Cocktail ingredients Utah update – May 2011

Whenever a new month rolls around on the calendar, a new set of “Special Price Adjustments” is rolled out at the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores.  This month is no different.  There are surprisingly few Bourbons on sale this month when you consider that the Kentucky Derby officially kicks off the Mint Julep season every May.  On the other hand, lovers of sparkling wines and Champagne cocktails have a pleasant surprise in (their local) store as Piper Sonoma® Brut (CS# 757205) has been discontinued and is marked down almost 25% to $14.63.  One can never tell if “discontinued” means it’s gone for good or if the distributor is changing, but it’s still a good opportunity to stock up.  Be sure to call ahead if that’s all you’re looking for.

If you like Appleton Estate® Rums, you will like the Rum deals this month.  Not only is Appleton Estate V/X Rum® (a blend of 15 Rums aged 5 to 10 years) marked down 15% to $17 this month, but Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaica Rum®  (CS# 042020) (a blend of 20 Rums, each aged a minimum of 8 years in used Jack Daniels® oak whisky barrels) is coded as discontinued and priced close to $19, a reduction of over 20%.  Both of these hand blended beauties are good sipping Rums, but the Reserve is especially fine.  If you want to mix these quality Rums, try a Rum Old Fashioned.

There is an interesting item on the Gin front this month: Tanqueray Ten® Gin is marked down 10% to $27.  This small-batch Gin is well reviewed and sounds intriguing, post a response if you’ve tried it.  Tequila lovers will be greeted by the usual large number of Tequila SPAs.  Two favorites this month are Milagro® Reposado and Milagro® Silver, both marked down around 12%.  Regular readers will know that a good Silver (or Plata or Blanco) is an essential ingredient in the ever popular Margarita.  As usual, the number of Rye Whiskies marked down this month is low: one (although that is higher than the months it is none).  Jim Beam® 4Year Rye is marked down 20% to $12 and does admirable service in Rye cocktails like the Boulevardier.

 As to any other sale or clearance items, if you see anything good at your local state store, post a response to this article.  See the following list “Suggested by the author” for information on how to use the Utah DABC website.  You can check out what else is on sale (e.g. the wines etc.) 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.

Help on Utah DABC:

·         UtahDABC Secrets 101: Part 1 Revised – Where to go?

·         Utah DABC Secrets 101: Part 2 Revised – What do they sell?

·         Utah DABC Secrets 101: Part 3 Revised – Reading a price list?

·         Utah DABC Secrets 101: Part 4 Revised – What’s on sale?