Whisky! (and to a lesser extent, whiskey)

Don't know the difference between whiskey and whisky? Not to fret, neither did I as little as 2 months ago. Since then, I've researched, studied, purchased and even presented some. You see, the spelling "whisky" is only used to refer to Scotch whereas "whiskey" can cover the broader spectrum, including Bourbon and others. The spread you see above is what I wound up getting - 28 bottles in total.

I can't say everything went totally as planned without a hitch - we were supposed to have a guy present the tasting process itself, but he cancelled so I wound up doing that in Japanese and English, all by my lonesome. I was sooo mentally pooped at the end of the first round, but luckily my boss told me I could partake in the festivities myself like a good host should. The more I drink the easier it is to speak Japanese, so by the end of it I was presenting all bilingual without a care in the world! Besides the layout, planning and purchasing, I did the tasting explanation and the breakdown on the different types we were serving. We had a contest on who could guess which was which without looking at the labels, and the winner got to take home the bottle of his choice - I think he walked home with half a bottle of 18-year Glenfiddich. I myself took home about 6 bottles, which I shall save for a rainy day. ;P

Then of course no function in Japan is complete without the obligatory after party, which took place in none other than Sendai. The train ride was fun, as you can see from the picture. After a little wandering around trying not to get miffed at everyone's general gaijinness (ie: beligerance), we overlooked an Irish bar and settled on an all night karaoke place not too far from the station. Good times were had by all, including a Japanese guy we picked up along the way.

Oh, and for those of you that thought I should go up and get a picture with the cosplay girls I mentioned in an earlier entry (or was that just me?), upon the prodding of my neighbor Jo I went up and got a picture with some girl dressed up like a character from Evangelion. Yeah.