Cocktail ingredients Utah update – February 2011

Things seem back to normal at the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores this month; there is the usual mix of items on special price allowance.  Lovers of Rye Whiskey (and the classic cocktails you can make with it) will be pleased to find that Jim Beam® 4-Year old Rye (CS# 027056) is marked down 20% to $12.  A good mixing Rye, the last time the system stocked Beam it was usually only available at the Foothill store.  The supply problem seems to have been solved (in spite of the emerging Rye shortage), and both the Fort Union and Holladay stores have good stocks on hand. Of course, if your local Utah State Liquor Store is a small one, you might want to call ahead. 

February finds some quality Rums on sale (Appleton Estates VX® and Brugal Añejo®), but there’s also the usual selection of spiced, flavored, and homogenized Rums: Bacardi® 8, for example.  For you Tequila lovers, Sauza Tres Generaciones® is marked down 15% from $40 to $34, and should make great Margaritas.  Sippers of single malt Scotches will find offerings from Bowmore® and Dalmore® reduced this month, but not enough to rush out to the store to find.  If you’re looking for some sipping Bourbon, you could try Elijah Craig® 12 Year with a 10% reduction.

For lovers of sparkling wines, a couple of what you might call “value” brands are marked down.  Some Barefoot® Bubblies are marked down 33%, and some Korbel® sparklers are down 21%.  Both are widely available, and would make great Chambord and Champagne cocktails.  There is also the usual variety of wine varietals on sale, some marked down as much as 50%.

Once again this month does not appear to deliver much in the way of exciting cocktail ingredients on clearance.  There are some leftover holiday eggnogs with steep mark-downs, and the usual collection of wines.  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’s on sale 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.