jj> --Jon
it's somewhere between you and elson...
basically, if you order something "straight" that means pure (as in
"straight
up"--no water, ice or mixer added) and as you guys have pointed out, a
chaser
is a follow up drink (water, soda, beer). you would order "straight no
chaser" not really as a macho thing, but because you actually like the
liquor
that you're ordering--i'm a fan of good tequila or scotch--and you don't
want
to sully it w/any other taste or liquid...
the music parallels are obvious. as a btw, there's a charlie parker tune
called "scotch & soda"...
-t