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We all need a space in our lives that’s just ours and no one else’s. For some guys, that space is making time to go running or participating in a once-a-week jam session. For other guys it’s a near obsession with cooking. This excerpt from How To Cook Like A Man, by Daniel Duane, explains how the kitchen became the one place that was his own — and the place where he rediscovered his masculinity.

Once his baby’s born, and brought home, a young father discovers that his daily life now offers a lot of time for reflective thought. Not that you’re capable of having any thoughts–too little sleep–but hour upon hour passes with nobody really interested in the content of your mind. Sort of amazing: you go from perfect intimacy, claiming that girl’s attention for yourself, to zero intimacy, as the baby’s claim takes over. Weirder still, the breastfeeding wife looks terrific, thinning down under the immense caloric demands of nursing even as her breasts grow to record sizes, and yet it does her man no good whatsoever. Throw in a dog and it’s not long before it occurs to you that your own needs fall well below even those of the canine, in the family’s prioritization scheme. In fact, you are the sole member of the household with zero needs scheduled to be met by any other member of the household. And that’s the context in which I began flipping cookbook pages uneasily: first in The Bombay Kitchen and A Spoonful of Ginger, pondering the idea that I might somehow become a truly accomplished cook of either Chinese or Indian cuisine, during the dark passage ahead. Rick Bayless’s Authentic Mexican Kitchen presented a similar new identity–Guacamole King–but when taken together these options felt too painfully similar to the cultural anomie that had driven my fellow Californian, John Walker Lindh, growing up across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, to become the American Taliban: Wow, gee, I mean, I guess I could be a Buddhist if I wanted–shave my head, wear pink robes, all that cool Zen shit–or wait! I know! I’ll go Muslim! That’ll show my dumb-ass hippie parents!

I’d done my share of yoga, in other words, but not nearly enough to justify still more simmering of onions and tomatoes, nor the endless employment of the same dried-up and dusty spices shipped across the planet to make the only kind of Indian cuisine I knew. Ditto for Thai: I liked that Kung Pao just fine, but national cuisines occupy value niches somewhere down in our lizard brains; they have emotional meaning, such that an upper-middle-class white kid’s fervent allegiance for, say, Ethiopian food, cannot be interpreted as a mere fondness for flat-bread. I probably could’ve dabbled in Spanish cuisine, see, because that would’ve satisfied my trained preference for all things European; Italian would’ve been better; German, not so much…

As scotch sales surge there are fortunes to be made again in the whisky business, and many established brands are bought and sold, rebranded, or receive an influx of new marketing and ideas. The Morrison Bowmore group is a good example of this, with their brands Bowmore, Glen Garioch, McLelland’s, and Auchentoshan. All of these bottling have received modernized updates to their labels and packaging, making them easier to read and recognize on a bar or store shelf. Each label also represents a certain market segment that is easy to understand for the consumer: Auchentoshan is the slightly understated lowland malt. It goes through three distillations, which imparts a slightly lighter, delicate and floral quality to the spirit. Accompanying the new packaging is this new expression of Auchentoshan 12 year, which has seen more of a sherry influence than the old 10 year it is replacing, adding a mere touch of richness and honey to the signature lowland flavours we know and love. This light touch is surely to put the flavour profile more in tune with a generation of new scotch drinkers who may be put off by a lean, esoteric malt. I think on that account they’ve done a pretty good job of not losing the soul of the distillery during this rebranding process.

Auchentoshan 12 Year has a vibrant, refreshing aroma that will evoke the back room in a florist’s shop. There are the floral notes but also a whiff of the green, stemmy parts and a distinct bit of clove. It smells snappy and clean. This clean sensation continues on the palate into a very spirity, sweet menthol infused finish. The colour of this 12 year is a pale honey, and although it is bottled at 40% and does finish well balanced, the pure spirit character and lack of sweetness makes it seem  a little stronger than it is. An invigourating dram that could be a gateway for gin martini drinkers.

This article originally appeared on Harvard Business Review.

The author of this article, Ron Ashkenas is a managing partner of Schaffer Consulting and a co-author of The GE Work-Out and The Boundaryless Organization. His latest book is Simply Effective.

Here in the U.S., the Super Bowl showed us the power of 30-second advertisements, and how influential they can be in promoting a company’s awareness. But how often do we craft our own 30-second spots with audiences that we want to influence?

Most of us are not in the business of making TV commercials, but in conversations there is almost always a 30-second moment that can make the meeting memorable.

Malcolm Gladwell touches on this phenomenon in his book, Blink. He talks about “thin-slicing,” or “the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience.” He explains how too much information can cloud an individual’s ability to accurately analyze a situation, and how “in good decision making, frugality matters.” In other words, mini-impressions do count. And although you never get a second chance to make a first impression, you do get many chances to make the next impression.

So how do you turn your moment into an award-winning spot? Let’s look to advertisers for guidance:

Capture your audience’s attention. Think about one of your favorite commercials (or you can pick one from the game). Which part of that commercial stays with you? What technique did the advertiser use to draw you in — humor, aesthetics, emotions, surprise, or something else? Think about how you could incorporate that technique into your next important conversation.

Convey a clear message. Consider the key message for the target audience. What did the company try to convey, and how did the advertiser use that to connect with viewers? How did they frame the message to make this point? Now, think about your own messaging — what is the most critical takeaway you would like your viewers to receive? How might you deliver your message to ensure your audience walks away with this understanding?

Focus on differentiation. Think about what distinguishes your advertiser from the rest. How did the company use the commercial to portray its unique brand? Think about the same for yourself: What sets you apart from others? How can you highlight your distinctive qualities?

When you combine these three elements, you’ve got the potential for an influential “spot.” The key is having these components ready so that you can recall them when needed. For example, the best salespeople are always prepared to connect with potential customers who say that they don’t have time to talk. Similarly, the best leaders often are not those who speak the longest or the loudest, but those who convey their ideas in a memorable way, and can do it over and over again.

Our world is filled with noise, information, and distractions; so having someone’s undivided attention — even for 30 seconds — is an opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted. If you can use those 30 seconds to capture their attention, deliver your message, and distinguish yourself from others, you’re likely to be heard, understood, and remembered. What sponsor wouldn’t want that?