Desk-side chat with my sis: Scotch and Hippies
Just talked to my sister Celine who is in Scotland doing her Masters of Public Health Research. I guess we feel somewhat similarly down about the state of the world after that roller-coaster ride in which we thought Kerry might prevail.
She says she’s been getting involved in the Whiskey Society there which is a very serious affliation to the people who are in it. They gather once every two weeks to sample some of the different areas whiskeys. Glennfiddich is pretty standard there but there are a whole variety with flavours like caramel, vanilla, mutton-fat, sour, sweet etc. She likes the Speyside whiskeys because she thinks they’re the sweetest of the four Scottish regions. Scotch isn’t called “Scotch” there because it’s all made in Scotland so it’s just “whiskey”. Upon that realization my skin tingled with the idea that I was less ignorant and more cultured now.
It’s a social event but it is also kind of a profession whereby participants use their taste charts that outline the whole spectrum of taste. They are encouraged to talk about the unique flavors of each kind and train their buds for specificity and precision.
We got onto the topic of whiskey as we were discussing the British diet and how it’s shite. They eat a lot of digestible cookies, some that have caramel layers underneath the chocolate which she loves and attributes to pure “genius”. “The Brits have the worst diet” she claims which is convenient for her since if someone starts talking about vitamins or anything remotely healthy she just derogatorily calls them a “f$#kin hippy!”
Apparently there’s quite a rivalry between loggers and hippies in Vancouver where she spent several years living the Western life. They’re like jealous lovers, each wanting to capture the soul or claim the body of the woods. She said that she knew a real right-wing logger jerk who owned a common bumper sticker with the words “Hey hippy! Think fast!” Hippies seem to get picked on more than anyone else these days. It’s like no one took them seriously after ’69 if they were ever taken seriously at all. We’ve seen what happens to protesters these days. They get pepper-sprayed like R Kelly allegedly was on the tour with Jay-Z. You can imagine what kind of situation accompanies a caption like “Hey Hippy, Think fast!”, or if not, you’re just not thinking narrow-mindedly enough or with the expected level of disdain for the dreaded, pot-smoking peace-lovers.
She says she’s been getting involved in the Whiskey Society there which is a very serious affliation to the people who are in it. They gather once every two weeks to sample some of the different areas whiskeys. Glennfiddich is pretty standard there but there are a whole variety with flavours like caramel, vanilla, mutton-fat, sour, sweet etc. She likes the Speyside whiskeys because she thinks they’re the sweetest of the four Scottish regions. Scotch isn’t called “Scotch” there because it’s all made in Scotland so it’s just “whiskey”. Upon that realization my skin tingled with the idea that I was less ignorant and more cultured now.
It’s a social event but it is also kind of a profession whereby participants use their taste charts that outline the whole spectrum of taste. They are encouraged to talk about the unique flavors of each kind and train their buds for specificity and precision.
We got onto the topic of whiskey as we were discussing the British diet and how it’s shite. They eat a lot of digestible cookies, some that have caramel layers underneath the chocolate which she loves and attributes to pure “genius”. “The Brits have the worst diet” she claims which is convenient for her since if someone starts talking about vitamins or anything remotely healthy she just derogatorily calls them a “f$#kin hippy!”
Apparently there’s quite a rivalry between loggers and hippies in Vancouver where she spent several years living the Western life. They’re like jealous lovers, each wanting to capture the soul or claim the body of the woods. She said that she knew a real right-wing logger jerk who owned a common bumper sticker with the words “Hey hippy! Think fast!” Hippies seem to get picked on more than anyone else these days. It’s like no one took them seriously after ’69 if they were ever taken seriously at all. We’ve seen what happens to protesters these days. They get pepper-sprayed like R Kelly allegedly was on the tour with Jay-Z. You can imagine what kind of situation accompanies a caption like “Hey Hippy, Think fast!”, or if not, you’re just not thinking narrow-mindedly enough or with the expected level of disdain for the dreaded, pot-smoking peace-lovers.
posted by sirbarrett at 5:05 p.m.
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