Start it all over again

Some nights you just want to be with someone familiar and trusted. Someone you can relax with, knowing they won't disappoint you. Those nights come at the end of too-long days, within weeks of doubt and shifting perspective. Tonight, being one of those nights, when everything seems to be falling short and fading away, I return to my Talisker Storm.


I've been thinking much lately on transformation and metamorphosis and rebirth - the phoenix and the butterfly. There is something so primally universal in the idea of becoming so much more. Something that speaks to our mortal selves, inspiring us to strive and try again, no matter what, to transcend all the failures and less-thans of our past and step into all we ever dreamed of being.

A friend of mine was traveling in Scotland when I was in Ireland. He heard a singer while there named Jo Philby. One of her songs really struck me, and fits with the theme:

Start It All Over Again

It's a good song for these kinds of nights, and if you find yourself in similar place, cozy up with a warm spirit and take solace in her sweet voice.

It's been a while since I've tasted the Talisker. I tried to remember what it was like the first time, and wondered if it would be the same tonight...  It was different, but really still just as good. The nose didn't seem quite as I remembered; the smokiness wasn't as apparent. This time I was comparing to the last one and realized there is a brightness to Talisker which I think is a key point in why I like him so much. All of the elements that I remember still flowed in the flavor: smoky, slightly sweet, spicy. Absolutely still my favorite.

I will sleep well tonight, knowing that even within the shifting senses of what is right and wrong, there still remains a familiar friend, comforting and true.