A Whiff of Peat Smoke...

September 2007

The Fourteenth Edition of "A Whiff of Peat Smoke...." , Why ? because i can !

Another Autumn is upon us .....And another birthday treat to the Vaults !

Another Night in the Vaults

As my Birthday treat , Mel took me to one of our favourite venues for an overnight visit, The Vaults ! Once again we went up for lunch , Mel had the Homemade Burger i had the Lambs Liver with Haggis Mash , i had a 21yo Longmorn (7.42 , 50.2% , Nov 1985 ) to accompany it . A Pale Gold in Colour , on the nose it was Rum 'n' Raisin , Coconut and Apples , on the palate Orange , spicy and Cinnamon , the finish was Long and sweet . This was a stunning dram , it done what it said on the tasting notes .

After Lunch we headed off to our hotel to freshen up and a change of clothes then headed off for a bite of tea before getting settled down for an evening in The Vaults .....

Started the Evening off with possibly the worst dram of the night , a 14yo Cragganmore (37.34 , 60.6% , March 1993 ) . Dark Mahogany in colour , the nose was Sherry and that smell of struck matches you get on the sandpaper on a matchbox , the palate was very dry (oloroso) sherry and treacle toffee . the finish was dark fruits and cough mixture . Way too sherried for my liking , don't mind a one this age being sherried but the colour gave it away straight away and it didn't allow any of the distilleries characteristics to show through . 2nd of the night was a 21yo Ardmore ( 66.21 , 54.2% , March 1985 ) , if i'd tasted this one blind i would have said an old Bowmore ! Bright gold in the glass it had Germolene and Smoke (burning heather) on the nose . on the palate it was perfumed smoke , very Bowmorish and very sweet , the finish was Medium sweet but smoky . Not a bad wee dram , more pleasant than some of the Bowmores i've had recently !

The next four were ones i'd never had SMWS Bottlings of and one i'd never had any try of before . The 4th one was a decent enough dram but i wrote "Nothing to write home about " on my notes , a 9.38 ( Glen Grant , 17yo , 54.9% , April 1988 ) . Basically Bright Gold in Colour , on the nose Red apples , cigars and Plastic . it was thick and creamy on the palate but the finish was a bit Acidic ( Vinegary) and cereal . Then up came 91.17 ( Dufftown , 9yo , Oct 1992 , ??% ) , Gold in the glass , sweet and sugary on the nose with Rum Baba and Syrup on the palate . Long and sweet on the finish this wasn't a bad dram , more enjoyable than your average speysider ! Now to a one i've never had before , a Glenallachie (107.9 , 11yo , 62.2% Dec 1989 ) , Bright Gold with quite a pleasant Nose , sweet ( Turkish Delight ) , Candied peel , Christmas Cake dough and a very long Glace Cherry finish . Not a bad introduction to it . Last up was a 12yo Glen Keith (81.13 , 60.7% , Feb 1994 ) , the palate was starting to fade a bit by now , it was a decent enough dram but i did notice a bit of bitterness about it .

All in all a very good night out in the Vaults , thanks to my wife for the treat ! I came back with a bottle of the Longmorn plus i picked up a "Society's Regional Selection Pack" , it comprises of 4 10cl Mighty Miniatures featuring .....

Lowland - 22.27 Glenkinchie 19yo 52%

Highland - 125.12 Glenmorangie 12yo 57.6%

Speyside - 1.101 Glenfarclas 25yo 52.1%

Islay - 53.112 Caol Ila 15yo 54.8%

A very good idea imho , give you a chance to try several malts without buying a full size bottle , i think they should do more Mighty Minatures !

Is Nothing Sacred ?

Thankfully No !!!!

Billy Connolly Newcastle City Hall 18/9/2007

I've been a fan of the Big Yin since the Mid 70's when my brother came in with one of Billys first albums and we found great amusement in Jobbies , Bums and the last supper in Gallowgate...... This was our second time of seeing the great man in concert ( could never get the bloody tickets !) , the last time was 6 years ago was just before my 40th Birthday . Lots of people don't like him for his swearing and choice of subjects for his material , i can only say B*££*ck$ !!! We were amazed how many people were there and didn't seem to be laughing (why go ?) but our sides were aching by the end of it .

The subjects were wide and varying , The changing face of Britain started it all off (Bloody one way systems......Government plan to confuse the terrorists.....) and led straight into a bit about the Glasgow Terrorists (where angels fear to tread...in goes Connolly !) . The Pope , religion and Songs of Praise also got a mention (in no particular order) , as usual the old days in Glasgow also got a mention . We love it when he starts off on one subject heads off somewhere else , throws in a few more then gets back to the original story , He denied doing this during the concert........

Lots of people got stick , from the TV mediums to the civil servants who changed the bell on the fire engine to a siren ( i never got asked to vote on that !) , he told a few jokes as well including one abpout the Black Testicles , very visual and too good to try and write down ! I hope it's not another 6 years before we see him again , it was too long this time , he's not getting any younger ( The Tour was called Too old to die Young ) but he certainly hasn't lost any of his superb humour !!

Robin Laing - One for the Road

Last month while on holiday we picked up Robins recently released Album "One for the Road" , again it's a Whisky related album (as were "Angels Share" and "The Water of Life" ) . The Style of the Album though is a bit different from them two , it has more of an American feel to it than the other two , which had more of a traditional Scottish feel .

The Full track listing is....

1.World of Whisky
2.Heaven Hill
3.The Sun's Coming Over The Hill
4.Elijah Craig
5.Speyside Whisky Song
6.A Bunadh
7.We Can't Let Al Qaeda Get Their Hands On This
8.Uisquebaugh Baul
9.Bottle of Gin
10.Whisky Makes You Sweeter
11.Reaching Home
12.Rory's Still
13.Everything I Love
14.Full Moon Whisky

The new version of We Can't Let.... takes some getting used to after hearing the original so many times but it actually takes it to a new level . Uisquebaugh Baul has some new lyrics from the previously performed versions , Sir James gets a mention.....

My own favourites are the "Speyside Whisky Song" , how the hell he remembers the lyrics i don't know and "Reaching Home" which brings back memories of our first returns to Islay when we stayed around Bowmore . Overall it's a very good Album , foot tapping songs Interspersed with quiet reflective numbers , like i said earlier it's different from the previous whisky albums but in the best possible way ! Will look forward to seeing some of these performed live ( Hopefully soon !)

Robins Site

Buy it Here !

Whisky With......Sunday Lunch !

Seeing it was the bank Holiday and North Sea Gas were playing at the Vaults on the Sunday Evening , we decided to have another trip up to Edinburgh for an Over-night stay . We got up in time to have Sunday lunch in The Vaults themselves and as usual it was fantastic !

We both decided to have the Starter of Potato and Leek soup , followed by The leg of Lamb (there is also Beef , Chicken and a Veggie option available) with Saute Pots and Vegetables . The Lamb was perfect , me being the piggy i am , went for the pudding of Peach Parfait (frozen custard made with cream....) with summer berries .

To accompany the meal i had a 105.11 (Tormore , 22yo , Sept 1983 , 57% ) , A lovely shade of Amber , The nose was confectioners sugarand candied peel , it was very sweet on the tongue ( Cola Cubes and confectioners Sugar again) . It had a lovely long and warming finish , again of Cola Cubes and confectioners sugar . A lovely dram , very reminisent of Bunnahabhain , i didn't bother watering it at all as it was so good at Caskstrength .

We bumped into a couple of old friends from the Islay festival , Louie and Sylvia , who were also having their lunch there . After a cup of coffee we headed to our hotel to check in and freshen up before returning to carry on our day out at The Vaults......

Whisky With.....Music ! (and a light supper....)

And so on to the nights entertainment ! This was the second time we'd seen North Sea Gas (The first was also at the same venue) , it was billed as part of the festival , the last night i think ? They didn't disappoint , as well as lots of old Favourites they had just released a new album (which was duly purchased) , the new stuff seems really good , a mixture of slow ballads and rousing reels . The older ones covered included Dark Island , Our Town , Caledonia , Loch Lomond , The Overgate , The Gallowa Hills and A Little Bit Moore . A thoroughly entertaining 2 hours , great music and humour , by a band well worth tracking down if you've never seen them before !

North Sea Gas Website

Somewhere we managed to squeeze in a bit of supper (Haddock dips , Spicy Chicken Wings and some of the best homemade chips....) and Of course before , during and after a few drams were consumed ....

46.11 (Glenlossie , July 1978 , 27yo , 54.1% ) Polished Bronze in colour with a nose of Fondant Icing and Bakewell Tart , Very malty on the palate (slightly floral with water ) The finish is long , Bitter-sweet(?) and dry .
63.19 (Glentauchers , 17yo , 54.8% ) Pale Gold in colour , Ripe Bananas and Sea-air on the nose which with water changes to Fruit cocktail . Banoffe Pie with Cream on the palate , when watered it's exotic fruits and creamy . The finish is long with Banana fritters ....chinese style ! Didn't think this would take ater but it did , a very complex , fruity dram , was my favourite of the night .
82.16 (Glencadam , 7yo , May 1998 , 57.4%) All i can say about this is it's Amber in the Glass and Liquid Christmas Cake everywhere else ! A very nice young dram unlike......
78.37 (Ben Nevis , 9yo , Dec 1997 , 56.3%) Which was absolutely awful ! Pale amber in Colour , the nose was of a real sour sherry , which continued onto the palate and finish .....added to the list of really bad SMWS bottlings !
7.37 (Longmorn , 38yo ,Feb 1968 , 53.6% )After the last one this was a joy ! A Mahogany coloured sherry monster that was extremely well balanced , just as good as it's sister cask 7.36 .
125.4 (Glenmorangie ?????) By now the evening was progressing and the taste buds were flagging but i had to try this one . I thought it was a port Glenmo but i need to find out whether it is a sherried one , it was very good anyway , good balance and it went down well .
It was just by chance they had this one behind the bar 33.62 (Ardbeg , 7yo , May 1998 , 58% ) , from a Gorda cask , not one of my Favs but it's an Ardie and i hadn't had any peat until now ! A tad too sherried for me but it went down ok !
Last trip to the bar saw me spotting a G2 (North British Grain , 16yo ?) sitting there , most surprised seeing that i thought this vanished ages ago i ordered one . I'd had it before , it was great then and it was great now ! Lovely and smooth it went down very well.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable day , a nice way to end the summer , Good whisky and wine , great food and fantastic entertainment !