Remember when you could walk into a pub
No, I mean, remember when you could walk into a pub and there'd be a jug of water on the bar, to pour into your whisky?
I'm not sure when the practice stopped. What do you do now, if you want water in your whisky? Buy a bottle? Ot let the barperson add it with their gun? I realise I have no idea. Firstly because I very, very rarely drink whisky in pubs, and secondly, because I don't have water in it when I do.
In this I differ from my father, who always had water in his Bells (or Teachers, if Bells wasn't available). That's probably why I became aware of the water jugs. I'm not much of a spirits drinker, but when I do, whisky is now my spirit of choice. I have arrived at it by a long and circuitous route, that began with Malibu (and in my defence, it was 1983 when I turned eighteen) which quickly led to white rum, which in turn led to dark rum, which was my favoured spirit for many years. One year Jim bought me a bottle of Woods (57%) for Christmas. It took me years to finish it, and I fear much of it evaporated while it was waiting for me. Then maybe a dozen years ago, I started to try the odd whisky, and I realised that they weren't all like Bells and water (childhood sips of which had never done much for me). Some got much the same response forty years later; but then there was Ardbeg.
My mother's drink, gin and tonic, has a very particular place in my life. It is my interval drink when I go to the theatre or a concert. This started because beer and wine are so unreliable at theatres, but quickly became a tradition, adding to the sense of occasion. As
previously noted, I have always been a massive fan of tonic. In later years of course there has also been the annual Alvecote gin bar, but there I always feel as if I must, somehow, be at the theatre.
I have never drunk vodka. Somehow in my mind it's only one small step up from meths. Or the stuff we put in the Origo.
Anyway, I have a few water jugs.
Cups of tea so far this February: 105
Online meetings so far this February: 30
I drink whisky to remember my Dad and Father in law, but gut problems preclude it now apart from special occasions.... anyhow I never took water in my whisky until doing a whisky tour for my 50th at the Glen Grant Distillery on Speyside. They advised it and it was apparent how much more enjoyable and tasty the whisky was. As for Woods rum, only had it once mixed with a friends dad's home made wine (while parents were away on holiday) remember that terraced house I commented about... well I came to sitting in my underpants on the front door step in the early hours of the morning.... never again. But then a friend brought some Bullet Bourbon on a lads booze cruise and that had to be taken as shots no mixing. One of the three of us 9 (not me) ended up phoning his partner at 2 in the morning to tell her how much he loved her..... it was that bad !
ReplyDeleteScotch played havoc with my fragile stomach and I found it rather harsh.
ReplyDeleteThen a few years agos friend told me how whiskey (Irish) is triple distilled (scotch only twice) and it makes it much smoother and gentler on the stomach.
So I tried Bushmills - beautiful!
And I find the Bushmills blend to be smoother than the rather expensive posh one in the green box.