The idea of acquired taste is pretty interesting. Those who are inclined to imbibe, often test the waters on their way to informed drinking by having something early on that almost always doesn’t suit them. Last year, as my mom was sick and I was visiting home a lot and got to hang out often with my dad, I jokingly accused him of only ever having Gin and Scotch in the house when I was in High School to make sure I was unlikely to raid the family liquor cabinet. Like a friend I knew in college who only smoked Camel Unfiltered and drank Black Label beer (I’m showing my age) so no one would ever bum anything off of him, Gin and Scotch are also categories not openly and easily embraced by the newly thirsty.
As we get older or more experienced the devil-in-the-details starts to make an appearance. Music is the same way. If you’d pulled me aside when I was 22 and gave me a glimpse into the music I really like a lot at 42 I’d have laughed at you. And it’s the same for Gin and Single Malt. Like them or not, Gin is the original “flavored vodka”, and Scotch or some predecessor of it is surely the first real civilized whiskey known to man. I might judge a 23 year old kid who voiced a love for John Coltrane as a poseur just as much as I would one who claimed an affinity forJameson. The songs on the radio you instantly love are the ones you can’t stand sixmonths later; the ones it takes you a while to connect to you’ll cherish forever.
Just this month, an acclaimed British-born spirits writer has done the previously unthinkable and judged Bourbon – America’s indigenous spirit – as THE whiskey to drink. In the process, declaring it as interesting and complex as any Scotch or Irish whiskey. This is a coup, folks; akin to France having to recognize the excellence of California wines.
W.C. Fields used to say that he always carried a little whiskey as an emergency measure should he run into a snake. (He also said that he always carried a snake.)
Drink what you like but know what you drink. And no matter what you choose, remember: the most important thing to acquire is moderation.
– Artful Drinker, LBSPY #48 (Dec 16-Jan 13, 2014)
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.