Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember how excited I was to move to Los Angeles back in 2019, how new everything felt, and that pressing feeling in my gut each time I would explore a neighborhood. For one solid year, my wife and I were on cloud nine, drinking at new bars, eating at new restaurants, and meeting new people. Then came the pandemic and everything ended. We stayed mostly at home for the next two years and slowly we lost the bubbling enthusiasm that had given us so much happiness for that fleeting time.

Even now, when I drive from Burbank to Pasadena, I have to remind myself that the greater Los Angeles area is still out there waiting to be discovered. I have to forcefully change my mindset to remember how enthralling it felt to be in a new city with so much potential. It’s a mental exercise that requires serious effort. Now and then I can recapture it, for a few minutes here and there, but it’s a slow process. COVID did a lot more than remove our ability to smell and taste; in many cases it also removed our ability to feel.

Being back in Glasgow for the last two days has been nostalgic and rewarding, but it hasn’t provided me the immediate jolt of excitement I was expecting. Much like with Los Angeles, I have to first remember that original feeling of passion and energy in order to identify and rekindle it within me. The pandemic turned many people into hobbyists, collectors, psuedo-savants, and hoarders—me included. Being stuck at home, I began exploring all sorts of new categories like watches and cigars, diving in with a fervor that felt genuinely emotional at the time, but was really just filling an emotional hole. Once that hyper-powered consumerism settled in, it became hard to remember why we once did other things. “We have extra money and we’re bored” became a disingenuous rallying cry.

Now that we’re back in society, taking off our masks, and slowly getting back to pre-pandemic activities, I’m starting to remember how fun whiskey used to be back before it turned into a pissing contest for bros on social media. Pouring drams with old friends at the Bon Accord last night in Glasgow, drinking cask ales in between, brought back that tingle in my belly. Getting up early this misty morning, walking down the Clyde riverbank with a damp windbreaker, and inhaling the warm whisky aromas emanating from the Clydeside distillery evoked a nostalgia that almost made my knees buckle.

It’s never a given that a youthful passion will burn eternally. Some romances last decades, while others fizzle out in weeks. The best relationships often take work, despite what people think. When times get tough, you remember what made you fall in love in the first place and you use those memories to remind yourself what’s worthwhile. Scotch whisky is worth the effort.

-David Driscoll