Watching the videos of a few of the 400 whiskey reviews on YouTube, I noticed the reviewer repeatedly sloshing the glass and sniffing it. I had heretofore regarded this as a diagnostic measure, and grew irritated. "Enough already! You've either figured it out or you haven't. Taste the damn whiskey." Yet he sloshed a few more times, even after having started the tasting. It occurred to me for the first time that the sniffing was a pleasure in and of itself, regardless of whether it aided taste evaluation. Hmm.
So I tried it myself, and yes, this is true. Any number of sloshes and inhalations are enjoyable, right down to the end.
It reminded me of a friend's description of riding on a train in Turkey. A gentleman across the aisle had an orange peel, which he would squeeze just under his nose and inhale the oils of at long intervals. He stared out the window, he pressed the rind and inhaled deeply - nothing else for three hours. That has inspired me to express the oil from orange peel into my own nose from time to time. I doubt I could go three hours, even with a train view to assist. But I learned the point. There are simple sensory pleasures there if we will but take them.
2 comments:
That orange peel likely smelled a lot better than anything else on that train. Beautiful woman with good perfume would be better, but she's unlikely to let you sniff her more than once.
Also, strong citrus smells are a simple remedy against motion sickness. (I had hyperemesis while pregnant, so I have mad skillz when it comes to public vomiting...)
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