Did You Know: Finding The Right Whisk(e)y Is Like Falling In Love?

Finding the right whiskey is like falling in love
Photographed by Ronaldo Lopez

Repost… but still topical!


Intrigued?

Think about it. Finding the “right one” is based on a few (proven) truths:

  1. Discover. Figure out the traits that you want in “the one.”
  2. Explore. Check out a few different types that exhibit those traits.
  3. Experience. Get to know one type intimately.
  4. Fall in love. Realize you found “the one.”

And, yes, we’re talking about finding the right whisk(e)y!

Step 1: Discover.

Just like finding a significant other, you have to go out into the world and discover all the traits you love. Light. Dark. Smokin’ hot. Spicy. Smooth. Bold. Daring. Dashing. Sexy. Whatever it may be. Why? Because every whiskey has its unique personality. And you, have to find the personality traits that fit you.

Step 2: Explore.

After you’ve identified what traits really speak to you, the next step is to try a few of them. “Test out the waters,” we say. Oftentimes, during this “date” phase, you’ll find some distilleries and ages that really speak to you. Perhaps you like the sexy professionalism of a Macallan 18. Or, perhaps you like the sultry seductiveness of a Lagavulin 16. Or, perhaps, you prefer the tender youth of a 77 Whiskey (New York Wheat). Whatever it may be, you have to explore in order to refine your taste buds.

Step 3: Experience.

Then, you find one you want to “get to know better.” You’ll spend countless nights waiting to have it physically and emotionally—to smell its aroma tickle your nostril, to taste its specialness with your tongue, to feel its smoothness on your lips. It is only in those moments you have with your whiskey that you really experience the gamut of emotions, all varied with each new interaction. Soon, you’ll learn all of its quirks. Sometimes, you become bored with the “same routine.” Sometimes, you feel settled, as if you could have found the “right one” if you had searched a bit longer. When those feelings come, you will find yourself going through Steps 2 and 3 again until an aha! moment hits you and the redundancy of everyday, the normalcy of every taste, and the monotonous of every move become something greater.

Step 4: Fall in love.

It is in that random moment, when suddenly everything around you cease to matter and the only thing you feel is the golden liquid swirling in your mouth, titillating the very fiber of your being and sending a rush of exciting chills all through your body. That moment will be special, just between you and that whiskey. It would be both explainable and unexplainable how you feel. But it doesn’t matter. It’s all about you and it. Together. That is when you know you’ve found “the one.”

Have you found your “one” whisk(e)y yet?

  1. […] Remember a while back I wrote the 4 steps to finding the right whisk(e)y? […]

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