Moving on to martinis:

Cajun Martini
A Bayou Basic
3 ounces Vodka or Gin
Glass Coated with Tabasco
½ of a Jalapeno

Cajun Straight Up - Combine the Vodka and Jalapeno in a shaker filled with ice, shake and strain into a chilled martini glass coated in Tabasco.

Cajun On the Rocks - Combine the Vodka and Jalapeno in a shaker, stir and pour into a rocks glass coated in Tabasco filled with ice.

To coat the martini glass or rocks glass with Tabasco, shake Tabasco into the glass, swirl the Tabasco around the glass until the glass is coated in Tabasco (to your liking) and pour out any remaining Tabasco.

First, let me say that I love Cazadores Reposado and Herradura Reposado as tied for my #2 tequilas, but the constantly replaced tall blue bottle of Corralejo Reposado on my kitchen counter seems to speak to us regularly, asking us to join in the fun and thus remains #1. Great for sipping or shooting any time. But after dinner, try some almendrado if you can get your hands on some. We like the Orendain Crema de Almendrado (actually the only one we have ever tried or seen). It was recommended to me by a liquor store manager in Zihuatanejo years ago when I asked which tequila to buy to take home to the states. He told me that all the others I could buy back home, but this one was different. Until recently, it wasn't to be found outside of Mexico, as there was nobody exporting it to the U.S., but a friend recently said they thought that it could be found at Sam's. Since my GF's brother was stationed in Corpus Christi, he'd bring us a bottle whenever he visited, or we'd beg friends traveling to Mexico on vacation to snag us a bottle while down there. It is an almond-flavored, tequila-based liqueur that is not so sweet, like most common liqueurs I've tried. A snifter full watching a movie in the winter months is a great warmer, and it is by far our favorite of all liqueurs.

Pedro:

When we were in Zihua this past January, someone was really talking up this tequila liquer but could not remember what it was called. Now I need to find some and see how good it is. Thanks for bringing it up.

Hubby and I tend to have Sauza Tres Generaciones on hand. Picked it up at the Navy Exchange on Oahu for less than $20 a bottle. I like Corralejo and keep trying new ones.

If you're ever in Zihua again, stop by Zorro's and get a shot of some homemade mescal. Awesome!!!

I'm not a big tequila sipper (yet), but was recently gifted a bottle of 1800 Añejo and found it very nice.

More surprisingly, my wife also enjoys it very much as a sipping beverage. She enjoys her liquor, but mostly cocktails, not fruity cocktails necessarily, but she'll drink a stiff gin and tonic, not a dry martini. And the only whiskey she's ever liked enough to sip was Johnny Walker Blue, so she doesn't drink much whiskey. But this tequila goes down remarkably smooth, and, well, it just tastes good.

Along the mezcal line, we brought back a bottle from Mexico last year called Lucifer. The winemaker at Adobe Guadalupe (the talented Hugo D'Acosta), in Baja, has recently started bottling this stuff in Oaxaca for the winery. They name all their wines after archangels. It was quite tasty as well, though my wife didn't like it so much.

Looks like Sam's carries an almendrado. Not my usual brand, but I'm sure it's worth trying.

[url]
http://samswine.com/Search/QuickSearchResults.aspx

Just for the sake of comparison, I bought a bottle of Cuervo Gold last Friday. After the Don Julio, it was like drinking gasoline, with faint notes of neoprene characteristic of lower grade mezcal. With a hefty dash of Rose's Lime, it's more or less potable, but you really do need some additives to get this stuff down.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:Just for the sake of comparison, I bought a bottle of Cuervo Gold last Friday. After the Don Julio, it was like drinking gasoline,

That's the fate awaiting anyone who enjoys a premium tequila or mezcal.
Anything that's not 100% agave is like drinking prison hooch.