Q's Quest to Nothing

Empathy [em-fa-thee] | noun 1. the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. 2. the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself:   By means of empathy, a great painting becomes a mirror of the self.   COL Christopher McGowan said, as part of his parting speech from Afghanistan, “The hardest thing we do here is communicate.   If we communicate, everything else is easy.”   This was expressed in reference to our military efforts in Afghanistan and his vantage point as Chief of Engineering for U.S. Forces, Afghanistan (USFOR-A).   In most situations, we don't have a technical problem - we have a communication problem. It is true there and remains accurate in all facets of life.   If we communicate better, the world will be a better place.   If one strives to learn the art of communication, one will inevi...

 Humbug [ huhm-buhg ] | noun • something intended to delude or deceive. • the quality of falseness or deception. • a person who is not what he or she claims or pretends to be; impostor. • something devoid of sense or meaning; nonsense: a humbug of technical jargon. verb (used with object), hum·bugged, hum·bug·ging. • to impose upon by humbug or false pretense; delude; deceive. verb (used without object), hum·bugged, hum·bug·ging. • to practice humbug. Adapted from The Importance of Living (Lin Yutang, 1937):  There is a wealth of humbugs in this life, but the multitudinous little humbugs have been classified by Chinese Buddhists under two big humbugs: fame and wealth. There is a story that Emperor Ch'ienlung once went up a hill overlooking the sea during his trip to South China and saw a great number of sailing ships busily plying the China Sea to and fro. He asked his minister what the people in those hundreds of ships were doing, and his minister replied ...

  Nose: Deep-ingrained sweetness with a backdrop of oak. Slight spice to the nose in both heat and grassy undertones – likely the rye was coming out. There is a light other air of sweetness that reminds me of Grandma’s cooking – a warmth and comfort that almost smiles at you.   Mid-palate: Again, that deep caramelized brown sugar that as you finish and wait, it seems to go straight down your chest and start to warm the whole body. I feel like I just got hugged by someone dear to me. There is the Kentucky hug, but that reminds me of more like a dad hugging you tight and saying, let me talk to you about Whiskey, son. This hug is more of a loving embrace from a smiling Grandma – gentle, but loving while in the backdrop, you can smell her cooking. Slight tons of earth and grassiness in the backdrop, which may be the rye, but it is a backdrop while letting the sweet heat characteristic shine in the front. Beyond all that, you can taste the intermingled oak tha...

Nose: A distinctly sweet nose that possesses the normal Weller wheat sweetness... yet a little feel of a sweetness that reminds me of when you taste some sugar rock - the type my mom used to use in cooking (slightly yellow chunks of sugar). A little swirl and the slightly spicy note comes on, the nose isn’t overly complex yet reminds me of a warm summer day somehow.   Palate: For an item that is 97 proof, there is more of a punch to it. Reminds me of a heat spike similar to Blanton’s gold. The palate is very reminiscent of your average Weller, but the mouthfeel exceeds its breatharians, definitely unexpected for an item that is lower proof in nature. The second sip, you can taste more depth and a spicy note that isn’t necessarily common to your average Weller – that additional sip seems to offer warmth in the chest that lingers. The more you sip, the flavor appears to build upon itself. Before long, it reminds me of a baby Larue. If you know how to heat-manipulate...

Sojourn [ noun soh-jurn; verb soh-jurn, soh-jurn ] Noun: a temporary stay: during his sojourn in Paris. Verb (used without object): to stay for a time in a place; live temporarily   My dad regularly expresses, "Tạm kỵ cư," which roughly translates to "temporary home" or sojourn.   The essence and demeanor when he expresses this saying in Vietnamese alludes to the ephemeral nature of life and that we are all just taking a temporary stop in this world on our journey of being.   Life, itself, is a sojourn rather than the sojourns in life.   It is cliché to say, "Life is short," but that truth can quickly be forgotten.   Indeed, life can be short-lived... and that thought has been a notion that passed my mind much in recent years.   On passing (somewhere in 2014), out of the blue, my dad said, "Ba có cỡ mười năm nữa thôi.   Ba mong rằng ba có thể thấy được ngày con thành thân..." (I have a good ten years left.   I hope that I will see t...

Nose: Sweet with spicy floral notes on the front.   Then hotness that comes, but unlike most that seem to give you the burning sensation in the nostril, it seems to get denser without overwhelming you – finishing with a slight grassiness.     Mid-palate:   Is it possible to have something dense but yet simple as well?   It feels like there are so much depth and layers, but nevertheless, it feels simplistic - like watching an excellent athlete perform an incredible move effortlessly. There is a distinctive grassiness that reminds me of Sazerac 18yr (a subtle light earthy tones) yet also has the element of a heat reminiscence of GTS (forceful strong strength that may overwhelm if one isn't prepared). When I try to pinpoint the profile, it seems to be multiple notes intermingled together and swirls in the mouth, a comprehensive mouthfeel that offers a numbing impact and seems to overwhelm.   Sweetness, bitterness, sour, floral, grassy… There are things tha...