Cocktail ingredients Utah update – February 2014

El Diablo is a cocktail the
Devil himself might enjoy.

As is usually the case in February, a monthly UABC post that appears this late means that there is not much to write about.  If the Utah Mixologist had not stocked up in December and didn’t expect to see around 400 items on markdown in March, he would be really depressed this month.  The number of marked down items at the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores in February has increased only slightly from January.  This month the number of items on SPA rose from under 180 to around 230, barely more than a third of the over 615 items marked down in December.  Obviously, this is not the time to stock your bar, but there are still a few quality cocktail ingredients available.

If you’re into Bourbons, you’re almost out of luck this month.  The pick of the lot is the Knob Creek, marked down $2 to $33, but Evan Williams Single Barrel is marked down, too.  The only Scotch Whisky marked down this month is Macallan Ten Year Old, marked down $2 to $40, so if you’re looking for a blended Scotch to put into a Rob Roy you’re out of luck.  If you need some liqueurs, Amaretto Di Amore is marked down almost 15% this month.

The number of Tequilas on SPA this month has been generously increased from one to four!  Discerning Tequila lovers may want to forgo the Tortilla Gold Blend at $7, but the Herradura Añejo (CS# 003656) marked down $5 to $50 might be worth the investment.  Regular readers will know that a good Silver (or Plata or Blanco) is an essential ingredient in the El Diablo, but this month the only Plata is El Charro, marked down from $17 to $15.  For those who love Cosmopolitans or Vodka Martinis, there are two Vodkas in 750 ml bottles on SPA.  Effen Vodka, down 7% to $25, may interest some of you.

There’s 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.