Arran 14 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Arran

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Islands

Age: 14 Years 

ABV: 46%

Colour: Medium Amber/Pale Gold

Nose: Fresh, Crisp, Fruity and Buttery with Malt, Vanilla, Citrus, Oak, Banana, Brown Sugar, Apple, Raisins, Toffee/Caramel and hints of Leather, White Grapes, Melon and Grappa. While Nosing the Arran the hit Summer Sunshine by the Corrs (2004) popped up in my mind. If you know the song, you get the feeling!

Taste: Dryer than expected with Oak, Spices (Pepper and Nutmeg), Citrus, Salted Nuts, Malt, Caramel and a hint of Dark Orange-flavoured Chocolate.

Finish: Middle Long combination of Sweet and Sour with Buttered Toast, Malt, Pepper, Brown Sugar, Cocoa, Lemon, Mint and Pineapple. Pinch of Salt.

I added a few drops of Water and you get more Citrus, Oak, Malt and hints of Brine and Honey on the Nose. Palate and Finish become spicier and you get lots of Lemon. Nice to play with a bit of Water here.

Rating:  85 

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21- Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Isle of Arran in Lochranza at the Isle of Arran is a very young and independent distillery. The first spirit was produced in 1995. The Arran 14 was released in late 2010 and replaced the 12 Year Old as the Standard Bottling. It matured in a combination of American Oak Barrels and Ex-Sherry Casks. During the last two years the whisky was transferred to fresh barrels (2/3 American Oak and 1/3 European Oak). The Whisky is distilled from un-peated malted Barley, does not contain E-150 and is non Chill-Filtered.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: The Arran 14 Years is a very pleasant crisp Summer Dram. Sip this neat on your balcony or terrace or enjoy it with a bit of Ice. The Palate and Finish are dryer than the Nose would like you to believe. But the combination of Lemon, Spice, Mint and Salted Nuts is just what the doctor ordered on a nice Summer Day!

Jan van den Ende                                                              November 14, 2012

David Crosby - King Biscuit Flower Hour (Live)

Songs:  Tracks in the Dust, Guinnevere, Compass, In My Dreams, Drive My Car, Lady of the Harbor, Oh Yes I Can, Monkey and the Underdog, Delta, Déjà Vu, Night Time for the Generals, Wooden Ships, Almost Cut My Hair, Long Time Gone.

Type of Music:  Folk/Rock   

Comments:

The King Biscuit Flower Hour was a famous One Hour Live Show that went on Air on hundreds of Rock Radio stations in the U.S.A. No Musical Style was too outrageous. Literally from the Beach Boys to Motörhead. The Show was first broad casted in 1973. Special Guests were Blood Sweat & Tears and Bruce Springsteen. The show ran until deep in the nineties. There are some 16.000 reels of concert tape and some of the best have been released on CD. Just to name a few: Humble Pie, Deep Purple, Greg Lake, America, Canned Heat, 10CC, Steve Forbert,Greg Kihn, John Sebastian, Romantics and…….David Crosby. One of the main characteristics of the series is the awesome sound quality. It´s really like you were there and during the acoustic set it´s almost if David is singing directly to you. Excellent!!! 

David was promoting his Oh Yes I Can album at the time. The performance in question was recorded on April 8, 1989 at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia. For David it was his return to stage after 10 years of drugs and alcohol addiction. On this specific night David and the band performed extremely tight and convincing.

The Concert is divided in an acoustic part consisting of the first four songs with just David and his acoustic guitar, followed by the electric set. 

David and the band play songs from his above mentioned solo record as well as older work from the Crosby Stills & Nash Albums.

Most songs from Oh Yes I Can sound much more inspired than the versions on the studio album with the possible exception of Monkey and the Underdog. The CSN material sounds good but I do miss Stephen´s guitar and Graham´s harmony vocals from time to time. It does give us the chance however to hear the songs performed David´s way. Sometimes that means that he´s deviating a bit too much from the original musical lines. But that´s my only tiny bit of criticism on an otherwise splendid performance. 

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

Vat 69 Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Vat 69

Bottled by: William Sanderson & Son, Edinburgh

Age: NAS

ABV: 40%

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Not much going on here. Young Grain Whisky, Caramel, Green Wood, bit of Malt and Custard, Margarine and Alcohol.

Taste: Sugared Herbal Tea, Caramel, Bitter Oak and Spice.

Finish: Short and Sugary Sweet with Alcohol, Bitter Wood and a touch of Licorice.

With a few drops of Water, the Nose becomes a bit softer. Taste & Finish however are just watered down. Better drink this...eh, better don't!

Rating:  68 

Nose: 18 - Taste: 17- Finish: 16 - Overall: 17

General Remarks: This Blend was produced for the first time in 1882 by William Sanderson from Edinburgh. He organised a tasting panel to help assemble the Blend and out of the 100 Barrels offered, the blended whisky from Cask # 69 was considered the best of the session. Hence the name Vat 69. It's not a vatted Blend however. It consists of around 40 different Single Malt and Grain Whiskies. Today the brand is owned by the Diageo Group. Important markets include India, South America, Australia and Southern Europe. In these regions, whisky is often enjoyed over Ice or in Cocktails because of the hot climate. It's cheap at around US$ 25.

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Below Average

Conclusion: The Vat 69 is cheap and that's about it. The Nose tells us that a lot of young Grain Whiskies have been used in this Blend.The Taste is Sugary, Herbal and Bitter at the same time. The Finish is mercifully short. There is no way to enjoy this dram neat. And if you wanna mix, buy some Bourbon instead.  

P.S. I try not to think about the whisky in Vat 01-Vat 68! 

Jan van den Ende                                                              November 11, 2012                                         

Knob Creek Small Batch 9 Years Review

Country: USA

Brand:  Knob Creek Small Batch

Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Age: 9 Years

ABV: 50%

Date: 07/11/2012

Colour: Deep Amber

Nose: Very complete Nose with Sweet Corn, Charred Oak, Maple Syrup, Citrus Peel (Orange), Raisins, Rye, Brown Sugar, Toffee/Caramel, Blueberry Pie and Vanilla. Fruity tones as well (Think of Plums, Cherries and Peach). Despite the ABV of 50%, the Alcohol is reasonably discrete. I advise you to Nose this dram from all possible angles. Don't limit yourself to the centre of the glass.

Taste: This is serious stuff! Strong, Woody and Spicy with Charred Oak, White Pepper,Maple Syrup, Caramel, Licorice, Cloves, Nuts, Raisins, Plums, Citrus Peel and Cinnamon. Hints of Dark Chocolate. It's a dram to be chewed!

Finish: Bit of a Bite there but nothing out of control. Quite Dry. Vanilla, Nuts, Herbal Tea, Grapefruit Juice and Oak.

I added a few drops of Water and the Nose becomes Sweeter with Buttered Toast, Honey and Cinnamon to accompany the Maple Syrup. Palate and Finish basically are watered down. The Spices are milder of course. More Licorice in the Finish. I prefer it neat or over some Ice.

Rating:  84 

Nose:  22- Taste:  21- Finish: 20  - Overall: 21

General Remarks: Knob Creek (named for the area in Kentucky where Abraham Lincoln grew up) is part of Jim Beam's Small Batch Bourbon Collection that also includes Baker, Basil Hayden and Booker. This collection aims to reproduce Bourbons as they were said to be before the Prohibition period. It is distilled at the Jim Beam/Knob Creek Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky and matures for 9 years in Charred White Oak. The Bourbon I'm tasting today comes from barrels that were hand selected for Buster's Liquors and Wines in 2010. Price: Around US$ 35.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: It's not so easy for me to draw a conclusion on this Knob Creek. Let me start by saying that it's a quality dram. No doubt about that. And I really like the Nose. Nothing to complain there. On the Palate however I find the Charred Oak and the Spices a bit too dominant. Nine years is a long time of course! With water on the other hand, the Sweet components take control. In a perfect world Sweet, Spice and Oak would be completely in balance. That's not entirely the case here. So while I recognise the quality of the Knob Creek Small Batch I don't think I would buy another bottle. If you like your Bourbon quite woody and spicy however, go out and Seek the Creek!

Jan van den Ende                                                                November  2012

Late For The Sky - Jackson Browne (1974)

Songs: Late for the Sky, Fountain of Sorrow, Farther On, The Late Show, The Road and The Sky, For a Dancer, Walking Slow, Before the Deluge.

Comments:

Jackson Browne is a very serious guy. He does not write about The Lovely Linda or Valentine Day. On this, his third album his lyrics are about Death, Lost Identity, Relationships and Environmental Doom. His lyrics are very personal and are often compared to those of Bob Dylan in the sense that both stretched the limit of lyrics way beyond She Loves You (Yeah Yeah) and I Want To Hold Your Hand.

I´m not an expert on Jackson´s lyrics so I can´t confirm nor deny the above mentioned comparison. Musically however, the best work of Jackson and Bob are worlds apart. Bob´s music of the sixties and early seventies was mostly surprising, usually innovative and hardly ever boring.

Jackson´s Music is not. On Late for the Sky the music and vocals are professional. However, the album is never surprising , let alone innovative and often slightly boring.

Maybe American Teenagers with suicidal tendencies found relieve in Jackson´s Lyrics or mercifully dozed off with Late for the Sky as Background Music. But I tell you, when I want to hear good old mainstream country rock, I prefer The Eagles Greatest Hits. Not that serious and intellectual but far more catchy!

By the way, did you know that Jackson wrote Take it Easy? Just listen to The Road and the Sky and you will recognise the similarity. And if you ever wondered where Bob Seger got the inspiration for Against the Wind, have a close listen to Before the Deluge.

Don´t get me wrong, this is not really a bad album with the exception of Walking Slow. It just does not seem to make contact. It´s there in the background and I can hear it but that´s it. There´s one big exception to the rule and that´s Fountain of Sorrow, a nice flowing song not unlike Lying Eyes. By far the best song on the album, on a distance followed by the title track. But these two songs are easily found on any Greatest Hits Compilation. 

Type of Music: Country-Rock

Rating: ******* (Out of 10)