Tasted single-malt whisky

Once, 20 years ago, I drank some blended Scotch one evening when (1) I had consumed other types of alcoholic beverages and (2) I was on one of the worst dates of my life. Halfway through the evening, my date said, "You have flaws. I like that." At the end of the evening, when I was (mercifully) home alone, I got very sick. Was it the Scotch? Was it the other liquor? Was it the man? Or a combination of all three. Who knows, but I've steered clear of Scotch since.

Then, on April 4, 2009, I lifted the self-imposed moratorium on Scotch by attending a whisky-tasting at Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson, Wyo., with the Wyoming Highlanders, a Scottish-American organization. The four single-blends pictured above on the bar of Spring Creek's restaurant, The Granary, with the Tetons behind, initiated me into the world of high-end Scotch.

I enjoyed the first two, found it hard to get through the next two, but ended up (1) not sick and (2) with a new beverage in my repertoire. I can't say single-blend whisky will ever be my first choice, but now I have another new thing: If someone asks if I like single-malts, I can truthfully, sort of, say yes. It seems so sophisticated.