Be that as it may, as my intermittent duty to enable, I like to post contests. This one hyar is for Don Julio Tequila. The wonderful folks at Don Julio have put together a contest that will allow 10 winners and their guests to get flown, first class the La Primavera Distillery in the “Los Altos” highlands region of Jalisco, Mexico. They also receive accommodations, a once-in-a-lifetime immersion in the art of tequila making, followed by two luxurious nights in Punta Mita, Mexico.

Tequila, Oy vey!

The lucky winners will be granted the rare opportunity to learn the intricacies of crafting Mexico’s number one ultra-premium luxury tequila upon visiting the La Primavera Distillery. Their tour will begin in the beautiful agave fields where our agave is grown by a careful artisanal method. They will watch an expert team of jimadors hand-select and expertly cut individual, fully mature agave, ripened for six to 10 years from the rich terracotta soil, for which the Highland region is renowned.

Following the tour of the agave fields, Tequila Don Julio Master Distiller Enrique de Colsa will guide the winners through the La Primavera Distillery where he oversees the small batch double-distillation process. De Colsa will provide insight on the rich brand legacy as well as provide an in-depth explanation of the details behind his six extraordinary ultra-premium tequilas. These are only a few of the amazing highlights from the tour, which will culminate in an authentic meal accompanied by traditional entertainment in Guadalajara.

To enter the contest you can “Like” them on Facebook (gawd I hate Facebook at times) or do some scan code thingamajigger at various retail displays. You can only enter once.

Anyway, the reason I post this is that I have a certain fondness for Don Julio,even though I do not really drink Tequila (more on that in another post). However, my favorite UPS Drive, Ooty, who would stop by with packages and sage advice was a strong proponent of Don Julio many years ago when he would lug it back from Mexico from visiting relatives down there. Now it is all over the place, but he was a strong proponent when very few of us Norte Round Eyes had ever heard of it.

So, enter the contest and hopefully win. You can also go here to Don Julio‘s site to learn more about Don Julio, the man, the myth, the headache generator.

Also, listen to the song:

Who says that Broadway is in decline?

The Berkeley Skirt Lifter

☼ 2 oz. gin
☼ 1/2 oz. Bols® Black Raspberry Liqueur
☼ 1/2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice

Shake ingredients together, pour into martini glass whose lip has been finely sugared, serve and enjoy.

Very easy, very tasty. Try one today. On the gin, we used Seagram’s which I think is a very well-constructed inexpensive gin. Leopold’s is an excellent gin if you can find it. Anything with overbearing florals and juniper might not be as good in this drink.

Horrible but true.

Jenny McCarthy well known for posing in Playboy and launching a diabolical campaign to bring back childhood diseases by using her nudity-induced notoriety to stop childhood immunizations is not resting on her laurels. No, not satisfied with bringing back thousands of preventable childhood illnesses (visit Jenny McCarthy Body Count) Jenny McCarthy is teaming up with some group of moronic wine drinkers, Cellar Angels, to help wreak a wider swath of destruction.

Now, I do not know much about these CellarAngel people. Apparently it is some slick marketing operation where they get you to buy discounted wine, they send some money to a charity, in this case Generation Rescue, some newish charity that helps with Autism issues.

They might be a good organization, they might not, I have no clue and am not really going to look. I do know that Jenny McCarthy is an idiot who was done immeasurable harm by falsely claiming that childhood immunizations caused autism in her and other children. There is ZERO evidence of that, however, there is good evidence that immunizations prevent a host of horrible illnesses that are needless.

So, boo to CellarAngels. How about putting some actual thought into what you do instead of just exploiting charity to make the almighty dollar?

She should have stayed with the naked thing.

Often Valentine’s Day creeps up on us without us even realizing it.  We find ourselves needing to get a gift for a person, a romantic, wonderful gift.  And oftentimes this leads us to search through our heads frantically for a gift.  That in turn lets us easily buy a gift that we ourselves would treasure, perhaps more so than your paramour.

Holding out a box with my best wrapping job (red paper with pink hearts and a large red bow) I tell her that I love her more than life itself.  She kisses me and takes the box.  In turn, she hands me an even larger box.  I am chagrined to see that her wrapping job makes me look like mine is a stroke victim rehabilitation project.  I kiss her in turn.

Unwrapping the box, I find a beautiful set of red satin sheets.  “I love them,” I exclaim.  In my head, I think to myself that satin sheets look great but in fact they are cold when you get in to them plus they are incredibly slippery.  Blankets, cats, and people shoot off the bed like greased pigs on Farm Day.

She unwraps the box in turn and gives me a slightly halting “Oh dearest, this is great” as she holds up the bottle of Ron Abuelo, 12 Años  rum that I gave her. Not just any rum, this, but aged and matured rum that would make a pirate stop and admire the day and think deep thoughts, before  falling into a pleasant reverie.

Well, I guess that each of us tended to think a little bit at least of what WE would like.  But, the spirit of the day carried us through.  We put the sheets on the bed, had some lovely aged rum, a little bit more rum, and things carried on and we decided to see how we liked the sheets.  Bringing the bottle into the room, we got comfortable.  As things tend to go, one thing led to another.  Valentine’s Day was working it’s magic and things were ramping up when-just at the moment-my leg slipped on the damn satin sheets, the rest of me followed and I wrenched my knee, sprained my ankle and lay on the floor moaning in pain.  The fates were kind though – I landed next to the bottle.  I don’t remember much else although I am told that satin sheets drenched in Ron Abuelo, 12 Años rum burn surprisingly well.

So, for this Valentine’s Day, I urge you, ladies, to think of your man and his joints.  Don’t purchase him a set of satin sheets (unless you are secretly after his life insurance) but instead buy him a bottle of Ron Abuelo Rum.

Consider this handy chart:

She might be a keeper.

Ø  Ron Abuelo 7 Años – a rich blend of rums, aged for seven years in small oak barrels.  Brilliant amber, medium-bodied with hints of fruity caramel, tea leaf and notes of toasted coconut and spice. SRP: $22.99 / 750ml – Appropriate for a Valentine’s Day Gift if it is early in the relationship, your significant other is generally cheap, or has not developed his rum palate yet.

Ø  Ron Abuelo, 12 Años – richer, darker and more full-bodied.  Its character, softness and complexity will delight the most sophisticated and challenging palate.  SRP: $32.99 / 750ml – Appropriate for a long term relationship, if you have been slighting him lately, and he is decent to you.

I LOVE this woman.

Ø  Ron Abuelo Centuria – a limited edition bottling created to celebrate the 100-Year anniversary of Varela Hermanos and their long tradition of producing the finest aged rums in Panama.  To produce this rare spirit, the Varela family opened up private stocks from their highly-guarded “Reserva de la Familia” and utilized a selection of rums aged up to 30 years.  SRP: $130 / 750ml – Appropriate for THE love of your life, if you are buttering him up for some good jewelry, you have been together years and years, or if you have recently been cheating on him.

Damn this is good rum....Hey, has she been cheating on me?

Ron Abuelo is produced entirely from estate-grown sugar cane in Panama by the family-owned Varela Hermanos.  The company dates back to 1908 when Don José Varela established the first sugar mill in the recently-formed Republic of Panama, the San Isidro Sugar Mill.  Almost 30 years later, Varela began the distillation of alcohol from their sugar cane crop in 1936.  Currently run by the third generation, Varela Hermanos has approximately 1000 hectares of land devoted exclusively to the cultivation of sugar cane.

Definitely helpful in facing the devil.

Inspiring bold John Barleycorn!
What dangers thou canst make us scorn!
Wi’ tippeny, we fear nae evil;
Wi’ usquabae, we’ll face the devil!–

Robert Burns in “Tam o ‘Shanter”

No Haggis for us tonight, steak sandwiches, but definitely a dram of Scotch. I am thinking Glenlivet 18 year single malt.

The above paragraph is fictional.  However, to skip ahead a bit on the review, Elijah Craig 18 Year is the bourbon you would get in a bar that had pictures of dogs playing poker, if you ordered their best bourbon.

Our bottle was Barrel 2765, Dated 3-1-91.

Elvis would drink this.

Color:  A deep orange-amber.  A very inviting color.

Nose:  Hints of vanilla, a lot of maple syrup, and a tiny amount of perhaps citrus – it is elusive. Also a bit of what I can best describe as airplane glue – ketones.

Taste:  Some pepper, caramel and oak.  It has a bit of jasmine to it.  Yes, jasmine I said.  A little bit of water brings out more of the sweetness, it is fairly dry if you do not open it up with water.  Some bite at first, overall it is smooth and relaxed.  One of us also got coconut.

Finish:  A medium to long finish, I get tobacco on the finish.   LL Mike got a long, smooth finish.  The Palate got looooong spice.

Overall, this is a very good bourbon.  Well worth having in your cabinet.  It is a single barrel and based on reviews I have seen and other impressions people have told me about I think that there is probably a fair variance between batches.  That being said, I have not heard much bad about it at all.  I would definitely pick up a bottle if you can.  You should find bottles in the $40 to $50 dollar range.  If you can find it under $40.00, consider that a bargain.

As I opened with – This is not the best bourbon I have ever had, but it is certainly up there.  In my minds eye, this bourbon is the one a bar that has dogs playing poker would have as their best bourbon in the house.

Final notes:

This is billed as the oldest single barrel bourbon in the world.  According to the distillers, over half the barrel is lost to the “Angel’s Share” during the aging process.

It is bottled at 90 Proof and produced by Heaven Hill Distillers, Bardstown, Kentucky.

The Bourbon is named for the Rev. Elijah Craig, the man who discovered the method of making true Kentucky Bourbon when he stored his wares in barrels that had been charred in a fire.  Rev. Elijah Craig also built Kentucky’s first fulling mill, its first paper mill, its first reopwalk, and the first lumber and gristmill at Georgetown.

My house if I had $100,000,000 and a deathwish.