From 30-year-old Glenfiddich to signature red-waxed glasses of Maker's Mark, the room is awash with the liquid results of malted and distilled grains--around seventy brands in all--each available at request to the more than 700 folks who've ponied up $65 to attend Malt Advocate magazine's WhiskyFest Chicago. But even early in the evening, the prospect of three-and-a-half hours of unfettered whiskey sampling take their toll: "I have to eat," one woman moans to her companion, as they head off toward strategically placed, carb-laden tables, looking for something to soak up the booze. Of course, many are simply tasting--smell, sip, toss. "That just seems silly," exclaims a jovial fellow between the Chivas and Wild Turkey tables as he downs a liberal portion. "Why the hell would I want to throw away good whiskey." Good point.

A more educational portion of the evening offers the chance to actually learn about what you're drinking--like you'd care, or even be able to pay attention, by that point. But it's still fairly early, and David Quinn, master distiller for Bushmills (the oldest licensed distillers of Irish Whiskey), offers witty commentary on the history and process of whiskey-making--the word, he says in his Irish lilt, comes from the Gaelic for "water of life." Figures.

But it gets difficult to concentrate on Quinn because, sitting in front of everyone, wine-tasting style, are six glasses about a quarter full. There's a Scotch ("You'll find it has smokier flavor, because they use peat in the malting process."), Jameson's, Black Bush (Bushmills' blended whiskey) and three levels of aged Bushmills (regular, 10-year and 16-year). We were, Quinn confides as he knocks back his whiskey like water, supposed to be the first in America to taste the new Bushmills 21-year-old, but there was a small problem: "Let's just say the guys at customs are drinking our twenty-one-year-old," Quinn says.

The 16-year Bushmills, however, is no lightweight. "That's a major shock to the system," Quinn says gaily, noting the orange and marzipan aromas, and the hint of chocolate in the taste--the whiskey is "finished" or last stored in barrels that have once held port. "If you've been drinking blends and you jump right in there, you're in deep water."

The Irishman, however, can't get out of the room without answering one important question: "OK, you're laid out at your wake--what is the bottle under your casket?"

"You're asking me what they would drink at my wake?" Quinn laughs. Then turns to his glass of the Bushmills "deluxe" blend, Black Bush, which is about 18 percent single malt. "It's got a great flavor--the kind of whiskey you can drink all night." At the looks of the crowd, he amends, "Well, I can drink it all night, anyway."

Also by Elaine Richardson

MEET AND GREET
The service, based on a similar program in New York City, allows people to schedule visits with individual Chicagoans to take a turn around a specific area--choices include more than twenty neighborhoods, from Logan Square to Pullman.
(2002-04-18)

HOT AIR
How do 844 people die in the Chicago River--not the Lake, but the River? The idea is almost mind-boggling, but on a misty July morning in 1915, the fully overloaded passenger steamer Eastland, sitting at the Clark Street dock, tipped over.
(2002-04-11)

MR. BEAN
Doug Zell discusses coffee the way others discuss wine. "This is a coffee from New Guinea, so it should have sort of like a nice hoppy kind of nose," he says, taking a healthy drink.
(2002-04-04)

STREET TEAM
You've spent eight years making a film, and though it garnered awards at two different festivals, at the end of the day you've got a movie and no distributor. What now? If you're Gene Cajayon, you simply pick up the ball and run.
(2002-03-21)

FEEDING FRENZY
(2002-03-21)

POLL POSITION
(2002-03-14)

AD BUSTERS
(2002-03-14)

BAD NEWS
(2002-02-28)

HOT AIR
(2002-02-28)

HAIL TO THE CHIEF
(2002-02-14)

DOMESTIC BLITZ
(2002-02-14)

SLAV TO ART
(2002-01-31)