I’ll admit—I’m an amateur whisky (I’ll use the term “whisky” here to encompass Scotch, American and Irish, for simplicity’s sake) fan, but a dedicated one. I was initially drawn to the spirit because of the romance and glamour it evoked. Like many before me, I grouped serious male whisky drinkers—beyond those who just had a penchant to swing back Jack at the fraternity house—into two (very) broad and admittedly slightly vague categories: distinguished, swifter-collecting older men—the same breed that gravitated toward fine Cognac, Nantucket, tweed smoking jackets and cigars—and the more brooding, soulful artistic types (think James Dean, Jack Kerouac, Johnny Cash). Female fans of this “ultimate man’s drink” had even more cachet and consisted of dangerous femme fatales (Marlene Dietrich was probably a Scotch or Bourbon drinker), older, wiser Mrs. Robinson figures or hard-skinned, convention-flouting Joan Jett characters. Interesting company indeed.

 I was intrigued, though it took a while (as does any activity with a learning curve) before I finally decided to take the plunge. “Scotch on the rocks,” I said assertively to the mustached, suspender-donning bartender at a pseudo-speakeasy one evening. Whatever respect he may have had for me quickly vanished when I responded to his next question—“What type of Scotch?”—with a blank stare.

 Despite this less-than-auspicious start, I went on—I’m happy to say—to develop a more schooled appreciation for whisky. There’s the taste from the fiery, smoky single malt Scotches to the sweeter, mellower Bourbons, the abundance of different styles, terroirs even and blending techniques to which any wine geek can relate and—though this may be unique to me—the restorative, reflective, even intellectual feeling you have after a few good sips of the stuff.

 It’s never made me particularly giddy or excited (the way other libations have done in the past) but it often leaves me feeling calm and content—especially on a cold, blustery night—and even a bit reflective. If I were inclined to drink while writing or creating, whisky would be my chosen libation.

Share your own ruminations about whisky with me, and tell me what I should be trying in my whisky exploration.

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