What did you buy at the liquor store today?

[EvergreenDan]

It doesn't taste remarkably of coffee, so much as plum pudding, distinct prune/raisin/candied fruit notes.

Add rum and skip the 2 hours of shopping and 6 hours of prepping and baking fruit cake.

[haresfur]

I had a bit of time to kill in Melbourne CBD so checked out a liquor store I had noticed on Queen Street with quite a collection of old mini bottles and bitters bottles in the window. They had a few interesting bottles inside at higher than interesting prices. Picked up a bottle of Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Own Decanter Bitters for a reasonable $23 Aus. Breaking them in with a Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned. The bitters remind me of the Fees Old Fashioned/Whisky Barrel but with stronger clove aroma - and that's not a bad thing at all.

[ChrisTaylor]

Just tried a Jerry Thomas/Buffalo Trace Old-Fashioned on your suggestion. Really good. Incidentally, next time you're down my way, check out the Bentleigh branch of Cellarbrations. They have a really good range of (reasonably priced) bitters, bourbons and other delicious things, including Laird's apple brandy (in addition to applejack).

Edited October 5, 2012 by ChrisTaylor (log)

[mkayahara]

My husband has declared Amaretto Sour season to be open, so yesterday we picked up a new bottle of amaretto. I also replenished my supply of Cointreau (which was starting to run low), and grabbed a bottle of Still Waters "single malt" vodka. The "single malt" thing may be gimmicky, but this is one of the least vodka-like vodkas I've ever tasted: it's quite creamy, and actually has flavour; it tasted pretty much exactly like what it is: a whisky that's distilled out at high proof, filtered, and cut down with water. It reminded me somewhat of White Owl whisky, except without the aging-and-filtering-the-colour-out step. It went quite nicely in a Dreamy Dorini Smoking Martini.

I also recently picked up a bottle of Alberta Premium "Dark Horse" Canadian whisky. It's nice to see Canadian distillers finally responding to the demand for higher-proof, richer versions of their whiskies, with several new products on the market in the 43%-45% abv range, many of them with less base and more flavouring whisky. Dark Horse is very much in the Alberta Premium/Alberta Springs house style, with lots of spicy rye flavour, along with a bitter molasses finish (in a good way). My husband didn't love it in the whisky sour he had (he's pretty much a solid Bourbon guy), but I thought it made a very decent Manhattan and Toronto, and of course it drinks quite nicely on its own.

Edit: Whisky link.

Edited October 5, 2012 by mkayahara (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

Bittermans Habanero Shrub.

[tanstaafl2]

In my quest to expand the Irish Whiskey portion of the liquor cabinet I added two new members.

Both of these came from The Whisky Exchange. Yellow Spot (the 12yo 46% ABV older brother of Green Spot) is a fairly limited release and not available in the US. The Greenore from Cooley can be found in the US but not my area to my knowledge so I added it to an order placed with a couple of friends to help round out the order as it would have cost about the same to have it shipped on its own from a US supplier. It's an 80 proof all corn whiskey with only a hint of barley aged in used bourbon barrels that give it a somewhat bourbon-y profile or so say the reviews.

Will be interesting to put the Yellow Spot head to head against the Powers John's Lane which is also a 12yo 46% ABV whiskey. Both come from Midleton so I am curious if the difference is subtle or distinct. Some of the Yellow Spot spent time in Malaga wine casks in addition to the more typical bourbon and sherry casks so presumably that will have an influence not found in the Powers which tends to be more heavily influenced by sherry casks.

[ChrisTaylor]

Imports

- Smith & Cross. Am now one of the cool kids, I guess.

- Rhum Agricole La Favorite.

[EvergreenDan]

Trip to the NH liquor store.

I had this Obstler at a friend's house. It is an apple-and-pear eau-de-vie, 80 proof. Very nice in that eau firewater way. The Art in the Age Rhubarb Tea is pretty interesting. I won't be the next St. Germain, but I can imagine it adding a little indescribable something if used in sensible quantities as a modifier. The Killepitsch (special edition bottle, thank god, as it's hideous) is pretty awful. The combination of bitter and cherry just brings up too much Robitussin for me. I'm going to have to work at this one. I can imagine pie-spice amari working with the cherry, moving it away from a tickle-in-the-throat.

[Hassouni]

First ever single malt purchases

[elix]

I went to the store today for a bottle of Bitter Truth Creole Bitters. I also picked up a bottle of Ferrand 1840 cognac, which is their 90 proof classic cocktail blend, and a bottle Rittenhouse Bonded (which is my first since drinking an unfortunate amount of Manhattans on NYE two years ago).

The only thing I've done with the bitters or the cognac is to drink them together with some club soda. I guess I'm surprised by how similar the bitters are to Peychaud's and the cognac is to the regular old Ferrand Ambre. But Peychaud's and Ferrand Ambre are both delicious, so the similarity doesn't bother me too much. The bitters might be a little spicier than Peychaud's, and I suspect the difference between the cognacs might stand out more in a proper cocktail, where the higher proof of the 1840 might keep it from getting lost in the mix. But cognac and soda with Peychaud's is one of my top 2-3 favorite drinks, so that's where I started.

I've enjoyed Rittenhouse in the past, and I'm looking forward to trying it in a Final Ward, which is a drink that's new to me since my last bottle of Rittenhouse. Only had those with Bulleit so far.

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm back at Binny's for a bottle of the Bitter Truth orange bitter tomorrow. I can't wait until I can get a hold of their tonic bitters.

[mkayahara]

I'm just back from a long road trip across the US, ending with a too-short visit to Portland, OR. While there, I took the opportunity to pick up a bottle of the Ferrand 1840 Cognac. Looking forward to seeing how it plays in a cocktail.

[EvergreenDan]

First ever single malt purchases

Wow. Nice selections, and pretty gutsy for your first foray!

[Hassouni]

Heh, thanks! I've had a few drams here and there at bars, and know I like smoke and strong flavors - I'd already had Laphroaig and Lagavulin, so wanted some other Islay, and besides that wanted a range of styles.

[Yojimbo]

Mmmmm, Talisker. I made my semi-annual bar restocking trip the day before Sandy hit (can't survive without whiskey, yeah, I got my priorities straight) and the tally was:

Redbreast 12 yr old

Bowmore 12 yr old

Fernet Branca

Rittenhouse BiB

Flor de Cana 4 yr old white

[haresfur]

First ever single malt purchases

I think the Dalwhinnie is a very good value. May be too tame for some, but I like it.

[Hassouni]

That's the first and only of them that I've opened so far - it is tame, but it is also very very nice, very smooth, subtle, and elegant, sort of like a Scotchy Barbancourt

[elix]

I went back to the store today and picked up my first bottle of Fernet Branca. Wow, I like it a lot. I sipped a bit neat, I tried it with soda, I did with soda and a tiny bit of Chartreuse... I'm not making one tonight, but the next time I make a stinger, I'm going to put in a bit of FB for complexity.

I'm pretty into this stuff.

[Zachary]

Hassouni,

If you can find some, the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition (finished in PX Sherry cask) is stunning - it's closer to you Highland Park than Caol Ila or Talisker, but there's just enough toffee/raisiny sweetness to balance the cold, unforgiving peat.

Thanks,

Zachary

[Hassouni]

Actually, I bought a bottle of that as a present for some friends. Over my budget for my own drinking, sadly....

[tanstaafl2]

Actually, I bought a bottle of that as a present for some friends. Over my budget for my own drinking, sadly....

I say be your own friend! Others can come to my place if they want to try it. Works for me..

[KD1191]

A couple acquisitions in recent days...

First, a friend found a cache of Wild Turkey 101 Rye, so I went in for half a case. Based on various things I've heard over the last couple of months since the 101 disappeared (and that the 81 is now selling for more than the 101 did when it was on the shelves), I'm just not certain it's ever coming back.

Second, a bottle of the Leopold Bros. Maraschino, which I had tasted at the distillery last month. It has a wonderful pot distilled complexity and the cherry flavors just come across as far more 'natural' when compared side-by-side with Luxardo. It also doesn't have that sharp/artificial dryness on the finish that I get from the bigger brands. Leopold add a touch of coriander distillate, which I never would have guessed if I hadn't been told, but which adds a very nice complementary element to the finished product. I guess that's one of the nice side effects of distilling their gin botanicals individually...they just have things like orris root or cardamom distillates sitting around to play with.

[campus five]

@elix

I find the Creole Bitters to have a much drier finish the Peychauds in a finished cocktail. Having made practically the same Sazerac with Rittenhouse many times over, the Creole Bitters made for a much deeper, much spicier, and oddly much drier cocktail. Definitely a win, but I find myself being just slightly more generous with the 2:1 simple when making a Sazerac with Creole Bitters to compensate. I've also tried splitting the difference using both, and it basically does just that. All things told, I tend to prefer the Creole Bitters, at least in a Sazerac. That said, I'd bet that extra spiciness and dryness would probably also be welcome in a Vieux Carre or especially in the sweeter Cocktail ala Louisianne.

Worth noting, I usually a 2 dashes of Ango along with 4 dashes of Peychauds or Creole Bitters. Bonus points if you can get a Miracle Mile Forbidden Bitters instead of Ango, which add a amazing bottom end.

[Moto]

Tried my first Pineau de Charents variant on a trip to Canada and could not resist bringing a bottle back.

Also picked up a bottle of the Plantation Nicaragua 1998, QUite flavorful though defintely on the sweeter end of the spectrum

[elix]

Finding a good deal is awesome. I stopped at the large Chicago liquor store chain on the way home and picked up a bottle of Hardy VSOP cognac for $35. I got home, found out I needed more ice (I like cognac with club soda and a dash of Peychaud's), I went to the dinky little corner liquor store around the corner from my house to get a bag of ice (no I don't do fancy ice yet). They had Hardy VSOP for $24, so I picked up another bottle. They had at least one more. I think I probably should have bought it, too. Hardy VSOP is good in cocktails, good with soda, and honestly it isn't too bad on its own, either.

So if you live on the north side of Chicago, head to the store at Winnemac and Western. The guy that runs the place is super nice, too.

Cognac and soda really is a delicious drink. The "manly" white wine spritzer. Manly enough for me, anyway.

[Hassouni]

Restocked some Smith & Cross, and saw my bottle of Bulleit rye was getting low so picked up some Rittenhouse. Has anybody else found that Rittenhouse is very hard to find in your area? I usually buy my spirits at the Montgomery County monopoly shops (not that I live there, it's just way cheaper than anywhere else in the DC area and has a good selection), but the last few times I've tried to get Rittenhouse they said the entire county is out and it's in rare supply. (Needless to say, I got my bottle at a private shop outside the county).