“Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses” is easily one of my favorite verses, and pretty much sums up how I feel about beer, although I think the horses deserve better.

Whether drowning sorrows or about to kill someone, a lot of country singers sing about whiskey. Whiskey may have been a gentile drink in Scotland, but here in America, it goes with cowboy hats, wranglers, and saloons. And songs about heartache, revenge, and lost love.

“I put some whiskey in my whiskey” is my theme song to loneliness. You know the days. And who hasn’t had a couple of glasses at the bar with a mind singing (or at least feeling), “Whiskey River, take my mind. Don’t let her (his) memory torture me.” Whiskey is something you drink alone thinking of someone else. Or, in “The Gambler,” something you drink with an odd stranger you meet on a train.