Whiskey troubles

Ever had an experience of losing a night? I did and it was a never to be forgotten one. It led me to learn and be more aware. Life is a blend of experiences, memories and journeys. Join me on this podcast as I share some of my learnings and glimpses from a whiskey tour from a recent holiday.

Transcript

Episode 113: Whiskey troubles

Hello Everyone, and welcome to the podcast of the Ordinary Maverick. This is Ajey, your host, an ordinary Maverick sharing real life thoughts and experiences and Maverick tips. If you haven’t hit the subscribe button yet, please do so, and you’ll not miss another episode.

I lost a night. Many years ago, I woke up in the morning with no recollection of the last 8 hours. Yes, I had lost a night and coupled with that I had a splitting headache. You might have guessed it, I had a hangover! Ha ha… and it wasn’t pleasant.

Like often happens in such cases, I swore off alcohol like forever! But you know what, it was my first experience of a hangover.  And all first experiences are memorable, right? So yes from an experience perspective, it was great…I am all for new experiences. But Fellow Mavericks, I don’t recommend these kind of experiences unless responsibly done.

Now why was it the first time? Well, one reason was that I wasn’t expecting it. I enjoy an occasional drink or two, drink socially but never had a hangover….it never quite got to that point. So how did it happen that day or shall I say that night? For starters, I was caught unawares and secondly, the drink had a lot to do with it.

We were invited on a camping trip by friends. One of those trips where you start of not knowing everyone and end up having a great time bonding in the outdoors.  It was a two-night trip and this incident happened on the second night. We had hiked the entire day ( I have spoken about that experience in one of my podcast titled Kloofing and risk taking) and on return to our campsite we settled down around the fire, ready to have a drink or two and enjoy some barbeque meats and veggies accompanied by lots of chatting. And then one person in the group brought out this drink that she had made herself at home. It was white in colour and she started pouring it in glasses sharing that this was a South African drink, made with condensed milk and alcohol…think it was rum or could have been vodka It's been some years now so not quite sure. Don’t remember the details but definitely do remember the experience, ha ha!

Always game to try out new things, I accepted a glass and over the course of the next hour, sipped it up. And then perhaps had another glass. It had the right balance of sweet and sour, tasty due to the condensed milk and I drank it as if I was having dessert !! dessert that’s right ! gosh what foolishness ! And then everything is a whirl in my memory. It’s funny…it’s as if one is having an out of mind experience, where you kind of know what is happening but are powerless to control it. You are just going along in the flow. I remember going back to our campsite along with another friend, in high spirits we found our way together to bed. I have no recollection of what happened next and my only memory is of waking up the next morning with a splitting headache.

I was told later that I’d been terribly sick in the night, several times in fact and that I finally went to bed tired and wiped out. I’ve never ever been that sick. The sweetened milk and alcohol got to me and I’ve sworn off such drinks for life. Never again. And it has never happened since then. Funnily the person who made the drinks was indeed proud and happy by all around praise she got when we were all super super high that she actually came by our house a few weeks later to gift us yet another bottle of her magical concoction..no guesses here where the contents of the bottle went…well I know what you are thinking..but no it went down the drain as promptly as it came…and I could see the drain pipe a bit oozy ahahahha

Fellow Mavericks, have you’ll experienced a hangover? Maybe my story brought back some memories for you too. Hopefully, none of us have had more than one experience. It’s definitely not pleasant, ha ha.

An experience like this can turn one off alcohol for life. It didn’t do that for me. Instead what it did was make me alert and cautious about WHAT I drink. I swore to myself that no adventures here. I will stick to what I know and what I can see comes from reliable sources..like a branded bottle for example.

Of course, there’s another side to the whiskey bit, or more the ‘rum’ bit. One of my favourite cakes is the rum and raisin one. Especially when the raisins are soaked in rum for days. Nothing like the freshly baked cake warm and soft and with the raisins oozing rum…simply delicious. One of our family favourites, for sure!

Here too, the kind of rum used, the brand makes all the difference. 

Speaking of brands…recently we took a short break and went to Ireland. And had the most amazing experience with Irish whiskeys. Did you know the word ‘whiskey’ comes from the Irish ‘uisce beatha’ (pronounced as ish ka baa ha) meaning water of life. At one time, Irish whiskey was the most popular spirit in the world but then came the period of decline through the late 19th century so much so that from 28 distilleries in the 1890s, the number came down just to 2 by 1966. But then there was a revival again. And Irish whiskeys once again started growing in popularity. Over the last 2 to 3 decades, the world has seen some of the finest Irish whiskeys, very distinct and unique and competing with the Scottish brands.

Given we were in Ireland, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to visit the Jameson Irish whiskey distillery in Midleton. And true to it’s history and fame, it didn’t disappoint. On a lovely summer day, we set out to learn more about the process and art of making whiskey. It is an art AND a science, and may I add a passion. As our tour guide took us through the distillery, well preserved over the years and although this is no longer the site for all the whiskey making, one could see and feel the ‘whiskey’…ha ha. 

We walked through the grain storage area, understood about the single pot distillation process and the best part the aging process…done in these casks, oak and others. And one could see how the different flavours, smoked, unsmoked came about…and the shifts in the whiskey as they aged over the years.

I learnt more that day about whiskey making than ever before. And I have to admit, my appreciation for this art has grown exponentially. Got to know about the Method and Madness whiskey, a spirit brand that came from the minds of the Masters and apprentices of Midleton distillery. It resulted from liquid experimentation.

Fellow Mavericks, as I walked around that day retracing steps in that distillery, some things stood out…the perseverance, the patience, the joy of creating that perfect blend, and the experimentation.

That’s the most important thing….when one has patience, and joy, creativity will not be far behind. And for that one needs courage. Here is where our Maverick formula comes in. Listening to your gut, being mindful and being true and falling forward.

As I sipped through the different whiskeys and blends in the tasting section of the tour, I could literally feel the dedication and the persistence plus the sheer joy of creating that perfect blend. And you know what, every barrel is different, unique. And every batch is approached with the same zeal and rigour.

We rarely do that in reality. Think about it. There are lessons from the whiskey making process…the sifting of the grains, removing what’s not needed including from your life, going through the process without rushing, and then leaving it be to mature and age. There’s nothing quite like experience, right?

That’s LIFE, Mavericks.

Let’s do all we can to make each moment of our lives that perfect blend.

Keep up the high spirits, folks and send in your comments and experiences of losing a night at  ‘theordinarymaverick@gmail.com’ and follow me on Instagram #theordinarymaverick.  I love hearing from you. This is Ajey, signing off and wishing you have an amazing day and a super amazing year! Keep well. 

This podcast series was put together as a team effort from the Bhardwaj family.  Concept, design, title, researchers and reviewers: Ajey, Sanjana, Avantika and Niharika Bhardwaj; Script– Sanjana; Cover design – Niharika. All rights reserved.