Allen Unwin Publishing

A Long Stride: The Story of the World's No.1 Scotch Whisky

When it comes to Scotch, Johnnie Walker must be one of the most known brands on the planet and while it is omnipresent in mainstream establishments, the story of the man who started it all is widely unknown.

A Long Stride chronicles the story of an empire that started with a small grocery shop in Kilmarnock and sheds light on the trials and tribulations of a man that did things in his own idiosyncratic ways with the comm

n denominator being a commitment to quality and the unwavering will and ability to move forward against all odds.
No matter if you are a whisky aficionado or interested in entrepreneurship, the book reveals fascinating insights into the building of a brand, building  distribution deals and sales campaigns, whose significance and iconicity looms into not only the worlds of libations but Scottish identity at large.

Comprised of ten chapters and accompanied by illustrations and photos along with footnotes, the well-researched approach of author Nicholas Morgan – which should not come as a surprise given that he has had access to the original records of John Walker & Sons - results in a compelling account of a topic that clearly, he has had a lifelong personal interest in.

A must read for anyone remotely into whisky history.

The Art of Science 

Heather Barnett, Nathan Cohen and Adrian Holme

One could make a case that art and science have never not been interwoven, however, specifically with the advent of the twenty-first century, things have taken on a new dimension with new technologies creating the foundation for the making of exciting, new and never realized before artistic endeavours.

In turn, art offers the opportunity to question and reflect on scientific advancements and their implications for humanity at large.
The Art of Science zeroes in on this interesting dynamic by examining the oeuvres of forty artists from different time periods and epochs to where we are now and highlight the commonalities in terms of both art and sciences serving as vehicles to venture and explore our collective raison d’etre.

Not limited to genres , media or specific disciplines, the tome distils its conclusions and insights into the intersections of art and science and the way the convergences have cross pollinated and inspired new developments.

Centred around five broad themes, i.e. location and intention; alchemy and cosmos with a focus on light and spheres; being human putting the focus on the body; ecology and environment; machines and systems looking questioning the ordering of space and media and finally nature and its role.

Needless to say, the terrain is vast in every aspect and there is no claim to The Art of Science being comprehensive, however, the aim is achieved in that remarkable artistic works are exhibited that aid in providing a deeper understanding of our existence and reason for being.

A Runner's High: My Life in Motion

Dean Karnazes

I started running fifteen years ago and hardly a day goes by where I do not go for a jog and feeling better afterwards for many reasons. The act of running has invigorated my love of life and carried me through good and bad times wherever I roamed.

While I have managed to completed a couple of half-marathons, I have never tackled a full marathon, let alone extremer forms of long distance running, which is the metier of Dean Karnazes. 

A Runner’s High sheds light not only on the nature of running ultramarathons, but underlying motivations for a seasoned runner to still expose himself to such taxing physical and mental challenges despite being middle-aged and the toll it takes.

Chronicling his path to his tenth Western State 100 miles event, Karnazes takes us through his preparation, the ebbs and flows of his day-to-day and the details of the implications of his undertakings in an engaging manner with self-deprecating humour.

A highly entertaining and well-pieced together account that conveys his enthusiasm for a life of running, reflections on how he pushes beyond what he himself thinks possible and recaps of his races that with their intricate details make one feel present with him on the course.

Despite being a bit overly self-referential at times, a fun read and a compellingly inspirational book that sheds light on the magic of running with all its highs and lows.

The Formative Years – The Smiths

Of all the grand bands that emerged from Manchester, The Smiths hold a special place on the firmament in my musical cosmos. Fusing 1960s intoxicatingly melancholic rock music with post-punk  sensitivities and a fierce rejection of what was becoming de rigour in terms of synth- and dance pop, the songwriting of Johnny Marr and his disgust for power chords resulting in the avoidance of  rock guitar clichés , backed by Morrissey’s complex lyrical emissions created the alternative musical equivalent to lightning caught in a bottle. 

Throughout the history of rock’n roll, there may be quite a few singer-songwriter duos that have created timeless music and whose compositions have stood the test of time, but the way Marr and Morrissey were in sync remains unrivalled with the resulting layered songs being borderline symphonic in nature, conglomerating each constituent of the band and merging into an idiosyncratic atmosphere.

Marr’s arpeggio laden signature chiming,  Morrissey’s often woeful vocal harmonies and the distinctive duotone style that dominated The Smiths’ cover artworks depicting pop and film cult stars created an eccentric universe, which was masterfully counterpointed by the band dressing in ordinary clothes in a deliberate bid to contrast the exuberance of the mid-1980s exotic fashion extravaganza that was cultivated by contemporary bands like Flock of Seagulls, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran.

While always having harboured a weak spot for bands from Manchester and a point being made for most having created a lane for themselves in their own right, I would be hard pressed to list one post-1982 that was not at least tangentially inspired by the vital and vigorous voice that was created via The Smiths’ oeuvre and the way they artfully elevated what was considered possible to create with a four-piece band.

A truly original band that not only produced landmark albums but actively subverted outworn stereotypes and norms with their own aesthetic simplicity, thereby delivering a blend that pre-empted and created the foundation for the commercial construct that was to become known as the Britpop movement.

The Formative Years – Christian Death 

Formed in 1979, some consider Christian Death as one of the quintessential bands that with their endeavours created the foundation for what was eventually become a mainstream phenomenon, i.e. gothic rock.

Personally, I consider the first three Christian Death albums must-haves for any underground music aficionado. Their first album Only Theatre of Pain was not only released on the fantastic Frontier Records label, but saw singer Rozz Williams join forces with Adolescents’ guitarist and song writer par excellence Rikk Agnew, which saw them write songs with a new and idiosyncratic approach defined by dirgey, doomy, effects laden riffage, tribal circular drumming and the incorporation of spooky ambient synthesizer elements. 

With lyrics centred around morbid and shock value themes, it is not difficult to see that Christian Death became not merely an influential band for other outfits that followed their steps in terms of being enthralled by the gothic allure, but it becomes obvious that artists like Celtic Frost, Type o Negative, Sisters of Mercy, Danzig and others have drawn on Christian Death’s oeuvre to channel their own melange of dark music.

Having recently revisited the Rozz Williams fronted releases, the songs have stood the test of time with their dense, frighteningly beautiful compositions, Williams’ eccentric, theatrically moody persona, his gloomy, macabre and at times unhinged poetry paired with his moany delivery and the pounding, heavy, driving basslines.

Early Christian Death combined punk and gothic elements in an innovative and otherworldly manner with a heady mix of occultism and bizarre antics to create the American equivalent of what The Cure, Bauhaus and co were accomplishing in the old world, before several line-up shifted saw the DNA being diluted and the original band fell apart.

Water of Life

Farmer’s Wife Distillery and Norlan 

There is something wholesome and unique about Australian craft distilleries, especially the ones outside the confines of the bigger cities.

An example par excellence for combining the love of country life, growing food, a proclivity for gardening, a distinct sense of place and a passion for the creation of artisanal crafted gin is Farmer’s Wife Distillery.

Inspired by the idea of mastering the creation of nuanced, sophisticated flavours to produce something unique and special, Kylie Sepros and the constituents of her team channel their alchemy based on a commitment to creating gin in exactly the manner it used to be meant to be crafted, i.e. by following the tradition of a one shot distillation by employing the services of a tested and tried copper pot still to distil their Australian sugar cane spirit, which due to the copper results in a more palatable distillate.

With the distillate as the foundation and after blending it with purified, local rainwater,  Kylie infuses the result with indigenous ingredients, which not only frame the dominant juniper flavour notes but enhance it subtlely and add an additional dimension by honouring the terroir.

Farmer’s Wife’s Autumn Dry Gin, is a telling name in that the avalanche of autumnal nuances that materialize on the palate are informed  by layers of citrussy lemon myrtle, effervescent kaffir lime and a delicately tarty grapefruity bitterness, the sum of which beautifully counterpoints the punchiness of the juniper berries. 
With the sugar bag honey reverberating and singing on the roof of the mouth, the synergy of the triumvirate that is native sage, pepper berry and cardamon pierce and round out the experience with warming, savoury and piquant tones.

Delicious.

The summery yin to the Autumn Dry Gin yang is Farmer’s Wife’s limited edition, i.e. their Spritz inspired gin. In fine alignment with the warmer months of the year, this variant is made unique by not only the infusion of Farmer’s Wife’s thirteen original botanicals known from its aforementioned core expression, but the addition of freshly pressed Sauvignon Blanc grapes, the welcome astringency of which lend a tart, acidic and slightly sweet depth to the herbal native sage, which dances intimately with the floral honey notes.

As the name Summer Spritz suggests, this little number is the ideal gin to experiment with creating the perfect summer cocktail.

Given how on point Farmer’s Wife Distillery’s emissions are on the flavour front and the attention to detail that goes into every facet of their operations down to the design of the labels and their curated merchandise, I cannot wait for their future expressions and hope that down the track Kylie will channel her alchemy in the creation of whiskies.

Norlan Glass

Some might claim that drink specific glassware is overrated, however, if you relish in the nuances of great whisky, the vessel you are sipping one matters more than you would think as size and shape play an integral role in enhancing the complexity the aromas and the respective flavour profiles they manage to bring to the center stage.

I usually rely on the trust Glencairn, which does a great job in funnelling the nose of the whisky to your nostrils and comfortably hits my hand and is easy on the eye on the aesthetic front.

However, every now and then there are whisky glasses that do not merely look fancy and cutting-edge, but indicate that quite a bit of thought has gone into the design.

The Norlan whisky glass might look futuristic and a bit of a novelty to some and the fact that it is much lighter than a quaint crystal tumbler due to the fact that it is made from borosilicate glass might act as a deterrent, but there is more than meets the eye: Essentially, the Norlan glass merges two glasses – an outer tumbler shielding the whisky from warming up and encasing an expertly shaped nosing glass. A welcome side effect of the intricate design is that it accentuates the colour of the whisky. After all, the visual aspect matters.

An advantage of the Norlan glass is the fact it enables sipping from an angle that allows to maintain eye contact as one does not have to tilt back as much, paired with the protrusions in the glass enhancing the evaporation of ethanol, which adds depth to the respective whisky’s aroma and flavour profiles by dissipating the alcoholic burn.

I like the fact that all of Norlan’s glasses are individually different due to them being hand-blown and regularly use them with heavy hitters from Islay, e.g. the new Octomore 12.1, which sang beautifully on the stage that Norlan provided.

Talking of Islay – needless to say, I was intrigued when I learned about Norlan delving into the creation of fragrances and olfactive holograms in a bid to replicate the aromas of the Scotland’s core whisky regions – especially as the last twelve months have seen me acquiring a diffuser along with the development of a weak spot for essential oils.

The underlying concept of Norlan’s Vam Terrain Fragrance series is to transport one both emotionally as well as physiologically on a journey by tapping into the root of one’s memories, Cue Arnie, Total Recall-style.

Based on perfumer Mark Buxton and creative director Sruli Recht’s first-hand experiences in Scotland, they crafted three distinctive scents, of which I tested the Islay variant.

As expected based on my previous experiences with Norland and their quality products, once the diffuser is filled, a melange of saltiness, smoky peatiness and heather fills the room in the most delicate yet dangerous manner, as one feels instantaneously urged to pour a dram to complete and round out the experience in the flavour department.

A fascinating and fun addition to the Norlan portfolio, which I can only hope will continue to grow with its mission to develop innovative products for whisky lovers.

Sydney Festival part 2

44 Sex Acts in One Week

Seymour Centre
Sydney, Australia
13 January 2021

Written by award-winning playwright David Finnigan, 44 Sex Acts in One Week is the story of the journalist Celina Valderrama, who has been tasked to review a book that advise to experience more than forty sex acts that are meant to change one’s life. With the deadline looming on the horizon, she needs a willing partner in crime and since options are limited, ends up with her office nemesis and lefty eco-activist Alab Delusa to experience and review kink in every shape and form.

As the premise suggests, 44 Sex Acts in One Week is a subversive yet romantic sex-comedy that is part radio play, part stand-up with no real set apart from fresh produce to simulate sex acts and a spontaneity that was preserved by having had only very limited rehearsals. 

The result is a performance that despite smutty content manages to maintain a playful edge and having premiered on the radio due to the implications of the pandemic, the script has been tweaked over time and expanded to fully take advantage of the space the stage offers, which enabled Finnigan to weave in satirical element that aim at the ubiquitous wellness industries and its self-proclaimed gurus.

Who is Afraid of Virginia Wolf?

Opera House
Sydney, Australia
15 January 2022

Edward Albee’s own bitingly witty brand of what was coined by Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco as “theatre of the absurd” shook the reverie of the 1960s outlook on what theatre ought to look like. 

I have had the chance to see the classic “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf” and its portrayal of 1960s America incarnate on three continents and was looking forward to the resident artistic company of the Adelaide Festival Centre, i.e. State Theatre Company South Autralia’s interpretation, especially given the fact that Edward Albee’s estate refused to allow for the script to be cast racially.  

Taking the interesting angle of considering the political status quo of the new world, Sydney Theatre’s interpretation explores the depth of race and power relations of the US and thereby adds another, updated and contemporary layer to the corrosive psychodrama channelled through the lens of First Nations director and actor Margaret Harvey.

The result honours the original script yet with its ear firmly on the ground of political and societal issues of our times, subtly alludes to themes of identity and how it is perceived by artfully interrogating the darker shades of Australian society in a disruptive manner, thereby staging a transformative and inclusive theatre experience via providing a platform to a diversity of voices.

---

images provided