Enjoy whisky in Scotland and Ireland, the holy lands of whisky.
Haruki Murakami's Travel Essay

The era when traveling abroad once a year was commonplace was upended by COVID-19.
In these uncertain times, when will overseas travel be possible again, and whether it will even be safe to do so, let's find some vicarious satisfaction with Haruki Murakami's whiskey-infused travel essays.
"If Our Language Was Whiskey" is a completely revised version of "Haruki Murakami's Whiskey Holy Land Journey." It is an essay written by the Haruki couple while traveling to Scotland and Ireland, which can be called the "holy lands of whiskey," with whiskey as the theme, tasting their famous single malt whiskey and Irish whiskey to their heart's content, and observing the process of making the whiskey.


Why did Haruki Murakami consider Islay, Scotland, and Ireland to be the mecca of whisky? It's said that Ireland was the first country to produce whisky.
From around the 15th century, whiskey production technology began to be introduced to Scotland, and Islay, the closest island to Ireland, was the first to introduce the technology.
Ultimately, Ireland and the Scottish island of Islay can be said to be the two places where whisky was first produced.
Haruki set out to find these two regions with the belief that one can only enjoy the true flavor of any alcohol if one drinks it in the region where it is produced.

If our language were whiskey, we wouldn't have to suffer like this.
I will silently hold out the glass, and you just have to take it and pour it down your throat quietly.
So simple, so intimate, so precise.
But unfortunately, our language is just language, and we live in a world that is neither more nor less than language.
We are forced to talk about everything in the world as something else, sober and not drunk, and live within that limited framework.
But in exceptionally rare moments of happiness, our language can truly become whiskey.
And we—at least I—always live dreaming of such moments.
If our language were whiskey,
---From the "Preface"

“We don’t even drink whiskey at funerals,” says the Islay people.
“After the burial at the cemetery, we will offer drinks to those gathered and fill their glasses with whiskey brewed in this region.
Everyone empties it in one gulp.
The cold and lonely road back home from the cemetery, to warm up my body.
After everyone drinks, everyone throws their glasses on the rock and breaks them.
Don't break the whiskey bottle either.
Leave nothing behind.
That's the custom." When a child is born, people celebrate with whiskey.
And when someone dies, people empty their glasses of whiskey without saying a word.
That's Islay.
--- p.58~59

In short, there is no so-called 'correct' preservation method.
If the pub owner thinks, “In our pub, this is the right way to do things,” then locally it becomes the right thing to do.
That is why in the world of Ireland, countless pub definitions coexist.
I'm really surprised that so many pubs are able to operate in such a small country, but it's still amazing to see them all doing business.
It looks like everyone is drinking quite a bit.
And it seems like everyone has a clear preference.

--- p.97~98

There's something about the Irish culture that's a bit shy.
It doesn't directly demand of us any great emotion, awe, or deep thought—like, say, the Egyptian pyramids, the Greek temples, or the Niagara Falls.
The scenery is beautiful wherever you go, but strangely enough, it doesn't feel like it's been decorated in a cute, postcard-like way.
What Ireland's beauty offers us is closer to comfort and solace than to awe or wonder.
There are some people in this world (though not many) who take a while to open their mouths, but once they do, they tell a very interesting story in a gentle tone. Ireland is one of those countries.

--- p.119