Here it is. He says “Cindy and I are breaking up” - then proceeds with the review of Laphroaig 10 Year Single Malt Scotch, which he tells us has been his go-to single malt - it’s a “no compromise” Malt, he assures us.
Sips, a drop of water or two, with a good quality single malt or an extremely good quality blend (nothing Johnny Walker for example). Depending on the Scotch there can be Smokey caramel flavours, peaty salty, heavy flavours, some lite fruit tones, etc.
Its not for knocking back in shots, blends are nice with mixers, but if youre sipping a Johnny Walker red you are probably going to think this is shit because it is.
If you ever get the chance to try a really nice single malt I suggest you give it a try with just a couple of drops of water to open it up a bit. Then some gentle sips, enough to coat your mouth and spread the flavours.
Its like a nice cigar. Very rough if youre doing it wrong, very enjoyable if you do it right. I know most people will say “yuck, cigars are gross too”, but the point is that there is a way to approach these things that make them much more enjoyable to the point where people genuinely like them and the routine that goes with it.
Taste is a completely subjective thing, that happens mostly in your brain.
Other than a good single malt, my favorite drink with a cigar is Dr. Pepper on ice. I was a member of a cigar club for several years, and the manager and resident cigar sommelier suggested it. Surprisingly good. The ice breaks down the carbonation a bit, and the spice and caramel of the soda goes surprisingly well with many cigars.
This is only tangentially related to your post, but it just popped into my head when you were mentioning cigars.
