I love when I’m unintentionally ‘on trend’. think to myself what has taken people so long, I’ve been doing something for years, blah, blah, blah. My faux sense of ‘superiority’ is real, I feel way cooler than I am. And of course reality brings me right back to truth. 

Imagine my delight when I stumbled across an article on the benefits of mindfulness drinking – you engage all of your senses; you live in the moment and you experience a true appreciation of the drink by allowing yourself the benefit of picking up all of the notes.

I do this every time I try a new bourbon. I have a favorite glass; I make sure the young prince is occupied and I go into my living room to relax and taste.

 I smell the bourbon to see what hits the nose first. I tend to pick up a lot of baking spices; though that may be my sweet tooth making itself known. I take my first sip and see what comes to mind first. The second sip allows me to dig a little deeper into the flavors. I’ve done this ritual for a long time. By the second sip, I usually know if this will be a front of the bar bottle (I like it) or a tucked away bottle (not so much). If it falls in the latter category, I wait a few weeks and repeat again. Surprisingly there have been instances where the bottle struck differently the second time and I end up enjoying it a lot more.

 If there is any good that has come from the pandemic, it has forced us to slow down. Enjoy the small things, be it a smaller pod of people, running to the grocery to get out of the house or an intentional, mindful tasting of bourbon.

Try it. Tell me what you think.

Cheers,
~Kimberly Elise

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