Hibiki 17 Years Review

Country: Japan

Brand: Suntory Hibiki

Type: Blended Whisky

Age:  17 Years

Alcohol: 43%

Colour: Old Gold

Nose: Malty at first. This blend needs lots of time in the glass to open up. After 40 minutes or so some fruit is noticeable. Could be Bananas, Plums or Apricots. Cocoa for sure. There’s also Oak, Caramel, Hazelnuts or Almonds and Resin. Light Floral notes in the back. Bit of alcohol there despite its 17 years.

Taste: Sufficiently strong delivery thanks to the 43% with Bee-Wax, Lemon Peel, Cherries, Ginger, Hazelnut, Sherry and White Pepper.

Finish: A Bit Disappointing. Dry, slightly bitter with Citrus (Orange and Lemon), Light Spices, Cocoa, Custard and Oak. Could have been longer.

You may add some water that will enhance the floral tones in the nose. However,be careful because the palate does not accept more than a few little drops.

Rating:  84,5 

Nose: 21,5 – Taste: 21,5 - Finish: 20,5 – Overall: 21

General Remarks: Normally I don’t pay too much attention to the packaging but it needs to be said that the bottle used for the Hibiki 17 is a very nice one. It's almost like a decanter. 

Hibiki is a blend of grain – and malt whiskies prepared with whiskies from Suntory’s three distilleries. But contrary to the cheaper Scottish blends, the Grain influence is less noticeable. You could easily be fooled in a blind tasting session and identify the Hibiki as a possible Single Malt. The malts used for the blend have been matured in Sherry Casks. 

The blend was introduced in 1989 to celebrate Suntory’s 90^th Anniversary. It’s expensive at around a USD 100,- but you should compare it price wise  to Single Malts or High End Blends.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good.

Conclusion: This Blend is much acclaimed all over the world, so naturally I was really curious if it would live up to expectations.  The Word Hibiki in Japanese has a lot of meanings. The two I thought most linked to the idea behind this blend were " Collection of Reflecting Sounds" and " Harmony".

Because in the end, that’s what every serious blender would want to achieve. To create or marry a collection of reflecting flavors that, once brought together, form a unique harmonious combination while maintaining or even enhancing the strengths of the individual components. I don’t want to start complaining again about the large number of indifferent blends that unfortunately exist but these bottom shelf products certainly can’t be called Hibiki.

So does the Suntory 17 years I’m reviewing today truly deserve that name?

Yes when I consider that sufficient reflecting flavors (sounds) have been brought together. Every time you will smell and taste the Hibiki you might find something new. There are floral tones and fruits and nuts and vanilla. There’s bee-wax and polish and spices. Still, I also find that there are elements that disturb the harmony of this blend. There’s a wee bit too much burnt sugar for my liking and the Bourbon like bee-wax or glue tones do not combine well with the sherry and the fruits. And there’s that slight bitterness in the finish that I’m not too fond of. Finally, it’s too expensive. So, while it’s a good blend I believe more Harmony is needed to really deserve the name Hibiki.

Jan van den Ende                                                                 February 9, 2012

Beatles - Beatles For Sale - Review

Beatles - Beatles For Sale - 1964

Songs: No Reply, I’m a Loser, Baby’s in Black, Rock and Roll Music, I’ll follow the Sun, Mr. Moonlight, Medley: Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey, Eight Days a Week, Words of Love, Honey don’t, Every Little Thing, I don’t want to Spoil the Party, What You’re Doing, Everybody’s Trying to be my Baby. 

Comments:

Beatles for Sale!! They even look sad at the Front Cover. I’m sure this Album was released under commercial pressure back in 1964. Lennon & McCartney did not have the time to write all the material and therefore the covers are back. There are six of them out of the total of 14 songs on the Album. And with the exception of Chuck Berry’s Rock and Roll Music they are a bore. The songs written by John & Paul are generally Okay with Eight Days a Week shining out. Songs like No reply, I’m a Loser, and Baby’s in Black are quite different from the happy sound on the earlier albums and point in a new direction. They are quite good though. As a whole, Beatles for Sale is not a balanced album and has too many weak spots. Mind you though that in 1964, the weak spots of the Beatles were infinitely better than most music that appeared on the market.     

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Not an Essential Beatles Album. But I’m sure all Beatles Fans own it anyway!

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River - Review

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River - 1969

Songs:  Green River, Commotion, Tombstone Shadow, Wrote a Song for Everyone, Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Cross-Tie Walker, Sinister Purpose, The Night Time is the Right Time. 

Comments:

The third Creedence release in 1969. And a good one again! Way too short though with only 30 minutes of music. It helps to understand how they could manage those three albums within such a short time!

No long jams on this one as well. All short and to the point 3 minute Swampy Rock songs. Some are Great. Some are not.

We have four real classics here with great hooks. I like Lodi most but Green River, Bad Moon Rising and the fast and furious Commotion are equally good.

But, and that´s the problem of all three CCR albums so far, the rest of the songs are a lot less impressive. I guess that the bluesy Tombstone Shadow and the somewhat monotonous ballad Wrote a Song for Everyone are still okay, although this last song reminds me a bit too much of The Weight, that song made famous by The Band.

And I would prefer to hear someone like Gary Moore perform the pure blues The Night Time is the Right Time. And hear, say the Stray Cats perform the Rockabilly Cross-Tie Walker. And CCR would do a better creepy song in the future (Run through the Jungle) than Sinister Purpose that sounds almost silly to me.    

So, we are not quite there yet. However, Green River is certainly another step closer towards CCR´s Finest Hour.

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

 

Who should buy this Record:  Everybody who loves John Fogerty´s Swamp Rock and wants to look (and hear) beyond a Greatest Hits Album.  

Whyte and Mackay Special Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Whyte & Mackay Special

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: Unspecified but probably between 4 and 8 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Copper

Nose: Initial wafts of young Alcohol force you to have a little patience. After 20 minutes or so the first impressions start to develop. I find Grain and Malt, Oak and Citrus, mostly Orange. I don’t find the nose overly sweet though. There’s some fruit here but the alcohol makes it difficult to get there. Peach or Apricot I would think. With a bit of Honey sprinkled over it. The nose is not bad but the Alcohol spoils some of the fun.

Taste: Spicy delivery! Some Honey, Toffee and burnt Sugar. Slightly bitter but within reason.

Finish: Short. Bit of Malt. Sugar and Spice!

When you add a bit of water you get a bit of extra Malt on the nose but the palate gets too watery. Drink this blend straight or, if you like it, with an ice cube or two.

Rating: 75,5

Nose: 19,5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 18 – Overall: 19

General Remarks: Allan & Poynter started as a warehouse in 1843 in Glasgow, gradually starting to store whiskies as well. It changed hands various times before it was sold to Whyte & Mackay. Soon afterwards these two partners started to blend whisky. Between 1900 and 1950 the company survived despite the World Wars and the recession. In the sixties things became better. After a large number of take-overs, United Breweries from India took control in 2007.

The blend is made following the Double Marriage process. First 35 Single Malts are married and stored in Sherry Casks for about six months. Then this vatted mixture is blended with 6 Grain Whiskies and stored for another couple of months in sherry casks.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Good. 

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Average.

Conclusion: It’s slightly better than the blends I’ve been testing recently as you will notice by looking at the Complete Rankings of Reviewed Whiskies. But not by much. The nose is not bad but suffers from the wafts of alcohol. On the palate the Searchers sing Sugar and Spice but not in an unpleasant way. The finish is on the short side. This blend is known as the Whyte & Mackay Special. That, it’s not, but it’s not too bad either.

Jan van den Ende                                                          January, 25 2012

Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - Review

Songs:  Magical Mystery Tour, The Fool on the Hill, Flying, Blue Jay Way, Your Mother should Know, I am the Walrus, Hello Goodbye, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, Baby You´re a Rich Man, All you need is love.

Type of Music: Mid Sixties Quality Pop with Psychedelic Influences.

Comments:

Sure, the first six songs on the Album form the Sound Track of the film of the same name. But actually this record sounds more like another Beatles Greatest Hits collection with some accidental filler in the form of the Psycho instrumental Flying or the Psycho George contribution Blue Jay Way. These two songs do nothing for me.

But the other songs,  all written by John and Paul are at least memorable and at best excellent.

Personally I would consider Scott McKenzie´s San Francisco, but to a lot of people All You Need is Love is the anthem of that famous Summer of Love. Psychedelics are certainly an important ingredient of the Magical Mystery Pie and I am the Walrus and above all Strawberry Fields Forever are among John´s finest work in this specific field.

And Paul is not far behind with the spooky Fool on the Hill and Penny Lane, a song Ray Davies would have loved to have written.

Actually Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane were written for Sgt. Pepper but were rejected because they would not fit in the context of that album.

So here it is, another Beatles album. Not very coherent but with some great songs.

 Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  Actually you can find most of the relevant songs on this album on one of the various Beatles Compilation Albums. Therefore Magical Mystery Tour is for Collectors Only.