Key to Life #1

TIME

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...Or How I Learned To Appreciate Great Whiskey.

Time is the most valuable and precious commodity in the universe. It is the only thing we can never get more of. Assuming one has time, they’ve got opportunity to acquire more love, money, health, wisdom, happiness, even family. Without time, nothing matters. Having all the gold or Pappy in the world is meaningless unless you’ve got time to enjoy it. You can’t take it with you, after all. Health is imperative too, but of course the idea of being healthy is to have the ability to properly enjoy our time here on Earth.

Maybe as a result of being conscious of the limiting factor that is Time, modern society has evolved into an instant gratification world. Anything we want is a click away. From information to groceries, electronics to dates, on-demand cars to dog walkers, everything is a click and a short wait away. Heck, Drizly will deliver Birthday Bourbon in Los Angeles, on demand, in an hour (It’ll cost you over $600, but if you want it, you can get it. NOW.)

While the intended effect of all this insta-click world might have been to buy us humans more time to enjoy our families, read a book, take on a hobby or a second job, I’ve found most people still never have or find time for themselves. They fill the extra minutes and hours “saved” by their phones… on their phones. That’s fine, of course. No judgements here. It’s your time, after all.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Enter the wonderful world of whiskey.  As we’ve all heard and read repeatedly, Whiskey gets most of its flavor from the barrel, and some of the flavor from the grains used to produce the clear alcohol that goes into said barrel. On a technicality, that is true. In my estimation though, the ingredient that creates the alchemic transformation to liquid gold is time itself.

A great whiskey can spend years or even decades slowly interacting at a molecular level with the wood, char and sugars in a barrel. As the year turns, the temperature fluctuations cause the juice to expand and contract, forcing those interactions and creating a complex and unique spirit, unique to each barrel and blend of barrels. Master distillers and tasters are the key to knowing when their juice has reached maturity. Some whiskies are perfectly aged but young, others need time to reach their full potential. It’s an art, one doesn’t want to be too young or too old (unless you like your whiskey to taste like wood.) The point is time is everything – not too much, not too little. Whiskey forces us to be patient and to focus on time itself.

This is true on both sides of the whiskey experience, the maker and the drinker. A great bottle – a great pour – demands your attention. It commands you to slow down and consider it. With each sip, a decade’s worth of time slips down your throat. One begins to ponder the nuance and complexity, triggering parts of the brain we too often ignore; sense memory. We hunt for flavors in the nose, on the palate, in the finish. Some notes sing, and we’re transported to caramel memories. Finding a unicorn bottle and cracking it with a friend, taking care to observe the color, the legs, and of course the taste, is a time machine. For just a little bit, time slows down, and life opens up. It is time in a bottle, and opening it asks us to respect that time, to give it back… just a little bit.

We live in a rat race world, I hope all of you win your races. Along the way, don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate the finer things in life. For me, that’s quality time with my wife, my family, my best friend, and of course slowly enjoying some incredible whiskey. Every dram is an opportunity to slow down and appreciate life.

If you have an exceptional bottle, don’t wait too long to open it. It was made to be enjoyed, considered and shared. There’s no time like right now.  

It’s time to stop and smell the (four) roses.

-Cane