...where distraction is the main attraction.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

WADD problems

I'm having WADD problems, and chances are likely many of you are too.

Have you been a little more anxious than usual lately?  Financial struggles, conflicts on the job, family trouble, and new relationship challenges can trigger advanced stress levels which in turn will distract you from your evening passion and lead to considerable WADD problems.  And in some instances WADD issues can even be related to trying to get another Handy or even some Dickel.

Whisky Attention Deficit Disorder strikes the best of us.  Sometimes we get caught up in news stories, blogs, and marketing (or is that redundant?).  Sometimes we can't stop chasing the rapidly expanding new bottles or the quickly disappearing old stuff.  Sometimes we feel like we have to stock up before our favorites are gone or double in price.  Or sometimes, SOMETIMES, a certain person puts all of his whisky energy into trying new things to expand and expand and expand his malt experience......and he loses patience with a full 750mL bottle of whisky.  Or all open bottles of whisky that he'd chased after and stocked up on.

Let us pretend that this hypothetical person has a blog called Diving for Pearls and let us use first person pronouns when discussing his WADD.

I have to believe that I'm not alone in having Whiskey Attention Deficit Disorder.  All you whisky bloggers, geeks, reps, writers, experts, self-appointed-experts, and producers have to run into this issue on a regular basis if you're trying new stuff every week.  If you say you've never had it, I won't call you a fibber, but I'll be pretty impressed.

There are usually four or fewer single malt bottles open simultaneously in my home.  I don't actually drink from them enough to polish one off in less than two months.  My quota is a dram a night (okay maybe two) and many of those drams are now from sample bottles.  Some nights, especially in summer, I'm more in the mood for wine or beer or (gasp!) mineral water.  So, I haven't been going to my open whisky bottles often.  So far I've been staying away from opening new big bottles, but I've been noticing that when I have a choice, I tend to head towards the sample stash first.  That act is totally silly since I really enjoy my open Tier 1 and 2 bottles right now.  But I'm so distracted by THE NEW that I need to make a focused effort to relax and appreciate what I have.  Meanwhile, those open whiskies I have sit silently gradually oxidizing (or maybe playing poker when I'm not looking).

The nine whiskies I reviewed in the past two weeks were part of the problem.  Yes, most of them were sampled while I was away from home, but they only enflamed the WADD upon my return.  I'll be returning to two reports a week, at most, unless I'm doing a Taste Off of multiples drams.  A Taste Off takes only one night, so I guess what I'm proposing (to myself) is two new-stuff nights a week at most.

Wow, what a First World Problem.  Actually, the real underlying issue is being satisfied with what I have.  Finding bliss in a moment devoid of new shiny things is my desire.  It's Slow Whisky, but specifically it is Slow Whisky with what is at hand.

No, I do not need to drink more.  I need to appreciate the present and allow the moment to wash everything else away, then maybe my WADD worries will be over.