Scotch Reminder

The sky was cloudy that afternoon in the Scottish Highlands when I visited a scotch distillery about an hour's drive from Glasgow many years ago. It was autumn, and a slight drizzle of rain came from those dark clouds. Walking up a gravel road to the main entrance, an elderly gentleman wearing a tweed hat and a wool sweater greeted me. "Good afternoon to ya. Welcome to Scotland!" he said with a strong but warm handshake. We waited a moment for more people to arrive, and then my host introduced himself to the group, and we began our visit to the distillery.

We learned about the stills, the oak casks, and the different techniques for producing scotch. Our visit ended in a small tasting room where our guide poured the group some scotch that had been aged for 15 years. Before we enjoyed our sample, the elderly Scotsman gave us instructions and tips on how to drink the spirit properly.

"Now, one last thing, lad," he said. "Remember that we've been working on this for over 15 years. Please, in the name of all that is good, dinna pour Coke all over it and ruin it!"

I don't get to buy myself a bottle of scotch often; whenever I do, I'm reminded that a lot of hard work and patience went into creating something extraordinary.

Good things take time.

There is hidden power in patience.