Late Night Flamenco, Barcelona

Late Night Flamenco, Barcelona a video by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Returned from a well spent week in Barcelona yesterday. Plenty and pictures, but for now only a short clip of someone who knew his moves.

Sailing From Switzerland

Sailing From Switzerland, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The first legs out of Basel can be pretty tough, sailing-wise, but once you get out on the Baltic things should go a lot easier. Or something.

Not the most common home port for a sailboat.

Helsinki Afterwork

Here's a sample of what footage from the Unsteadycam setup looks like. Who needs dedicated GoPro's or Countours, anyway. Still needs some refinement, though, and the sensor of the trusty GF1 isn't perhaps at it's best when capturing fast movement.

Laing Family Bottlings

Laing Family Bottlings, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Left to right:

-Glen Spey 1991, 20yo, Edition Spirits
-Linkwood 1987, 24yo, Edition Spirits
-Mortlach 1989, 22yo, Edition Spirits
-Longmorn 1992, 19yo, Edition Spirits
-Bowmore 1987, 21yo, Douglas Laing
-Port Ellen 1982, 24yo, Douglas Laing

First four by son Andrew Laing's private label Edition Spirits, the last two by father Andrew Laing's own private label.

Andrew Laing Tasting @Punavuoren Ahvne 26.6.2012

Andrew Laing Tasting @Punavuoren Ahvne 26.6.2012, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Last Tuesday we had the pleasure to sit down for a tasting held by third generation independent whisky bottler Andrew Laing, who was in Finland promoting his coming private range: Edition Spirits. We got to sample four of his Speyside bottlings, as well as two Islay drams bottled by his, as for now, more famous father Douglas Laing. The Speysides especially were a nice eye-opener for me, as I never got to experience this kind of variety and quality from that are before.

Left to right:

-Glen Spey 1991, 20yo, Edition Spirits
-Linkwood 1987, 24yo, Edition Spirits
-Mortlach 1989, 22yo, Edition Spirits
-Longmorn 1992, 19yo, Edition Spirits
-Bowmore 1987, 21yo, Douglas Laing
-Port Ellen 1982, 24yo, Douglas Laing

My personal favourite of this menu was actually the Mortlach. A rarity from a refill Bourbon Hogshead cask. Apparently the distillery uses mostly Sherry casks, which sometimes can be a bit overpowering in the flavour palette, but this one was very nice.

Unsteadycam

Unsteadycam, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

This setup worked surprisingly well on a few occasions, and less so most of the time. At least it was worth trying.

Shiny New Card

Shiny New Card, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

One fine day I mentioned that my old Finnair Plus card was peeling its cover plastic and starting to look shabby. A helpful soul at Finnair spotted the tweet, and promptly replied that they'll send me a new card. That's what good service is all about: Exceeding customer expectations and finding new channels to engage people.

Interviewed

Interviewed, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

In コドモビクトリー Magazine, issue 45. Only available in Japan, I guess. Subject was the Finnish education system all the way up to university level, and my own experiences growing up in it. Answering five pages of questions in Japanese was quite a challenge, but turned out OK.

Watch Out

Watch Out, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Karjaa railway station, during an unscheduled stop on the way to Turku on Saturday.

ラムネ

ラムネ, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The staple festival soda of Japan had made it to the World Village Festival here in Helsinki.

Old and Rare Tasting @ Punavuoren Ahven

Old and Rare Tasting @ Punavuoren Ahven, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

From left to right:

Bunnahabhain 31yo (distilled 1978, bottled 2009)

Bowmore 36yo (distilled 1972, bottled 2008)

Laphroaig 27yo (distilled 1981, bottled 2008)

An evening of superlatives should suffice to describe this line-up.

Old and Rare (And One Empty)

Old and Rare (And One Empty), a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

When the last drops of a 36 year old single malt are consumed it is a special night indeed.

McLaren MP4-12C

McLaren MP4-12C, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Spotted at Munich airport earlier this month.

The Pilgrims Way

A short video of the joys of taking a break from a city break.