Opinion
Scots take over ambassador's residence
By: Jeff Dufour
Editor at Large/Columnist, "Yeas & Nays"
12/05/08 12:05 AM EST
We'll drink to that"Thanks to the Scots, it's the loudest group we've had here in a long time," said British Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald on Wednesday, as he hosted a tasting of Scotch at his residence.
Yet the Englishman was quick to admit, "As you can tell from my accent, I can't profess any connection to Scotland."
He left that to Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, who gave the crowd the soft sell by noting that even in recession, Scotch remains an "affordable indulgence. Noting that we were approaching the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, he pointed out that the 18th Amendment is the only one we've ever repealed -- a riff picked up by Robin Naysmith, head of Scottish Affairs at the British Embassy.
"The American experience proves that you cannot legislate a people into sobriety," said Naysmith.
