Dead or Alive Kasumi - white costume ver. - by Kaiyodo

This is a statue of one of the most sexualized, fetishized video game heroines ever created in gaming history. Personally I don't think Lara Croft can hold a candle against Kasumi, in terms of the characters' reception amongst the fans, judging by the amount of side-products the Dead or Alive franchise has churned out. Lara always had a more rough-and-tumble physical design based on realism, whereas Kasumi's renditions skirt a fine line between 3D and 2D vivacity. Despite Kasumi's more general appeal, the latest Lara (from Tomb Raider: Underworld) seems to tout a modernized, updated version of the rogue archaeologist, which definitely (in my opinon) can rival this runaway kunoichi.

Springbank 10yo

Distillery: Springbank Distilleries, Campbeltown, Scotland

Springbank 10yo , OB +/- 2006, 46%, 700ml

Color: 非常淺的金黃、乾稻草般的色澤。

Tasting Notes: Nosing甫聞之下滿是波本桶的特色：香甜的麥類、甜燕麥、香草、翠綠青草，但深入探索後一股皮革、海腥味浮出，展示出它的出身地。入口後酒體飽滿、滑順且富油脂，但相反地Palate相當清爽怡人：大麥、青蘋果、香草靜靜地融為一體。最後finish則留了一手，舒服的dryness (peat?)攀上喉嚨，並在舌頭中段和後兩側擴散之際，海鹽、香瓜及荔枝(!)悄悄造訪舌尖，令人小感驚喜。

Maker's Mark

Distillery: Maker’s Mark Distillery, Star Hill Farm, Loretto, Kentucky, USA

Maker’s Mark, 750ml, 45% abv, roughly 5~7 yo NAS

This is the first bottle of bourbon I bought in the U.S.

Color: 琥珀中帶橘紅，以波本而言，顏色略淡。

Tasting Notes: Nose以椰子、香蕉為主軸，清涼薄荷為輔，波本常見的香草/橡木味不知是否因小麥的原故，稍微薄弱些。酒體輕，十分柔順，筆者自認口其感與酒齡不大契合。Palate大致反應Nose，有香蕉，椰漿，焦糖，略苦的楓糖與黑巧克力，最後以薄荷香和短~中的dryness收場。

Bang for Buck Meter: 價格 30$ USD

Comment: 相當柔順，可親且精緻，是筆者目前喝過最乖巧的波本。可惜以個人喜好而言，整體口味不夠突出，缺少幾分美國烈酒的豪邁，但要論優雅又不如Speyside。雖說這支酒是美國 “premium bourbon” 的先驅，除了有趣的瓶裝設計和易飲的性質外，在逐漸復甦的波本市場裡，我想不出其他讓Maker’s Mark繼續風光的理由。或許它的行銷手法是幕後功臣?

Transformers Universe Onslaught

As the original leader of the Combaticons - a Decepticon gestalt subgroup that combines to form Bruticus - Onslaught was known for his tactical prowess and poor imitation of a Russian accent in the G1 cartoon series. However, despite his character's bad-assery, his toy was a relatively uninspiring fold-former. Almost 24 years later, through many reappearances in Beast Wars, the Unicron Trilogy etc, he finally gets a modern "G1-ish" reinterpretation: a mean SWAT tank alt mode, fascist undertones and all, with a fantastic robot design. It is clear that the designers had much love for the G1 incarnation, and dedicated effort to redefine him without sacrificing that feel. A near-perfect toy if not for the defective electronic siren.

Jinkai Makgyo Ignis 1/7 by Max Factory

Another Nitro+ designed character. To be honest, I got this PVC for much lower a price than it fetches on the market. It could be an elaborate knockoff, which I hear are commonly

produced in Hong Kong...but she looks awesome, and that's enough.

Lagavulin 16yo

Distillery: Lagavulin, Islay, Scotland

Lagavulin 16yo, OB, 43 %, 700ml, “Port Ellen”

Yes! Finally, a belated introduction of Lagavulin, one of the three mighty Kildalton malts (Southern Islay). Moody, aristocratic, dark, cryptic, royal, unfathomable...are all common terms employed in the service of describing this fantastic distillery. The 16yo is a tempestuous yet balanced dram, a great introduction to a cultural shock (the other two being Ardbeg or Laphroaig). For the brave, read on...

Color: 如古銅色皮膚般的深金色，裡頭又稍帶類似鐵鏽的磚紅。

Nose: 前段洋溢豐富的泥煤、海藻、海鹽與碘味，之後是更厚實的泥煤和彷彿牛肉濃湯般的奶脂氣息。後段則充滿和雪莉緊密相融的泥煤、乾棗味。

Body: 飽滿而順口。

Palate: 舌尖上首先感受到明顯的麥甜與草香，形影不離的濃郁乳脂、泥煤與煙燻三者徐徐、優雅地跟進，味道非常集中且均衡；於此同時，身為配角的海鹽與藻類穿插其中，襯托著泥煤。雪莉若有似無、且與其他味道渾然一體的甜味是維持平衡不可或缺的要角。

Finish: 舌上的海鹽、雪莉甜輕柔地擴散，鼻腔中仍充滿泥煤/乳脂/煙燻味，近似喝茶後的回甘。

Bang for Buck Meter: BBB

Where to Find: 全省各大洋酒連鎖店、煙酒專賣店皆可尋獲其芳蹤，但價格差異頗大。主因是近年來Lagavulin走紅，銷量大增，台灣帝亞吉歐支部並無代理，國內的酒皆為平行輸入產品之故。一般的酒專價位在2100~2400之間，筆者所見最低價位為1900，最高2700，至於是哪邊，有興趣者請自行與我聯絡。(這是約莫2007年底-2008年初的資訊)

1/30/08

Johnnie Walker Red Label

Blender: John Walker & Sons, Kilmarnock, Scotland

Johnnie Walker Red Label, 40 %, 200ml

The first blended Scotch entry on this blog...I must say I'm much more of a Single Malt man. However, the unlimited refills of Johnnie Walker Black label available on the cross-continental flight of Cathay Airways ain't too bad at all! With all due respect, the Black label is far superior to the red, which is duly reviewed below.

Color: 稻草色。

Nose: 初聞之下充滿黃芥末、香料以及難以探知的一絲海鹽(Talisker?)，中段則酒精味明顯，堵在鼻前，約略令人感到不悅。最後則是微弱的麥甜與波本桶產生的香草氣息。

Body: 輕，但有些混濁且油膩。

Palate: 起初是帶澀的青草，些微海鹹味，幾秒後口感酸、沉的味道開始擴散，主導整支酒，類似啤酒的麥甜味和裊裊煙燻都無法除去這暗沉的味道。

Finish: 一股類似喝完一大口啤酒的發酵麥芽後韻往上衝，除此之外儘是酒精味，相當短促。

Bang for Buck Meter: BB