I went to visit my father this morning, and he gave me my birthday gift. I had asked him for a wort cooler, so that I can pick home brewing beer back up, but what he gave me might be much, much better. When I drove up he presented me with a bottle of Michter's 10 year single-barrel bourbon. This stuff isn't cheap, and it's a good example of how my father taught me to drink.
Now, I don't mean that in the sense that he sat a beer in front of me and told me to drink. While my father does enjoy an adult beverage from time to time he never made any indications that he expected me to join him. In fact, I didn't start drinking until I was in my mid-20s, and I didn't start drinking beer until a couple of years after that.
What he did teach me though was the value of quality. I don't particularly enjoy being drunk. Having a nice mellow going is a wonderful experience, but being out of control doesn't really appeal to me. Even without a next-morning hangover drinking to excess doesn't really float my boat.
He taught me that if I'm going to drink I might as well enjoy what I'm drinking by always spending a little more to get something he could sit down and really enjoy. I know many people don't really care what they're drinking as long as it gets them to the state that they want to be in. I prefer to pay the extra to get there the right way.
When I get beer, I spend a little extra to get a beer I could enjoy even if it weren't intoxicating. I love bourbon, and I will always pay a little more for something that's a little smoother, or a little more complex. No matter what I'm drinking I drink it as much for the taste as for the intoxication.
This isn't true for everyone I know. I have friends who are just as happy drinking down a Bud Light or a Steel Reserve as they would be drinking a Sam Adams Oktoberfest or a Stone Brewing Company Smoked Porter. I don't look down on them for it. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes.
So whatever your preference this evening, enjoy. If you're like me and you want something a little more uncommon then have a Buffalo Trace bourbon or an Old Rasputin Imperial Stout or a single malt whiskey or whatever you prefer. If you're into it, enjoy a Bud Light, or a Jack Daniels, or a wine cooler. If you don't drink alcohol raise a glass of your preferred beverage, whatever it may be. Here's to the people who made us who we are. May they always get what they deserve.
Now, I don't mean that in the sense that he sat a beer in front of me and told me to drink. While my father does enjoy an adult beverage from time to time he never made any indications that he expected me to join him. In fact, I didn't start drinking until I was in my mid-20s, and I didn't start drinking beer until a couple of years after that.
What he did teach me though was the value of quality. I don't particularly enjoy being drunk. Having a nice mellow going is a wonderful experience, but being out of control doesn't really appeal to me. Even without a next-morning hangover drinking to excess doesn't really float my boat.
He taught me that if I'm going to drink I might as well enjoy what I'm drinking by always spending a little more to get something he could sit down and really enjoy. I know many people don't really care what they're drinking as long as it gets them to the state that they want to be in. I prefer to pay the extra to get there the right way.
When I get beer, I spend a little extra to get a beer I could enjoy even if it weren't intoxicating. I love bourbon, and I will always pay a little more for something that's a little smoother, or a little more complex. No matter what I'm drinking I drink it as much for the taste as for the intoxication.
This isn't true for everyone I know. I have friends who are just as happy drinking down a Bud Light or a Steel Reserve as they would be drinking a Sam Adams Oktoberfest or a Stone Brewing Company Smoked Porter. I don't look down on them for it. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes.
So whatever your preference this evening, enjoy. If you're like me and you want something a little more uncommon then have a Buffalo Trace bourbon or an Old Rasputin Imperial Stout or a single malt whiskey or whatever you prefer. If you're into it, enjoy a Bud Light, or a Jack Daniels, or a wine cooler. If you don't drink alcohol raise a glass of your preferred beverage, whatever it may be. Here's to the people who made us who we are. May they always get what they deserve.
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