scotch night

Tonight we *finally* broke open the Zeus Jones Scotch-tasting kit that we got during the holidays. We invited a handful of friends over, downloaded the app and had a bunch of tasty snacks on hand to "cleanse the palette" between tastings.The way the app works is you taste each Scotch blindly, mark how the flavor works on the app and guess which Scotch it is that you're having. Frankly, this was a total crap shoot. It was very interesting though that the women all seemed to like some brands and the men loved others that the women hated. One in particular we ladies thought tasted and smelled like turpentine, while the men loved it. Fascinating.Then at the end, the app matches up your guesses with the Scotch and determines a winner. Lo and behold, Andrea and I were the winners! And we were stunned because it was fairly obvious that neither one of us knew what the hell we were doing. And, um, then someone pointed out how did the game know which Scotches we were drinking?And it was at that point we realized that we didn't drink them in the same order that we entered them into the app, and clearly that's how you're supposed to play.But whatever! The computer said I won, so I'm going with that ;).A few notes for anyone out there who might decide to host such an event (anyone can download the app for free, and it comes preloaded with a ton of Scotches on there, so no need to have the official Zeus Jones kit):1. Andrea was a genius and brought Ginger Beer to have between tastings. This had the perfect sweetness and very light compared to the paint thinner Scotch we were tasting. Great idea.2. Um, obviously you should taste the Scotches in the order you entered them into the iPad app.3. In the beginning the game gives you definitions of the "terms" used to describe Scotch (rich, smokey, smooth, etc.). Take notes on these words and their meanings to refer to later.4. Each bottle only holds 2 oz., and I was worried that wouldn't be enough for 8 of us. I was way wrong -- a little taste of Scotch goes a long way. One kit would probably last for 10-12 people.And if you want to see more photos from the night, they are up over here. Now go get the app and host your own tasting!