#2782

Because Everyone Should Have a Hobby

Even if it’s just drinking. In my case that means single malt. Now, I never used to like whisky. This is no longer the case thanks to Nicky. She and I lived with for several years above a doctor’s surgery. And Tom, the aforementioned doctor, whose patients gave him bottles of whisky he didn’t particularly like every Christmas. The solution was remarkably simple. In return for living above the surgery we provided a free single malt disposal service.

This also led to Miller’s Second Law*; Whisky to didn’t pay for tastes better than Whisky you bought. This doesn’t mean that a free bottle of cheap whisky will taste great but it will taste that little bit nicer. Similarly a gratis bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban’s port finish will definitely taste that little bit fruitier than the same bottle you dropped $65 on.

Some of you might also ask what the hell is a bottle of bourbon doing in there. Well, it’s the spoils of cat sitting for my neighbors last week and I’ve been promising myself that I’d try a few good bottles of American Whiskey just to see what all the fuss is about.

I recently bought 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die. This seems like a laudable goal in the light of recent events. Plus it’s a lot less effort than some ridiculous bucket list of things I should have done when I was twenty five. All it requires is around $10,000 and a comfy couch to sit in while drinking. The biggest barrier is probably US liquor laws which don’t exactly make things easy.

The Quinta Ruban makes the 101 and deservedly so. I’m already plotting a trip to London and a couple of specialist stores in order to get started on the list.

* I know. This leads to the question what’s the first law? Miller’s First Law; The people you least want to see naked are the ones most likely to take their clothes off. I have a lot of empirical data from numerous European beach vacations to back this up.