I was thinking this evening why I like whisky. I guess I liken it to great art. Huh? Yeah, great art, in all its forms, whether it be writing, film, dance or music. There is a link. Now, just bear with me.
I can tell you every great whisky I have had. I can tell you where I was, what I was doing (or shouldn't have been doing), the color of the carpet, the angle the sunlight poured in through the window, and what we were talking about.
Great whisky, whether it be American, Canadian, Scotch, Japanese and Indian too, has the ability to crystalize a moment in time. At times, it makes me pensive. I think ever so briefly about the profound issues of life. For a moment, I realize my materialism is wrong, my career ambitions are not important, and what is important is time with family and friends, whether it be a barbecue, playing cards, sinking a long putt, and of course enjoying great whisky or even a cheap one. Someone once said, "you will be dead a long time."
Great art can do the same. Certain songs frame a moment in your life, make you reflect on the past, maybe something you don't want to do, but know at times it is important to do. Have you been there? I have. Don't believe me? Listen to Suspicious Minds, Bridge over Troubled Waters, Killing Me Softly or Wild Horses.
Why I drink whisky is not for the intoxication. Nor is it exclusively for the taste. It's something else, that intangible, the hard to express, maybe a catalyst for the occasionally needed melancholic introspection.
Jason Debly
Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2012. All rights reserved except for photo of Aberlour A'bunadh which belongs to David S. Bloom. Video of Killing Me Softly by the Fugees is presented solely for entertainment and nostalgia purposes. The song copyright belongs to Charlse Fox and Norman Gimbel.
