I knew Andy back in my secondary school days, but it was towards graduation we started to get close and were able to keep in touch even though I went Singapore for further study while he pursue his locally.
We share lots of things in common, but to keep to the theme of this blog, I would like to share the what me and Andy consider the ultimate enjoyment in life… please refer to the picture below if you are not sure of what I am saying.
Back to the study days in Singapore, I used to go back Penang during most of the term break, and we will meet up, grab some beers and catch up with each other. Well, still a student, we don’t have much budget to drink out, so 9 out of 10 we will just get dozen of beers, stock in the fridge of my house and start our drinking session at night. Though no picture were taken during our gathering (no phone with cam, and certainly no digicam), I miss those days a lot, no much worries, the sole focus is just on academic. Conversation was mostly on girls, some funny and stupid things we did, gossip… all ended with good laughter.
As both of us graduated, we headed 2 different ways; he’s into business while I am in the “blue collar”. Still, we kept in touch as usual. There was one occasion where I’m inside the airport deciding on a bottle of whisky for dad (he is a big fan of malts), I got my first bottle of single malt, Glenfiddich 18 YO. Not an out-standing choice to be frank, but it’s enough to drive me into the wonderful worlds of spirits. Extensive studies on all sorts of spirits available were done ever since. Well, I do have some interest in spirits before that, tried some vodka, tequila, gin, rum, American Bourbon & Tennessee, Irish, blended malts… but with very little knowledge on them.
I still remember that the first sipping spirit I ever intro to Andy, the Bacardi 8 rum, he fell in love instantly! Soon, we share the same passion for 3 drinks, Whisky, Rum & Champagne. Every time I am back to Penang, it’s me with a bottle of XXX and says “dude, you got to try this…” Just like back in the colleague days, we gathered to drink and chat at night whenever I am back, however, as the liquid in our glass is getting more “posh”, our conversation is getting emotional at the same time, career, frustration, worries, financial, politics, prospect… let’s not too carried away with this.

The above picture is a small little “rest & recreation” corner that I helped Andy to set up in his office, as you can see, some rums, malts and beers… and of course, 2 hand cut crystal glass, courtesy of ahhup.
We have awfully same taste buds when come to drinks, if the drink is not up to my liking, I can forget about sharing it with him. There was once Andy told me, “you should know how much I spent of glassware”, I replied him “well, you can keep the figure to yourself, while I keep mine” This is how persistent we are in glassware to maximize the enjoyment.
As much as we love to drink, we have 2 strict rules to follow when come to this, first, NO DRINK AND DRIVE, because we believe in drink responsibly and second, DRINK IN MODERATION. The later have a story behind, there was once we were having this new bottle of CR 18, awesome malt by the way, as shown in the above picture; we have the idea of finishing the bottle in that night. Well, we achieved it, with me woke up and vomited around 4am in the morning, while he have horrible hangover the next day. Me? Just a little, may be due to the ability to vomit. The most important thing is both came to a conclusion that this is not the way to enjoy any alcohol. I know lots of people whom always love to drink over their limit, well, what’s the point of doing that? I once saw a guy lying dead drunk on the street side near pubs and discos, with his head soak in big pile of vomit (my best guess is the vomit belongs to him, you?) trust me, drinking will not get any more exciting than this…
So, with the 2 strict rules, where we end up drinking? Well, either his place or mine. Whenever we hit the limit, bedrooms are just steps away… Of course, with the exceptional malt collection in our place, let’s continue in part 2
ahhup
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