Pumptatus, the restoration Part 1

 I recently bought another pump organ. I was pining for the one I sold in the UK and restoring another one over winter was the obvious solution to all my problems. This one is bigger, more gothic, than the last one (which just looked like a mid sized standing coffin when shut). I sense candlesticks and Bach's Toccata and Fugue in Dmin in my future.

Pumptatus: well it's obvious really, Sphenodon punctatus....

Pickup involved a ute. In Hamilton. I felt very at one with my testosterone. Here's a picture of my newly acquired strops + ratchets, tarp, and rope. A recipe for BDSM success!

First job was to get it into the garage and assess it for woodworm (a little bit, nothing concerning). 

By that point I'd removed the recent-ish addition of a music stand with light. Next came testing keys/reeds, pumps, and stops. Generally good, there's about 10-12 keys or reeds which need work, there's even a spreadsheet...

At that point it's a slow process of deconstructing it, rather than go through every step, here's a few shots to show what's inside a pump organ/harmonium.

Currently state: lying on it's side, very naked. The varnish has been removed, and a medium sandpaper applied, next up is a fine sandpaper and beginning to restain it. Once that's finished, I'll spend some time fixing the reeds - as I'll have the room on my table.

Luv, your organ Pumper.

Whisky Tasting: Whisky of the Isles

 Back in the peat, skipping over the ocean waves... this time we visit the islands, not just Islay.

One down in our cabal this time, although we felt getting an ankle in plaster was going a bit far to avoid our charming company...

Highland Park Valfather 47%  [Orkney]

• N: salt, watery, citrus, black tea, sherbet
• P: orange, raisins, salty, citrus, not cask strength, 
• F: med-long, sweet, warm

7/10. Good enough whisky, nothing outstanding about it and probably overpriced. 

This came 3rd on the night with 8.29.

Lagavulin 12yo 2017 Cask Strength 56.5% [Islay]

• N: ash, bacon, smoke, sweet,  medicinal, iodine
• P: paint stripper, ash, medicinal, phenol, cask-long, sweet, warm
• F: long, hot

8/10 I liked this, good strong Islay whisky. Not as complex as I might have wanted, and I prefer the 16yo standard Lagavulin. Came last (8th) 6.88

Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength Peated 56.2% 20ppm [Arran]

• N: light, ash, bourbon, apple, pear, coconut, solvent/pva glue
• P: empty, hint of ash 
• F: med, grows on more sipping

6/10 Pretty weak and boring (sadly). Not a favourite of the group either, 7th with 7.23

Lagavulin 12yo 2019 Cask Strength 56.5%  [Islay]

• N: ash, medicinal, oily, iodine, citrus, seaweed
• P: water, ash, peat, medicinal, sweet 
• F: med

7.5/10 Ok, but not hugely complex. Having said that, came 1st with 8.38

Caol Ila 15yo 61.5% unpeated style [Islay]

• N: sweet, sherry?, fresh green apples, citrus hint, pear, soapy
• P: delicate, buttery, citrus
• F: aniseed, hot, peppery, short

8/10 liked this a lot. Came 2nd, 8.31.

Lagavulin 12yo 2020 Cask Strength 56.4% [Islay]

• N: strong, ash, medical, oily, peat, strong
• P: peppery, ash, medicinal, sweet
• F: med-long, salt

7/10 this was the mystery whisky, it had very Islay characteristics. Came 4th, 8.19

Talisker Port Ruighe 45.8% [Skye]

• N: water, light, bourbon
• P: hint of peat
• F: what finish?

5/10 disappointing and dull. Having said that it came 5th with 7.66.

Ledaig G&M Hermitage 12yo Wood Finish 46% [Mull]

• N: interesting, port, ash, 
• P: tasty, interesting, ash, medicinal
• F: med

7.5/10 quite liked this, thinking about grabbing a bottle. Came 6th with 7.57

Interesting tasting, but nothing really stood out. I liked the variety of not just Islay, 

Whisky Tasting: Glenallachie

Cabal (or half of it, one had skivved off on holiday and the other wasn't drinking?! leaving Blair and I to insult other patrons all on our lonesome) was back to Regional for this one where we drank lots of Glenallachie. First built in 1967 the distillery worked until the mid 80s when it was mothballed (more detailed on their website), kicked off again in the late 80s, and more importantly for this tasting, was bought by a consortium including Billy Walker in 2017.

GlenAllachie 18yo 46%

• N: dry, lemonade, spritzic, apples, bourbon/oak
• P: sweet, apples, tangy, spritzic, fruit sours
• F: med, sour

8/10. Excellent start to the evening. 

GlenAllachie 12yo PX finish 48%

• N: sweet, pale, citrus, bourbon, musty, solvent
• P: sweet, sherry, honey, very warm
• F: long, tart/dry

7.5/10 Interesting and previously a sherry finish :)

GlenAllachie 15yo 46%

• N: sweet, sherry, muscavado sugar, hazelnuts, aged?, musty
• P: not long, sherry, xmas cake, sticky
• F: med, sour

8/10 still good. consistently good actually

GlenAllachie 10yo Batch4 Cask Strength 56.1%

• N: muscatels, sherry, sweet, muscovado sugar, musty, woody
• P: big, sherry, spicy, coriander, caramel
• F: long, spicy

9/10 maybe 9.5/10. look i like sherry monsters...

GlenAllachie Dramfest [mystery whisky]

• N: sweet, marshmallow, creamy bourbon, acetone
• P: sweet, not complex, spritzic, sherbert
• F: med, warm

7/10 not great, pretty bland given the company it was in

GlenAllachie 10yo Batch3 Cask Strength 58.2%

• N: sweet, parma violets, strawberry
• P: spritzic, citrus, coffee, spicy
• F: long

8/10 good, but not great like the Batch4.

GlenAllachie 10yo Batch2 Cask Strength 54.8%

• N: sweet, apples, toffee, butterscotch, musty, bourbon
• P: lemonade, spicy
• F: long, spicy hot

7/10 apparently the older, less Billy'd Batch's are not as good as the new ones. Huzzah !

GlenAllachie 10yo Batch1 Cask Strength 57.1%

• N: apples, light, tangy, bourbon, 
• P: spicy, 
• F: med-short

7/10 

Overall, well I'm liking where they're heading. All the newer ones, with bonus-Billy, are great. Definitely worth keeping an eye on them....

B

Whisky Tasting: The Casual Dram - Library 02

 The usual tastings have franchised with a spin off being run at the Library bar in Courtney Place. This is a far more informal tasting, there are some notes, and you can drink whenever you want. Organised by John from Regional, there's no real theme other than interesting/good whisky. Oh and we tasted blind.

Hazelburn 13yo Oloroso Cask Matured 50.3%

• N: sulphur, eggs, PVA glue
• P: tangy, xmas cake, buttery, sweet, heat, toffee, sticky
• F: salt, med-long

8.5/10 - this was the mystery, and just reconfirms my love of Hazelburn. Definitely recommended.

Highland Park The Dark 17yo b.2017 52.9%

• N: light smoke, coastal
• P: low alc, complex, warm, sweet, spicy, salty
• F: warm, hot, long

7/10 lacked a bit of interest, but as usual HP deliver a good whisky.

Springbank Madeira Cask Finish 17yo 47.8%

• N: sweet, coastal, pineapple, watery, no salt
• P: light, parmesan
• F: short

6/10 Dunno I seem to have gone off Springbank, or rather the ones I've had recently. Seemed flat and one dimensional.

SMWS 10.188 New Acquaintance Bunnhabhain 14yo refill ex-sherry butt 489 bottles, 62.5%

• N: dusty sweet muscatels, ginger
• P: big, sweet, madeira?, sherry, high alc, spicy
• F: long, hot

8/10. Thanks to Neil I've become more of a fan of Bunnhabhain, and this was a very nice whisky.

Good night, relaxed atmosphere, nice venue, excellent whisky. All win from my perspective.

Slainte, 

Whisky Tasting: Macallan

 The Macallan has a reputation as the Rolls-Royce of scotch, something probably perpetuated by Macallan. It's been a long while since I had some Macallan so this was always going to be an interesting tasting. Given the cost of Macallan, hopefully a good one.

Macallan Gold 40%

• N: watery, sweet, bandacopy paper, chemical, citrus
• P: citrus, very light, a little spikey, buttery, sour
• F: short, disappears like $5 hooker

6/10 not very interesting

Macallan 12yo Double cask 40%

• N: sherry, interesting, older, sweet, cedar, vanilla
• P: sour, sherry, quince
• F: short,

5/10. very low complexity whisky. boring.

Macallan 18yo Triple Cask 43%

• N: weak, older, dusty ash, prickly, caramelised apples
• P: lemonade, light, incr alcohol, hot
• F: what finish?

5/10 again, very disappointing, lack of complexity or interest

Macallan 12yo Sherry cask 40%

• N: brown sugar, aged? ammonia, apples, sweet
• P: lime, smooth, sweet, sherry, sugar, vanilla
• F: medium, warm honey

7/10 although light this was more interesting. 

[Mystery] Glendronach 12yo

• N: PVA glue (woodglue), fruit, lychees, sharp
• P: citrus, light apples
• F: medium, spikey apple

6.5/10 even as a mystery it fitted well in the lineup, low complexity, and light in flavour

Macallan 15yo Double Cask 43%

• N: caramel, eggs, smooth, low alc, sherry, liquorice, teriyaki
• P: warm, peppery, complex and integrated
• F: medium

7.5/10 this was more interesting and my whisky of the night. Not worth the money, but at least there was a bit of complexity happening.

Macallan Rare Cask 43% 2020 Release

• N: liquorice, caramel, light cigar, honey, sherry, well integrated, very nice
• P: watery mess, sour, astringent
• F: nothing

5/10. So this saved me NZ $750. rubbish. 

On the plus side I liked the beer we had, kereru Silverstream Pale Ale. 

Fair to say, not impressed. All very bland and over priced. Daniel was explaining they'd managed to run out their stocks 20 ? years ago, so were having to rebuild. But certainly not the sherry monster they were known for years ago. Disappointing, but ultimately saved me money.

-B

Whisky Tasting : Blind Whiskies

 New year, more whiskies. First tasting at Regional this year was blind. No info on the whiskies, just cost. So we had NZ $90, $115, $130, $140, $150, $200, $450 [or roughly] and no other info. Our usual cabal assembled...

Benriach 24yo 54.5% $450

N: bourbon, lemons, citrus, banana, sweet, medium age

P: very strong, high alcohol, bourbon, sweet/dry, peppery, manuka honey, 

F: long

8/10 for me. 

This came 4th (8.1) on the night, and we learnt it was a bourbon barrel and was the most expensive of the evening. But no-where near the best.

Tamdhu Batch Strength #5 Cask strength, 59.8%, $140

N: dry, older, raisins, sherry, vinegar, bitterness

P: nutmeg, lower alcohol, sherry, very hot, honey - strong

F: long

7/10 Came 5th (8.06). Not particuarly interesting as a whisky.

Ardnamurchan Batch 1 46.8% 5yo $90

N: salty, bacon, peat, pears, chlorine, buttery, light

P: salt, bacon, light, low alcohol

F: med-short

7/10 Came 7th (7.66) no real complexity and not sure on the chlorine smell. If you want peaty and low cost, there are better.

Glenrothes Whisky Makers Cut 48.5% NAS $115

N: egg, sulphur, caramel, sour, matchsticks, weak, popcorn

P: not a lot? boring, sharp?

F: hot

5/10 Yeah this one polarised the group. I didn't like it, but it came 2= (8.28) really boring and weak whisky, but some (misguided) people loved it

Octane Glenallachie 52.4% 6yo d2011 b 2017, 5 month in octave $130

N: custard, apple, dry, bourbon, marshmallow

P: light fruity, bright

F: long hot cask strength

7.5/10 interesting, i liked it, and it's very good value. Came 6th (8.03)

Glengoyne PX (travel) 46% NAS $150

N: heater dust, not complex?

P: warm, honey, salt, chocolate lemon, blue cheese, lemonade

F: med-long old

9/10. Oh yes, this was a winner. 2= (8.28) and finding it was a Glengoyne made the purchase easy :)

Signatory Cask 6 Strathmill 13yo 61.2% d24/10/06 b31/08/20 $200

N: leather, sherry, caramel, vigorous

P: marmalade, incr alco, chocolate, sweet

F: long, hot

9.5/10 Came 1st (8.72). Yeah this was all win, superb value - although there were none to buy. 

Fun tasting, and interesting how the two best were not the most expensive

Alec and Bruce, Beer-off update

 Every-so-often, when I remember, I compare untappd records between Alec and I. Who has the most beers, badges, etc. 

So in the spirit of erratic updates, here's where things stand between us.

Bruce

Alec

Still damn close, I'm ahead around a 100 total beers, but Alec's had more unique beers (just). I've got a commanding 200 extra badges. Which in this world of gamification, is what it's all about. 

I think the reason the badges totals don't agree relates to some badges being closed (particularly venue based ones).

Slainte!

Tunes of 2020

I'll probably pull together a top10 albums list at some point, but in the meantime here's the last.fm stats on what I listened to in 2020. 

So Top Artists for 2020:

So no huge surprise there. The Floyd will be due to the Later Years boxset, and the Prince boxsets also got hammered last year.

I don't remember playing the magic flute that much, oh well. of the most played 2020 albums, the three I'd really rate are Mark Kelly's Marathon, Borknagar, and Fish. But for sheer fun, Powerwolf win everytime.

B

Whisky Tasting: 25 years of Daniel, part 2

 Regular readers will remember this years' 25 years of Daniel tasting, woohoo we got a second go at the dram. 

So our regular, now enhanced, cabal of four turned up to drink to the great man...this time down in the trenches with us...

Cadenhead Bunnahabhain '89 28yo 43.8% b1/3/2018; bourbon hogshead

• N: grassy, honey suckle, pineapple, wine, bourbon, lemonade
• P: lager, lemon, light, green tea
• F: long peppery, gentle salt, warming

8.5/10 I'm beginning to realise that Neil maybe right and that I like Bunnahabhain. This seems a good thing. Came 8th with 8.0 [story on why there's 8 later]

Adelphi Linkwood 1993 25yo 50.4% Bourbon cask #4469

• N: bourbon, warm, strong, salt/meths, effervescent lemon, floor polish
• P: fruit, ginger, spicy
• F: pepper, long

8/10 interesting and I like Linkwood, but not as great as I hoped. Came 6th with 8.07

Laphroaig 25yo 48.9% 2017 bourbon 2nd fill oloroso

• N: peat, bacon, salt, delicate, vinegar, smokey
• P: salt, bacon, asphalt, methanol
• F: medium, smokey

8/10 Other times I've had the 25yo Laphroaig I've rated it higher. Oh well. 4th 8.9

Longrow 21yo 46% [mystery]

• N: rubber, egg, sulphur, sweet vanilla, sherry, lanolin
• P: sulphur, burnt ash, socks, 
• F: short

7/10 lacking in complexity and possibly missed a trick by being 46%. 7th, 8.01

Adelphi Bowmore 1994 25yo 54.2% refill sherry #554

• N: caramel, salt, toffee, cream, yummy, vanilla.
• P: warm, honey, peat, ash, bread, sweet
• F: long and peppery

9.5/10 again, anyone else bottling Bowmore is onto winners :) superb stuff. Came 3rd, 9.1

Adelphi Glen Keith 1995 23yo 60.5% refill bourbon #8512

• N: banana, sweet, ash, vanilla, PVA glue, violets, peat, sherbert
• P: sweet, aniseed, lemonade
• F: hot, med-long

6/10 not a fan of this, nose promised a lot not much delivered tho. However I was in the minority - came 5th, 8.67. 

Adelphi Mortlach 1993 25yo 56% refill sherry #4469

• N: sherry, sweet, old, complex, cinnamon
• P: complex, sherry, old, xmas cake
• F: long, sweet

9.5/10 hey it's a Mortlach, and an old one. Of course I'd like it. Ticked all the Mortlach boxes of meaty sherry complexity. Everyone else finally got their crap sorted and agreed with me, came 2nd 9.47.

so the 8th dram? All the dregs from Best of the Best into a teapot dram. This came first with 9.92. 

-b

Whisky Tasting: Best of the Best 2020

 Another year, another best of the best. Admittedly tastings were a bit haphazard and disrupted for some reason, but we still got through a reasonable amount of whisky. 

Due to the reduced number of tastings we had two mystery drams for the tasting.

Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% [Mystery]

• N sweet, peat, salt, rubber, earthy, medicinal, aniseed, chlorine, pear drops
• P peat, sweet, tasty, dry, ash, oily, hot, creosote
• F long dry

9/10 I liked this a lot, although it came last with 8.1 on the night. 

Benriach Batch 16 Pedro Ximenez Butt #6924 56.2% 21.2.2005-2019 13yo

• N sweet, tobacco, toffee, sherry, turkish delight
• P warm honey, sweet, odd sick taste   
• F short, almost bitter finish

7/10 not grabbing me. disappointing for a benriach. Came 5th on the night 8.54.

Glendronach SC 25yo oloroso #1416 51.2% 23/3/1993-2019 [mystery]

• N fried egg, sherry, marshmallow, dry, raisins, burnt caramel
• P warm, leather polish, aged smooth, dry, sherry, raisins, complex
• F long, warm, complex

10/10 not a huge surprise I liked this :) it came 4th on the night, 8.70

Glendronach 23yo 1995 52.5% PX puncheon

• N light, sherry, nectaries, fried egg
• P  sherry, xmas cake, not subtle, tannins, treacle
• F medium

8/10 bit of a disappointment, in a qualified way, i don't think it had anywhere near the complexity of the previous dram. but everyone else liked it, 2nd 9.09

Amrut Greedy Angel 8yo 50% Chairman's Reserve unpeated Indian with peated scottish barley

• N sweet, bourbon, citrus, linseed, latex, canvas
• P sweet, hint of bourbon, spiky, fighty, vigorous
• F med - long

8.5/10 interesting, good etc, just over shadowed by some of the others in this tasting. came 6th 8.4

Smokehead High Voltage 22.01.2020 58%

• N salt, rubber, bacon, peat iodine
• P sweet, smoky, sherry, bacon   
• F long, sweet

9/10 great dram, and great value for money. Came 3rd, 8.7.

Amrut Portonova Batch 22 62.1%

• N caramel, sweet, old, complex, amazing, eggs, sulphur, candied oranges
• P honey, complex, aged, smooth leather 
• F superb, long

10/10 This was amazing. And not cheap. Came 1st 9.32

Great line-up, all whiskies i'd be happy to have in the cupboard. 

Slainte...