Lessons from the Golf Trip

I just got back from a golf trip to central/southern Pennsylvania.  Twelve guys, three nights, and 90 holes of golf.  The number one question I got from people leading up to the trip was, “are you bringing whisky?”  Of course I was bringing whisky!  I think the majority of the group ended up trying a little bit of the bottle and receiving it well.  It made me think of a list of rules for bringing a bottle of whisky on a road trip:

1. Get a GOOD bottle – You don’t need to break the bank on a 40 year old Highland Park for a trip to Chambersburg.  Just a good bottle, representative of the distillery’s products will do.  I chose the 10 year old from Ardbeg.  Avoid the plastic bottles for the trip.  Get something people will actually enjoy.
2. Bring a full bottle - There’s always less whisky left in an open bottle than you remember, so make the trip to the liquor store and get a fresh bottle in the box (easier to travel with anyway).
3. Share it – This is a great opportunity to expose whisky to friends who may not be familiar with it.  Give them a small sample and see what they think.  It’s a nice, risk free way for them to try something new and you’ll be spreading the word.
4. It’s a golf trip, not a whisky tasting – Not everybody needs to bring a bottle on a road trip.  We’re not doing a tasting event, we’re enjoying a drink.  Figure out the people who are bringing the bottle(s) ahead of time so the rest can take care of other supplies.
5. Bring your own glasses – For the first time, I packed up a bunch of glencairn glasses and packed them with my whisky.  Not relying on the “complementary” plastic cups from the Sheraton Four Points ended up being a good call.  The glasses added to the experience, discouraged mixing the Ardbeg with Diet Coke and made us feel more like grown ups than over-sized college students.
6. Finish it – You don’t want to drag a bottle back with you from a road trip.  Make sure you’re generous enough that it doesn’t come home with you.  If no one wants the last dram, I’m pretty sure you’ll know what to do.

So, that’s it. Follow these rules and a bottle of whisky will add a nice touch to your road trip or golf trip.  Enjoy.