R.W. Peake Talks Scotch

By Richard Thomas

From Hunter S. Thompson to Mark Twain, American writers have had a storied association with whiskey. This is so much the case that Ernest Hemingway once advised colleagues to “write drunk and edit sober,” and although most writers enjoy a more moderate intake than the rakish author of For Whom the Bell Tolls, the connection between writing and a wee glass of whiskey is an indelible one.

So it is with R.W. Peake, author of the popular Marching With Caesar series of military historical fiction. A former marine, Peake cites famed Westerns author Louis L’Amour, also a whiskey-drinker, as his principal literary influence. It follows that Peake himself is fond of a dram of good scotch every now and again.

RT: From what you told me before, you’re mostly a Scotch guy, but what do you think of the whiskeys that are closer to home, like Bourbon and Rye?

RWP: I’m sorry to say that I’m something of a virgin when it comes to hard liquor other than single malts, and I came to single malts pretty late in life. Because I was a high-level endurance athlete for many years, I didn’t drink anything harder than beer and wine, and then it was very sparingly and only in the off-season. And even after I hung up the cycling cleats I still abstained. Until, that is, I went to visit my daughter and her husband when they were living in Aberdeen, Scotland. She took me on a distillery tour, and we went to the Strathisla Distillery, which is the oldest in Scotland. I took a “wee dram” as they say…and I was hooked.

Very quickly I began exploring the world of single malts, and while I can’t say I’m a connoisseur, I can at least differentiate between regions. But that’s really as far as I’ve gone, although I will say that my son-in-law favors Maker’s Mark, and I’ve had that, and I think it’s very good. Especially by the third one.

RT: Most whiskey fans have a couple of favorite choices that are liquor shelf standards, meaning the good, but reasonably priced stuff. What are your choices for everyday sipping whiskey?

RWP: Well, I’m in something of a pickle (see what I did there?) when it comes to the choice of everyday whisky.

I live in the hinterlands of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington now, after spending my first 50 years more or less living in Houston, Texas, my travels in the Marine Corps notwithstanding. And putting it kindly, the choice and variety here is…limited, to put it mildly. When I first got here in 2009, Washington had a state liquor store system, which was, and still is, a completely bizarre and foreign concept to me. A liquor store that closes at 9:00? Unheard of where I’m from. But even worse, their “selection” of everything, not just Scotch, was restricted to a very narrow range. And when I approached the manager of the local store about the possibility of ordering my Scotch of choice, the Strathisla 12 year old, I was told that I had to make a written request that would be presented at the quarterly meeting of all the managers in the district, and a vote would be taken on whether to honor my request.

And if they said yes, I had to commit to at least a case a quarter for the next year.

That means that what I prefer, and what I drink, are two different things. Whenever I travel back to Houston, or anywhere it’s sold, I buy a couple bottles of Strathisla 12 year old. Otherwise, when it comes to moderate priced whisky, I think the Glenmorangie is decent. I stay away from the “Glens” of Glenlivet and Glenfiddich, which in my personal opinion are more about marketing than actual taste.

RT: And your all-time favorite Scotch, price and availability not being an issue?

RWP: I just recently had a 1965 Strathisla that I liked a great deal. I don’t know exactly how much it cost, but I suspect it ain’t cheap. I also like the Lagavulin 18 year old quite a bit. It’s got a bit of smoke to it, but not overpowering. In fact that was the bottle I bought when I wrote the ending of Titus Pullus’ story a few months ago. Although I had completed almost the entire story of Titus before I published Marching With Caesar: Conquest of Gaul in April of 2012, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to writing the very ending of the story.

So I sent him off in a manner befitting a warrior, with a glass (or five) of Lagavulin.

RT: How do you take yours? Neat, a few drops of water, or on the rocks?

RWP: Usually neat, although depending on the brand, I will add just a few drops of water to release the flavor. I was given a set of “sipping stones” by my daughter, and when I want it cool but not diluted, I add those. Otherwise, straight up.

RT: Your “Marching With Caesar” series is military historical fiction set during Caesar’s Gallic and Civil Wars. Whiskey didn’t exist back then, but let’s say you hopped in a time machine and went back there with some. What do you think a hard-bitten legionary like Titus Pullus would think of whiskey?

RWP: I think Titus would steer clear of it by a wide margin. He is very much under control, and rarely drinks to excess. In fact he’s been drunk on only three occasions, although the last episode lasted a few weeks.

His friend Balbus, on the other hand, would probably drink himself to death. And have a great time doing it.