I started to really get into whiskey about 15 years ago. My good friend was the GM at CB Hannegins and on slow nights, we’d sample and he’d teach me everything he knew about scotch: the different regions, flavor profiles, water sources, etc. That started me down the path. Around the same time, I had another friend who was managing a great whiskey bar in Santa Cruz and when he’d get new shipments in, we would sample and write out the tasting profiles and descriptions for the bar menu. He taught me how to really taste whiskey and how to break it down in to it’s various parts. Then about 10 years ago, on my honeymoon in St. Martin, I found several bottle shops that had “for export only” whiskies and that started my love of collecting and hunting rare bottles. I came back from that trip with about 6 bottles. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find an over 600 bottle collection in the front room of my house. My wife sent in some photos to Whiskey Advocate after I completed setting up the parlor in our new house and they loved it so much, I was in their spring 2022 edition that featured several home bars from across the country.