Dram needs to be handled with care

It has often surprised, indeed saddened, me just how many Scots, especially women, do not like whisky. It seems extraordinary that Scotland’s world-renowned national drink is eschewed by countless thousands of people whose abstinence from Scotch can last a lifetime, and usually does.

So what can be the root cause of this lifelong whisky phobia among so many of our compatriots?

I suppose there are several reasons, not just one. After all, some people simply do not like the taste, whether a standard blend or an exotic malt, in the same way that some cannot abide garlic or thole seafood.

ACQUIRED TASTE

In a nutshell, whisky is an acquired taste and is a drink to be approached initially with caution.

Alas, all too often the opposite occurs. How often have I heard someone recall their well-meaning dad took them to the pub on or after their 18th birthday and stood them their first whisky, often drunk on either an empty stomach or after a beer or two.

Other friends then stood a few more drams. Result: disaster, with nothing to recall but the ghastliest of hangovers, the memory of which lingers for good, spawning the vow never to touch whisky again.

The same can apply to those, usually family members, who have to clear up the mess when the whisky-sodden reveller gets home and the whisky comes flying back just when you don’t want it.

TV ADVERTS

That said, the tradition of downing your first whiskies with dad at the pub seems to be on the wane, and increasingly drinkers turn to, and appreciate whisky, as they get older.

And because it is seen as an old man’s drink, so TV and other ads for whisky try to focus on the young and get them to try whisky before they start drawing their pensions.

The fact is that whisky is not the number one “mixer drink”, although imbibers in other countries, especially in the tropics, have no hesitation in adding cola, ginger ale and any number of other fizzies to whisky.

Perhaps we could take a hint from them when we start our relationship with the cratur…

To be able to appreciate good whisky is one of the great joys of this life and I certainly feel that those who cannot enjoy it are missing out on one of the most colourful rainbow of tastes available to all. However, I accept that a bad experience leaves one once bitten and twice shy…