My First Experience of Drinking Whisky

Ralfy Mitchell recently uploaded a video on YouTube where he talks about the first time he experienced drinking whisky. It got me thinking to when I drank whisky for the first time.

As every Jewish person who goes to shul in the UK on Shabbos knows; after the service there is a Kiddush (communal festive meal), or at least there was before the pandemic.

Towards the end of the service, the aromas of sweet wine, bridge rolls, fish balls, smoked salmon, herring and pastries begin to waft through the air as the Kiddush committee sets up the food at the back, making your stomach rumble.

In my parent's shul and many others, I have been to, they assemble a number of little plastic cups and place them on trays, arranging them around the tables. Some are trays of sweet red wine, others are trays of yellow grape juice and others are Scotch Blended Whisky such as Grants or JW Red Label.

They always place labels on the trays but sometimes these can flip over onto their sides (or some naughty boy goes around switching them...hmm).

I wonder how many young kids, like me, got their first shock taste of whisky by picking up (by mistake) one of these cups, thinking it was grape juice? I remember the incident although I really don't know how old I was at the time. Maybe 8 or 9? Anyway, it was certainly a shock to the sense of a young boy. However, I remember thinking at the time that it smelled quite nice but tasted awful, burning my throat as it went down.

Who else had a similar experience? Let me know in the comments section below.