Hillybilly, Wayne, thanks for the info. It sounds like fine stuff if well made. Single malts are amazing things. When our friends have children, we get the kids a bottle of a good brand, not to be opened until they are 21. Lucky kids, you ask me.
Reminds me, I dated a women who had really creative ways to use single malts, but I can't say here what they were.
While not a heavy drinker, I do like to drink. You would swear we were alchoholics though if you came by the house. Tons of bar books, too. One of the earliest books I recall my dad had was a vintage Trader Vic's bartender manual from the 40s or 50s. Another book I like features those weird atomic cocktails that were the rage in the 50s and 60s. My latest bar book is called Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. The Aviation is one that is really good:
2.5 oz. gin, 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice, and 2 dashes marachino liqueur. Shake, strain into glass, and garnish with lemon twist.
The Corpse Reviver #2 is worth the price of the book alone, and the Leatherneck Cocktail you'd like, Wayne, as it uses Crown Royal whisky, along with blue curacao and fresh lime juice. Another drink in this book, East India Cocktail, dates back to Victorian England.
Greatest drink of all in the cocktail world is the margarita. Always, always use cointreau, never, never triple sec. One of the staff of a fantastic Mexican restaruant in LA, La Golondrina (the carne asada they prepare here is heaven on earth, and I think the chef would commit suicide rather than not serve fresh pico de galo), on Olvera Street, gave me his recipe, and advised that you can't even find triple sec in Mexico. And it does make a difference. ALWAYS use fresh lime juice, not the mix you find in the supermarket, and never drink the frozen variety.
But, there are many pleasures from just tequila neat. Reposado is what you want to look for, and is very, very nice. Never cheap out on the trequila you buy. Life is too short for the lousy stuff.
Dane
