“Hey Madeline,” Evelyn giggled trying to get her big sister’s attention. “What do the people in Throw Up town do?”

“What?” Madeline responded without even looking up from her Nancy Drew book.

Already starting to laugh before she could get the first few words out, “They throw up so hard that they poop their pants.”

“You’re gross, Evelyn,” Madeline said still retaining her glance.

Evelyn was on the floor at her feet laughing and Madeline was becoming noticeably annoyed. I watched from a distance, curious as to what Maddy might do.

“Hey Maddy,” Evelyn snickered again.

“What?!” This time Evelyn had pried into Madeline’s attention.

“What do the people in Throw Up town do?”

“I don’t care what they do, Evelyn, I’m trying to read,” Madeline said angrily.

Evelyn didn’t care. She wanted her big sister’s consideration, “After they throw up, they throw it at each other.”

“That’s just gross, Evelyn! Leave me alone!”

“I want you to come play school with me!”

“No, I’m reading.”

“You know what the people in Throw Up town do after they throw it at each other?”

“Leave me alone, Evelyn!”

“They roll around in it and throw up again!”

Coming to the realization that her six-year-old sister was in no mood to play alone and had plenty of energy for irritating her sister with intolerably gross stories about the irrational residents of a little town called “Throw Up,” Madeline caved.

“Okay, okay. But you can’t be a dog running through the school this time,” she said sternly. “You have to behave.”

“Okay, I will,” Evelyn smiled and both were off.

It was only a few minutes later that I heard a pretend dog barking and Madeline shouting, “That’s it, Evelyn! I quit!”

I honestly don’t know where Evelyn gets her feisty side. She was a wonderful baby, as sweet as could be, and yet she is a full-blooded princess who struts a deviant rule and does so as though she has nothing to lose. I already feel great sorrow for any future suitors who might cross her.

While the scene was unfolding, I figured I’d do a quick review of the Johnnie Walker Select Cask Rye Finish. You’ll notice that the bottle is nearly empty, and that’s because it’s all that remains from a sampler that my friends over at Merchants Gourmet Wine Shop in Fenton saved for me to consider.

Oddly, the Rye Cask Finish is partly similar to the event that just unfolded between my daughters.

I wanted to discern the subtle particulars but was pestered by an intruding astringency that definitely gave a “chemical” impression. I did manage to sense a hint of wood spice and a nip of the rye through the fog.

The pestering continues on the palate, but it opens up there with a more pleasant ferocity which sees the chemical tang dismissed and the ushering in of vanilla-soaked grains and citrus.

The finish is longstanding, all the while urging again and again that the Rye Cask Finish makes for a great friend, one worthy of setting aside other interests for an interlude.

And so with that, you need to know that I’ve never been much of a Johnnie Walker fan, but with the Rye Cask Finish edition I have a newfound appreciation for Mr. Walker’s efforts. He bullyragged me in this one until I gave it proper consideration, and so I did, and now I am intrigued enough to go along with him to school and give a try to the others that I’ve been avoiding.