It's a Vintage Friday. Jura's new 1977...and Jazz

What a bloody full-on year so far.  With barely time to find to feed oneself, Caskstrength have this week been getting stuck into some of the recent samples to pop through the letterbox -  to be honest, trying to clear a path to our desks would be a big bonus.

One banger of a vintage that jumped out immediately is the recent 1977 release from Jura.  The distillery has a very healthy vintage collection on its mantlepiece now and the 1976 release, which came out back in 2011, made our BiG shortlist such was its succulence.

This year, we find the distillery offering up something equally interesting and hopefully as majestic on the palate.  The 1977 bottling is limited to 498 bottles and was originally matured in three first fill bourbon casks, before being finished for a further 12 months a ruby port pipe.   The additional port character is not immediately visible, but look closely and you'll begin to see the slightest tinge of sunset red... wondering what it has done for the nose and palate of this 36 year old.  

Wrapping up warm... and rocking' to a
1920's Jazz playlist... Lois Ridley. 

Today's review will be made in the company of miss Lois Ridley, who, it turns out seems absolutely fascinated with the trombone-heavy 1920's ragtime jazz of Tiny Parham and Jack Teargarden.  A recent discovery for me, thanks to the honourable Mr Sam Simmons, aka Dr Whisky.  In fact, the more she listens the more I am convinced she's destined to be a future heartbreaker and sultry Jazz chanteuse... Gulp.

Jura - 1977 Vintage -  498 Bottles - 46% - £600 RRP

Nose:  An intensely fruity aroma off the bat, with some big fat buttery vanilla pods, a faint whiff of some perfumed ruby port, oil of Olay, lip gloss and face powder (not mine, I may add), a little furniture polish and some restrained peat smoke (in the way only Jura knows how.) It's delicate, refined and very good indeed. 

Palate: Almost tropical on the first sip, followed by sweet vanilla, white chocolate, a similar restrained peat smoke as to the nose, coconut, Caramac bars and more of that Olay/face powder.  I imagine this is what its like kissing a 1920's jazz chanteuse, if they were nibbling on a Caramac between sets.    

Finish: A drying note, but the vanilla continues to sing through, backdropped by a trio of coconut milk, creamy oak and perfumed peat.  

Overall:  Well, they keep plucking 'em from the relative obscurity of the Jura warehouse and thrusting them into the limelight... and boy, this one hit the high notes yet again.  Who needs Stephen Poliakoff's 'Dancing On The Edge' when you can listen to this baby all night... 

Lagavulin and the Smooth Moves. Islay's tremendous Jazz Festival

Before I start this piece, I will just point out, that I do like Jazz -  well... some bits of it, being that it is a wildly diverse canon of music.  From the classic Columbia records released by Miles Davis, to the big band-be-bop experimentalism of the late Don Ellis, Jazz has entered many facets of my life in the past.  For a short time, I worked closely on a number of film and theatre soundtracks, and being heavily influenced by the likes of Lalo Schifrin, John Barry and Ennio Morricone the dynamic, jet age styling that these composers often took was like a whole new world of music for a young guy in his early 20's.

Since then, I've built up a tasty collection of records. However, something still chills me a little when I think of seeing Jazz in a live context.  Most modern Jazz bands, whilst superbly proficient, are pretty bloody boring at the end of the day.   When the purpose of a Jazz concert is to service the egos of the band members rather than the enjoyment of the audience, something has gone very wrong indeed.

And to be fair, I was kind of expecting a bit of this when I attended the recent Islay Jazz Festival.  Endless noodling saxophone solos do nothing for me and for that matter, I would imagine, a large proportion of music fans.  So I was pleasantly surprised when looking at the bill for the festival, sponsored for a second year by Lagavulin.

After catching up with the renovations to Caol Ila distillery and a look round the Port Ellen Malting we found ourselves on a wonderfully bracing trip to the Lagavulin peat bogs for a cutting session with Mr Lagavulin himself, Iain McArthur. When Iain says 'run for the car!' you know that there's one hell of a storm about to break-  so with extremely soggy trouserings, it was time for a warming dram of 16yo at the old Malt Mill hall and the first Jazz gig of the weekend- the Neil Cowley Trio.

Described as 'Jazz music for Radiohead fans', I wasn't sure what to expect -  more endless, tuneless noodling? (i'm not really a fan of the modern uptheirownarse Radiohead) Fortunately the trio kicked off with some excellent syncopated riffs, a blast of humour and above all else, a little bit of soul-rather like the Radiohead of old, before Thom Yorke decided to get all sulky and grow a ponytail.

Perhaps the biggest revelation of the day though was the the Malt Mill itself.  Having been lucky enough to attend a few events at the hall over the past few years, I was taken back at just how good the acoustics of the room are.  The grand piano sounded absolutely sublime and it would be wonderful to see this building used for the purposes of recording a proper session at some point in the future, especially given the reverence of its namesake whisky.

As one would expect, with Lagavulin sponsoring the event, for the second year running, the distillery had prepared a special bottling for the event.  This year's single cask comes from 1997 and is a refill sherry cask (1894) selected by the aforementioned Iain McArthur. Last year's bottling performed better than an impassioned Ella Fitzgerald at Montreux so the sequel had a lot to live up to.

Lagavulin - Jazz Festival Edition- Single Cask Bottling - 54.5% - Distilled 1997

Nose: Initial perfumed notes nestle alongside classic Lagavulin peat smoke, with spicy liquorice, fresh lime, Lockets throat sweets, a touch of menthol and some sweet fruits.  With a dash of water, that familiar Laga carbolic note develops.  Unmistakable and superb.  Are there any ropey casks at all at  this distillery?

Palate: Light acacia honey, citrus notes, sweet malt, carbolic notes and green bananas.  With water, the bananas start to ripen up and the smoke begins to swirl.  This dram is probably not as heavily sherry- influenced as last year's bottling, but the classic Laga notes are just rubber stamped all over this.  More of a short burst of inspired brilliance from Miles Davis than a three hour snooze fest from Courtney Pine. 

Finish: Fresh, with citrus notes, some lengthy smoke and a stab of medicinal peat at the very end. 

Overall: Yet again, another masterstroke of a bottling.  Lagavulin falls into that category of being able to turn out inspired whiskies, alongside their solid, core releases seemingly without having to try too hard.  You'll never see a Lagavulin dressed in Sauternes, saddled with the remnants of an tired old rum cask or something equally un-Lagavulin -  there's just no need to experiment when you have a spirit as good as this. 

So back to the Jazz then.  Ah yes, our next act -Swedish sensations, the Fredrik Kronkvist Quartet.  Dressed in the uniform of the modern day jazzer -  flat cap, soul patch chin beard and a vaguely hip-hop'esque jeans and trainers combo, Kronkvist is undoubtedly ridiculously talented (he also played some sensational Jazz flute the day after.... did I really just type sensational Jazz flute?) The problem is that in my book, talent can only get you part of the way there.  The gig, whilst technically proficient, was a little like watching Dr Gunther von Hagens painstakingly dissecting a plasticised cadaver.  You wondered how deep his Jazz scalpel would slice with extended solos cutting right to the bone, full of dissonant notes, awkward phrasings and time signatures that left me trying to nod along looking cool and part of the scene - but feeling like I was sitting an A-Level in pure maths. Kronkvist's saving grace was his astonishing drummer.  Every bit a mind-numbingly talented musician, but effortlessly precise and in possession of some of the best dynamics i've ever seen.   He built up his solos with the panache of a seasoned performer, thrilling the audience seemingly without even breaking a sweat.  A joy to watch and worth the ticket price alone.  

This is what happened to the man who listened
to too many extended sax solos

After some much needed contemplation time down at the Cross of Kildalton (which, whatever the weather is hands down the most peaceful place I have ever visited) our group transferred to the final Jazz show of the day -  a double header at Ardbeg with ragtime pianist Keith Nichols followed by Swedish singer Miriam Aida (accompanied by Fredrik Kronkvist and his pianist) 

Despite having an all-too-short set, Nichols transported the audience back to the golden age of the Jazz piano - Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington et al with the showmanship and energy of a man a third of his age. Although this style of swing jazz is so often overlooked in favour of a more modern style, the brilliance of performers like Keith Nichols and his contemporary, Brian Kellock, will no doubt keep it kicking and screaming, far from being put out to pasture just yet.  

To close, the sultry sounds of Miriam Aida, undoubtedly the most glamourously dressed woman ever to visit Islay with a voice to match.  Paying homage to Nina Simone throughout the set, an understated accompaniment from Kronkvist and his pianist gave the Old Kiln Cafe a smoky, misty eyed authenticity - close your eyes for a second and you could be sat in the comfy leather-bound booths at the Green Mill Lounge in Chicago, stubbing out a Chesterfield and sucking back a bone dry Martini.   

And that's the beauty if the Islay Jazz Festival -  despite my fear of when Jazz tries to outdo itself and sounds like its falling backwards down the stairs,  this festival offers a well balanced outlook on the Jazz loved by many music fans today -  with reflections from almost a century ago to the most cutting edge chops of today.  

In the words of the famous Jazz critic, Louis Balfour -  'Grrrrreat'. 

Islay Jazz Festival: Day Two (plus a wee exclusive)

It’s been a few months since returning from the Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival, which took place 17^th – 19^th September 2010. Two days of music and whisky is always welcome in my world and some of the acts that I discovered on that that trip have since become regular tunes on my iPod; like a good holiday when you make ‘proper’ friends with people you actually stay in touch with. It is these factors that tend to make a holiday take that leap from “good” to “great”. For this reason alone, I would heartily recommend music lovers to make the journey over to Islay for this years festival, but more about that later on.

With a little over six months since my trip, what better way to celebrate than to gather some friends, musicians and general whisky lovers in an upper room in East London to chat music and drink some whisky. I say whisky but we were focusing on one specific distillery for the evening, Lagavulin.

Not known for an enormous range of bottles (if Bruichladdich is the Picasso of Islay then Lagavulin must be Van Gogh) with a small core output, it was almost a shock to have managed to gather 11 different bottles of Lagavulin in one room. A mix of Own Bottlings (12 Year Old, 3 different 16 Year Olds from different years, Distillers Edition, Distillery Only Bottling, Friends Of The Classic Malts Bottling), through to some independent bottles, most of which won’t (can’t?) state their contents is Lagavulin. Occasionally you come across one which can state its origins, such as the Elements Of Islay Lg1 and Lg2, which are gems and should be considered as great bottles to buy and drink.

One of the main incentives for getting these bottlings together for the evening was to try three different Lagavulin 16 Year Olds from different years, side-by-side. Every distillery will try and produce a consistent product but, as with any artisanal product, this isn’t always the easiest of tasks. Producing a consistent New Make Spirit goes a long way to consistency, but once you’ve left the task of maturation up to Mother Nature, Things Have Changed as Bob Dylan once sang.

Let’s have a look at how these three compare:

Lagavulin 16 – 1996 – 70cl – 43% Vol

Lagavulin 16 – 2008 – 70cl – 43% Vol

Lagavulin 16 –2010- 70cl – 43% Vol

Nose: The first thing to state is that these are all unmistakeably Lagavulin 16’s. We are not looking at big differences here, but small details which give the whiskies their own personality, but only by the smallest of margins. The 1996 has a mossier and softer-peated nose than the 2008 and 2010 editions. The 2008 has more stewed fruit than the 2010, which is the most robust of the three, with the biggest spirit hit.

Palate: This is where the differences really come in to play. The 1996 is quite sizably smoother on the palate (this is spirit that would have been produced as far back as 1980, if not the late 1970’s) with the 2010 being much zestier and almost lemony at times. The 2008 sits somewhere between the two, but leans more heavily in the direction of the 1996, with soft peat notes. The 1996 and 2008 are more like wholemeal brown bread, the 2010 is more like sourdough; zestier and more lively on the tongue.

Finish: Again, the same theme; the 1996 has loads of coffee notes with digestive biscuits. The 2010 has all of this, but underpinned with a zest, like someone has added a touch of clear apple juice or a zested a lime very briefly over the top. Once more, the 2008 sits more akin to the 1996 but the coffee is more mocha and dark chocolate than straight dry, dark coffee.

Overall: A fantastic comparison which threw up more differences (albeit each one small, but with a fair impact on the overall effect) than we though. If I had to choose one, it would be the 1996, although the 2008 comes pretty close. Good job they're all our bottles, so we get to take them all home! Funny thing is, I’d never have picked out the zesty nature of the 2010 until I was comparing it against the two others. It’s amazing what you can find when you really look!

(FYI, if you want to know the bottling year of your whisky, there is usually a code printed on the back of the bottle.. It might be hard to find, but it is usually there somewhere. To decode it, do some Googling!)

Two of the more unusual bottles which graced our tasting were the Friends Of The Classic Malts bottling; a 1995, 12 Year Old, First Fill Sherry at 48% and the Distillery Only Bottling, NAS, which weighs in at 52.5%, bottled in 2010. We have it on good authority that this offering is an enhanced version of the Distillers Edition, matured onward in yet another cask from the Pedro Ximenez which constitutes the Double Matured moniker of the Distillers Edition bottling. So let’s have a look at these two as well:

Lagavulin – Distillery Only Bottling – NAS – bottled in 2010 – 52.5% ABV

Lagavulin – Distillers Edition – 1990 / 2006 – 16 Years Old – 43% ABV

Nose: similar noses of very rich fruit cake, rum and raisin chocolate and apricots soaked in brandy. A dash of water to the DO bottling, to level up the ABV’s, reveals this nose to be slightly more complex, with Seville oranges added to the apricots and a whisp of wet sand and dark chocolate in there too.

Palate: Both offer baked banana, crystallised ginger and candied orange segments dipped in chocolate. The Disitllery Only bottling has an extra level of smoothness to the palate, like a strawberry crème chocolate from a selection box. Sweeter than the DE, which offers more wood spices, cardamom and fennel.

Finish: Neck and neck, both landing with a peat and spice edge, in classic Lagavulin manner.

Overall: You can tell the additional maturation of the DO bottling over the DE, but the differences are subtle, like the re-cut version of Star Wars once Lucas was able to show explosions in higher definition...

For a long time the DE was my favourite whisky in its price range. Still very much rate it, but have found myself hugging the 16 over the DE nowadays; less sweet, slightly more delicate, soft peat in the 16 which really hits the spot for me.

Onward to the Lagavulin Jazz Festival 2011: Dates for the festival this year are the 16^th – 18^th September with the full line up to be announced very soon. However, one thing we can reveal is that there will be an exclusive Lagavulin bottling available only to ticket holders, this year. We don’t know what it is, how much it will be or when it will be available (during the Jazz Festival, one would imagine) but if they maintain the consistency of the official bottlings we tried on our night, gig-goers will be in for a real treat...

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more information and book tickets here: http://www.islayjazzfestival.co.uk/

Melody In Malts

The connection between music and whisky is something we've touched upon several times here before and it is clear that many of our readers also feel there is a wonderful link between the two. Whether it's knocking back a 'Smoke 'n Coke' whilst listening to Slash rip out a blistering solo, or sitting back in the soothing arms of some minimalist jazz with a vintage Highland Park, the experience is personal and, when the timing is right...truly memorable.


The Coburg Bar in London- Serving the best
Manhattans and Sazeracs we've ever tasted

We have our first 'guest poster' on the blog- our very good friend Mark Jenner, Manager of the wonderful Coburg Bar, situated within London's Connaught Hotel. Mark poignantly brings his experiences of music and whisky together perfectly in this, his very first musing for us- Enjoy!

Melody, Moments & Malts

So much of what we do is about the pure liquid itself- Its character profile and standing, as to how it relates to our blinkered lives! What a waste of a moment!

It’s just past 2am, the last merry few have made their winding way home and my bar is spick and span, ready to start all over again in a few hours.



I’m alone as I fall back into my favourite wing-back chair. I close my eyes and let the grainy crackle of Fats Waller’s 'There’s going to be the Devil to pay' wash through me, cleansing my soul. What a perfect pairing- Fats and a wee dram of what I can only describe a liquid nectar, Port Ellen's 2nd Release, 1978 24 yo. A feeling of intense mellowing forms deep inside, all the woes of the week sinking into the sumptuousness of this lost distillery's velvet lining.

Every dram has a moment, and every moment has a melody but it's up to you and I what those mean to each of us.

My advice to you, dear friend is to take that moment, grab what feels right and give in! In the words of old Bing... “Take a spot, cool and hot! Now you has Jazz Jazz Jazz!” Believe me it's positively therapeutic!

A few tips where to start, if your 'Box doesn’t Rock!'

Glenfarclas 40yr Old and Gene Krupa's 'Sing Sing Sing'

Glenrothes 1982 & Cab Calloway's 'Six or Seven Times'




Convalmore 28yr & Mario Biondi: 'This Is What You Are'