12/29   Hey MOTD -- I was hoping to buy a bottle of fine cognac or armagnac
        for a friend of wealth and taste.  I have a pretty generous budget, but
        I know next to nothing about either of these liquors.  Can anybody
        give me any recommendations, and/or point me toward a vendor of fine
        wine/spirits in the SF/BA (preferably in Castro Valley or San Mateo)?
        TIA.                   -mice
        \_ Check out D&M Liquor in San Francisco.  They specialize in
           Cognac and Armagnac with an *excellent* selection.
        \_ K&L Wine Merchants in SF or Redwood City
           \_ Gracias.    -mice
              \_ As a brief followup, I spoke with the Distilled Spirits
                 Department manager Susan Purnell, and she was really quite
                 knowledgeable and very, very helpful.  Thanks again for the
                 link.        -mice
        \_ Beverages and More also sells 'good stuff', but good luck finding a
           reccomendation there.
        \_ There are 3 grades of increasing price/quality, V.S., V.S.O.P., and
           X.O. (aka 'Napoleon').  Each individual maker's grade can differ a
           lot though.  (You can find crap cognac calling itself X.O.)
           The 3 biggest brands of Cognac, which you'll be 'safe' going with,
           are in no particular order Henessey, Courvosier, and Martell.
           \-i think one of the "high end" grand mariners is better than say
               the Hennesey XO.
        \_ It is hard to impress/please "a friend of wealth and taste" with
           something that as commmon to him/her as distilled water.  Why not
           showing off your skill in troff and m4?
           \_ This is true, which is why I opted to look for distilled
              alcohol rather than water (which has a rather simple and naive
              bouquet to even the most discerning palate).  Thanks for
              the suggestion, though.  I'll perhaps look into some nweaver-
              vintage lisp code as an alternative in case the alcohol thing
              doesn't work out.         -mice