Gasoline – Paint Thinner  -- Turpentine

These were the terms that I generally used to describe Scotch.  My first experience with Scotch was at 15 when I swiped a bottle of Cutty Sark from my dad.   Yes, I do realize that I just admitted that I was drinking and stealing at 15.  Don’t judge me!  Being 15, my friends and I didn’t know anything about Scotch so we mixed it with Coke.  I will say that particular day did not end particularly well and leave it at that.

As I got older, more and more of my friends started to gravitate towards Scotch.  They would speak lovingly about how smoky it was and each had their personal favorite.  I decided to give Scotch another go but got the same result.  I would take one drink and then spend the next 30 minutes bitching about how bad it sucked. 

Now just because I did not care for Scotch didn’t mean I wouldn’t buy it for special occasions.  My late father was a big Scotch drinker.  Every year for Christmas, I would buy him a bottle of good Scotch.  We would sit down and he would pour a glass for each of us.  Every year it was the same thing.  He would savor the glass and I would choke mine down.  There was a part of me that really wanted to like Scotch.  I loved sitting around listening to my dad extoll the virtues of Scotch.  He made it sound so romantic and who doesn’t love romance?

Then one day it happened.  Over the holidays, I had bought a really nice bottle of Scotch for one of my clients.  I knew that they liked to knock off work a little early on Fridays and have a couple of Scotches so why not help them out.  A couple of weeks into the new year I get a call from them inviting me over to have a drink.  Not wanting to be rude, I grudgingly accepted.  It will be relatively painless I thought, I make an appearance, choke down a Scotch, thank them for the thought and go have a beer.

I get over to their office and they pour me a healthy glass, no rocks, no water, just Scotch.  I grabbed the glass and stared at it for a good five minutes before I mustered the courage to drink.  I took the first drink, waiting for the burn and the nasty aftertaste but something happened.  There was no burn and instead of a nasty aftertaste, it was somewhat pleasant, even enjoyable.  Wait, something has to be wrong.  Let’s try it again.  Same result.  What the hell?  I ended up having about ten of them it was so good.  I’m kidding, it was only two but I really enjoyed them.

I’ve since enjoyed Scotch on a number of occasions.  I’ve even considered buying a bottle for the house.  I was always told that if you develop a taste for Scotch, you won’t drink anything else.  I don’t know about all that but if I am not drinking beer or wine, I will probably have a Scotch.  I still don’t know a whole lot about Scotch.  This is the extent of my knowledge. 

- Scotch has to be made in Scotland for it to be Scotch. 

- There are two kinds of Scotch, single malt and blended. 

- The older it is, the better it is.

- The older it is, the more it costs.  I guess if you make something and have to wait 18 years to sell it, you will probably charge more so I guess that makes sense. 

If you have tried Scotch in the past and not liked it, circle back around every once in a while and give it another go.