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Aside from prying open Houston's margarita-obsessed cocktail preferences, anvil bar & refuge has delved into educating the eager about what they drink. Saturday's Spirit & Cocktails 101 focused on that island nectar, scotch. (And we strayed into gin's storied past too.)

Of all that has gone digital these days, the scotch class cannot: no digital classroom, this. Nearly of 50 us assemble in the bar. Each student sits before an anthology of scotches that shimmer gold and amber in the afternoon sun.

A roadmap to the various subtle and sledgehammer tastes of scotch

Each stubby glass wears a concave glass lid: all the better to prevent that honey, peaty, caramel, or briny fragrance from wafting away. The left side of our roadmap offers a blended, two Islas, and an Orkney. On the right, a Lowlands, a Speyside, and two Highlands.

Island geography

Equally important, we all have water, bread, olive oil, and roasted hazelnuts within easy reach. The cumulative power of tasted scotches should not be underestimated! (And the roasted hazelnuts, which seem too salty and oily before the tasting, turn out to be tireless palate-cleansers.)

Next up: actual tastes and a few cocktails, too.