Disaster for Jack

Some days, as we all know, are better than others. As a man of partial Scottish descent I was for many years a lover of whisky, tending towards single malts. Some people may feel that Glen Grant is insufficiently complex, but the longer aged ones are absolutely fine. Of course this should be drunk undiluted by horrors such as ice, or colas. Some people accept a little water but personally I believe that this should be in a separate glass, if required at all.

But over the years I came to enjoy whiskey instead, with a preference for Jack, indeed partially because this can be drunk straight or messed around by adding ice, cola, water, or by reversing the mixer by adding Jack to beer to make a pleasant long malted drink.

Of course initially, not being American (luckily), I was under the misapprehension that I was drinking a bourbon. Not so, quoting the JD website "Jack Daniel's is not a Bourbon - it's a TENNESSEE WHISKEY. Jack Daniel's is dripped slowly - drop-by-drop - through ten feet of firmly packed charcoal (made from hard sugar maple) before going into new charred oak barrels for aging. This special process gives Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey its rare smoothness. It's this extra step - charcoal mellowing - which makes Jack Daniel's a Tennessee Whiskey." So what does one call it as a generic term, basically there doesn't seem to be one, but of course "Jack" or "JD" are recognised names most places.

Anyway my charming daughter gave me, a few years ago, a set of JD cufflinks (or sleeve links, as E.F.Benson refers to Georgie's). These gave me great pleasure until recently when one broke. After a certain amount of search Alice found somewhere to have it resoldered but just yesterday it went again, unnoticed at first so that another repair is impossible since the logo is missing. Oh the anguish of lack of links.