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Ah yes. There are no bargains in alcohol when the gov't controls the sale so these two bargain hunters have to mesh our two interests somehow - making cocktails with gov't controlled alcohol and finding great bargains in glassware and barware. Yes, well perhaps unsurprisingly bargain hunting isn't my thing! I like saving as much as the next person but my idea of a good day shopping is to git in, git 'er done, git out and have a new cocktail ready to go before the dust settles!

Might consider the Libbey "Embassy Collection" coupe #3773. Holds 5.5 oz but to me it seems smaller. They make even smaller ones as the #3777 is 4.5 oz and the #3787 is only 3.5 oz. Now that last one just has to be too small. Barely a sip! Can by them at restaurant supply stores like this for about $100 but only if you want 36 of 'em! I even found a local restaurant supply store that had them but they wouldn't break the case. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I would do with 36 of them but found a place that will sell them by the glass so I bought 6. I think they had both the #3773 and the #3777 size. But a lot more expensive that way. Including shipping they cost me almost half what 36 would have cost here locally. Starting to wonder if I should have bought the case of 36! Probably so...

Not sure when this was written but it sounds like the South African efforts to produce an agave spirit did not succeed and at least this particular brand is no more. Agava There is some suggestion that another company is considering or trying to make use of what is apparently a plentiful supply of South African blue agave but haven't found anything definitive yet. I certainly enjoy a nice tequila and it might have been interesting to compare a South African product. But not to be it appears, at least for now.

Anybody familiar with this spirit? I sometimes get a little obsessed with hard to find and/or unusual spirits to add to my "collection". I learned of this one from a show called "Three Sheets" that I confess was a bit of a guilty pleasure and that I watched because I occasionally get to do a bit of traveling myself and one of my hobbies is to explore local uncommon "adult beverages". But it did occasionally also uncover things that I decided I just had to have. One episode in Poland featured Miodula and it was not available as best I could tell in the US. But I was able to locate it at the extensive and intriguing Whiskey Exchange website and recently I was able to find a coworker passing through London and they agreed to pick up two bottles on my behalf . Sadly this was before I found out about Swedish Punsch or I would have had them get that for me as well. Next year I hope to be in London and visit their shop myself! I may never leave... One of the bottles was pretty straight forward that it was from a specific vintage (2007, bottled in 2008) which is what I had expected. But the other bottle is noted to be a blend of several years and was marked with a tag indicating it was an "Exceptional Edition". Well, dang that's good news! But I can't seem to find out much more about it. In any event it is quite nice. Obviously even without more info I have made a few inroads on this bottle! Not quite sure how to make the pics smaller. I checked the link on the tag but it didn't seem overly helpful. Miodula "Translated" Anybody have any more insight about it or know where I might find more info? Preferrably in English! As I write this it occurs to me I should write the Whiskey Exchange an email as perhaps they can give me more information about it.

That Scofflaw sounds nice and I have a bit of NP vermouth left over that is crying out to be used soon! Went with a Chrysanthemum cocktail last night to help solve that little problem. Just had another "My Favorite Mechanic Is A Woman" at the delightful Cakes and Ale in Decatur, GA. It’s a lovely drink for a warm steamy evening even though the recent front has cooled things down a bit here the past few days. It is a 1/1/1/1 blend of bourbon, limoncello, lemon juice and Canton ginger liqueur with an egg white for texture and topped off with a Luxardo cherry in a tall glass over ice. It gets occasional mention in Atlanta area cocktail blogs such as this one - Decatur "Cocktail Crawl" Don't recall off hand what the bourbon the restaurant used but I will probably not be using anything super fancy at home given the mixture with limoncello and Canton. Perhaps the Knob Creek 9yo would work well to give it a little extra bite. My current limoncello brand is Pallini. Might try what I did with the Tequila Mockingbird 2 and substitute the Pallini raspicello for the limoncello to see what effect that has. I liked it in the TM2 but it did make it a sweeter concoction as compared to the more tart version with limoncello. Haven't tried the Pallini peachcello but that might be worth a try as well. Just need more freezer space...

Interesting suggestion. I will look into it although if Drinkupny has it then I at least have a viable option. I have ordered a few hard to find things from them in the past.

I will pass these suggestions along to my friend. I am not there myself on this trip so it makes it a bit more difficult. Normally I would do just as was suggested and try to inquire of local bartenders about what might be good options but my friends is not much into the bar scene. I like Amarula and have some already. But it has generally been readily available here at home so was trying to find things I can't find here. I have read about something called Wild African Cream I think but don't know much about it. Never seen it locally. I also have enjoyed Savana cider on past trips and it is not readily available here but managed to get a supply of that on a past trip. Thanks for the suggestions!

Have a friend traveling in South Africa who has offered to bring back any thing I might be interested. They have already located Rose's Kola Tonic for me. Seems to be hard to find in the US so I figured what the heck, get it while I can in case I decide to make a Filmograph cocktail from Doc Cocktail's book or something else equally odd! But any other spirits (or perhaps mixers) that might be found in South Africa that would be harder to come by in the states that any one would suggest looking for?

So, umm, I don't suppose, umm, someone, won't mention any names of course, who has a long and noteworthy history of experience in the "spirits world" and perhaps even no ax to grind or hidden association to promote might be willing to suggest a long-time experienced distiller or three who are making new formulae that are balanced, clean and delightful? Could be for gin/botanical spirit/whatever we want to call it today in keeping with this thread or could be on other enchanting new spirits for that matter. I don't generally have a chance to sit down and experience samplings of a variety of distillers where I can determine for myself what might be well worth a little extra added expense in support of innovative distillers, whether they be large or small, without first spending that $35-$40 or more to buy each bottle myself and find out the hard way. I would like to support said long-time experienced distillers when I can but would welcome help in avoiding those no doubt equally hard working but perhaps slightly less innovative distillers out there. Buying a variety of bottles each time gets a bit spendy when sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Would like to improve my odds of having it work out! I do try to read a lot of different reviewers before buying something new but so often the reviews provide little to truly distinguish one spirit from another. They all tend to say the same thing. Usually that this gin/botanical spirit/whatever is pretty good or on occasion that it is truly awful. So I suppose I would also welcome some sites for a few reviewers to try to judge from as I navigate the vast cosmos of the internet cocktail world. I know individual tastes vary but I guess you gotta start somewhere! (And yes I made note of the aforementioned Kuchan Peach Brandy and the link to Chuck Cowdery!)

I quite enjoy Citadelle and if you like their gin you should consider the Citadelle Reserve if you can find it. I have a couple of bottles of the 2010 including bottle #2 from the last cask, #29, and it is quite delightful. Not a lot of it around so something to look for. More expensive than the regular Citadelle but surprisingly not that much more (around $28-30 in Atlanta if I recall correctly) and I thought it well worth it. Made by the Cognac Ferrand group and I suppose that is partly what led them to putting a little oak on it. As I understand it the Reserve is a similar but not identical formulation to the standard gin.

I am greatly looking forward to that boat landing! As am I! T-Pain sounds interesting. Now if I only knew what T-Pain was...

Been awhile since this post was made or anybody has replied in this thread but if you are interested in a tequila based orange liqueur you might consider Agavero Orange Liqueur. It is VERY sweet though as it has a lot of agave nectar in it. A Cuervo product I think and is 64 proof. Colorless with of course the sweet agave up front and tequila notes following with a hint of orange mixed in. I don't typically drink it straight but use it in a margarita if I am looking for a little sweeter variation and/or am out of Damiana. I do rather like the regular Agavero liqueur but as I said I also like the sweet Damiana it contains (and not just because of the funky bottle!). I frequently use Damiana in my margaritas as well as a sweetener and to give it a little different spin. Both Agavero's are reputedly made with aged tequila. I did a search on Agavero and it doesn't seem to be in this forum anywhere so I suppose it is not a particularly popular drink. But it is one I can drink with friends who aren't quite up to sipping tequila or mezcal neat, probably because it is so sweet.

Although admittedly fairly new to the Martinez I have found my favorite so far to be the following based on a recipe from a local restaurant with a strong bar tradition. 2 oz Ransom Old Tom gin 1 oz Carpano Antica 1 tsp Luxardo marschino 1 dash Regan's Orange bitters Not sure if that is the exact formula of the restaurant but it is where I have ended up and I like where I am at the moment!

I was also on the search for Swedish Punsch as a result of the wonderful book by Doc Cocktail when I found this. Perhaps it has been mentioned elsewhere but was surprised it was not in this thread. Swedish Punsch Note the article, which was written in May 2011, says the new "Kronan" will be available this summer. Well, summer is about gone so I pushed my liquor contact for an update and he indicated it was still waiting for distillation time at the distillery in Sweden. So it presumably is still coming but the timeline for availability is still unknown, at least locally for me. Perhaps someone here has more insight on the status? Meanwhile I continue to search out friends and acquaintances going to London or Europe to try to get some. Thought I had a chance last week for some Carlshamns from London but they weren't able to come through for me. I am not likely to go myself until next summer so if I can't find my own personal Punsch "mule" then I will have to wait for either the Kronan or until I can go myself! But my shopping list is already pretty long...

Haven't got it yet but was just informed this morning that my bottle of Del Maguey Tobala along with a bottle of the Crema de Mezcal have just arrived. On my way to pick them up this evening if time permits! Saturday night I managed to snag a bottle of Citadel Reserve 2010 gin and three bottles from the Buffalo Trace Single Oak project. I believe they are 61, 191 and one other that I can't recall at the moment. It will be my first foray into this little experiment. An expensive foray I must admit! Probably some content here about that project that I haven't had a chance to track down yet as a newbie. Single Oak Project Will likely use all of these new acquisitions to help celebrate the coming Labor Day weekend!

Seems it has been a bit quiet in here for awhile! New member and while I have become enchanted with the renaissance of spirits and vintage cocktails my first mistress was beer and I will no doubt continue my long time love affair with her, no matter how exotic the cocktails might be! While my tastes have changed over the years as my pocketbook has gotten a bit more amendable to variety I still like many different beers and find that the occasion can dictate my choice. I have recently been reexploring the lambics and Trappist ales of Belgium (and the one lonely, somewhat more commercialzed Trappist ale representative from the Netherlands). Some day I will get back to Belgium and hope to try a Westvleteren 12 but for now I think my favorite is the Westmalle Tripel. Lambics are sometimes a challenge to come by and my favorite are the fruit lambics, especially the framboise. Lindemans is most readliy available at my location and occasionally Boon so that is what I drink when I have a hankering but would love to find a source for the Cantillon line to try and am particularly fascinated, for reasons I can't explain, with the Blåbær (Blueberry) Lambik reportedly available only at Ølbutikken in Copenhagen. Not sure it is even still available there!