Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for February 2008. The author, Chris Goodrum, has some excellent insights into the whiskies being commented on which makes for excellent reading on a Sunday. Enjoy!
Dear Whisky Customers
I hope you all had a good Christmas and new years eve celebrations, and once again by the amount of spirits that we shifted this year I would imagine that quiet a few of you had some rather good drams to toast the new year in with. Even thought it is only February, the season of celebration seems like it was such a long time ago!
As is the custom I will start with the list of the top 20 best selling whiskies of the year:
GAUNTLEYS TOP 20 BEST SELLING WHISKIES OF 2007
(Last years position in brackets)
1. (1) Penderyn Welsh Whisky
2. (-) James MacArthur Glenrothes 17 year old 54.1%
3. (-) Bruichladdich 12 year old ‘Second Edition’
4. (4) Bruichladdich 7 year old ‘Waves’
5. (-) Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC6
6. (-) Benromach Traditonal
7. (-) Compass Box Asyla
8. (-) Isle of Jura Superstition
9. (-) Bunnahabhain 12 year old
10. (-) Cooley Greenore 8 year old Grain
11. (-) Springbank 1997 (10 year old) Batch 1
12. (3) Bruichladdich 15 year old ‘Second Edition’
13. (-) Nikka Pure Malt Black
14. (-) Dewar Rattray Stronachie 12 year old
15. (-) Lagavulin 16 year old
16. (17) Caol Ila 12 year old
17. (-) Talisker 10 year old
18. (11) Benriach Curiositas 10 year old
19. (5) Benromach Organic
20. (-) Cooley Clontaff Black Label Grain
So for the fourth year in a row the mighty welsh whisky once again tops the charts, although its margin of victory was smaller than last year, so could 2008 see a change at the top? Will it be knocked of its perch by Bruichladdich? The 7 year old has continued to sell well to hold onto its place and the rise in sales of the 12 year old isn’t a surprise as sales of it were strong in 2006 but as it replaced the old 10 year old that year it failed to get into the top 20. No surprise to see the PC6 in the top half of the charts, although the demand for it wasn’t as high as the inaugural PC5, it still sold well.
I guess the list is always going to be a bit skewed and reflect my championing of oddities and unusual bottlings, so I guess it is nice to see two grain whiskies make an appearance. The Greenore is a fantastic whiskey and its sales were probably helped by its new funky shaped bottle, and the Clontaff Black, which is excellent value for money at £18.95.
Whilst on the subject of value for money, I’m not surprised to see the Benromach Tradition and the Stronachie in the top 20 as they are great whiskies for under 20 quid, and the list is rounded off by the usual favourites.
JIM MURRAY’S WHISKY OF THE YEAR 2007
It is always interesting to see which whisky has been awarded this accolade. The choice of this years winner is in my opinion a bit contentious. Why you ask? Well he has chosen the Ardbeg 10 year old. Now I know that Jim is a bit of a peat freak and has a definite fondness for Ardbeg, but the 10 year old!!!?
The classic 10 year old has always left me a bit cold, I personally thought it was frankly quiet young and dull as ditch water and so I was some what surprised by the praise heaped upon it, even knowing Jim’s bias I could think of many better bottlings. According to him the quality had increased because the average age of the spirit was more like 17 years old, so I had to find out if this current bottling was such a massive improvement.
Well first off it seemed more lively and complex on the nose, opening with a gentle medicinal pure peat, smoke, coffee, hickory and a charred wood note. It now seems to have a greater degree of elegance as opposed to vague-ness! There is a lovely sweetness of delicate orange fruit, menthol, bog myrtle, dunnage floors and coastal notes. In the mouth it is amazingly fruity, no longer dull and flat but bursting with apricot and soft yellow fruits and coastal notes. Then comes some fern, pine, gentle medicinal peat, bonfires and charcoal. It is mouth filling with a lovely sweetness to the barley along with hints of spice and pepper, finishing with a gloriously sooty peat smoke finale.
It’s definitely won my award for most improved malt. Why is it so much better? It can’t just be down to the age of the spirit because I was never much a fan of the old bottling of 17 year old. Maybe I was unlucky and got a bottle from a dodgy batch. Maybe they are managing their stocks better now and have managed to off load all the dodgy casks now that there has been an influx of cash. I mean that has not been unheard of has it now!
Whatever the reason it is pretty damn good. Whether it is world whisky of the year is open to debate, but all I can say is that I’ll drink to it!
NEW BOTTLINGS FROM THE ALCHEMIST
I was talking to Gordon on the phone the other day, and I asked him what was new. “Not a lot” was his reply (the two bottlings reviewed here were actually released just prior to Christmas last year). The reason for this is that distilleries are just not selling; its part of the ongoing boom in whisky sales, led by the Far East. Coupled to the fact that there is the most sustained period of distillery building going on in Scotland at the moment, with Diageo and Duncan Taylor to name two companies that are ploughing ahead with multi-million pound constructions, all should be rosy in the garden. But…..
In reality what does this mean for consumers? Well higher prices for one thing, and a lot less choice, especially from the smaller independent bottlers. Also not wishing to be a doom-monger, but all it takes is a little financial wobble, like the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and the boom suddenly turns to bust. This leaves producers sitting on gallons of stock that nobody wants to buy, mainly because all the independents have gone out of business, and like most financial crisis that happen abroad, they have a knock-on effect here. The current sub-prime fiasco in the USA is a prime (excuse the pun!) example. Consumers feel the squeeze on their finances and what happen, well spending on luxury goods gets sacrificed, and what is whisky if not a luxury product?
Anyway, doom and gloom aside, from a personal perspective, whisky sales appear to be still buoyant, and the traditional post Christmas lull, seems like a distant memory, so time to kick off my recommendations for you hard earned pennies.
Alchemist Macallan 16 year old ‘Apple Mac’ 46% £49.95
Bourbon/ Calvados
Crisp, clean and very coastal. I wouldn’t be surprised if this had been matured at a certain distillery on Islay! There is a nice depth and sweetness with some vanilla oak, toffee, citrus, apple and earth notes. Very complex on the palate, rich and luscious, a veritable strudel of crisp apples, oily/ salty tangy fruit, earth and wonderfully soft spices. Lovely purity. Develops a stewed apple note on the finish. A distinctly different Macallan!
Alchemist Caol Ila 10 year old 46% £34.95
Quiet rounded and rich. Nicely fruity with orange, apricot and lots of rubber! A touch of smoke, menthol, bog myrtle, clove, ginger and coastal notes rounds the nose off nicely. The palate opens with a wave of coal smoke and gentle peat followed by mouth filling, rich fruit. The peat really builds fading into a sooty mouthful. Maybe not as complex as the nose suggests but very nice nevertheless. Quiet an oily finish that leaves a definite coating and finishes with late coastal fruit and vegetation notes.
SPEYSIDE DISTILLERY TASTING
A bit of a mixed bag these samples, especially after the justifiably scooped the ‘Independent Bottler of the Year’ award for the mainland category in the last whisky magazine challenge.
Speyside Distillery Private Cellar Glen Grant 1977 (30yr old) 43% £NOT STOCKING
A mature nose. Very light with vanilla, earth, marzipan and some orange fruit. It’s a bit old, spirty and innocuous. The palate is pretty much like the nose, with no real depth of flavour. Frankly it was left in the cask way too long .
Speyside Distillery Scott’s Selection Jura 1989 (17yr old) 56.3% £NOT STOCKING
A clean, deep, gently coastal nose, there is a suggestion of lightly peated Coal Ila to the aromas with some dunnage warehouse/ earth notes and a touch of creamy vanilla oak in the background and only a suggestion of fruit. The palate is clean and gristy with immediate malt and barley notes followed by delicate smoke and some salinity on the finish. Alcohol dominates the proceedings, yet the aftertaste is quiet plesant with juicy fruit and heather. So why am I not stocking it? Well it’s all a bit ho-hum! There just not enough complexity and depth for a malt that will retail in the £40-50 bracket.
Speyside Distillery Scott’s Selection Caol Ila 1984 (23 year old) 54.1% £80.95
An intense medicinal, iodine and creosote-laden nose. Superb complexity of pungent peat, firewood, bracken and coastal notes. The sherry is surprisingly well integrated, buried beneath the distillery character (as it should be!). It’s juicy, dense and phenolic with a very pure peatiness (fern/bracken and organic matter). On the palate the sherry cask is more noticeable but not intrusive. Like the nose it’s intense and deep with coastal fruit, medicinal peat and loads of alcohol. Wow! There’s a full on coal scuttle mid palate which takes your breath away as creosote and smoky peat coats the tongue, along with late coffee/chicory and leafy notes. Damn that’s intense! A drop of water brings out a chocolate/ cocoa note on the nose, whilst on the palate it rounds it out and emphasises its leafy character, but in no way suppresses its glorious peatiness, although it does release quiet a noticeable amount of wood tannins. This is ‘old skool’ sherried Caol Ila of the highest standard!
NEW BOTTLINGS FROM DUNCAN TAYLOR
Where do they keep finding these excellent casks? There stock holding must be pretty awesome, they certainly don’t seem to be suffering from a shortage of stock, but most of their new releases have some serious age, so one wonders if they are managing to get hold of new fillings to replace these wonderful old casks?
Duncan Taylor Strathisla 1967 (40 year old) 46.4% £124.95
Cask 1886
Initially a big hit of vanilla. A real marzipan overload. A clean, lean Kentucky orientated aroma! Damn it’s big and saturated. Once it settles down some perfumed orange fruit becomes apparent along with a slight menthol, spice and earthy note. The palate pretty much mirrors the nose. Oak, oak and more oak, but wonderfully clean oak that is! Definitely one for the Bourbon lovers!
Duncan Taylor Dallas Dhu 1981 (26 year old) 55.8% £75.95
Cask 42
A little bit spirity and grassy to begin with. This dram needs a bit of patience because it takes awhile to open up. Eventually it beguiles with a lovely depth of creamy vanilla infused orange and tangerine fruits, followed by the building oak notes of crème caramel and burnt toffee. The palate initially is a bit oak dominated, but it is wonderfully soft and full of crème caramel, again a bit of patience is rewarded with oodles of spicy orange fruit, a slight floral note and a crisp granity finish.
A drop of water emphasises the granity notes on the nose, teasing out a lime not and subduing the oak. On the palate it is stunning, mouthfilling and mellow, with an absolutely devine mouth feel. Ok so it’s not the most complex of Dallas Dhu’s but it is a wonderful mature dram.
Duncan Taylor Mosstowie 1975 (32 year old) 48.5% £98.95
Cask 5811
Amazingly rich and aromatic. Absolutley oodles of earthy, liquid orange and toffee, vanilla oak, and soft, sweet spices. There’s a lovely hard barley note in the background which stops it being to fluffy (technical term there!) with hints of liquid honey and ginger. The palate is wonderfully soft and inviting, with ginger spices, vanilla, mature apricot, banana, white fleshy fruit, a touch of raisins and finishing with a cinnamon flourish. Its sounds amazingly complex, and the nose is but the palate is a bit linear, maybe I’m being a bit picky and the alcohol is more intrusive than one would expect.
Water mutes the nose a bit, making it a bit oilier, and on the palate homogenises it, emphasising the spiciness and definitely lengthening, leaving behind a fleshy, white fruit after taste. Although I’ve not tasted many Mosstowies in my time, the ones I have tried have tended to be all mature dried fruit, but one thing I can say about this one is that it is definitely not showing its age!
Duncan Taylor Brora 1981 (26 year old) 54.5% £104.95
Cask 1424
Brora was closed for good in May 1983, so there can’t be that much of it still left around, so one always jumps at the chance to taste one! The nose is very intense, crisp and clean with a delicate peaty aroma along with manure, a slight iodine, tar and rubber nuance. However there is the Clynelish character of rich fruit lurking somewhere in the background. It kind of reminds me of old bourbon casked Lagavulin. The palate is very obviously mature, light and delicate, with quiet a lot of wood tannins to begin with. Then in drifts the soot, coal dust and peat. The alcohol sort of masks the mid palate a bit, yet it is quiet fruity. It’s also very oily, and it definitely leaves a coating. It sort of hangs around rather than finishes – No it lurks! If it had gone to uni it would have got a first class degree in lurking!
A drop of water brings out a lovely liquid orange note on the nose, subdues the peat to an almost imperceptible level and emphasises the vanilla oak. On the palate it becomes a veritable sooty mouthful, leaving a smoky/ oily/ mature residue. Ok, so it’s not the most amazing bottling of Brora I’ve ever tasted, but like the Mosstowie it is a lovely mature dram and you are experiencing liquid history, never to be repeated again. So if I was going to be picky I would have like to have seen this bottles around 6 years earlier.
Duncan Taylor Caperdonich 1968 (39 year old) 56.0% £94.95
Cask 2608
My, this is a truly amazing sherry cask! Intense and earthy aromas of glorious fruit, chocolate, mature honey, a touch of spice, floor polish, vanilla and a slight floral note. Just the nose is worth the entry fee! The aromas envelop the senses. Truly amazingly mature. The palate is pure liquid honey heaven! Along with chocolate, a touch of wood tannins, sherry spice and the most amazingly mature fruit. The mid palate is stunning and has this rum like dried spiced fruit thing going on. Intense, rich, fruity and exceedingly long. Finishes with menthol and reedy grass notes.
A drop of water makes no changes to the nose, but on the palate it makes it much more floral with a violety note. It really emphasises the natural oils. It removes a bit of the intensity but the spices just dance on the tongue. This is just too damn good! Take it neat or with water, either way it is one hell of a dram!
Duncan Taylor Glen Grant 1970 (37 year old) 44.0% £88.95
Cask 3496
A clean, lean, fighting machine! A veritable coffee overload, along with wood, dried mature orange fruit, old floor polish, beeswax, musty-ish dried spice, waxed, worn leather armchairs, old libraries! This is an amazing nose to fall into and just wallow in! I love it! The palte is mellow, deliociously oily with coffee, dried fruit, old wooden spice boxes, wood tannins, ceder, a touch of violets, old cigar smoke and dusty leather. I need to get the smoking jacket and an extremely large Cuban to accompany this magnificent old dram and sit in an old library next to a roaring fire – I think you kind of get the picture. In all this maturity it still has a balancing lively edge to it, it ain’t dead yet! A great mix of good spirit and wood. Absolutely no need for any water!
Duncan Taylor Port Dundas Grain 1973 (34 year old) 54.5% £78.95
Sherry Cask 128321
Yes, it’s a sherry monster! Intense, leafy and very slightly vegetal (although that can be forgiven!) It’s earthy and honied with pure cocoa bean notes. There’s the crisp grain intensity lurking beneath all the buckets of mature honey, along with a touch of dried fruit and a slight floral note. The palate is no surprise quiet leafy and ever so slightly vegetal (again forgiven!) Wow, it’s 70% pure dark chocolate all the way, oily and intense with the grainy fruit coming through on the middle. It gently meanders into dried Guyana rum-like fruit, cane sugar, figs, raisins and hints of linseed oil. Finishing with a pure cocoa intensity. It doesn’t take to water particularly well, take my word for it, so if you are choco-holic then take it neat!
NEW BOTTLINGS FROM BLADNOCH/ RAYMOND ARMSTRONG
The two forum bottlings have been available since before Christmas, so if you haven’t had the opportunity to try one then they are definitely recommended. In fact I have not tasted a poor bottling from Raymond. The 15 year old Sherry matured Bladnoch is brand spanking new!
Raymond Armstrong’s Craggenmore 14 year old 60.6% £46.95
An amazing almost Lowland-esque nose. Very grassy and crisp with hints of earth, rich honey, mint, citrus fruit and a slight vanilla note. Effervescent and delightful. Rich and fruity on the palate with again the citrus, mint, grass flavours reminding me of a Lowland. The alcohol somewhat dominates as does the dry tannin notes. Once a drop of water is added it really opens it up. Emphasising the vanilla oak on the nose and really bringing the palate to life, enhancing it’s natural sweetness, highlighting the mouth filling barley, cereal, spices and a wonderful bitter dark chocolate finale, just like pure, unrefined cocoa beans. It’s truly amazing!
Raymond Armstrong’s Caol Ila 16 year old 59% £46.95
It is the pure ‘essence of Caol Ila’ upon the nose, fresh and coastal with bog myrtle, medicinal peat, iodine, salt, rubber, an amazing fresh herbaceous quality which really envelops the senses followed seamless peat smoke, citrus orange and apricot fruit. The word ‘pure’ just keeps springing to mind. The palate opens up with that leafy/ herbaceous note and lots of earthy-peat. This is very intense and raw, coupled with the alcohol it almost takes your head off! The finish is amazingly long and complex with bog myrtle, herby-peat, iodine, rubber, coal smoke, soot, tar ash and costal nuances. A drop of water releases intense aromas of fisherman’s sowesters and latex – a fetishist’s delight! On the palate it is still raw and unfettered, it’s brilliant! You know when you’ve been Islay’d!
Bladnoch 15 year old Sherry Cask 55% £45.95
Cask 2617
A very intense nose of pure, earthy, sherry cask and spices. Not an off note in sight. It has a lovely sweetness with notes of toffee, and a developing floral note. Over time there is a suggestion of grass as the distillery character fights its way through. Strangely enough the distillery character is more discernable in a Glen Cairn glass. The palate follows the same pattern as the nose, opening with an intensity of sherry cask, drying tannins and alcohol. Yet there is a wonderful, silky60% chocolate ganache smoothness to this malt. Later the grassy notes appear, just like the nose.
A drop of water subdues the rampant sherry, bringing out a delightful orange and citrus note. The palate really now displays the wow factor! Creamy, ultra smooth and awesomely chocolatey. It’s actually quiet sweet for a Bladnoch, yet it finishes quiet dry. Now I’m not the worlds biggest fan of sherry casked whiskies, as you all know, and this bottling definitely edges towards the cask side. However……………. This is a marvellous sherry cask
NEW BOTTLINGS FROM JAMES McARTHUR
Like Raymonds, these were tasted before Christmas.
James McArthur Glenturret 14 year old 56.9% £44.95
A lovely crisp hard barley opening followed by beautifully honied malt along with a touch of earth and a smidge of peat. Displays a wonderful depth of ‘classic’ Highland granity-ness and a slight floral top note. Extremely fruity on the palate, a veritable fruit bowl of citrus fruits – orange, apricot, peach. Glorious spices kick in on the middle along with granity hard barley and a long malty, slightly floral finish. A drop of water emphasises the vanilla oak and dries out the finish a little. All round a lovely expression with a good balance and integration.
James McArthur Caol Ila 25 year old 55.5% £92.95
Deep aromas of seaweed, menthol, eucalyptus, bog myrtle and peat. Superb depth of saline infiltrated fruit and honey. Rounded and fruity with fisherman’s sowesters and all things Islay! Lovely and mellow but there is still a fresh edge. Oily on the palate, a magical mixture of coal dust, wood tannins, violets, saline, iodine, pure Caol Ila peat which dries out the palate leaving it coated in rubber, coal dust, peat and more peat for good measure! Quiet alcoholic and peaty for its age. A drop of water brings the aromas together adding a kippery, cold liver oil note, whilst on the palate you now experience the classic garden fruits. The peat has now softened and combines with the coastal citrus fruit wonderfully. Very long with a coal scuttle liking finish. Just ignore the faint plastic note!
SOMETHING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
Yes, that’s correct, French Whisky! Situated in Montagne de Reims, the Guillon distillery was founded by Thierry Guillon in 1997. Their UK agents approached me just before Christmas asking if I was interested, and after tasting some samples, the answer was a definite Qui! The Penderyn need very little introduction and it is nice to see a general release of it’s peated malt.
Guillon Louvois ‘Le Single Malt’ 46% £29.95
Bourbon/ Maury
Crisp and fresh, fern like aromas. It’s edgy and oily with hard barley, tobacco and earth. It has a foxy, sort of Baco 22a (the weird and wonderful hybrid grape of Armagnac) quality. There is some malt and a slightly floral winey orange top note. On the palate it is oily and foxy, resembling the characteristics of a good quality marc. A lovely purity with a bitter chocolate and slightly winey middle. The finish is pure unsugared custard with that ferny/ tobacco/ foxiness returning on the finish. The spirit is around 5 years and although not perfect I think it shows a great deal of promise. Fancy something different? Oui Monsieur!!!
Guillon Louvois ‘Le Single Malt’ 43% £NOT STOCKING
Bourbon/ Meursault
After the 46% bottling this is a big disappointment and seems to be a bit un-integrated. The nose is winey and marc like with rose petals, and a very unpleasant whiff of vinyl/ rubber/ plastic, which is off putting to say the least! The palate is not much better. Initially it is quiet sweet and winey, with the marc like rose petal noticeable along with spice and a very fleeting peat note. It is definitely lacking in balance, it is cloyingly sweet like sugar candy dissolved in rose water and Turkish delight!
Penderyn Peated 46% £35.95
Clean, crisp and cerealy. It has a nice sweetness with vanilla, garden fruit and botanicals. Gentle peat drifts in and reminds me of Ledaig. Lovely subtle sweetness with apple and citrus notes. Initially quiet vanillery on the palate with delicate peat, cereal, botanicals and garden fruits. Intense and phenolic with earthy Longrow-esque peat. Good length with juicy mouth watering apple and plenty of coal smoke on the finish. – Anthracite perhaps boyo!
A GENERAL ROUND UP OF TASTINGS
Gordon & MacPhail Aberfeldy Distilled 1989 43% £30.95
Wow! Loads of delicate clean sherry fruit, candied orange, herbs, spice and pepper. Very, very creamy and malty. Incredibly fruity with a touch of tropical – banana, nectarine, tangerine all sprinkled with delightfully soft demarara sugar. Superb! A lovely clean, vivid, cream soda entry on the palate, followed by delicate sherried, juicy fruit, sweet orange and nectarine. It has a wonderful purity with loads of mouth watering barley sugar. Lovely length with a sweet spice flourish.
The Arran Malt 10 year old 46% £33.95
An intense and very clean nose. Opens with lashings of crisp barley, a refreshing breezy coastal note and distant smoke. Great depth and complexity the aromas continue to exude! Apricot, orange, tropical fruit, quince, lime – the list goes on. Superbly clean with a hint of vanilla oak, malt and dunnage floors. Again the palate is extremely clean and fruity. Like the nose it starts with the wonderfully crisp barley followed by apricot and fleshy tropical fruit. It goes on! – next up creamy vanilla, spices, delicate smoke and coastal notes. Lovely long coastal saturated after taste. What a character!
Lagavulin 12 year old 56.4% (2007 Release) £51.95
Actually quiet a delicate nose. Almost shy! Once it opens up there is a myriad of aromas – slightly medicinal peat, pure tobacco leaf, ferns/ bracken and a very distinct note of pine needles. The graceful smoke wafts in with the coastal nuances. Nowhere near as powerfully peaty as the 16 year old. Oily and nicely fruity on the palate. Lovely purity of subtle orange, elusive peat, fern/ bracken and pine needles. Late peat smoke lazily drifts in. Very, very long with oodles of coastal character and although the peat is delicate and far from booming it slowly fills the mouth! A drop of water emphasises the salinity whilst on the palate it emphasises the oils, the fruit and the wood tannins. The refined Islay!
Glenfiddich 21 year old Gran Reserva 40% £65.95
Quiet a sweet nose, slightly floral with marzipan, rum soaked almonds, banana, toffee, pure vanilla pod, cinnamon and the crisp ‘fiddich fruit underpinning. Creamy on the palate with the oak leading the way followed by the rum finish and the crisp ‘fiddich fruit. Like the nose it is quiet sweet with sultanas, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and a touch of smoke. The criusp barley bites through the sweetness and it finishes quiet dry with a late spice note. Very complex!
Knob Creek 9 year old Bourbon 50.0% £NOT STOCKING
A very pure vanilla nose with marzipan, burnt butter, a touch of medicinal peat and herby notes. A complex and evolving nose. On the palate it is clean, with a pure vanilla pod entry. Creamy yet dry with violet notes. The alcohol dominates but there is a leafy/ herbal note. Water brings out the violet (almost parma) aromas and flavours along with a nuttiness on the palate too. However it is still very dry and woody and to me somewhat disappointing after having such a lovely nose. I have tasted better Bourbons!
AND FINALLY AN AMUSING LITTLE STORY FOR YOU
As reported by the Channel 4 programme ‘Dispatches’. Ken Livingston has had to admit that he drinks whisky at 10 o’clock in the morning while answering questions in public. Scientific analysis allegedly showed it was 47 per cent alcohol, but failed to say which scotch it was. Mr Livingstone was forced to admit he was indeed drinking alcohol in the film. But he insisted he used it “as an anesthetic” in winter months to help his chest problems.
Speaking at a press conference, the mayor compared his drinking to the Parliamentary tradition of the chancellor of the exchequer sipping a whisky as he delivers his annual Budget. “I tend to suffer from mild bronchitis through much of the winter,” he said. “If I have to talk for two and a half hours and through the mind numbing tedium of questioning my members of the assembly you will hear my voice start to go. “At that point I will pick up that tumbler of whisky and I have a sip. It then stops. The only way I can get through talking for two and a half hours with a severe cough or bronchitis is to use alcohol as an anesthetic.”
So your congestion charge goes to fund the mayors drinking habits!
Well that’s it for now. Comments and questions, etc to the usual address.
Sincerely
Chris Goodrum
