My first time was the weekend I proposed to my future wife. The second time was on my honeymoon.
I like whisky. I wouldn’t call myself an expert but I know my highlands from my islays, my single casks from my single malts. Every week or so I sit down, shut off the computer and pour myself a wee dram. The sensation of whisky is like no other drink. It’s not something you use to get drunk (although of course you can) but rather something to savour. And often it’s something to talk about. Think “wine” but a bit more boring.
Several years ago I was staying in a hotel with my future wife. It was the weekend I’d planned to to propose marriage. Now, before we get into this let me just say that there is no connection between drinking whisky and proposing marriage. I’ll grant that you may see a pattern emerge here but try to keep an open mind.
We were in the bar. I knew even less about whisky then than I do now but I had a taste for it and so I thought to order a glass. With my limited knowledge I knew enough to ask the barman. A barman in Scotland (at a hotel which specialises in whisky) MUST know enough to recommend a good drink.
So I asked. And back came all the right questions: have you tried this one or that one; have you heard of Islay or Speyside; do you like it mellow or peaty? The sort of questions that do two things: 1) they help refine the choice of drink and 2) they help build confidence in the barman and by extension, the establishment.
I placed an order, enjoyed the drink and then popped the question.
Skip forward a year and I was on my honeymoon for my second time (that’s second time ordering a whisky, not second honeymoon). I was in Ireland so I should be calling this “whiskey”. So if I knew anything about what I liked in Scotland, it wasn’t going to help me choose over in Ireland. I needed help again.
The barman looked the part. It was a quality hotel so I went in with the expectation that they hired experienced people. The process was similar to the first time and I was handed a good Irish whiskey – from Connemara if I remember correctly.
The thing is, I didn’t, until recently, give it a second thought. Not until I asked for advice somewhere else – again in Scotland. Only half way through the questioning did it occur to me that none of the people whose advice I’d ought might, actually, know much about whisky at all. They could, for all I knew, been asking me some pretty vague and standard questions. My ignorance, and more importantly probably, my desire not to appear too ignorant, would have filled in the gaps in what they were asking. After all I’d probably buy the Emperor’s new clothes from him given half the chance.
Speaking with authority is key in any presentation but being aware that the person might not, actually, have any authority is key to establishing an equal relationship conducive to a collaborative work process. And if this most recent barman hadn’t been six years old I might never have thought of it. Pesky kids.
