Bully!

Older stuff....with footnotes.

For the past several months, my (non-beer) drink of choice has been Tequila and Tonic, with a lime. It's a perfect 'summer' drink.* About 4 out of 5 bartenders look at me all googly-eyed when I order it, as if it were ice cream with ketchup. Their eyes say, "Tonic water is for vodka! Conform!" But I'll have none of their communism--I like being unique. While I owe the discovery of this concoction to my brother, in Austin, it's MY drink.

Although I'm not convinced that it will ever drop below 80 degrees in this town, at some point, it will technically be winter. Father Time says it's going to be time for a 'winter' drink, even if Mother Earth is still trying to melt my ass. I figured I'd use the opportunity to branch out, and pick something that will put hair on my chest. What do hairy chested men drink, I wondered to myself?

Enter SCOTCH.

The inspiration came from THIS. I've done some research, both in the glass and on the web. My web-based research told me that scotch is "a toast to civilization. It brings exhilaration and conviviality, stimulation and comfort. In short, it is the finest alcoholic drink ever created by man." Who could say 'no' to that?!

My glass-based research tells me that I don't dislike scotch, but I can see that it is an aquired taste. So that's my mission before winter arriveth: aquire the taste. I want to be able to appreciate scotch, not just force it down my throat to get that hairy chest. I bought a sampler of Johnny Walker scotch, which includes about 200ml each of their Red, Black, Gold, and Blue scotches. In the standard 750ml bottle, these would range from $25 to $200, so I figure I'm getting a good cross-section of quality on my initial foray. **

I have a tasting coorindated with some scotch drinkers in the not-so-distant future which will coincide with my first ever NHL hockey game. But until then, it's all tequila and football.

*This was a full year ago now...I'm all into the scotch nowadays.
**These are blends. I've had a full range of single malts now.