I woke up this morning hung over.  I’m sure I was a little drunk too.

I vaguely remember my wife grabbing me a pillow and a glass of Liquid IV as I lay on the kitchen floor, petting my dogs.  Two Husky mutts that shed so much that they asphyxiate the Roomba.

Looking back on a proper night in the Hi-Dez, Three Prickly Pear Hard Seltzers from Pappy & Harriets. Two Guinness at The Red Dog Saloon. One clarified New York Sour at The Copper Room…..

However, I started my evening with an exceptional glass of distilled malted barley that’s been aged for 15 years in an oak barrel that once held Olorosso Sherry.

The rule of thumb for any true professional drinker is to always start with the best, first.  It’s an age-old mistake made by everyone at some point.

You begin with swill or some sugary ass drink. A couple of those and when you start feeling good, you then decide to order the most delicate and probably the most expensive drink of the night!

I don’t make that mistake anymore unless it’s intentional.

So now I find myself face-to-face with the best, first.

I’ve been to many distilleries around the world, but I’ve yet to go to Springbank.

I assume it’s a magical place. I do know that it’s located in Campbelltown, Scotland, making whisky legally since 1828.

I also know the quickest way to get there is in a glass.

I’ve always been fascinated with geography. Sometimes I’ll pull out maps or just look on my phone at far off lands just to see where rivers start and where they end.  One of the reasons I got into spirits in general was because all these distilleries around the world are in rural, isolated far off places. That’s mostly because when they first started operations, they were illegal so they sought out places where they couldn’t be found or more importantly taxed.

As I swirl the glass of Springbank 15-year-old in my hand, I get scents of prosciutto, BBQ, and mint.

The taste is even better. Figs, walnuts, and chocolate.

Finally, it leaves a nice lingering finish  of Demerara sugar and peat.

It took that whiskey 15 years to get to my hand.  I’m not even counting how old the tree was before it was made into a barrel. The proper respect due to this first drink of the night cannot be understated.

It makes me think about where I was 15 years ago?

Fortunately, modern technology allows me to look back into my photo archives and exactly pinpoint where I was. I was a server in Los Feliz in Los Angeles. at a little French bistro called Figaro. I was slanging Quiche Lorraine‘s and Croque Madame’s to the likes of Gary Oldman and James Franco.

Although I have to say my favorite meeting was Vivian Campbell, the guitarist from Def Leppard.

My favorite band growing up before I discovered Led Zepplin.  I worked up the courage while Vivian was exiting out the door to say, hey Vivian! I’m a huge fan and thank you!  Vivian turned back to me and said with his thick Northern Irish accent, “Well thank you very much!” That was all I needed to make my day.

Funny enough, Vivian was born in a small town called Lisburn in Northern Ireland, which is only 73 miles away as a crow flies from Springbank Distillery.

As for Figaro Bistro, it’s an exceptional restaurant and the only job I’ve ever walked out of. I didn’t quite like how management treated people at the time.

After a drink like Springbank 15, the evening is already a guaranteed success. A trip down memory lane and now you can move forward and crack a beer and bum a dart from the bartender.  Wake up with your mouth tasting like an ashtray and hopefully do it all over again…. soonish. Making memories.

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Jeffery Baker is a lifelong hospitality professional whose resume spans from one of Indiana’s finest Dairy Queen and Aurelio’s Pizza. Then to Hollywood Billiards, Figaro Bistro to curating a Japanese Omakase style whiskey library speakeasy in downtown Los Angeles all the way out to the High Desert as a managing partner of The Red Dog Saloon, The Copper Room and Lord Fletchers Inn.