Longines Master Collection Mens Watch

I was surfing another blog and saw this. I have watch lust.

Forget those plastic cartridge razors. Razor Emporium has a nice selection of classic men’s razors, shaving brushes and more.

The Kitchen website has a good article on the best bargain liquors.

Their bourbon recommendation:

7. W.L. Weller 12-Year-Old Bourbon ($25-30/750 ml)
Recommended by: Liza Weisstuch, spirits writer
Why: “Distilled at the much celebrated Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, this wheated bourbon is named for the distiller who, as legend has it, inspired Bill Samuels, founder of Maker’s Mark, to create his iconic brand. The sweetness here is discernible, but this is no flaccid, smooth whiskey. You get that no-nonsense, fiery yet clean finish that evokes older bourbon.”
Ways to Enjoy: “It’s best appreciated over ice, but use it to mix a bourbon smash and you’ll get a drink that’s got a bit more backbone than if you used a lesser bourbon.”

I’m a fan of Maker’s Mark, so I’m going to try this one. There’s also a recommendation for a good rum and vodka.

Before settling down to watch the US Open, the lads and I went to Greenfield Village/The Henry Ford to see the annual classic cars auto muster. I put together a quick little slide show of all the classic cars. The YouTube video doesn’t do the beautiful machines justice.

While ferrying boys from one Saturday activity to another, I took a side trip to the bank to deposit a pile of checks that had accumulated in my car. As I pulled through the drive-through, it occurred to me that it was probably the first time Thing Two had been to a bank. In this day of direct deposits, electronic bill payment and debit cards, what was a biweekly event in my childhood on the most infrequent of occasions.

We pulled into the drive-through, where Thing Two was intrigued by the speaker box, and absolutely thrilled to watch the pneumatic tube in action. He immediately decided that we need one in our house so he can send messages from his basement Lego lair to the upper floors.

I was just about to drive away when the teller came back on the intercom. “Is that a child in the back seat?,” he asked. “Wait a minute and send the tube back.”

I did, and it returned carrying two suckers.

“Banks are the best thing ever,” Thing Two said with a grin.

That’s banking as I remember it. Thanks Comerica.

There are some things that you don’t realize you’ve missed until you get them back again.

A few months ago, a friend of mine introduced me to “Mexican Coke,” which he picked up at a local ethnic grocery. In the classic wave form bottle with a real pop cap, it was cold and crisp, and the taste immediately, noticeably different.

“What’s the deal?” I asked.

“It’s made with REAL SUGAR,” he replied.

We compared labels with a can I had in the garage.

Mexican Coke: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Carmel Color ...

American Coke: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Carmel Color ...

There was the difference. That cool, crisp taste that I remembered from my youth was in the bottle of Mexican Coke, fueled by pure can sugar. In comparison the American Coke in a can somehow seemed tainted by a syrupy aftertaste.

Coca Cola apparently began the switch from sugar to high fructose corn syrup in the early 1980s. The change was financially motivated. US government tariffs on imported sugar to support high prices for domestic producers, combined with high corn subsidies made high fructose corn syrup relatively cheaper.

Conspiracy theorists say that the entire New Coke promotion of 1985 was simply a very clever attempt to cover up the switch. In that year, Coca Cola introduced a newly formulated Coke which the marketing department had apparently determined beat both “Old” Coke and Pepsi. The public, however, went berserk. People (myself among them), actually hoarded “Old” Coke.

Three months after the introduction of “New” Coke, “Old” Coke was back in the form of “Coca Cola Classic.” Conspiratorialists, have noted however, that Coke Classic was sweetened entirely with HFCS. This has led to the suspicion that the entire New Coke fiasco was a brilliant, but evil marketing ploy to switch out sugar for HFCS without anyone complaining. People were so happy to get “Old” Coke back that they didn’t notice.

Debunkers say it was just an unhappy coincidence. New Coke just arrived at a moment when production of Coke with sugar was no longer financially sound. Coca Cola still claims that in blind taste tests, people preferred New Coke over both Coke Classic and Pepsi. And in the 88 days of New Coke, sales apparently did not suffer greatly.

Still, New Coke disappeared, and the HFCS Coke Classic morphed into just regular Coca Cola once again.

I’m also willing to entertain the notion that some of the taste difference can be accounted for in the glass bottle. I have for years been certain that Coke from a plastic bottle just doesn’t taste as good as the same product from a can. Now I wonder if the can imparts a flavor that the bottles don’t carry.

Whatever the reason, I became an instant fan of Mexican Coke. So have many others. In my area, you now can get cases of Mexican Coke from either Sam’s or Costco. Several local non-ethnic groceries carry them as well.

I wonder, however, what the Coca Cola Company in Atlanta thinks of all of this. If “Mexican Coke” gains a foothold among the tastebuds of Middle America, the parent company is going to be in a bit of a bind. What happens if people start demanding it as a substitute for “American” Coke? I don’t think they have the power to tell their Mexican bottlers not to sell to Wal-Mart, and Costco. And they certainly can’t tell those retailers not to shelve the product. On the other hand, the same economics that forced the switch from sugar to HFCS likely still apply. They can’t upgrade their product without raising the prices.

One solution is to sell a Pure Cane Sugar Coke as a premium brand, the way that beer companies have their pedestrian and gold plated labels. But that’s a problem for Coca Cola to solve. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the drink that refreshes: Mexican Coke.

Celebrate the New Year with these shortbread cookies from the Home of Golf. The Scots apparently traditionally serve these New Year’s Eve, but I made a batch this afternoon. Delicious.

Ingredients:

4 Sticks Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3 - 3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

Leave butter out to soften. Then mix butter and sugar. Add in flour slowly until a dough forms. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour.

Sprinkle a board with flour, and roll out the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3 x 1 inch strips, perforating with a fork. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheet

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.