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How Whiskey Geeks Appear to Outsiders

The other day I was shopping at the grocery store. As I was putting a container of cottage cheese in my cart, I was approached by a young man who said, "Can I help you find something?"

"Thanks. I'm fine."

He continued, "Is that Dairy World Cottage Cheese you've got there?"

I looked at the label and responded, "Um, yeah, I guess it is."

"You may not be aware of this, but even though they call it 'Dairy World,' they don't have a dairy. They're just a company that buys cottage cheese from another dairy and puts their own label on it. It's total BS."

"Okay, does it taste bad?"

"Not necessarily. It's really about the deception. And they use a filtering process to sort out the smaller curds."

"Is that bad?"

"A lot of us feel that the filtering takes away from the richness, full mouth feel and balance we expect from a good cottage cheese."

"But it's just cottage cheese."

"Well, as a real fan of cottage cheese, I like to make sure people know what they're getting. The other issue is they use a soy-based additive to add texture and color."

"Is that bad for you?"

"No, but it's an unnecessary additive to make it seem 'smooth' for people who don't know anything about cottage cheese."

"But I like smooth cottage cheese."

"No, no you don't. Here, try this one, Healthy Cow; it's got no additives, it's unfiltered and they make it themselves."

"But it's $25."

"Good cottage cheese takes time and effort to make. And hey, that's a bargain compared to what some of the special releases cost...if you can find them."

"You know, I'm just looking for something basic so I think I'm going to stick with the $5 one, but I really appreciate your help, and I'm glad that the people who work here have so much knowledge about the products."

"Oh, I don't work here."

"Okay, I'll be going now."

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