Introduction to the 12 whiskey days of Christmas

We have all heard of advent calendars, usually reserved with the youth among us with chocolate for the 12 or 24 days leading up to Christmas. I have in the past done an advent calendar, with the help of my lovely wife. I asked her to pick 24 whiskies and place them in 2 oz sample jars and drink one each night. I would have no clue the whiskey, she would only reveal once I had finished my dram. This spawned a unique and ambitious quest to this alcohol themed gift.

I would take 12 whiskies from my collection and showcase stories or meaningful insights into the lure behind the liquid. I chose 12 days because let’s be honest it’s not easy to set aside a quiet moment for every night in December leading up to Christmas but maybe we can make an exception for just 12 nights. Amongst these 12 bottles rest special liquors, some with super aged whiskey, some with incredible stories, and others might have special meanings to someone special in our lives. A few of these drams took me quite some time to procure. Others are staples in my collection. There are also a few that quite frankly you might never get your hands on in a store.

I first came up with a rudimentary idea that involved a piece of paper with the whiskey name, that slowly evolved into a picture of the bottle, then the notes manifested themselves, finally I contacted a buddy and a website with QR codes was born. You heard right, I created a website for our 12 whiskey days of Christmas, with QR codes. The goal is to drink the bottle for the corresponding day of the month. Once you have tried it, scan the QR code associated with that drink and it will take you to my website with a picture and my notes on the bottle. Robbin asked, “Why would you go through so much for a gift?” I told her it was no trouble really. But honestly the truth is I enjoyed every moment of it.

People may look at my collection and think, “well an alcoholic lives here.” The truth is so much deeper. Each bottle in my collection has a story, whether it’s my story of hunting the bottle at stores, or the story of how this whiskey was created in a distillery. When you put meaning behind a glass it elevates the moment and creates something more meaningful. My goal is to show off my bottles and introduce y'all to whiskies you may not have enjoyed before. But ultimately this advent will give you an insight into my world, our family and showcase moments in our lives that we may have forgotten or have yet to experience.

So in short, I hope the next 12 days you can take a few minutes to set aside for yourself and just enjoy the moment, enjoy the whiskey, and slow everything down. Cheers.