London: June 29th, 2011

It's the summer of 2011. My wife and I are vacationing in London. Wimbledon is in full swing. I've been drinking Pimm's Cups all day long. I meet my friend John Glaser from Compass Box at a bar in SoHo called HIX. We sit at the counter and taste two custom blends that he's prepared for the restaurant, both stewing in giant glass jugs upon the bar.

"You can make your own blended whiskies on-premise in the UK?" I ask in astonishment. 

"Of course!" John answers. "We're not nearly as regulated over here."

I sit in silence for a few moments thinking.

"We should do a blend with you," I spit out. "One for K&L, I mean."

"We should definitely think about doing something like that down the road," John answers.

-David Driscoll