I'm opening a gift bottle of Yukon Jack.
There's a difference between Jack Daniel and Yukon Jack. I drink Jack Daniel. I have ever since I spied FRANK SINATRA drinking it. That's exactly how it happened. It was just after Christmas and he was performing downtown at the Golden Nugget. I was in his dressing room and, having been around him plenty, I knew better than to stare. But, that's what I was doing- I was clocking him. When Sinatra caught me staring, rather than complain, he told me a story, one I'll always remember. It's the moment I knew that Frank Sinatra- the great man-was also a helluva guy.
He told me of moving out to California, early in his career, and being thrown-into the Hollywood scene. Now he was already a major singing star but his movie career had yet to really take off. "I was crazy about Bogart," he told me. "I used to follow him around and do what he did." You see, Bogie & Bacall threw wonderful parties in their Hombly Hills home, parties young Blue Eyes attended regularly. "I'd watch how he'd light his cigarette, what he drank," Sinatra told me. Listening to him helped me understand that it was cool to have idols and it turned out my idol idolized Bogie.
And what Bogart drank was Jack Daniel. I became a Tennessee Squire the next week, a surprise initiation to the world of good booze and responsible drinking. Millions remember him fondly when a song of his is played; I don't think there's ever a night that includes Jack Daniel's where I don't think of Mr. Sinatra. God I loved him.
Frank Sinatra was the first person who thought of me as a writer. I was a lawyer but he saw my writing talents early on. After giving him a thesis I had written, he asked me to write him some things, which I happily did. Because of him, I now think of myself as a writer.
Okay, here's an interesting Christmas Eve experiment in drinking- I've been drinking Jack but am now going to crack open the Yukon Jack, a 100-proof gift that, combined with the J.D. is sure to screw with my typing abilities. So, why not keep drinking and see what ends up on tonight's blog? As I have no plans to drive (just be picked up) or to be in any way responsible, I'm drinking up. And I think it's best to read my stuff after you've had some stuff yourself.
Yukon Jack says it's a liqueur (pronounced 'lick here') not a mere liquor ('lick her') so here goes, mate.
[WW drinks]
Wow. Yukon Jack is pretty smooth- like me, and, surprisingly sweet- like me. [Another drink] It goes down nice (ha- like me?) and feels good in your mouth (stop thinking that, you perv).
Okay, that was fun or whatever but look, I'm a Jack Danie's guy soooo, I'm making myself another Jack & soda (have one- you know you want to).
[drink-drink- drink]
I'm heading up to the Las Vegas Strip in a bit, meeting an old friend for a drink. Believe me, I'm getting Jack and I mean Daniel and not Yukon.
"May your days be merry, sans funk
"And may all your Christmas spirits be drunk.
