Speakeasy with Ron White

Comedian Ron White will be in town performing at the Fox Theatre tonight and tomorrow. The Blue Collar Comedy Tour's sardonic bad boy recently spoke to Creative Loafing from his home in Suwanee, GA, about scotch, nicknames, and why he's coming down to hang with the city-slickin' Southerners this weekend.

How long have you been a scotch man? Is there something about that liquor in particular that helps you perform?
Well, a good buzz makes anything better, but I especially love scotch because it tastes like cake to me. And now I have a nice budget for scotch so I can drink any kind I want. I mostly drink the 18-year-old Macallan.

If you had to give up cigars or alcohol, which would you choose?
Um, living, I'd Give up living. That's the hardest question I've ever been asked, I honestly don't know which one I'd give up. I mean, I guess I'd say cigars because I love drinking, but that would be tough, I love cigars too. I'm smoking a cigar right now and drinking coffee... I've turned into a real health nut. (It was 11 a.m.)

What do you think your liver actually looks like?
Great! You know I just went through a rehab program about 3 or 4 years ago, and now I'm in a re-tox program, because I stopped drinking for six months, they took some pictures of my liver, said everything looked great and healthy, and I was like, “great, let's get out of here,” and I started drinking again.