marty mccabe

Not sure this is "scavenging" as much as one of the craziest deals ever: El Tesoro 70th Aniversario tequila at Wollaston Supreme Liquors for $29.99/bottle!!! Bought two bottles myself.

Was it ever imported at 100 proof? I feel like I have seen the VSOP at this strength before in a store with some old inventory, if this is plausible I will definitely go check again. Didn't get it when there last since it is still not exactly cheap :-\ I hate to say that it was "never" imported, as I'm generally wrong when I make pronouncements like that... That said, To the best of my knowledge, as long as Preiss has been importing it, they've only imported an 80 proof version. Having tried them side by side, the difference is noticeable, to say the least.

It's kind of hard to recommend Clement in the US. Don't get me wrong; it's a good bottle of rhum agricole...when you buy it outside of the US, where it's sold at 100 proof. Inexplicably, Preiss Imports has chosen to import an 80 proof version, which is just not much to write home about...

In Rhode Island, the distributor that had del Maguey was sold, and their inventory closed out. I have picked up (at different stores) a bottle of Chichicapa for $50 and a bottle of Tobala for $75!!! Hope it helps...

Has anyone seen Foursquare Spiced Rum in the greater Boston area? Thanks!

Okay, here goes: in MA, there are franchise laws whereby it's VERY hard for a wine or liquor company to change distributors. They can dual the distributor, in effect, appointing more than one wholesaler in the same state to sell the same product. For instance, a couple years ago, it seemed like EVERY distributor in MA sold Absolut. Anyway, I don't know what the particular order was, but Laird's has ended up assigning three different companies to sell their products in MA. I think J. Polep got involved because in addition to the apple spirits, Laird's also sells what would charitably be called "low end" or rail spirits. And somehow, probably a couple years ago when the cocktail scene wasn't what it is now, Polep ended up with the Bonded, too. Why Laird's doesn't offer it to one of the bigger houses they deal with, I have no idea!

Wow, thanks a lot for the information. I will march right down to my local liquor stores with that name. BTW: Have you seen it for sale anywhere? I noticed Drink has the 7 1/2 y.o., which I've also never seen anywhere -- do you know if that's distributed by the same strange company? ← I believe the 7 1/2 year is sold to them by either United or Horizon; probably Horizon. SHould be easier to get. As for a retailer, that's going to be harder, as they would have to probably start dealing with J. Polep. I'd turn it on its head and call J. Polep and ask them who you can buy it from.

[Moderator's note: this topic was split off from the Good Enough Spirits for an Average Day topic. -- CA] Cruzan didn't used to be swill. It USED to be a nice 2 year aged rum. Now, it's something like 14 months aged rum. And those 10 months make all the difference...Flor de Cana is my default white. An aside: it's a complicated, stupid story, but Laird's bonded is available in MA; it's just that some strange company that nobody has ever heard of sells it. If I can find the name, I'll post it. Oh hey, here it is: J. Polep Distributors Chicopee, MA 01013 413-592-4141

If you're in Boston, check out Adam at The Boston Shaker. He's got a great selection of barware, bitters, etc., and a willingness to find it for you if he doesn't have it. If you're not in Boston, well, bug him to get his webstore up and running...

A little bit in this thread.

Cruzan Blackstrap is in fact nothing like Navy rums, at least as they were understood by and served in the Royal Navy. Navy rums were a blend of pot-distilled Jamaican and Demerara rums, barrel-aged on the London docks (at least until the Luftwaffe blew those docks to bits in 1940). They were full-flavored, not to say funky, and very dry. I agree with haresfur about this one. A miss. ← While I absolutely defer to you on this one (and probably should have thought about it for a sec before I typed that), someone migght enlighten Cruzan: "If you are already acquainted with Navy rum - here's the news: Cruzan Blackstrap Rum is a cleaner, less heavy Navy Rum..." That's off their website.

In my opinion, Cruzan Blackstrap doesn't work as a "dark rum," in the conventional sense of things. I'm told it's more akin to the Navy rums of old. As for where the countries fit in, that's an essay in itself, but I like what slkinsey has to say about it.

Okay, you gotta take what I'm about to say with a slight grain of salt, as I have about 35 different rums right now. That said, mkayahara is right from the perspective of, "what do you want to do with them?" My initial thoughts: light: one is fine and Flor de Cana is a very good one. medium (or gold): here, you want something that's more than just caramel coloring. Something like Appleton VX, Cruzan Estate Diamond, or Cockspur Old Gold works great. dark: now, dark is a funny thing. from a tiki perspective, Goslings doesn't qualify (at least, according to Jeff Berry), because it's got more of a spiced flavor. He prefers Myers; Coruba is also another dark Jamaican. That said, I use Goslings all the time, because I don't like Myers, so... demerara: Lemon Hart (not 151) or El Dorado 5yr. Totally worth it, and called for in certain recipes. Also works great with ginger beer. rhum agricole: buy one blanco, preferably La Favorite. Don't buy Clement. Learn to make Ti Punch. Hope this helps.

Fee's contains: corn sweeteners, sugar, water, natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, less than 1/10 of 1% Benzoate of Soda as a preservative, propylene glycol, xanthan gum, gum acacia and glyeryl abietate. I think I need to go make some homemade stuff now...

I don't think there ever has been, or ever will be a bargain-priced 100% agave tequila. It's not likely we'll be seeing a "Rittenhouse bonded" of tequila, and there are some very good reasons why. ← Maybe I should have clarified: there certainly won't be on a nationwide basis. That said--and I work as a territory manager for a wine importer, so I get to go into lots of stores in many states--for about a 2yr period, El Tesoro blanco was $15-$20/bottle in several stores in Massachusetts. I've also been able to find those Herradura liters for as little as $20. In essence, when big distributors need to make a "number" for a big supplier, they generally target a couple stores and dump. That's what I've been missing, that random regional bargain...