One of the great single malt scotch whiskeys. Diageo bought the distillery, and couldn't keep up with the demand. Their solution? They changed the Cardhu label from "single malt" to "pure malt," then began making the whiskey by adding product from other distilleries, hoping no one would care.

The other distilleries went ballistic, saying that this threatened the entire industry, muddying the water, so to speak, of the individuality of each distillery's product.

Currently, Glenfiddich has 20.9% of the market for single-malt scotch; Glen Grant has 10.8%, The Glenlivet 9.8%, Cardhu 7.9%, The Macallan 7.1%, Glenmorangie 7.0%, Aberlour 5.2%, and all the other brands, of which there are myriad, 31.3%.

Over the years, I have tried to learn to like scotch, but simply can't get past the powerful burn. Beer is as far as I go, about 1 every month: I hate the sleepiness and cloudy-headedness that follows. Wine: a rare glass, if I'm out.

The thing is - and this goes for drugs as well - I feel totally ready to do anything anytime 24/7: I've been that way since college. So, if I'm not gonna lose my inhibitions because I don't have any, why bother drinking?

Much better to be with others who do, so they can play on my field.