Cocktail ingredients Utah update –December 2010

Things are looking up in the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores this month as far as Special Price Adjustments (SPA) go; there is a lot on sale for the December holidays.  These deals are great for gifts (given or received), or for stocking your bar.  (Note: there will soon be a separate post on pre-New Year’s price adjustments (actually available all December) on sparkling wines.) 

This month there is a variety of nice Gins marked down.  One of the best deals is Plymouth Gin (CS# 028795) marked down $5 from $25 to $20.  Other Gins with price adjustments include Hendrick’s, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, Beefeater, and even the surprisingly good, bargain Gin: New Amsterdam 1750ml for $23 (CS# 031473).  You can discover more for yourself by clicking through to the “SPA Product List” to open a price book in PDF format that shows all of the markdowns for the current month; then search on “gin”. 

There are plenty of Scotch Whiskies, including one of my favorite blends, Dewars Special Reserve 12 Year, marked down $3 to $29, and plenty of single malts for you Scotch lovers.  Loads of Bourbons are marked down, including bottles like Buffalo Trace and Evan Williams Single Barrel.  If you like sipping Rums, Appleton Estates XV is marked down (CS# 042006) is marked down from $20 to $17, and there are plenty of less notable Rums available.  If your taste runs to Cognacs, Brandies, or Liqueurs, they are well represented; be sure to check the price book.

Utah reader R. Schiffman (Brownbag) recently posted a comment reminding me about the Christmas items that may be found on the top shelf of the Utah State Stores. These gift packages usually contain a bottle of liquor and items like glasses or a shaker (Courvoisier even has a decanter for Cognac) for the same price as the bottle without the gift. Some of them are pretty nice, others might be a little tacky.  Shop early in the month for a better selection and buy one for a lazy relative to give you for Christmas.

Once again this month there does not appear to be much of interest along the lines of cocktail ingredients on clearance.  There are some Barbarossa Rums and White Horse Scotch, but nothing to excite a cocktailian.  If you see anything good at your local state store, post a response to this article.