Scotch (Prohibited Beverage — Oval Office Mention)

An adult-strength Scotch whisky referenced as a forbidden indulgence: the implied amber spirit that typically rests in a short tumbler. The liquor never appears on camera here; Mrs. Landingham invokes Dr. Tolliver’s orders banning scotch, and the mere mention tightens the Oval’s domestic code. Characters treat the drink as an absent prop — a private temptation curtailed by medical authority — and their banter frames it as evidence of who enforces President Bartlet’s boundaries.

2 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E2 · Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Red Bag, No Steak

Scotch functions as an absent but potent prop: Mrs. Landingham invokes Doctor Tolliver's prohibition on scotch, using the forbidden drink as shorthand for the forms of restraint imposed on the President and to land the domestic chastisement politely.

Before: Imagined/forbidden — not physically present but culturally present in the Oval's domestic code as a known temptation.

After: Remains forbidden for the evening; the prohibition stands and the President will not have scotch that night.

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S3E9 · Bartlet for America (Restructured)

Leo's Strained Sobriety Amid Donor Drinks

The glass of scotch in CEO 2's hand becomes the focal point of Leo's temptation, held up provocatively as a '$30 sip' lure that exposes his sobriety battle; it symbolizes luxury's pull against restraint, driving Leo's evasion and underscoring the event's emotional stakes in his relapse arc.

Before: Held and sipped by CEO 2 during jovial laughter

After: Set down on a surface as CEO 2 stands

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