Cocktail ingredients Utah update – February 2012

When Utahans walk into the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores this month they will be able to say “well, at least it’s better than last month...” as the number of marked down items has increased into the low end of “average”.  Special Price Adjustments (SPAs) originate with the distributors of the products, not the UDABC (only Clearance item price reduction come from the UDABC).  This month the number of items on SPA rose from barely over 200 to around 250, barely half of the over 500 items marked down in December.  Cocktailians looking to stock their bars cab see that this is not the time, but there are still a few quality cocktail ingredients available.

If you’re into Bourbons, Jim Beam Black Label® (CS# 019026) is available for $20 ($2 off) and makes a great Orange Robert, which is a fun drink.  There are a total of two single barrel or small batch Bourbons marked down less than 10%: a Basil Hayden® and an Evan Williams®.  There are only two Scotch Whiskies marked down this month: Johnnie Walker® Red 1750ml is marked down $3 to $47, so if you’re looking for something to put into a Rob Roy give it a try, and there’s a MacAllan® Ten Year Old marked down a generous 5%.  As usual, the number of Rye Whiskies on SPA this month is low: zero.  If you need some liqueurs, Di Saronno® and Di Amore® Amarettos have both been marked down a little over 10% this month, while some Baileys® Cream liqueurs have been marked down a little under 10%.

The number of Tequilas on SPA this month has been generously increased from three to five!  Discerning Tequila lovers may want to eschew  the Tortilla Gold Blend® at $6, but the Herradura® Añejo (CS# ) marked down $5 to $47 might be worth the investment.  Regular readers will know that a good Silver (or Plata or Blanco) is an essential ingredient in the ever popular Margarita, and the offering in that category this month is Cuero Especial®.  For those who love Cosmopolitans or Vodka Martinis, there are nine Vodkas on SPA in a large range of prices, with Belvedere Intense® (5% to $38) leading the pack.  Monopolowa Potato®, down 7.4%, may interest some of you.

There’s almost no excitement in the Rum shelves this month.  Bottles of Bacardi 8® are marked down around 16% to $16, and that’s it!  Let’s hope for better pricing next month.  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.