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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Cocktail ingredients Utah update – September 2011

It’s September in Salt Lake City.  As the weather begins to cool, a new set of “Special Price Adjustments” is in effect at the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores.  Items on clearance this month mostly include the usual mass of miscellany, no outstanding brands.  If you know of one I missed, stock up and then share with other readers by posting a response to this column.

There is a decent selection of Scotch Whiskies on sale this month.  There are 12 year olds from Balvenie®, Glenfiddich®, and Highland Park® if you’re looking for a sipping Scotch.  If you’re looking for something more suitable to put into a Blood and Sand there is the usual selection of lower priced Scotches available.
If you like single barrel Bourbons, Blanton®, Eagle Rare®, and Evan Williams® are on SPA this month across a range of prices.  Other sale Bourbons include Bulleit® Frontier and Elijah Craig®.

If you like Rum (and like a lot of it) the 1750ml. bottle of Mount Gay Eclipse® (Barbados) is marked down almost 20%.  Try it in a Rum Old Fashioned.  The large bottle of Cruzan® Light is also marked down.
There is a nice variety of Gins marked down this month including offerings from Tanqueray® and Hendrick’s®.  The 1750ml. bottle of my favorite “economy Gin”, New Amsterdam®, is also marked down, although only by $2.  Try the Hendrick’s in a Classic Martini.  If you like Vodka Martinis, 1750ml bottles of Ketel One® are marked down 10% this month.

Tequila lovers will be greeted by the usual number of Tequila SPAs.  Two favorites this month are Herradura® Reposado and Herradura ® Silver (it’s great in a Tequila Mojito, and your mint crop won’t last long now), both marked down $5.  Milagro® Reposado and Milagro® Silver are also marked down, but only $2.  I plan on trying some Sauza Hornitos® Plata.  Regular readers will know that a tasty Plata (or Silver or Blanco) is an essential ingredient in the ever popular Margarita. 

As usual, the number of Rye Whiskies marked down this month is low: zero.  There are, however, a number of whiskies from north of the border as well as from across the sea in Ireland if you like cooler sources.
As to any other sale or clearance items, if you see anything at your local state store that other cocktailians might enjoy, 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.

Suggested by the author: