Amaha Masane 天羽雅音 1/6 Kotobukiya PVC

這尊PVC乃壽屋 (Kotobukiya)出品，源自2006年Gonzo製作，美漫改編，幾乎沒什麼人看過的「魔女之刃 Witchblade」。若你能無視動畫中大量的殺必死成份，就能輕易地看見一齣感人的母女劇：各配角的戲份也不輕，詮釋地相當完整、精緻；可惜結局的鋪陳略為匆促，若它能追加個兩集，步調會更協調吧。整體而言，Witchblade是值得一看的作品。

Evan Williams Black Label

Distillery: Heaven Hill, Bardstown, Kentucky, USA (Actual distillery: Louisville)

Evan Williams Black Label (7yo), 43% ABV, 1 Liter

Color: 典型波本的楓葉色澤，其中隱約帶些淺綠。

Tasting Notes: 在Nose上，這支酒的香草和橡木相對收斂，取而代之的是清爽的青蘋果和眾香料的氣息─甚至有些皮革─在此能感受到裸麥的存在。較有趣的是，仔細一聞，居然有幾絲柚皮般的苦味。酒體中厚，喝得出年份(7)，在口中絲滑(as in creamy)而舒服；這位Evan Williams雖然比不上George Dickel Barrel Select或Clynelish14yo那種壓倒性華麗、幾近「性感」的表現，它的口感類似「長腿叔叔」中，女主角瑪麗安妮給我的印象(什麼怪比喻)，質樸可愛又帶點野。其口味在波本中算清爽，有一點香草、柑橘類、可可粉和蘋果，香料、皮革和蘇打(例如Tonic Water或牙膏之類的味道)的香氣則集中在鼻梢：而貫徹這一切的卻是若有似無的charcoal苦味，替整體感、厚度加分不少。入喉後，一股溫柔的dryness在口腔間暖和地展開，十分安靜但愉悅的finish。使用炭過濾的美國威士忌，最令人激賞的便是這一點了，那類似艾雷威士忌，但更加沉穩的dryness。

Bang for Buck Meter: 13 USD (400 NT上下) 換1公升的7年波本，俗擱大碗啦~!

Anchor Porter

Anchor Porter, 5.60 % ABV, 12 oz

Color: This porter forms an ivory/coffee colored head, which is bubbly, delicate and creamy, with a good retention. Shade-wise it is one of the darkest porters I’ve seen: solid ebony that only shows a hint of brown when passed through strong light.

Tasting Notes: The nose however, is its greatest strength. One can immediately tell it apart from other porters/stouts by its incredibly bready and yeasty aroma, coupled with hints of integrated coffee and chocolate. A delicious start. On the palette the Anchor shows assertiveness, as gargantuan waves of chocolate and coffee crash in, it is underpinned by solid roasted malt/bread flavors. Although hop bitterness can be detected, citrus/fruit hop notes are nonexistent, differing greatly from Cooperstown’s Benchwarmer porter. The body is highly carbonated thus not particularly silky, but its smoothness and creaminess easily envelope the whole tongue, bearing similarity with the steam beer. The beer finishes crisply with a slight sweetness.

Comment: Let me be blunt: this is a HUGE porter. It tastes utterly unapologetic, direct and not really concerned with subtlety (of course it’s incredibly sublime compared to say, a Bud Lite). As much praise I would like to give the bottled version, it pales in comparison with its tap brethren. On President Obama’s inauguration day (most people who held Bush in low regard probably never addressed him as “president” in their daily conversation. See, I didn’t even call him EX-PRESIDENT!) I had the fortune of having a tap-poured pint of Anchor Porter to toast to a (hopefully) nation’s new beginning with Brendan and Theresa. The amount of bready/yeasty smells emanating from that pint must’ve been at least twice as strong then the bottled porter. For dark beer fans, this is a must try!

2/09/09

Transformers 2007 Movie Blackout, pt.2

Transformers 2007 Movie Blackout, pt.1

絕大部份PVC人形和變形金剛玩具的照片，都是去年離台前完成的。凡是站立在木質紋路上的Transformers，一概是在賓安頓自宅內所拍攝 (書桌)。 這位Blackout老兄(Decepticon)是2007年電影中第一個現身(並變形)的金剛，堪稱導演Michael Bay安排的開場震撼彈。在影片開頭，Blackout偽裝成Pave Low直升機，衝到美軍的Qatar基地竊取機密資料，順便轟飛整坐基地，超威。無論是新舊變形金剛迷，在戲院內聽到「嗚-嗚-哇啊啊」的變形聲音時，想必當下的感動自不在言。雖然我認為這兇猛的con最後輕易地被陸戰隊和F-22幹掉相當不合理，但仔細看新電影的預告，就能發現他的身影，看來是和Megatron一起復活了！希望今年暑假的續集能把整個系列領往更高、更刺激、更震撼的境界。

George Dickel Superior No.12

George Dickel Superior No.12, 45% ABV, 1 Liter

Package: Similar bottle shape with the Old No.8, only with a cream-colored label. To be honest, the white/cream coloration allows more nuance of the label’s design to shine through; the fonts are really old-fashioned (can’t tell what type they are), complicit in the equivocating (?) trend of nostalgic-overload marketing strategy of American Whiskeys. I like it though; it creates the illusion of a product with a redoubtable lineage, and erases the violent dysfunctions that occurred during the prohibition (ha!).

Color: Maple amber, with a hue of orange.

Nose: The nose is very subdued and mellow. Notable is the lack of rye smells prominent in bourbon; an impression of charred maple sugar, vanilla sweetness, some citrus, cherries (cough-syrup like) and faint leather hints.

Body: Such smoothness! Cold-chilling the spirit before it is applied to the Lincoln County Process really contributes to the whiskey’s texture. The body is medium-slinky smooth and very pleasing.

Palate: On the tip of the tongue some strong vanilla/corn sweetness erupts, followed by an interesting banana note that is intertwined with cherry flavors. Most but not least is prominent roasted peanuts in the nostrils, and the distinctive “Tennesseean” burnt maple sensations lurk around. It’s by far more intense than the Old No.8.

Finish: To my preference, the finish is very dry, akin to how a Laphroaig resurfaces with peat smoke, but in a more controlled, meticulous and transient manner.

Bang for Buck Meter: BBBB

Comment: George Dickel strikes again. Last time I drank it (the Barrel Select) was in July, watching “The Place Promised in Our Early Days” by Makoto Shinkai. Six months later, Dickel manages to reinvigorate the rigor in my complacent, Jack Daniel’s-tamed taste buds. Its eccentric, singular flavor is brash and confrontational at first (especially after having some Tomatin), after a little air is allowed into the bottle, its subtleties gradually reveal themselves. Make no mistake, it is a challenging whiskey, like some of the best critical theory out there – it takes time, patience and love to ease into its multiplicities - those whose impressions of Tennessee whiskey are predetermined by Jack Daniel’s may be offended at first! Overall, it’s a great cabinet spirit to keep around, especially when your pockets don’t run deep. Compared to its superstar neighbor Jack, George’s products are usually 3~4 dollars cheaper, and with a higher proof, I find Superior No.12 still a well-kept secret among whiskey drinkers. Selfishly I hope it continues that way.

2/05/09