While not watching the Superbowl, I’m sipping a very sweet malt from Speyside distillery, Glen Moray. This particular scotch whisky was aged for 15 years in ex-bourbon casks, and bottled at a respectable 58% abv. I like it.
Society Notes:
Summery, with Jelly Tots, boiled sweets and fresh fruits followed by Cream Tea with Iced Gem biscuits. Water introduces lemon meringue and rhubarb and custard chews. A smooth texture, sweet taste and scented aftertaste.
The Complete Spot Challenge: visit all 11 Gagosian Gallery locations during the exhibition and receive a personally dedicated and signed spot print by Damien Hirst!
The route I’d take: Beverly Hills > New York > London > Paris > Hong Kong > Rome >> Athens > Geneva.
For me, the real challenge is finding a way to clear my calendar for the next month!
Took a friend out to try sushi (and even use chopsticks!) for her first time; thought it’d be best to ease her into eating raw fish with this…. it worked.
Link: Kushiyu
I finally got around to trying the whiskies that came with my SMWS membership pack. The first mini bottle I opened came from cask number 3.171, which is also referred to as Peasant honey and lime flowers. It’s been aged for 20 years and was bottled at 55.8% ABV.
Originating from Bowmore, the oldest distillery (est. 1779) on Islay, this independent bottling was quite a treat!
The Society’s tasting notes:
The nose is varied and generous; treacle toffee, incense, beeswax, heather twigs and cakes (syrup sponge, ginger cake, Battenburg). The palate is big, sweet and smoky; toffee apples, roasted peppers, leather, honey and chocolate limes.
If I could add, chewing this whisky neat reminded me of lychee, while the finish gave a hint of rubber, durian fruit, and xylitol gum. This dram definitely had a unique flavor profile, and since it is sold out, is one that I will miss greatly.
Cheers!
For sale at Sotheby’s (Sale 12021; Lot 138), another sculpture that I really like. Pre-estimate at 70-90K GBP.
It was cast and unveiled (in my opinion) at the peak of the Banksy hype in 2006.
It’s an edition of 12 and measures 25 by 30 by 21cm.; 9 7/8 by 11 3/4 by 8in.
Catalog quotes Banksy:
They exist without permission. They are hated, hunted and persecuted. They live in quiet desperation amongst the filth. And yet they are capable of bringing entire civilizations to their knees. If you are dirty, insignificant and unloved then rats are the ultimate role model.
At Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day Auction on 2/16/12; Sale L12021, Lot 132. Pre-estimate is 150-200K GBP.
It’s painted bronze measuring 91 by 54 by 57cm.; 35 7/8 by 21 1/4 by 22 1/2 in. Executed in 2006.
Marc Quinn:
I was looking for the current incarnation of the Venus/Aphrodite archetype, and I looked at the various film stars and models. It was Kate’s ubiquity and her muteness that made her seem to me more like a classical divinity than any of the others I considered; she is someone who never really speaks but who is continually spoken about; that makes her a very effective mirror of ourselves – our desires, our obsessions, our dreams. What’s still more intriguing is the way that her and her image have parted company – she has one life and the image has a different one.
If I had the funds, I’d buy it.
(Keep it..) Simple. (Get some…) Confidence. That’s really all that one needs to look good.
Link: Hermès
On this bright day, I’m sipping some of Compass Box’s Great King Street – Artist Blend. As its name suggests, this is a blended Scotch. That is, its single malt mixed with some grain whisky. However, what differentiates this blended whisky from others is that they use a higher proportion of single malt (50% vs 30-40%), which supposedly imparts greater character and complexity. Does it?
Well, it definitely is a refreshing dram. Though still not as complex as single malts, it is unique among the blends. It’s sweet and fruity, think freshly sliced Gala apples and Asian pears. There’s the usual vanilla nose, as well, with a subtle peatiness. The finish is in the medium spectrum, and as good as it gets for a 43% ABV whisky. Overall, I like it.
This would be a wonderful to have in the Spring time at a park picnic or outdoorsy concert.
Link: Compass Box
Thom Browne fashion shows are never boring. Theatrics aside, the guy knows how to cut a jacket. Slim sleeves and really high arm holes.
Link: Thom Browne