A really, really good Scotch

I was drinking single malt Scotch long before it became fashionable. The first time I purchased a 25-year bottle of Macallans it was only $79. Now it's about $500. This, I realize, dates me. Sometimes I am asked how I became a scotch drinker. Scotch is a man's drink, isn't it? Not that anyone ever says so directly. I find it humorous when entertaining a male client and my Scotch is set in front him. It is even better when he has to admit that the cosmopolitan is for him.

I truly love Macallans. I savor each sip, watching as my friends gulp their beer or house wine. They don't know what it is like to truly love their drink. My love is real. To prove it: I had a new 25-year bottle in its wooden crate as my focus point when I delivered my twins.

I also love a challenge. When I heard the Saint Paul Hotel had purchased four bottles of the new 55-year Macallans, I was determined to taste it.

Unfortunately, a $525 drink just isn't in my budget. I made a list of all my friends who love Scotch, then narrowed the list to those who could afford a $525 drink, those who would splurge, and those who might have an in with the St. Paul Hotel. As a Plan B, I offered up a plea to the universe, putting my desire to taste this Scotch out there in hopes that a higher power would intervene.

My time was running out. The Republican National Convention was less than a month away. Forty thousand rich Republicans who would not think twice about spending $525 would soon be taking over St. Paul. Those four bottles would surely be gone.

Then the universe answered.

At a summer happy hour I overheard a group next to me discussing Scotch. My radar was locked and loaded. An editor was looking for someone to write about the $500 Republican Scotch.

A 30-year Laphroaig, mellow with age. A 32-year Oban, warm and smooth. A 1968 Glenfarclas, sweet and subtle with vanilla. A 12-year bottle of Auchentoshan, spicy and flavorful.

And finally, the 55-year Macallans. Thank you.

I had known that I would like it, but had not imagined how much. It is liquid gold, smooth, rich and mellow.

My taste was finished. Fellow patrons waited for me to speak. I just sat in silence and enjoyed the moment. If I had anything to say, it was not to them, but to the universe:

Powerball next?