ilya_verhovsky

Another Beatles-related program by Craigie, this time focusing on the Magical Mystery Tour album, the soundtrack to the namesake movie. It was the second of three sold-out nights at HopMonk in Novato. The short opening set featured five musicians, each covering a Fab Four song. All sounded good, with Avi Vinocur standing out for his unusual a cappella version of All My Loving, and, among others, I especially enjoyed the Rainbow Girl Erin Chapin's strong rendition of I Should Have Known Better as well as Sari Jordan's moving performance of Eleanor Rigby.

Craigie started with the title track on acoustic guitar, then switched to electric for most of the remaining songs. He based his set on the US version of the album, which includes five 1967 Beatles singles, though he didn't stick to the original order and chose to skip the instrumental Flying. Blue Jay Way and I Am the Walrus sounded fantastic. Those were definite highlights! As usual, there were plenty of jokes and funny stories between songs. This is what makes Craigie's shows truly special. After Walrus, he stepped away from the album for three other Beatles songs, then returned to close the set with its final two tracks.

For the encore, John played Don't Let Me Down with Avi, Anna, and Sari joining in.

Overall, a pretty solid night. Magical Mystery Tour might not be the Beatles' most interesting album, especially its short double EP UK version, but it was wonderful to hear all those songs live.

Set list (opening artists, 8:01 PM — 8:32 PM): All My Loving (Avi Vinocur, a cappella), I Want to Tell You (Anna Moss), Across the Universe (Marty O'Reilly), I Should Have Known Better (Erin Chapin), Eleanor Rigby (Sari Jordan)

Set list (John Craigie, 8:55 PM — 10:28 PM): Magical Mystery Tour, The Fool on the Hill, Your Mother Should Know, Strawberry Fields Forever, Blue Jay Way, Hello Goodbye, Penny Lane, I Am the Walrus, Lady Madonna, Hey Bulldog, Hey Jude, Baby You're a Rich Man, All You Need Is Love, Don't Let Me Down (with Ari Vinocur, Anna Moss, and Sari Jordan)

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Lochlea 6YO OB 70cl 50% ABV
Distilled 2018, bottled 2024
A vatting of 6 casks (1st fill Bourbon #132, 1st fill Bourbon #135, 1st fill Bourbon #138, Oloroso Sherry Butts #250-252)
2,500 bottles



Color: dark amber.
Nose: figs, prunes, bread, a touch of rubber, wet grass, lacquered wood, churchkhela, rhubarb, milk chocolate, orange marmalade, baked apples, cherries, hibiscus tea, lemon tart, wet wool, hard candy. Needs plenty of time, but eventually opens up quite impressively.
Taste: cherries, red apples, sage, chocolate, coffee liqueur, honey, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, lemons, some spice, and liquorice.
Finish: lemon zest, grapefruits, cereals, nutmeg, chocolate, cinnamon, apples, pears, cloves, pepper, malt, a hint of salt.
Score: 8 ¾. Better than good. +2+2+1.

Conclusion: this six-year-old malt really hits the mark! There's plenty of good sherry influence, yet it's not overly sweet and remains very drinkable. 87/100, perhaps with a slight stretch, since the aroma does need quite a bit of time to develop. My 10th Lochlea tasted and I'm genuinely impressed with how they've progressed over the past couple of years.

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The evening began with an opening set by Andy Hedges from Lubbock, TX, who delivered a solid collection of cowboy songs. I especially enjoyed his version of Tom Russell's The Sky Above, the Mud Below. Andy also included some striking recitations of cowboy poetry that really held the room. Well, especially that one by Waddie Mitchell about a dead cow in a stream. That was indeed... something. He closed the set alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Maggie Rose, on fiddle. They performed Goodbye Old Paint, and it was a real highlight. A very cool start to the night!

Before the main set, a local cowboy, Gary Felder from Sonoma, took the stage and recited a great poem that added nicely to the atmosphere. Right after, Jack appeared, surprisingly sporting a goatee, accompanied by Paul Knight on bass. They kicked things off with Buffalo Skinners, a traditional tune many know from Woody Guthrie's repertoire. Then Andy returned to the stage and stayed for the rest of the set. The trio got into a few more Guthrie tunes, with Hedges singing parts of Philadelphia Lawyer. Jack told plenty of stories, so in the end only six songs made it into the set. Too few! They wrapped up the night with The Cuckoo, joined by Maggie Rose on fiddle. It was the best version of that song I've ever heard from Jack!

It was great to see Ramblin' Jack again. Hard to believe he'll be turning 94 in a few months.

Set list (Ramblin' Jack Elliott, 9:16 PM — 10:05 PM): Buffalo Skinners, Philadelphia Lawyer, Ladies Auxiliary, Railroad Bill, Pretty Boy Floyd, The Cuckoo

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2022 Hendry Primitivo 75cl 15% ABV
Blocks 10 & 24
USA, California, Napa Valley AVA
Aged 15 months in French oak barrels (approximately one-third of which were new)
Varietal: Primitivo
833 cases



Color: ruby.
Nose: tomato greenhouse, cherries, cloves, mandarins, bay leaves, leather, pencil shavings, vanilla, red pepper flakes, wet stone.
Taste: raspberries, cherries, plums, chocolate, barberry tang, mint. Moderate tannins and very good acidity (T.A.: 6.6 g/L).
Finish: barberry tang, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, tannins, cocoa.
Score: 9. Between good and excellent. +2+2+2.

Conclusion: a lovely wine! 91/100, somewhere between their two previous harvests (2020 and 2021).

Martin Carthy with daughter Eliza at Sweetwater. They opened the set with the traditional tune Her Servant Man. Martin's playing and singing were quite fragile at the very beginning, then improved a little. Well, he's turning 84 years old on May 21st, or, as Eliza joked, 21 on May 84th. His technical abilities have certainly diminished with age, but the folk music delivered on Wednesday evening was still spiritually powerful and deeply relevant. Eliza sounded fantastic, both singing and playing fiddle.

The lengthy Blackwell Merry Night came with an introduction to match. Yes, as expected, there was a lot of talking throughout the set. Martin delivered a couple of tunes solo. I especially enjoyed High Germany, which brought back strong memories of his debut recording. The duo is releasing a new album soon, titled Transform Me Then Into a Fish, the name taken from the lyrics of the traditional song Ye Mariners All, which was also part of the set. And they delivered a great version of Bold Doherty from the first Waterson:Carthy album.

There were definitely glimpses of old magic in the air. I am glad Martin is still performing and that I finally had the chance to see him live. The Carthys finished the set with good ole John Barleycorn. Awesome!

Set list (8:06 PM — 9:28 PM): Her Servant Man, Blackwell Merry Night, High Germany (Martin solo), Ye Mariners All, Pulling Hard Against the Stream, Dream of Napoleon (Martin solo), Bold Doherty, Died for Love, John Barleycorn

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Timorous Beastie Highland Blended Malt NAS Douglas Laing 70cl 46.8% ABV
Small Batch Release series
Batch 22
Time code 08.02.21



Color: very pale yellow.
Nose: apples, turkish delight, black peppercorns, gooseberries, soap, a touch of sulphur, boiled potatoes, chocolate, pencil shavings, meadow flowers, hay, vanilla, juniper, herbs.
Taste: apples, vanilla fudge, pears, lemons, licorice, pepper, chocolate, and raspberries.
Finish: raspberries, cranberries, apples, lemons, pepper, chocolate, cinnamon, and licorice.
Score: 8. Between okay and good. =0+1+1.

Conclusion: the aroma is somewhat disappointing, but the taste and finish are quite decent. The sudden appearance of berry notes is a pleasant surprise. Still, this is a rather weak whisky, only marginally better than The Epicurean. 81/100. Timorous Beastie takes its name from Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse and includes single malts from, among others, Glen Garioch, Dalmore, and Glengoyne distilleries.

Puntiagudo Arroqueño & Tepextate Onofre Ortiz Mezcal Ensamble 75cl 48.4% ABV
Miahuatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico
Batch 00-EAT-01
Distilled 03/25/2023
Bottle 70/132

Color: crystal clear.
Nose: smoke, burnt wood, limes, shoe polish, sauerkraut, sunflower oil, leather, cucumbers, green peppers, allspice, tobacco, burnt rubber, herbs, salt, and wet newspaper. Mineral and incredibly rich aroma!
Taste: smoke, salt, agave, jalapeño peppers, limes, paste glue, chocolate, and a faint touch of ham.
Finish: smoke, salt, agave, mint chocolate, limes, spices, cloves. Quite long. The lime notes are just terrific!
Score: 9 ¼. Almost excellent. +3+2+2.

Conclusion: the smoke is prominent but does not remotely feel as wild as in the first Puntiagudo mezcal I tasted. Much more balanced in the nose, yet still amazing. The taste and aftertaste are just smooth and delicious, a bit sweet, bringing a tequila feel but that's totally fine. It's an artisanal mezcal as copper pots were used for distillation. An unaged Ensamble blend of two agave varieties, arroqueño and tepextate. 92/100. Wow! I'm going to get one or two more mezcals from this Puntiagudo brand.

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Auchentoshan 16YO Lady of the Glen 5cl 55.7% ABV
Lady of the Glen Tasting Set
Distilled October 31, 2007; bottled July 2, 2024
Matured in a refill hogshead and finished in a first fill ex-Ruby Port cask for 17 months
Cask no. 4204



Color: amber with a reddish hue.
Nose: cherries, raspberries, strawberries, damp oak cask, plums, heather, nougat, baked apples, honey cake, and cinnamon. Wonderful!
Taste: cherries, rowanberries, strawberry jam, plums, a hint of pepper, oak cask, chocolate, cinnamon, blackcurrants, and mint. Quite smooth.
Finish: chocolate, strawberry jam, pepper, oranges, lemon zest, oak cask, and tobacco.
Score: 8 ½. Good. +2+1+1.

Conclusion: a rather charming aged Auchentoshan, with a very pleasant aroma, but decidedly on the sweet side, with cloying, compote-like moments. The port cask delivered an abundance of sweet berry notes. It would've been interesting to explore it with water, but the bottle size didn’t permit any experiments. 86/100, my best Auchentoshan to date.

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