One Year, 70 Scotches, and My Father-in-Law

[kpete]

Some people mastered a new skill in quarantine. We got really good at drinking—together. And now we’re not so much in-laws, just family.

.........It was March 2020 and, like all travel, our trip to the UK was canceled. My husband and I found ourselves instead sheltering in place with a toddler, venturing no further than the refrigerator to crack another stress beer. If you’ve never been in quarantine with a toddler, it’s best compared to the movie Snakes on a Plane: They’re everywhere, they bite, and there’s no escape. So when two small bottles of amber liquid appeared on our porch with a note, “Zoom scotch tasting,” we welcomed the distraction.

We live around the corner from my father-in-law, who’d long been trying to recruit us for the nerdiest possible version of a drinking club: a single malt scotch study group. We were ambushed by scotch documentaries and an alphabetical whisky classification system. A daunting grid appeared with axes like “smokey/peaty” and “winey/sherry.” This was no surprise coming from my father-in-law, whose grocery list is printed and collated, organized by aisle, alphabetically. As someone who sometimes forgets to buy groceries entirely, I had no hope of mastering the painstaking details that surely awaited.

Then lockdown hit, and I wasn’t about to turn down an excuse to start drinking early. Unlike us, my father-in-law was weirdly prepared for this pandemic—he worked from home, had a monthly meal calendar, and was an accomplished handwasher. As a bachelor at the peak of his career, he could also afford a hefty drinks budget. So my husband and I parked our kid in front of Elmo and poured the scotch.

...............

Every Sunday was the same: Eight ounces of single malt appeared on our doorstep, proof we’d survived another week of lockdown. Sometimes we got a bonus round midweek. The project made us feel like we were worldly sophisticates, rather than hanging-by-a-thread parents drinking a considerable amount of whisky.

...............

the rest:
https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/a35727812/single-malt-scotch-tasting-journey-pandemic/

[secondwind]

1. My scotch intake has increased since last summer.

Have always been a scotch with water and ice person. One and done.

Now I am having seconds. Just make sure there’s lots of water and ice in the glass!!

[blm]

2. What a joyride. From beginning to end.

Thanks, kpete. I needed the smiles.

[Baltimike]

3. Scotch, whisky and their associated mixers are the last thing

on my home bar stock. I don't really know too much about them (I'm a vodka person) but want to have some on hand for guests, if we can ever have them again, lol

So I am looking for a respectable brand without being too precious or too fancy.


Thanks for this article

[BobTheSubgenius]

10. If you can get access to an activated charcoal filter, you can turn generic, pain-thinner vodka into

top-shelf "Vodka." I saw a video about it, and several professional tasters were recruited to taste 6 vodkas from up and down the price points. All the tasters were able to put each brand at its proper spot on the scale.

Run each one through a filter, and #1 was still #1, but #6 moved to #2, and the rest were kind of randomly scattered. It seems well worth a try. If you can turn a bottle of Bathtub #4 into a bottle of Grey Goose, the filter has paid for itself already.

[mopinko]

4. i was never one for spirits, but i got hooked on making extracts this summer.

someone left a half a quart of tito's vodka at my farm, and i started using it to speed up the lemon balm and mint teas is was making while working.
i got obsessed. it is now a product that i intend to market. i made extracts of seeds and leaves from my farm.
i made cold brewed coffees and teas. irish whiskey coffee extract and a shot of baileys- irish coffee to die for.

i had a lot of old whole spices that i use for my xmas cookies. i was thinking i should replace them.
but i poured bourbon over them instead. let them sit for about a month. best cookies i ever made.
i grow quite a few spices, and working to acquire more. it's a niche that is working for a lot of small farmers like me.

it's given me quite an appreciation for the flavors of different whiskies.

[MoonRiver]

5. I tasted a lot of Scotch when we toured Scotland, but never developed a real taste for it.

But, lol, the OP was funny!

[LymphocyteLover]

6. In contrast I gave up drinking in 2020

and somehow it was fine... in a way, no social activities made it easier to not get a drink

[Woodwizard]

7. My beer intake went up.

But so did my bike riding I lost 16 lbs almost back to my old riding and Army weight.

[crickets]

8. Lovely story. Thanks for sharing that! nt

[Hortensis]

9. "On the downside, I'm forever ruined for liquor in my price range."

Lol, I can so believe how easy that might be. We went the other way, and in retirement we've developed a happy tolerance for liquors others recoil from. But, I can remember the times I had very fine wine or spirits over the past 40 years so well that it's almost a warning of how to stay happy.

Fortunately, not one of our problems.

Thanks, Kpete.

[BobTheSubgenius]

11. My friend used to be the business manager for a non-profit trade group.

Their trade happened to be imported wines, and sometimes the importers showed gratitude to her exemplary work, or a favour to them by giving her a bottle or more of imported wine.

So, on a random Tuesday night, we'd have a bottle of $150 wine with dinner. Not Chateau Rothshild for sure, but still outside a normal week-night dinner budget. It was nice.

The story is so relatable, and easy to visualize, and a nice tone of humour we can all appreciate. Noice!

[Hekate]

12. That was way fun! Thanks for the romp, kpete!