"...but she's got a great personality..."

Have you ever been in a situation where a buddy tries to fix you up with a date? You don't know who she (or he, for that matter, to be PC) is, what she looks like or anything about her. You ask a few questions - tall, short? nice legs? blond or brunette? Your friend answers something like "...uuuh , but she's got a great personality..." The kiss of death to be sure. It is unfortunate, it is sad, but it is true. We often judge others by what they look like long before we get a feel for who they are and what they are like "inside".

Such was my dilemma walking from the parking lot to "Azul 17", an upscale, trendy restaurant/tequila lounge in.... a strip center. I know, I know - you cant judge a book by its cover and all that. I just really hate going out on my Saturday date night to a place that is next door to a dry cleaner. Call me crazy.

Anyway, on to Azul 17's personality.

The place is essentially divided into two sections. Nice sized restaurant to the right, bar to the left. I went to the left. Shocking, I know.

The bar is very cool - lot of blue lighting, flat screeens with a running video of what I think were agave plants in various stages of growth along with with some shots of the cocktail waitresses with drinks. A little weird, but not particularly offensive. Lots of room, very nice bar - sort of an art deco look to the place. A kind of funked up xydeco sound thumped overhead - again, not my style generally , but I am trying to be more open minded to places that dont serve up some classic rock to its patrons.

As for the tequila, I will tell you without reservation, Azul 17 has the best selection around and one of the best I have seen, with the exception of Cowboy Ciao in Scotsdale, AZ and the legendary Roccos in West Palm Beach. Truly a terrific cross section of platas, reposados and anejos alike. Even a nice list of the Extra Anejos (aged 3 years or more), not that anyone should drop a hundred bucks on two and a half ounces of liquor - - well, maybe...

Knowing I would be there for awhile and have dinner (not that the food was of any interest to me), I budgeted myself three "chilled and ups" for the night.

I opened up with the Partida Anejo. A buttery beauty. Smooth, sweet and de-licioso. Unfortunately, a critical bartender error - some of the crushed ice from the shaker found its way into my glass. Unacceptable, but in a crowd of folks, I took a breath, shook my head, and savored it anyway. Also, the tequilas were all served in a very cool brandy type glass. Almost made up for the bartender's blunder.

I followed the Partida with another anejo - Voodoo Tiki. This is a popular pour in south Florida - having had the reposado before, thought I would give the anejo a shot. My friends, this one gets thunderous applause - it was like drinking the beautiful Julia from a glass - soft, gentle but a little dirty. Very, very nice.

I truly had a difficult time deciding on cocktail number three; did my best to lean toward a reposado, but just could not bring myself to lighten things on my palate. After much soul searching, I went to an old favorite and a TQB "home court" - the Gran Centenario. I raised my glass and quietly toasted JB, my down south TQB brother.

No need to get into the dinner - again, dont really care. Azul's atmosphere was cool, the tequila top shelf. Would I go back? Would you date her again? I dont know, but hey, she has a great personality...