If You're An Enneagram 1, This Is The Cocktail You Must Try
If you're having trouble figuring out what your next go-to cocktail should be, your Enneagram type might just be the place to start. The Enneagram is a personality test, similar to the Myers Briggs test. Knowing your Enneagram type can help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, and which other Enneagram type you're most compatible with. But living life based on your Enneagram doesn't have to be all serious all the time. The Enneagram is a popular talking point not just at work but out on the town, too. At your next happy hour, change up your routine by ordering a cocktail based on your Enneagram type.
Enneagram Type Ones, also known as The Reformers, are "the rational, idealistic type" (according to the Enneagram Institute). Type Ones value high quality not just in themselves and their work but in everything they interact with, including a good cocktail. Known for their perfectionist tendencies, only the best will do for an Enneagram Type One.
Scotland's best (and make it neat)
According to Inspired By This, for Enneagram Type Ones, the simplicity and reliability of a glass of scotch, neat, fits the bill. There's plenty of options when picking your spirit of choice, but for someone looking for a high-quality liquor with a warm aroma and smoky, bittersweet finish, Scotland-made scotch is the way to go. Enneagram Type Ones, with their key motivation "to be right," would likely be the one to tell you the difference between bourbon, whiskey, and scotch (per the Enneagram Institute). Scotch must be made in Scotland to receive its title, and the Scottish practice of whiskey distillation has been fine-tuned to create blends that don't need a mixer.
Even under the single umbrella of scotch, you'll be able to find plenty of diverse flavors to suit your palette. "There's been a blurring of the lines in terms of flavor profiles, and there's experimentation going on," Pouring with Heart spirit guide Pedro Shanahan told Liquour. "It's exciting," he went on. "[I]t makes it more of an adventure for a novice who wants to start exploring scotch."
Not just for the boys
While scotch is typically viewed by society to be a more masculine drink, there are no strict gender roles to be enforced when it comes to drinking whiskey. However, diving into whiskey and scotch culture can be intimidating at first, so it helps to start out with a few helpful hints.
The first is obvious: scotch, bourbon, and whiskey are not the same thing. Each is made in its own specific way, with scotch being made only in Scotland. Honest Food Talks recommends starting out with a non-smoky flavored scotch if you're new to the scene. This "unpeated" scotch is ideal for beginners since its taste and aroma won't be as intense as more peated counterparts (according to Honest Food Talks).
When taking a whiff of your scotch, be sure the glass isn't too close to your face and that you don't breathe in too much. The harsh alcohol smell could light a newly-minted scotch drinker's nostrils on fire. Inhale gently and get familiar with the scents. And if scotch neat is still too much, that's okay. Adding water is a respectable practice for a scotch newbie. Even bars in Scotland keep water at the bar to put in scotch (according to Honest Food Talks).