Matt talked about doing some bourbon trail tastings before. The TNE crew drinking together would either be awesome or disastrous. Or disastrawesome. Awestrous?
I have a problem. When I get interested in something, I go in full bore to learn about it. For beer, that's just meant drinking a lot of it.
We like similar beers, though. I'm a porter/stout guy for the most part. Lagers and brown ales for variety.
Wine makes for a fantastic drunk. Not quite as fuzzy as a beer drunk, not as sharp as a whiskey drunk. I should get some two-buck Chuck.
Pshaw, the Scots usually use a bit of water. It opens up the flavor a little more, and actually lets you taste more of what the whiskey has to offer.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/scotch-drinking-tips-053012
Plus, unless you're drinking cask-strength whiskey, you've always been drinking watered-down spirits. They always water them down to get to 40% ABV.
That Maker's 46 is a damn nice bourbon, though. I prefer the original, but the 46 is great if you dig oak.
Speaking of Maker's and watering down...they're now offering a cask-strength bottling. Which is insane and hard to find, but I can't wait to try it out.