Four Roses Whiskey

After who knows how many days at sea, it was the time for port-a-call, and this time it was Rota Spain!  Now this was my first time in Rota, and given my 'track record' in Spain.  And probably because there was a Naval Base in Rota, I decided to try something different, as well as avoid any interaction with Shore Patrol. 

So with the thought of 'playing it cool' on this visit and after having 'befriended' Pat, who had a different attitude than many sailors.  His philosophy was to save money and only make one 'trip' ashore in each port, saving his money for his retirement.  This sounded good to me and made sense, so I thought I would do the same thing.  Pat's method, was to go ashore once in each port for a good meal and a glass of whiskey.  Now food and alcohol I was 'down' for, so decided to accompany Pat ashore, with my new 'method' in mind and only go for one good meal and a glass of whiskey.

After inquiring for the 'best' restaurant in town, it was decided it would be a good choice and headed ashore, all ready for a good meal and a glass of whiskey!  

Once there, it seemed obvious we had made a good choice!  After placing our order for dinner, we were asked what we wanted to drink.  Well of course the answer was Whiskey!  After naming off four or five 'popular American' brands, we were met with the response of 'No' each time.  So we asked, 'Do you have American whiskey?' And we were told, 'Yes.'  So commenced naming off two or three more possible brands.  At this point it was obvious the waiter was getting a little annoyed with us and our inquiries!

Throwing his hands in the air, he motioned to us to follow him.  We did and ended up at a 'large' table with all kinds of different liquors lined up.  Motioning to the the table and waving his had over the selection, he suggested we take our choice.  After looking over the selection, we chose the only bottle in the 'vast' selection with a label that claimed to be Kentucky Whiskey - in fact, the only bottle of whiskey on the table!  So we agreed upon this and proceeded back to the table.

All smiles, the waiter returned to bring us our glasses of American Whiskey.  Quite happy ourselves, Pat and I picked up the glasses before us and after a toast, hefted the glasses to our lips!  Almost as quickly as we had toasted and drank from the glasses, we removed them from our lips and looked at one another with the 'greatest' looks of disgust!  Without a doubt, Four Roses Whiskey was proof that all American Whiskeys are not the same!  So we sat 'sipping' our glasses of whiskey while we waited on our meals to arrive.

After delivering our meals to the table, the waiter asked if we wanted more whiskey!  Without even a moment's hesitation, we both nodded our heads and exclaimed 'No!'  While we enjoyed the meal, we sipped and 'enjoyed' our remaining whiskey!  

To say the 'night' was a total waste, would be a lie - the whiskey was a big disappointment, but at least the meal was good!  So we left to return to the ship - full, but still thirsty for American Whiskey.  

Definitely, I did save money and I did avoid any interaction with Shore Patrol, other than a nod when we passed them on the street  Maybe in the next pot............