if there’s
some sherry in there, obviously.
Lots of coffee, peat smoke, dried
fruits, pepper, strong honey (chestnut,
heather). Very nicely sweet and
very compact, with a little salt.
Dried herbs, highly reduced meat
sauce… Just perfect again,
with a long, very satisfying finish
on peppered cooked fruits. |
| Many
Bowmores from the 1990’s I
could taste were much better than
the numerous poor ones they produced
in the 1980’s, no doubt about
that. I think we can say it’s
a fact, and I hope we’ll be
able to double-check that with the
new OB’s to come. Let’s
just hope they won’t vat them
with some old stock, and not add
too much caramel. Anyway, 90
points for this baby as
well. |
 |
SHOPPING
- Seen on eBay: peat 'incense'!
It's called Peat Reek,
and it's 'peat from Strath Brora,
formed into cones, that bring the
aroma of the Highland croft to your
home, no matter where in the world
that might be.' And they add:
'If a country has a soul, and
a soul has an aroma, Peat Reek is
the aroma of Scotland, in particular
the Highlands and Islands.'
Isn't that clever? The price is
£9.00 for 30 cones, plus £2.30
postage worldwide. Just type 'Peat
Reek' on eBay. |
| TASTING
- TWO GLENURY ROYALS |
 |
Glenury
Royal 36 yo 1968/2005 (51.2%, OB,
2100 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: very fresh,
extremely fresh, astonishingly fresh.
Lots of flowers from the fields,
lavender honey, apricot syrup at
first nosing, before it switches
to bunches of fruity notes (primarily
fresh pineapples, guavas, very ripe
mangos). It keeps developing on
old roses, gewürztraminer,
lychee syrup, musk perfume…
Both dried and fresh oranges. |
| Goes
on with some distant farmy notes
(can you here the dogs barking?),
wet hay, bonfire. Also something
mineral, chalky, burnt matchsticks.
Not bold at all but very complex,
with a very long development, and
no signs of over-ageing whatsoever.
Ah, yes, now I get a few waxy notes…
Very delicate indeed. Mouth: lots
of vitality! Sweet, creamy but nervous,
bold but not invading, on lots of
fruit jams with a very nice feeling
of ‘acidity’ that keeps
it perfectly balanced. Almost no
traces of wood, right in Diageo’s
current style. It gets very gingery,
though, in a very nice way. Develops
on apricot pie, cooked apples with
caramel, herbal tea, quince jelly.
Hints of tangerine liqueur, Mandarine
Impériale, dried kumquats,
roasted nuts (all kinds). A little
nutmeg, cinnamon… Lots of
oomph but always balanced. The finish
is long, on fruit liqueurs and even
a little rummy. Very, very good
and amazingly young. Sure it’s
not infanticide (yes, that’s
an expression some use in the wine
world) but maybe they should have
waited another thirty or forty years
to bottle it? 92 points. |
| Glenury
Royal 14 yo 1979 (62%, James MacArthur,
circa 1994)
Colour: white wine. Nose: okay,
I know it’s not very fair
to taste this one ‘against’
a 36yo, but it was the only other
sample of Glenury I had. Anyway,
it’s very herbal, vegetal
at first nosing, with even some
ginger ale, aspirin, freshly cut
grass, cabbage. Even turnips (for
Baldrick?). Hard to enjoy this one,
I must say. Extremely austere and
lacking sweetness and roundness
– to say the least. But quite
curiously, it’s not overpowering
at 62% - or is it me? Mouth: ouch,
that’s new make! Quick, some
water! Right, with water, the nose
gets even more herbal and also much
yeastier, whilst the mouth gets
extremely sweet, with nothing but
notes of very sweet cider, cooked
apples, vanilla liqueur (do you
know that vile stuff?) Extremely
simple, with no sign of maturing.
The finish is long but extremely
spirity, even when reduced to 40%
or so. No disgusting tastes in there,
though, hence my 68 points. |
Baldrick
aka Tony Robinson
(in Black Adder) |
 |
MUSIC
– Highly recommended
listening - King of ukulele Brook
Adams doing Jimi's
Purple
haze.mp3. Yes, on the ukulele,
and I think he's totally brilliant.
And there's also this,
and this...
In short, you'd better buy Brook
Adams' music or go to his shows
asap! And I now declare that Brook
Adams is whiskyfun's artist of the
month - no sir, no second degree. |
| A
CD REVIEW - Well, not really!
Thanks to a very
funny website that 'hates everything',
you just have to enter the name
of an album, band, singer or song
and it will pull information about
it from Amazon and generate a
very mean review. I tried it by
typing 'Britney Spears' and here's
what 'it' wrote...
"Britney Spears'
Britney, an object lesson in filth...
Like an exploding zit gently squirting
sebum into your brain, the opening
track, I'm A Slave 4 U is a perversion
that may actually appeal to a
small group of sick fucks hiding
in a basement somewhere in Illinois.
Lonely is about as hip as my mother's
attempts at the Lambada. It's
a vision of hell that not many
people live to see, I promise
you. Like a cheap keyboard being
played by a God-fearing christian
fund raiser outside Tesco's, the
version of I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Featured In "Crossroads"
should not be played to the vulnerable.
Or those with ears. Too much track
twelve, What It's Like To Be Me
is bad for your health. I recommend
taking up injecting heroin into
your eyeballs instead. It tickles
a bit, but the rush is awesome.
In fact, there's no excuse for
people buying this and taking
it into their homes to torture
their innocent children."
If you still like this crap, go
buy it on amazon or something."
Try
it at 'Our
music correspondent writes' |
| CONCERT
REVIEW
by Nick
Morgan
I AM KLOOT
- The Astoria, London,
October 29th, 2005
For
those who may have begun to despair
that anything good might ever
again come out of Manchester in
the wake of that Frankenstein’s
monster Oasis, the Happy Mondays,
Rio Ferdinand etc., I
am Kloot should act
as an optimistic signpost to the
future. |
 |
| Formed
in 1999, and with three albums to
their name (Natural History, I am
Kloot, and this year’s Gods
and Monsters – “a coruscating
collection of calamitous and courageous
songs”, as one hyper-alliterative
reviewer described it) I am Kloot
are front man, guitarist, vocalist
and songwriter, the diminutive Johnny
Bramwell (“If I stand on this
box can you see me?”), Pete
Jobson on bass and Andy Hargreaves
on drums. It’s 8.30, unusually
early at the Astoria, and they’re
about to charge through twenty songs
or so in around an hour and a half.
It’s Saturday night, so between
the band finishing, us being chucked
out and 11.00pm, the Pickle Factory
has to transform itself into the
G-A-Y nitespot. Hence the rush. |
 |
|
Bramwell
has something of a reputation as
a comedian but there’s no
nonsense about this set. It’s
smart and snappy – with only
a few asides (“this song’s
about illicit drinking”, “this
song’s about illicit drinking
and sex”, “this song’s
about illicit vampirism and stuff”),
good humoured, exceptionally well
rehearsed (the band don’t
seem to communicate a great deal
on stage at all, ‘though their
embraces when they eventually leave
indicate how close they are) and
played at about 75% of the Astoria’s
normal sound level. |
So
we can hear everything (even the
over-informed conversations around
us – mostly between blokes
– “Johnny’s tuned
his guitar down to open A minor
for this” or “I’m
sure he was using a Gibson acoustic
on ‘Twist’ in Glasgow”),
and in particular Bramwell’s
gravely Mancunian vocals.
Which is just as well. Because for
all of their nicely constructed
jazzy, folksy rocky style of accompaniment
(you could be forgiven for thinking
that the main musical inspiration
for the band is a sort of Brecht’s
Beggar’s Opera meets the Beatles)
this is a band that starts and finishes
with its lyrics. That’s not
the say that the playing isn’t
good – Jobson’s unobtrusive
bass is outstanding, Hargreaves
works his way through I don’t
know how many sets of drum sticks,
brushes and timpani sticks as he
weaves his subtle percussive patterns,
Bramwell knows his way round both
an acoustic and electric guitars,
and they supplement this with occasional
support on key boards, pedal steel
guitar and guitar (a beautiful sustain
accompaniment to ‘Because’).
But I can’t really remember
anything that sounded too much like
a solo all night.
The songs are short and well constructed.
Bramwell is a dab-hand at the opening
line that just reels you in –
“I believe in the hallelujah
chorus of the shopping mall”
(‘I believe’), “Twisted
on destiny, fate and three wishes
we fuck and we fight, someone else
does the dishes” (‘Twist’),
“Unscrew your face from your
laptop screen” (‘Morning
rain’), and manages to inject
all of his songs with a modish mixture
of tender melancholy, mystery and
the macabre (blimey, that alliterative
thing must be getting to me too)
– with musical arrangements
to suit. Possibly the best example
would be ‘Ordinary girl’
or ‘Gods and Monsters’
with it’s marvellously Steve
Nievesque organ riffs. But we get
a full tour of his writing skills
in this frenetic set – from
the Oasis like ‘Storm warning’,
the twisted ‘Twist’,
‘Cuckoo’ (“sooty
urban darkness” says the Guardian),‘Over
my shoulder’, new single ‘Maybe
I should’ to ‘No fear
of falling’, and ‘To
you’ both performed solo,
and superbly well by Bramwell. |
|
It really did turn out to be a jolly
entertaining evening, with an audience
of mixed ages, thankfully free of
too many Saturday night stoners,
who reacted in kind to the relatively
low-key and intimate nature of the
set. Of course something had to
take us by surprise. As the band
dived into a rushed encore/final
song ‘Life in a day’,
with the sort of underlying drum
rhythm that a 1930s musical would
use to signpost ‘Jungle themed
dance’, so the stage was filled
by the Troupe, who danced round
the unmoving band in a pastiche
of a Busby Berkeley sequence. Dancing
Girls at the Astoria two gigs running!
And a suitably incongruous end to
quite a cerebrally charged night.
- Nick Morgan (concert photos
by Kate) |
| Many
thanks, Nick. I didn't know these
'Kloots' before, and I must admit
the only Mancunian 'thing' I knew
of was Eric Cantona. Okay, and Oasis,
and I agree this fairly new band
is subtler than both, as The
Same Deep Water As Me.mp3 should
testify. |
 |
TASTING
- TWO INDIE MACALLANS
Macallan
12 yo 1990/2003 (46%, Hart Bros,
sherry cask)
Colour: gold/amber. Nose: fresh
and clean, rather delicate at
first nosing, with some nice notes
of light honey and flowers from
the fields. Some sherry but very
little. Develops on lots of cooked
fruits (mainly apples, peaches)
and also ripe melon (small orange
ones). Lots of caramel and praline
too after a moment, before it
starts to exhale some notes of
gin and Schweppes (just a little).
Then it’s back to the sherry,
with some bolder notes of rubber,
raisins, rum and freshly squeezed
oranges. A nice nose, no doubt.
|
| Mouth:
sweet attack, with quite some sherry
again and some bold notes of apple
skins, a little drying. Add to that
a little burnt caramel and maybe
a few spices (mulled wine, Chinese
anise, cinnamon) and that’s
it. The finish is medium long but
a little indefinite – maybe
some apples with caramel? Too bad,
the nose was promising but the palate
is very simple. Apples and apples.
78 points. |
| Macallan
14 yo 1990/2005 (46%, Whisky-Doris,
sherry cask)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: this one
is much more ‘natural’,
with much less sherry influence
at first nosing. It starts on some
bold notes of apple peels and then
apple pie topped with caramel (tarte
tatin), hot praline, milk chocolate.
Really nice! It then gets nicely
fruity again, with some pear juice,
and finally slightly peppery (white
pepper). Definitely fresh and enjoyable,
much less grainy than the new young
OB’s. Mouth: again, it’s
a little simpler than the nose but
it’s got much more oomph and
body than the Hart Bros. Lots of
apples again, quince, and also some
nice tropical notes, mangos, guavas…
A pinch of cinnamon powder and white
pepper, some fresh walnut skins,
roasted peanuts… Simple indeed
but most enjoyable. The finish is
quite long, on sugared apples and
dried oranges. A nice one, not complex
but very drinkable! 85 points. |
 |
 |
And
also: Glen
Gordon 15 yo (40%, Gordon &
MacPhail, ca 1986-1987)
Glen Gordon is said to be Macallan,
while Glen Avon should be Glenfarclas,
but sources diverge. Colour: gold.
Nose: nicely flowery and balanced.
Lots of beeswax, light honey, furniture
polish… Also quite some heather
and a very nice wood. Nice and sweet,
with again a perfect balance. Mouth:
quite oaky, tannic and dry but not
unbalanced. Some great notes of
leather, getting a little minty.
Nice balance again. Notes of bitter
almonds and hints of burnt cake.
The finish is rather long and slightly
rummy. Really enjoyable! 87
points.
Macallan 'Macalan'
1991/2004 (57,5%, Jean Boyer Best
Cask, refill hogshead)
Very sweet and perfectly balanced,
slightly bourbonny. Creamy, with
lots of dried yellow fruits. Excellent.
87 points |
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:
Ben
Nevis 35 yo 1967/2003 (52.5%, OB for Alambic
Classique, cask
#2218, 165 bottles)
Bladnoch
18 yo 1980/1998 (46%,
Kingsbury, cask #3429)
Bowmore
1995/2005 (57.2%, Whisky-Doris, bourbon
cask)
Bowmore
11 yo 1992/2004 (61.2%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society 3.92, 624 bottles)
Fettercairn
13 yo 1980/1993 (46%, Cadenhead)
Glen
Garioch NAS (70° proof, OB, bulky,1970’s)
Glengoyne
15 yo 1989/2005 'Duncan's Choice' (55.7%,
OB, sherry hogshead #1204, 350 bottles)
Glengoyne
19 yo 1985/2005 (55.8%, OB, refill
sherry, cask #1227, 697 bottles)
Glengoyne
19 yo 1986/2005 'Ewan's Choice' (51.5%,
OB, sherry puncheon #441, 600 bottles)
Glengoyne
22 yo 1982/2005 'Ronnie's Choice' (53.6%,
OB, bourbon barrel #449, 200 bottles)
Glengoyne
32 yo 1972/2005 (48.7%, OB, white Rioja
cask #985, 328 bottles)
Glengoyne
37 yo 1967/2005 (47.6%, OB, sherry
butt #975, 246 bottles)
Glenlivet
36 yo 1968/2005 (48.6%, Duncan Taylor,
sherry cask #6195, 136 bottles)
Glenury
Royal 36 yo 1968/2005 (51.2%,
OB, 2100 bottles)
Springbank
NAS (46%, OB,
House and Tree label, Germany, mid 1990’s)
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