Usquebaugh!

I first read this word emblazoned on a tee-shirt and I thought, ‘Here is another one who is wearing something he probably doesn’t know the meaning of!’ I didn’t just go on thinking, I went up to this man and asked, ‘Sir, this seems to be an interesting word. What does it mean?’

He smiled, and said, ‘Obviously you’ve never been to Ireland. This word is the Irish term for whisky.’

‘Thanks.’

I later found that the word wasn’t just the Irish term for whisky but even the Scots loved to use this word for their scotch. That evening I just strolled into the bar at Hyatt and began discussing terminology with the bartender there.

‘Do people really know their drink,’ I asked him, ‘or do they just order whatever happens to be easily pronounced?’

The bartender smiled and replied, ‘There are all sorts of people. Yes, there are those who come in and ask for whatever appears known, but there are the ones who know not just their drink but also everything connected to it.’

It was during that discussion with him that I came to know FEINTS was all about ‘leftover impure spirits from distillation of alcoholic drinks, especially whisky.’ He also told me that a DRAM was just a small quantity of whisky… ‘Just whisky?’ I asked. ‘Well, the term can be used for other drinks as well,’ he replied.

For those who are reading this post and are absolutely un-initiated to the terminology that any veteran Black Dog lover needs to have, let me add that a DISTILLERY is a whisky factory! Well, there are those who love using euphemisms and AQUA VITAE and EAU DE VIE are just those words or phrases that some people want to use when they talk about strong spirits… but I’m sure a BD lover would just say, ‘I love my Black Dog!’

I would surely love to add here that BD Centenary matures for 8 years, BD Deluxe for 12 years, BD Reserve for 18 years and BD Quintessence for 21 years! Now this is really something, isn’t it?

Someone once asked me, ‘Would you really want to blend or dilute your BD?’

I said, ‘Most people don’t. But sometimes, they do.’ I paused for a while and then informed him that when people do blend or dilute, the word they’d use is RECTIFY. He smiled… and I knew I had won another heart for the charming BD platoon!

 

Usquebaugh!

Usquebaugh!

Black Dog Easy Evenings | Black Dog Scotch | Ginger Claps

Disclaimer: The content of this post is meant only for people above the age of 25.

 

 

Arvind Passey
12 May 2014