Okay, BartCop, since my damn trip report is three months late, (cough,)
here's another report for the treehouse.

Tonight, I had a shot of the one, the only -- Chinaco Anejo, at a bar in
Kirkland, WA, featuring at least *75* different tequilas. (Maybe not a lot
to the tequila aficionado, but to someone who usually drinks tequila only in
margaritas, it's overwhelming.) My drink of choice is typically a Cosmopolitan.

After our trip to see the Christmas Ships (string lights on your $100K boat,
cruise around Lake Washington with all your buddies every night for the better
part of December, people can't *wait* to see it,) we detoured into a cool little
restaurant called "The Slip" for some casual dining. I was  hungry, dammit.

The Slip probably holds less than 40 people. The food is delicious, the barkeeps
are friendly, even if they don't have Chinaco. The owner of The Slip very kindly offered
to ask the restaurant across the street, Marina Cantina, if they had the elusive Chinaco.

Well, they did.

We boxed our leftovers as soon as was decent, and hurried across the street
for the ultimate tequila experience.

After some initial confusion, the owner of the Cantina (and the Marina Park Grill,
in the same building,) came out to see who on earth was ordering the Chinaco,
and tried to talk me out of it (!). She prefers the XQ Anejo. Of course, I told her that
I had to have the Chinaco. Must have the Miracle of Canaan. Any  bartcop.com reader
would understand, and if they don't,  they haven't been reading your page long enough.

My shot arrived, in the same snifter-type glass that you own.

This is the way Chinaco must be drunk; it doesn't "breathe" in a shot glass,
and one cannot sample the bouquet correctly, either. My husband was drinking coffee.
(Someone had to drive home.)

I slowly sipped, and listened to the owner talk about she and her husband's ruling
passion: tequila. They love it. Let's just say that they have been slowly stockpiling the
fruit of the blue agave for quite some time.  They believe in sampling. "Flights" can be
had for $20, which enables the customer to sample several of their offerings at one time.
These people  are *enthusiastic* about their tequila, to the tenth power.
(We had a good laugh about the unfortunate Cabo Wabo.)

My impressions of Chinaco? Believe it or not, both my husband and I thought it tasted
more like finely aged Scotch than tequila. I didn't taste the wildflowers or the chocolate,
but I did detect a vanilla finish.  Chinaco is unlike any other alcoholic drink I've had;
the finish is clean, it's not bitter, and it sips nicely. You're right, one shot of Chinaco
could  most likely last the evening. This isn't "shots" or mixing-type alcohol.
It's to be savored, slowly.

I will try Chinaco again, someplace neither the King of Software or I are getting
behind the wheel. Someplace like Las Vegas...

Julie

p.s. Here's the place we were at: www.marinacantina.com
 
 

Julie, excellent report!