Cocktail ingredients Utah update – June 2012

Bobby Burns: a great destination for blended Scotch

June brings the beginning of summer, and with summer comes hot weather.  Hot weather and yard work make for thirsty people, so when cocktail hour rolls around Utah amateur mixologists should have plenty of takers for their cocktails. There are some quality cocktail ingredients on sale this month at the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores, so you can get what you need to shake up some great cocktails.  The number of items on SPA (Special Price Adjustment) this month rose from around 260 for May to a more generous 350 in June.  Here are some ideas on how to use this month’s sale items to improve your cocktail offerings.

One reason to celebrate this month is that there is a Rye Whiskey on sale.  Bulleit 95 Rye Whiskey (CS# 027025 marked down 12% to $22).  Bulleit Rye has been well-reviewed and rated as a good value.  Let’s hope this is the beginning of a new era when there will be a Rye Whiskey marked down every three or four months.  Try it in a Rye cocktail like the Boulevardier.

There are only a few Gins marked down this month, try some Bombay Sapphire ($23) in a Classic Martini.  If you love Gin and Tonics to cool down in the hot weather, you might want to stock up on New Amsterdam Gin (CS# 031475 down 20% to $12), an excellent Gin for the price.

There is a handful of blended Scotch Whiskies marked down this month, including a couple of twelve year olds: Dewars Special Reserve ($30) and Johnnie Walker ($37).  If you’re searching for a Scotch cocktail to try this month, consider trying the classic Bobby Burns.  As for Bourbons, there are about a dozen on sale this month, including single barrel offerings from Blanton, Ridgemont Reserve 1792, and Eagle Rare.  If you like Manhattans, you might want to try one with Eagle Rare (down 10% to $27).

The usual mix of Tequilas is marked down in June, but you might want to try either the Familia Camarena Silver or Reposado, both of which are marked down this month 15% to $17.  If you’ve never tried one, give the Tequila Mojito a try.  There are not a lot of Rums on SPA this month, but you might want to try some Cruzan Dark (25% to $10) in a Tiki cocktail like a Piña Colada made with dark Rum.

As to any other sale or clearance items, if you see a great deal on 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 an online price book in PDF format that shows all of the markdowns for the current month.