Dewar's 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Dewar’s Double Aged

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Amber

Nose: Sweet Nose with Honey, Toffee, Malt, Sweet Grain and Oak. Give it time to open up as there is some Alcohol there. Some Fruity Tones (Citrus Zest or Lemon Marmalade) and traces of Heather and Buttered Toast.

Taste: The Palate is quite smooth and confirms the Nose with rather sweet Honey and Caramel. Light Spices appear (think Cinnamon) alongside Butter, Oak and Fruitcake.

Finish: Sugary, Light Spices, Oak and Licorice

I added a few drops of water and you get some more Fruity tones on the Nose. But the Palate does not really show a lot of changes so I prefer to drink this Blend neat.

Rating: 80

Nose:  20.5 – Taste: 20.5 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20

General Remarks: This Blend is Double Aged. This means that after the initial maturation of more than 11 years, the around 40 whiskies that are part of the Dewar’s 12 Years are blended together and return to Oak Casks for an additional marriage of 6 months. The Highland Single Malt Aberfeldy lies at the heart of the Dewar’s 12 Years Blend.

Aberfeldy Distillery

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: I can’t get really excited about this Blend because it’s too Sweet and there’s very few flavors out there to balance it out. But it's not bad although a bit overpriced. And, it’s completely drinkable, to a point where you have to remind yourself it has 40% Alcohol. It’s almost like whisky flavoured Honey liquor! One thing is clear though. It’s a very big step up from the rather unpleasant White Label!

Jan van den Ende                                                                       May 5, 2012

Connemara Peated Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Connemara Peated

Type: Single Malt Whiskey

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Amber

Nose: Peat, Earth and Smoke but significantly lighter and somehow less Organic and more Metallic than your average Islay Malt. These first impressions are followed by Rubber, Heather, Burnt Sugar, Oak and Apple. Hints of Leather and Honey and a bit of young Medicinal Alcohol

Taste: Not very attractive. A combination of Burnt Rubber, Earth, Caramel and bitter Herbal Tea with very faint hints of chocolate.

Finish: Sweet (Think more of Sugar than of Honey) and Bitter Almonds. Dry in the end with that same medicinal off note that I found on the Nose. The Wet Earth stays for quite a while and it’s rather unpleasant

With a couple of drops of water the Nose becomes very light. The Peat retreats a bit and some Malt and Grass appears. The Oak and Leather are coming through as well. On the Palate it all gets very watery and the Finish becomes very short indeed. Still, you can experiment with a few drops here.

Rating: 74,5

Nose: 20 – Taste: 19– Finish: 17 – Overall: 18,5

General Remarks: In the old days all Irish whiskey was dried with peat but today Connemara is the only Peated Irish Single Malt. This whiskey is double distilled to improve its smoothness. It’s a blend of a 4, a 6 and an 8 Years old whiskey. The Cooley Distillery where Connemara is produced was bought early this year by Beam Inc.

Drinking Experience Straight: Average

Conclusion: The Nose is the best part of this whiskey despite the rubber and medicinal off-notes. But on the Palate this Malt is disappointing and the Finish is rather unpleasant. I’m sure that Connemara wanted to provide an Irish alternative for Islay malts but I’m sorry to say that this whiskey is no match for the Islay Single Malts. And since it’s also not as smooth as other Irish whiskies despite the Double Distilling, it’s rather a Black Sheep in the family if you ask me. It’s drinkable but I can’t recommend this.

Jan van den Ende                                                                     May 3, 2012

David Crosby - It's All Coming Back To Me Now... - Review

Songs: In My Dreams, Rusty and Blue, Hero, Till It Shines On You, Thousand Roads, Cowboy Movie, Almost Cut My Hair, Déjà Vu, Long Time Gone, Wooden Ships. 

Type of Music:  Folk/Rock   

Comments:

This Live Album was recorded on December 7, 1993 at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, California as part of the tour to promote David´s new studio album Thousand Roads.

It contains a mix of old – and more recent solo work as well as songs from the CSNY period. And there are two new songs, the boring Rusty and Blue and the generic rocker Till It Shines On You.

I think you got the point already. I don´t like this record. I´ve listened to it a few times to find out exactly what it is that makes me dislike this particular set of songs.

For one, it´s David himself. On too many occasions he´s shouting instead of singing. That works fine on Long Time Gone. That song benefits from a rough and dirty treatment. But it stinks on most of the other songs. I also don´t like the different – and sometimes improvised arrangements of the songs. I´ll give you an example. I really like the studio version of Thousand Roads with the nice sort of Keith Richard riff. Here it sounds like a dull version of Joe Cocker´s reading of Randy Newman´s You Can Leave Your Hat On. But most of all I object to the generic sounding guitar of Jeff Pevar. No soul whatsoever in his playing.

Three of the CSN(Y) songs get the “Let´s Jam a Bit” treatment. For me that only works somewhat in Déjà Vu where all the players get their little moment in the sun. And the Crosby/Nash vocals blend well here.

But to summon up things, go try and find the King Biscuit Flower Hour Live CD and leave this one alone.

Rating: ***** (5 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Only for Die Hard David Crosby Fans.

Auchentoshan Three Wood Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Auchentoshan Three Woods

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Lowlands

Age: Unspecified but said to be 12 Y

Alcohol: 43%

Colour: Deep Amber

Nose: Slightly sweet with Sherry, Oak, Cooked Red Fruit (think of Berries), Malt, Vanilla and Apricot Marmalade. After a while Toffee, Brown Sugar and Butterscotch become more present. There are certainly a number of flavors present here but it does not seem to be a well-orchestrated effort.

Taste: The Sherry and Cooked Red Fruits are still there with Oak, Leather, Licorice and Salted Nuts.

Finish: Sweet like Maple Syrup at first but quickly drying out with Oak, Light Spices and Mint. There is a Rubbery Off Tone in the end.

I added a bit of water but it does not make a whole lot of difference although you get a bit extra fruit on the Nose (Pear). You can play with a bit of water if you want.

Rating:  80,5 

Nose: 21 – Taste: 20,5 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20

General Remarks:

The Auchentoshan Distillery was founded in 1800 and is located just north of Glasgow. It’s one of only three active Lowland Distilleries alongside Bladnoch and Glenkinchie.  This Single Malt is triple-distilled like most Irish whiskey. Generally, this leaves the young spirit lighter and fruitier. Although no age is specified it is understood that this Single Malt aged in American Bourbon Oak for 10 years and was finished for one year each in Spanish Oloroso – and Pedro Ximenez Sherry Casks.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good (with the exception of the Rubber Off Tone in the Finish)

Conclusion: This is not an easy Malt to judge. On the one hand the Nose has sufficient interesting flavors for you to unravel. But they don’t seem to fit together all that well. The Palate sometimes reminds me a bit of Bourbon and sometimes of Raspberry juice. Red Wine and even Port Wine came to my mind. I have nothing against whisky being finished in casks that previously contained other spirits. But distilleries need to be careful not to overdo it. This is not a bad Single Malt but the Three Wood may have overplayed its cards a bit.

Jan van den Ende                                                                 April 29, 2012

Paul McCartney - McCartney - Review

Songs: The Lovely Linda, That Would Be Something, Valentine Day, Every Night, Hot as Sun/Glasses, Junk, Man We Was Lonely, Oo You, Momma Miss America, Teddy Boy, Singalong Junk, Maybe I’m Amazed, Kreen-Akrore.

Comments:

On his first solo album, recorded at his London home studio, Paul sings, plays all the instruments and took care of the production, only assisted from time to time by the Lovely Linda with some harmony vocals. 

Rumor has it that there was simply not enough time to record in a professional studio as Paul wanted to be the first Ex-Beatle to release a solo album. One could also argue that Paul, like John, wanted to take a break from the rich Abbey Road and Let It Be production style and return to a more basic, almost home made concept. 

I’m sure Paul was a bit frustrated as well when the Beatles broke up. But, unlike John, he doesn’t seem to need a scream therapy to get even with things. He sounds very relaxed and down to earth on the album, not driven by commercial pressure but simply trying out some musical ideas.

Those ideas seldom mature into full songs. When they do, they are great. The best of them all is the well known rocker Maybe I’m Amazed, a song that should have done credit to the Let It Be album. But Every Night, That Would be Something and Junk are little jewels as well with simple but beautiful melodies.

Mostly however the songs are fragments of ideas, often instrumentals. That does not make them all bad, mind you. Henry Mancini would have been proud to have written Singalong Junk as the main theme for a romantic movie. And Valentine Day holds his own easily. Only the overlong Momma Miss America and the drum experiment Kreen Akrore are below par.

There are two catchy songs Hot as Sun/Glasses and Man We Was Lonely that could have been big hits if they would have been recorded by a pop group like New Seekers or Brotherhood of Man. It’s a pity that Man He Was Lonely has a Country & Western/Drinking Song Chorus because I love the verses and Paul’s guitar on the song.

Besides Maybe I’m Amazed there’s one other rocker on the album that could have been part of the Let It Be sessions. It’s called Oo You and it reminds me of Get Back.

Paul’s music on McCartney sounds just as honest to me as John’s statements on his debut album. They are just two very different kind of guys. The only thing they seem to share is musical talent and even there they are completely different. That makes the Beatles music as good as it is. It’s also the reason why a lot of their solo work is less stunning. Without Paul, John gets too serious. And without John, Paul gets to cheesy. Not so on this, his first solo album. Despite the raw home made character or maybe thanks to that, McCartney is a great listen that does not get boring easily

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

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Although some of the songs are below par on an individual basis, they do not break the flow of the album. 

Who should buy this Record: This is Essential Paul McCartney. Highly recommended.