むかしのこと
I once met a rich, well respected and successful lawyer. As most lawyers do, this one enjoyed whiskey. As one of his assistants, he would bring us to taste expensive whiskeys as we let the day unwind at a bar after work.
He had probably tasted all the whiskeys there were to taste in the country, I thought, as he asked for our opinion of the 12 year old Hibiki we were having.
The other assistant asked him, "what is your favourite whiskey?" To which he replied, "Black Label."
Johnnie Walker Black label is probably one of the cheapest and worst whiskeys they ever made, anyone who has tasted it is likely to agree. The other assistant was surprised and asked why.
I cut in, "Because it's your comfort drink."
Wordlessly, he nodded. There was no need for any more words and I didn't think he wanted to say any more.
I thought it must have been the drink with which he had drowned his sorrows and perhaps found strength again. Or maybe it was the drink that helped him numb those sorrows so he could wake up the next morning and go on. Hibiki never comforted him when no one else was willing offer him refuge- he couldn't afford Hibiki then.
Once we've had a drink like that, we tend to want to go back to that familiarity, like the arms of a lover who knows us, no matter taste nor price per shot.
Humans are nostalgic like that. It would taste bitter, like his hardship, but it would also taste sweet, like the victory he eventually found. People go to the bar to drink for all sorts of reasons. When I was a bartender I took care of them and in return I got to understand a lot about what people are really like after hours - hair let down, neckties loosened.
Will success always be tainted by the pain and sacrifice it took to reach it? It leaves a bitter aftertaste, like Black Label, but to some, there is a sweetness one can only intepret.
He had probably tasted all the whiskeys there were to taste in the country, I thought, as he asked for our opinion of the 12 year old Hibiki we were having.
The other assistant asked him, "what is your favourite whiskey?" To which he replied, "Black Label."
Johnnie Walker Black label is probably one of the cheapest and worst whiskeys they ever made, anyone who has tasted it is likely to agree. The other assistant was surprised and asked why.
I cut in, "Because it's your comfort drink."
Wordlessly, he nodded. There was no need for any more words and I didn't think he wanted to say any more.
I thought it must have been the drink with which he had drowned his sorrows and perhaps found strength again. Or maybe it was the drink that helped him numb those sorrows so he could wake up the next morning and go on. Hibiki never comforted him when no one else was willing offer him refuge- he couldn't afford Hibiki then.
Once we've had a drink like that, we tend to want to go back to that familiarity, like the arms of a lover who knows us, no matter taste nor price per shot.
Humans are nostalgic like that. It would taste bitter, like his hardship, but it would also taste sweet, like the victory he eventually found. People go to the bar to drink for all sorts of reasons. When I was a bartender I took care of them and in return I got to understand a lot about what people are really like after hours - hair let down, neckties loosened.
Will success always be tainted by the pain and sacrifice it took to reach it? It leaves a bitter aftertaste, like Black Label, but to some, there is a sweetness one can only intepret.