Back in my younger drinking days, the goal and point of drinking was always to get as inebriated as possible as cheaply as possible. I can remember countless times being in an LCBO in my late teens/early twenties thinking:

“This plastic jug of local whisky is $8 cheaper than this small bottle of Scotch… why do these idiots throw their money away??!!”

Like all acquired tastes though, the more accustomed you become with something the more you notice the subtleties. After a while, quality (or lack thereof) sticks out like a sore thumb.

When Ellen and I were in Paris earlier this year, we spent an evening with our hosts eating and drinking an assortment of fine wine and liquor. I noticed something interesting: despite that I had mixed several different types of alcohol and drank quite a bit, I didn’t really get drunk, and the next morning I had absolutely no hangover.

After some more experimentation I’ve come to realize that – for me at least – hangover is severely tied to the quality of the alcohol. The cheaper the booze, the worse my headache will be in the morning. Maybe this is only news to me, but this has been a huge revelation! I was getting worried for a while; it seemed the older I was getting, the worse my hangovers were getting. It turns out I was just getting cheaper.

Anyway, after reading too much Murakami last year, my drink of choice has become Johnnie Walker on the rocks (Black Label is nice, looking forward to trying the Green or Blue). It’s smooth, has a nice taste, and makes me feel like James Bond in the evening and Marty McFly in the morning.

HOWEVER… this brings up a point that my friend mentioned that I cannot stop thinking about: apparently, over 130 million bottles of Johnnie Walker are sold annually. Black Label is aged 12 years, Green and Blue even more. How is it possible that any company could have that much foresight to prepare and reserve the amount of whisky required for this? I mean, how would they have even known that China would become such a huge market 12 years ago? Are they lying about the percentage of aged content in the bottle (e.g. only a small percent is actually 12 years old, the rest is ‘newer’)?

UPDATE: Maybe this explains it: Chinese are drinking the Scotch whisky stocks dry and distilleries are depriving the home/UK market to meet the demand.

Also:

A blended is as old as the youngest whisky in the mix, so 12 year old Black is made from whiskys that are all at least 12 years old. We’ve got a few explanations for this:

This is how it works
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd

While laughin’ up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep

And all the styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some worms
To aid in the decay

But none of ‘em were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees

While we were on our knees
Prayin’ that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again

On the radio
We heard “November Rain”
That solo’s real long
But it’s a pretty song

We listened to it twice
‘Cause the DJ was aslee-eep

This is how it works
You’re young until you’re not
You love until you don’t
You try until you can’t
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dyin’ breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
Then try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else’s heart
Pumpin’ someone else’s blood

And walking arm in arm
You hope it don’t get harmed
But even if it does
You’ll just do it all again, and

On the radio
You’ll hear “November Rain”
That solo’s awful long
But it’s a good refrain

You listen to it twice
‘Cause the DJ is asleep

- Regina Spektor

It’s very difficult to describe Paris. It’s a city I’ve seen pictures of all my life, but at the risk of sounding cliched, it’s nothing like being there. The beautiful buildings and ornate architecture aren’t limited to a certain square or street; they go on for miles. That said, the weather really sucked on the second day there, so much so that we couldn’t wait to leave.