Turntable Bittersweet Symphony
Blended Scotch Whisky | 46% ABV
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
A lip-smacking ride through an old-school style
No Lazy Cover
Legend has it that Kid Rock was driving when he heard Lynyrd Skynyrd's ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ playing on the radio. At some point, Mr Rock quipped to one of his fellow travellers ‘That would make a really good song’.
Whether the Kid said this or not is irrelevant, as ‘All Summer Long’ was released in 2007 and is essentially a complete rip-off of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. I’ll be honest here, and not because I don’t want to be, but I detest Kid Rock’s ‘music’, and 99% of the time, all releases that are just rip-offs of someone else’s work. Be it P. Diddy, Vanilla Ice or Coldplay, I don’t really care how big the song becomes; it’s still just lazy plagiarism.
That said, the song ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ was a soundtrack to my early 20’s. Its angsty, almost monotone delivery, arrived at the height of the Britpop era and signalled an edgier, more cerebral angle for the all-encompassing genre (I’m being UK-centric here).
Richard Ashcroft sang, and frankly, looked like a man who had battled demons and won. Street-hard, well-worn and determined in his stride - the accompanying video only added to all of this.
A single-shot march down a busy high street, in which Richard simply did not give a f***, shoulder-barging anyone and everyone as he stayed on his path, in his own time. I realise this song was released under the band The Verve, but let’s be honest, The Verve was Richard Ashcroft.
Some readers may be learning for the first time that Ashcroft lifted the repeating riff from an orchestral opening to a Rolling Stones song called ‘The Last Time’. Despite having sought legal use for the riff, the previous Rolling Stones management filed a lawsuit claiming ‘overuse’, and Ashcroft was forced to sign over the writing royalties to Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. This was eventually relinquished in 2019, but by then, Ashcroft’s rightful fortune had already been signed away.
So by this point in this little monogram, you’re likely pointing out my hypocrisy here. Well, yes and no. Yes because of the likes of Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice, Ice, Baby’ song, released in 1990, which like Richard Ashcroft, just uses a repeatable riff lifted from Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ and no, because unlike Kid Rock’s abominable ‘All Summer Long’, Ashcroft created an entirely new song rather than just singing (and I use that phrase in the loosest of its definition) over the top of someone else’s. One takes a large amount of talent and the other, well, less so… I’m not going to lie that there is no hypocrisy, and more than a little bias due to a dislike of Vanilla Ice, Kid Rock and all rap/hip-hop that simply samples music. Debate away if you like.
Where I will slightly deviate and fight for their rights, was Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ that was successfully sued by the estate of Marvin Gaye for ‘having the feel of a Marvin Gaye record’. My feelings for Robin Thicke aside, the judge who ruled in favour of the complainant was erroneous. You might as well sue every rock band after Led Zeppelin for having a ‘similar feel’ – granted, several writing credits were later given to those Led Zeppelin songs clearly ripped off from earlier blues artists (‘Whole Lotta Love’, ‘Dazed and Confused’, etc., etc. – you’re a naughty boy, Jimmy Page).
As a quick aside to this, and perhaps (at least to my tiny brain) linked to the whisky industry, the idea of ‘covering’, or ‘ripping off’, can be applied to independent bottlers. I’m not going to go through the history of how or why independent bottlers can use the names of distilleries on labels, but I wonder why, in such a small, close-knit industry, some distillers have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to litigious matters with their precious distillery names. Whilst lawyers are a necessity and play their valid part in society, surely an email or direct letter to a firm (costing so very little time and energy) is enough to remind or dissuade a bottler about a possible infringement or concern.
Why some distillers feel the need for a heavy-handed, and frankly threatening, approach is beyond me. They must enjoy those large invoices from their lawyers for what is such a menial duty. Don’t be a bully when you can just ask politely. If you get a snotty reply, by all means, get in the big guns, but 99% of the independent bottlers out there are not looking to tread on toes or infringe any company’s rights.
Review
Bittersweet Symphony, Blended Scotch Whisky 46% ABV
£45 and wide availability
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
A lip-smacking ride through an old-school style
Nose
Ripe soft fruits. Figs, syrup, sweet Sherry – all those notes you would expect from the glorious colour of this whisky. There is a hint of cigar smoke that you know will come more to the fore as this bottle is slowly emptied.
I was having this discussion with someone the other day – might have been Charlie MacLean (ooh, who doesn’t love a name drop) – about how the next generation will not know the smell of an old-fashioned gentleman’s club; the cigar, tobacco, leather, slightly stale alcohol, etc. It is such a common note to be found in old blends, and this whisky has an element of it.
There are also notes of marzipan and a custardiness suggesting the oak, or at least some of the oak, was quite fresh and possibly American (that is almost a guarantee unless Turntable filled these from birth). There’s just the lightest touch of smoke that is quite delightful. This is a great nose.
Palate
Ooh, I really like this. Too often, a whisky of this colour just overwhelms the palate with sweetness or just a straight raisin-quality that doesn’t leave room for much of anything else. This palate, however, is a great balance of sweetness, heavy fruit, ex-Sherry notes and those leather, cigar, gentleman’s club notes I was mentioning. This reminds me of those heavy pre-80s (and really 1970s) blends that carried such weigh
The Dregs
I’m not getting the Bittersweet, but I am getting the Symphony. This is a ‘kick-back and put your feet up’ dram. Something I yearn for more and more as I enjoy my whisky with a book, a film, a football game, or whatever. It is a dram for a party – a great sharer.
There’s more than enough going on, but really, you can just let the harmony of flavours (and it’s not overly complex, and that’s not a complaint) please your palate. I think I paid £45, which is beyond solid for this level of drinking.
If you enjoy ex-Sherry whiskies, don’t like sulphur or heavy smoke, and enjoy a well-balanced, more-ish dram, then this is the one for you. At 46%, it is a straight-from-the-bottle job, and I love it. You can pay a lot more for a lot less in this world. Bravo, boys, bravo.
Oh, and did I mention that Ali and Gordon were two of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet? Well, they are, so seek them out at a festival if they’re there and thank them for adding actual value, it’s more than just a lazy cover.
And try this dram – you’ll almost certainly buy a bottle.
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. FF
-
Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.
Other opinions on this:
Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.
