In the rare event of friends visiting our Long Beezy apartment, I would find myself eventually offering them some scotch.
How I came to be in possession of scotch is itself an interesting anecdote: Auntie Peg prefers Dewars, and people give her Glenlivet as gifts. "I don't drink single-malts," she says, "Here, Patrick, do you want this? Just take it..."
"Why, I think I can make a home for that," I nod as I look it over. Then thank her. I guess that anecdote isn't that interesting...
Anyway, the only hard liquor we ever really have in our apartment, when we do have some, is either Jameson or Beefeater. Irish whiskey or London gin. Old school and works for us.
The Glenlivet, for me, was similar to Jameson, only smoother. It was warm and sweet and relaxing and deliciously fiery. I started to learn why people drink scotch. I've tried it with ice, but as of now, I prefer it neat.
Anyway, I offer it to the random visitors. "Ooh, I don't dig on peat," they say. "Ahh, that's to peaty for me. I don't like the smoke..."
What? "What exactly does peat taste like?" I ask them. Smokiness, or something...I can't get a satisfactory answer from them. In fact, it sounded like a line oft repeated in peer circles I am no longer privy to. Like everybody agrees to dislike something because of a perceived sleight. I have, for full disclosure, been part of those peer circles before, agreeing that I dislike something for reasons that I may have agreed with, but certainly never explored how strong the perceived dislike was through experimentation.
Anyway, I use an old timey safety razor with removable blades, cold water, and a badger brush; I shave at night before bed. My skin has never been happier. Now I enjoy scotch, and my liver may rejoice if I have three ounces of scotch instead of twenty ounces of beer.
I've never felt as grown-up as I do now.
Well, well, let's see: should I address the shaving the night before, or the whisky business first? Okay, the shaving. Scotch is more fun, I'll save it.
ReplyDeleteI too shave the night before, but use a Gillette Mach 3, because ... well for no good reason other than custom, and a heavy investment in blade cartridges. (Unsure that's the right term.) Anyway, I have long been a believer in happy skin, probably because my skin is so balky and bitchy nowadays. Colorado, the driest area I have ever lived in, is extremely unkind to one's skin. I therefore enjoy taking some care when I shave, using Bigelow cream from a tube (there are many good brands), and a pure badger brush. After finishing and rinsing with almost-cold water (calms the skin down) and patting dry just a bit, I apply a moisturizer (in my case, an Olay product). Unsolicited testimonials now ending.
Onto the Scotch: the only way I can describe the peat flavor is that it reminds me of grass that rotted over several generations, and then somehow turned into something that fuels a fire. It's a taste for the back of the mouth and the lowest part of the scale. It's a basic thing. I'm not fond of it myself, but understand those who prefer it ... it's all what you get used to. (People in my local family and many current acquaintances habitually engage in drinking Coors Light, a behavior yet to be explained to me. Could be the poor benighted souls got used to it.) Anyway, I prefer a lighter touch in my single malts, and my current mainstay is Oban, whose usual offering is 14 years aged. It's a lovely libation, and I have it on the shelf even as I type. "Lighter" means something (almost) measurable, a lower density, less weight. Scotches like this are the Highland variety, as opposed to Speyside, Lowland, Islay, etc. These are just regions in Scotland where they distill. The holy grail in my experience is the Glenmorangie 18 year, a product unfortunately unavailable any more. They SAY it's available, selling something with that label, but it's actually several different whiskies, aged different amounts of time, and tasting nothing like what it's supposed to. I found this out the hard way, having spent more than $100 for 750 ml. Actually I bought two, and brought the unopened one back for a refund.
I'm kind of impressed that Peg likes Dewars. It's actually my favorite blend, too. I do enjoy it over ice, a way that does not serve with single malts. However, Dewar's has something on the shelves called Dewar's Blue Label, some of which adorns my shelves just now, and it is drunk neat to very great advantage. Prosit!
It is my understanding that "cartridge" is the correct term for the blade-dealies. The amusing part of the story, which I may have described on the other blog, came when I bought the old-timey safety razor and blades (to go along with badger-hair brush and shaving soap hockey pucks Dan got for me) and went ahead and attacked my face like I knew what I was doing. NOT CORRECT. Research was needed or I may have bled to death shaving enough times.
ReplyDeleteI heard Dollar Shave Club is nice and affordable if use of cartridge based razors is in effect. My flexible dual-sided blades cost around 4 bucks for ten, and each one lasts about a week's worth of shaving, so that's a decent enough savings for me.
I'll check out Oban soon. Maybe Dewar's as well. I'm on a kick to stop drinking beer, at least temporarily. Within a hundred-mile radius of where we live are the greatest beers ever brewed in the history of humanity, and I say that without hyperbole. The beer-geek scene in the San Diego/Orange/Los Angeles county region currently is sensational, and too many calories of mine have been coming from beer too frequently. Taking a break...