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ZIRK! CIRCUS SYDNEY OPENING NIGHT

Moore Park

Sydney, Australia

July 6, 2019

As the Colombian sculptor and figurative artists Fernando Botero put it oh so eloquently: “

The circus allows one to be logical and unreal at the same time. In the circus, all is possible: there can be a man with two heads or a character with a green face.”

Life can be and most of the time is a circus so whatever is portrayed and performed in the actual one has become less detached and at times more of a reflection of the daily humdrum.

But enough of the allegories - ZIRK! CIRCUS – The Big Top Spectacular incarnated for the first time on terra australis and what materialized under the chapiteau at the opening night was a melange of high calibre acts performed by artists that have honed their crafts under such world-renowned umbrellas like always touring  Cirque Du Soleil, The Russian State Circus or the American traveling extravaganza under the guidance of Barnum and Bailey as well as the Swiss National Circus.

The fact that ZIRK! Is performed within the confines of a more intimate big top, ensures that no matter where one is seated, you are bound to experience the daring acts up and close.

Hosted by the conferencier and Master Russian Clown, Dmitry Shindrov, feats included such awe-inspiring feats like the gravity defying ‘Double, Double Giant Wheel’; acrobats that effortlessly performed acts in aerial heights that I would applaud if performed on terra firma and contortionists that channel their alchemy in ways that seem not in congruence with logic.

Precision is what stands out as the common denominator when it came to e.g. the dexterous   jugglers, whose dexterity is something to be marvelled at as well as the beauty created by the symmetry of the graceful trampoline performers, who are all set in scene under the benign guidance of the creative team whose curation framed the evening in a coherent whole that ends up being much more than the sum of the individual acts.

Apart from the state-of-the-art acts, ZIRK! is an homage to the traditions and skills that originated as part of the Russian circus, whose DNA is married and transported into fast paced day and age.

ZIRK! is one to look out for, no matter if circus is not usually your cup of hot beverage or if you are an aficionado.

Water of Life – Amrut Naarangi and Kadhambam

I have always had a weak spot for sludge metal from New Orleans and Down’s “Bury me in smoke” is a song that we have done a cover version of, however, in a bid to pay homage to my weak spot for liquid emissions coming from Islay, I changed the lyrical content to culminate in “Bury me in peat”.

Over the course of our series, I have covered quite a few heavyweights from the realm of smoky and peaty whiskies, Ardbeg and Bruichladdich being some of my favourites. I am a simple man and my appreciation for a distillery is usually growing in direct proportion to the time the barley grain is exposed to the pungent peat smoke during drying.

Then there are distilleries with expressions whose peated expressions are of a fulminant calibration that triggered the development of a new appreciation for what can be achieved if it is approached in a subtler manner.

Enter Amrut.

Their peated expression has become one of my favourites, which transitioned into an appreciation for their unpeated varieties as well – an interest that triggered me to dig deeper.

Amrut’s Kadhambam is sourced from a melange of regular and peated whiskies, which have matured in a variety of cask, e.g. ex-oloroso, rum and brandy – a fact that is not further wondrous as the etymology of the name leads us to what this expression is in its essence: A mixture and one that is extremely delicious.

The peat is very subtle on the nose and substantiated by oak and vanilla, resting on a bed of honey. What materializes on the top of the roof is spicy with highlights of cinnamon and a not too overwhelming sweetness before the elongated finish leaves me smacking my lips lusting for more of the smoky tobacco finale.

The mouthfeel was easy, but toward the back of the tongue. The finish was smoky, spicy, with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a touch of fruit-sweetness as it faded to tobacco at the end.

I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about the Kadhambam and how much of an experiment it was. Upon tasting, I came to the conclusion that Amrut head distillers must have known exactly what they were going for as the Kadhambam hits the spot in a manner than cannot simply be the result of an experiment. A superbly composed dram that can be had at all times of day.

Another Amrut expression I recently tried is the Naarangi. Now, this one sounded much more exotic to me than the Kadhambam as apparently orange peels are added to the mix before being left to season and further maturation. Again, Amrut is not beating around the bush with “naarangi” meaning exactly that in Hindi, i.e. “orange”.

Not surprisingly, the nose is characterised by fruity nuances but also peppery bits as well a hint of more earthy and oaky notes.

On the palate, sweetness is of course – as one would expect – a dominant forces, however, it is well calibrated and is flanked by chili, chocolate, vanilla and, again, a pleasant oakiness. There is a seamless transition to the warming finish, with orange being the driver yet with pepper and tannins make an appearance as well to round out the picture.

Both the Kadhambam and Naarangi expressions are the outcome of exercises in distilling elegance and enrich the portfolio of a distillery that has yet to emit an expression that underwhelms.

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image from company website

Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Edge Brewing Project

There seems to be a newer ending influx of newly established breweries dabbling in the creation of craft beers with never not “interesting”, but not always delectable results that hit the spot.

Needless to say that I am getting all the more excited if I randomly come across one that thrills me with its emissions.

It was a late Saturday afternoon when I felt that after a 12km run and a subsequent gym session, I had earned myself a boilermaker. As I was looking for a suitable counterpoint to a peaty whiskey, I consulted my local speciality beer shop about new arrivals and one of the brews that caught my eye was Edge Brewing Project’s collaboration with the Hawaiian Kona brewery. The fruity melange of Australian malt and mangos mixed with hops from the new world proved to be a great choice and triggered me to dig deeper into Edge Brewing Project’s catalogue.

With a focus on locally sourced ingredients, Adam Betts started to instigate collaborations like the aforementioned based on his wide network from his time at a beer importer and distributor – an endeavour that eventually culminated in the founding of Edge Brewing Project.

It did not too long for the world to notice the quality of his emissions, which resulted in accolades galore and high-calibre collaborations like e.g. with Noma, the restaurant voted best in the world multiple times, which gave birth to a specific Restaurant series.

Edge Brewing Project focuses mainly on small batch lagers, imperial stouts and sours, with the occasional IPA thrown in for good measure.

Keeping his operations lean by renting equipment from existing breweries, Adam and his team experiment and only upscale their batches once they have met their standards.

?Apart from the sours, which are an acquired taste at times, my favourites of the Edge Brewing Project is the ?collaboration with Starward Distiller: Using their oak whisky barrels, with this Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, Edge Brewing Project carefully calibrated a mix of coffee and milkshake aromas to arrive at a creamy deliciousness that is informed by nuances derived from what the barrels have to contribute, i.e. tannins and oaky highlights.

Another one is what people outside the terrain of terra australis might know from Nick Cave’s musical homage to the man: Stagger Lee, an Imperial Stout.

This one takes things to the next level and is one to spend some time with as its roasted character that extends into a lengthy and pleasantly bitter finish is something to be savoured.

All of Edge Brewing Projects releases are limited in nature to its operations and if you are remotely into quality beers and experiencing new flavour nuances that have been created with skill and not just for the sake of creating novelty brews, I’d recommend to sign up to their mailing list so you do not miss out.

Water of Life – Sullivans Cove

Sullivans Cove is quite something.

Not that the Australian and specifically Tasmanian whisky scenes lack allure – au contraire – fantastic distilleries are not only mushrooming but the established ones keep releasing expressions that make me wish that they would not be as sought after as they are. However, then there is Sullivans Cove, a distillery that as one of the first Australian ones elicited awe when merely mentioned to whisk(e)y fanatics around the globe.

The distillery and its limited expressions have experienced a meteoritic rise that has yet to reach its peak and new expressions tend to be sold out within minutes. The reasons for this will unfold once you indulge in one of their drams – an experience which yet has to not result in me smacking my lips and indulging in the respective lingering finishes.

Needless to say that I was more than mildly excited when I became aware that Sullivans was going to release a curated selection of limited Single Cask Brandies, i.e. Sullivans Cove XO, which is the result of a collaboration between the distillery and Tasmanian wineries from the Huon Valley, which is known for its salmon industry. Needless to say that it would not be Sullivans Cove if they did not age the respective drops in the French or American Oak barrels that have somewhat become a trademark for the distillery.

Sullivans Cove XO was the first one we sampled, and it became instantly apparent that Sullivans Cove’s still seems to lend itself well to the production of brandy: Claiming that the flavour profile is bold and intense would be an understatement par excellence with a lingering taste of the woody spice from Australian port-style fortified wine barrels it was matured in.

The Double Cask Brandy takes things up a notch for me as an array of tasks of have specifically selected in a bid to create and calibrate specific and individually different flavour profiles. After having matured in between ten to fourteen years and housed in ex-wine casks that cover territory from Sauvignon Blanc to Pinot Noir, the result is a complex flavour profile that you want to take time for to experience it in full. I find it hard to stop swirling it and let it go down the hatch, which resulted in frustrated company as conversations had to be put on hold.

The nostrils are teased with fruits of the tropical variety and dominant whiffs of almonds. What then materializes on the palate would take a while to accurately describe and do justice to. There’s a wonderfully vanilla sweetness, fruit and berry notes and just the right amount of tannins, that strike a balance between sweet and savoury with a sheer endlessly lingering finish that I have yet to experience in another brandy.

Let’s close this celebration of Sullivan Cove off with one of their most recent whisky expressions, shan’t we?

To celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary, Sullivans released a limited-edition Double Cask, i.e. “DC100” with the defining feature that it has been matured in some of the distilleries oldest French oak and ex-bourbon casks. I could not way to indulge in this one and was not disappointed.

The aroma is already a delight in itself as it offers a well-calibrated melange of fruits, vanilla, musky leather and citrussy notes.

On the palate the volume is turned up on rich sweet, honey-esque flavours that are pervaded by minty chocolate nuances and a wonderfully smooth velvety texture. Sounds like a treat in liquid form? Well, it is.

Tropical flavours dominate the finish that rests on a foundation malty and nutty notes, which provides a nice counterpoint.

Not sure if by the time you read this, any of the expressions will be left to purchase, but if you are remotely interested in spirit, you want to sign up for SC’s mailing list to have first dibs on their emissions.

See also: Water of Life - Sullivans Cove

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images from company website

Water of Life – Michter’s

Ah, bourbon – the whisky of the South!

Full disclosure: On the road, I find it indefinitely harder to locate a good bourbon within the confines of say a hotel bar with more pedestrian offerings than it is to find a bearable Scotch. However, persistence and guidance of some luminaries showed me the light and have exposed me to some treasures that have become regular go-tos.

Case in point: while Michter’s Whisky ( https://michters.com ), one of the distilleries whose reputation is based on the longstanding history that comes with the distillery along with the folklore and legends that surround it, including some fairly prominent members of other bourbon dynasties having at least temporarily been part of the operations, which to this day focus on quality control and small batches.

Linguistically, the name is a hybrid and comprises the first names of Louis Forman’s offspring, i.e. Peter and Michael – but enough of the info, let’s delve into what drops they have to offer:

Michter’s US*1 Bourbon Whiskey is one that accomplishes something I do not very often encounter with other bourbons: The aroma intrigues me with its melange of spicy, grainy and syrupy notes that are embedded within a frame of oaky vanilla. There is consistency to this expression as what tickles the nostrils continues the palate and unfolding the respective flavours, which continue through to the finish, which again perpetrates the flavour nuances.

On to Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Straight Rye. Rye is something that I won’t say no to when convening with friends in Canada, however, it is not one of my regular go-tos. Clocking in at 42.4% ABV, this is a smoooth one: In essence, it feels like a lighter footed, more sophisticated version of the Bourbon as it is not in-your-face when it comes to the rye nuances and has a diverse range of spices, cinnamon and caramel notes, which blend in with what I by now consider to be a Michter’s trademark vanilla tone.

On the roof of the mouth the rye is more dominant, but it does not overwhelm as it is beautifully flanked by chocolate-y flavours that remind me of a particular Armorik dram that is essentially crème brulee in liquid form. Nice mouthfeel that coats and warms your receptors.

The finish bookends the flavour journey with more vanilla and chocolate notes that culminate with an elongated rye ending.

A beautifully light yet full bodied and subtle expression that should be in the top ten of rye so aficionados.

So far for more the more regularly accessible offerings.

With the Michter’s 10-Year-Old Single Barrel and the corn, malted barley and rye mash bill, we are entering next level territory, which what materializes on the nose already promises, i.e. a wide and complex melange of fruits, vanilla, spices and chocolate. We are talking full-bodiedness and a wide variety of subtle nuances feeding into a flavour profile which is informed by the charred oak cask, ranging from tobacco via malt to spicy notes that are pervaded by a crispness reminiscent of apple juice. The finish reverberates with its spice and grain notes and leaves one lusting for another dram.

Sounds contradictive? Trust me, it will make perfect sense once you taste it. This is one with depth for special occasions with a flavour profile and mouthfeel that is exceptional.

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image from company website