What did you buy at the liquor store today? (2013–)

[FrogPrincesse]

Very nice!

Suze is now distributed in the US (US formula though, not exactly the same), so I am not surprised that you were able to find it.

[radtek]

Absinthe. A bottle of Kubler and now working away at Absinthe Ordinaire. The Kubler is better.

I like to do 1 part gin and absinthe on ice at the customary time. A habit I picked up from last year.

[Czequershuus]

My order from Drinkupny arrived today. A little feeling flush after a thin summer present to myself. The Luxardo and Cynar are long awaited restocks. All the rest are new to me. Just tried the Vida and the S&C. Oh boy what a treat.

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[Hassouni]

First time with Smith n Cross! Ooh ain't nothin like THAT first time!

[brinza]

judiu, on 17 Sept 2013 - 18:23, said:

Holy, uh, merde! They must LOVE you over there!

It's my third trip there. I go once a year. When I tell them I'm from Pittsburgh, they ask what brought me to KY, as if I'm there for some larger reason and I just happened to stop in the store, and I have to say, "I'm in KY to come here." It's probably a good thing that I don't live closer.

FrogPrincesse, on 17 Sept 2013 - 18:33, said:

Very nice!

Suze is now distributed in the US (US formula though, not exactly the same), so I am not surprised that you were able to find it.

Mainly I was surprised because it didn't show up on their website so I wasn't expecting to see it there. That's interesting. I didn't know there were two formulas. Why are there two formulas? How are they different? It's still a wonderful product. I prefer it to Salers. Edited September 19, 2013 by brinza (log)

[Adam George]

My order from Drinkupny arrived today. A little feeling flush after a thin summer present to myself. The Luxardo and Cynar are long awaited restocks. All the rest are new to me. Just tried the Vida and the S&C. Oh boy what a treat.

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Is this their How To Fit In on eGullet Gift Pack?

[Czequershuus]

My order from Drinkupny arrived today. A little feeling flush after a thin summer present to myself. The Luxardo and Cynar are long awaited restocks. All the rest are new to me. Just tried the Vida and the S&C. Oh boy what a treat.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Is this their How To Fit In on eGullet Gift Pack?

I'm pretty sure it is there I'm sorry you live in the midwest gift pack.

[FrogPrincesse]

FrogPrincesse, on 17 Sept 2013 - 18:33, said:

Very nice!

Suze is now distributed in the US (US formula though, not exactly the same), so I am not surprised that you were able to find it.

Mainly I was surprised because it didn't show up on their website so I wasn't expecting to see it there. That's interesting. I didn't know there were two formulas. Why are there two formulas? How are they different? It's still a wonderful product. I prefer it to Salers.

The US got a new product called "Saveur d'autrefois" and different packaging. It is 20° instead of 15°. Maybe it was modified because it is mainly drunk neat in France but we use it in cocktails in the US, and it has been "optimized" accordingly? (That is the optimistic theory.) Why they always feel they have to fiddle with formulas for the US market, I don't know... It reminds me a bit of the Noilly Prat dry vermouth fiasco.

I still have my old bottle of Suze and will share if someone wants to do a comparison.

On this photo you can see the old bottle.

Have you had a White Negroni yet?

Edited September 19, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Found some info about the US Suze on a blog. It's ironic that they reference Lillet as an example of product that has changed over the years (less quinine, etc). Lillet's current line is that their product was not altered with the 1986 change when Kina was dropped from the name. It may be true, and we may never know for sure, but what a PR fiasco...

For Suze's U.S. launch, the manufacturers resurrected creator Fernand Moureaux’s original 1885 recipe. Much like Lillet, modern day Suze has been modified to accommodate the modern consumer tastes. So the bitter or quinine taste profile was lowered and sweetness increased. However, Pernod-Ricard (owners of Suze since 1965) are big supporters of the craft cocktail movement. They understand the demand for authenticity when it comes to flavor profiles from specific eras. The original formula and name of the newly available spirit is Suze Saveur D’Autrefois - which translates to “old flavor”.

[brinza]

FrogPrincesse, on 19 Sept 2013 - 12:47, said:

Found some info about the US Suze on a blog. It's ironic that they reference Lillet as an example of product that has changed over the years (less quinine, etc). Lillet's current line is that their product was not altered with the 1986 change when Kina was dropped from the name. It may be true, and we may never know for sure, but what a PR fiasco...

Quote

For Suze's U.S. launch, the manufacturers resurrected creator Fernand Moureaux’s original 1885 recipe. Much like Lillet, modern day Suze has been modified to accommodate the modern consumer tastes. So the bitter or quinine taste profile was lowered and sweetness increased. However, Pernod-Ricard (owners of Suze since 1965) are big supporters of the craft cocktail movement. They understand the demand for authenticity when it comes to flavor profiles from specific eras. The original formula and name of the newly available spirit is Suze Saveur D’Autrefois - which translates to “old flavor”.

Thanks for the information, FrogPrincesse. I remember tasting the other Suze in New Orleans and was surprised that it was not nearly as bitter as I was led to believe it would be. This American version seems to be a little more bitter. So much for making things sweeter to appeal to the so-called "American palate!" Anyway, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with what's available. I will definitely try a White Negroni using it. Do you have other good recipes using Suze? (I don't want to keep derailing this thread, so I'll look through your mouth-watering posts in the Drinks thread).

[FrogPrincesse]

brinza,

I mostly use my Suze in White Negronis, but I also love PDT's Brown Bomber. The Two Cups of Blood from beta cocktails is fun if you are in the mood for something different.

[Ian Tuck]

Astor Wine and Spirits had a sale on the 31-year old Inchgower, so I picked up a bottle of it to bring back to Toronto with me. Also picked up a bottle of the Pierde Almas +9 Mezcal-Gin, and an intriguing-looking bottle of Amaro Sibilla. Had one of the most epic cocktail crawl weekends I've ever experienced in NYC, so thanks to the many, many amazing bartenders who fed and (fire)watered us.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Ian Tuck (log)

[Rafa]

I took advantage of the (same?) Astor sale to buy Fidencio Clásico mezcal, not to be confused with the more common Fidencio Joven. Beautiful stuff. Amazing nose: full-flavored roasted agave notes with fruit and brine and smoke and earth and clay. No burn to speak of, just a nice subtle heat on the back end. Built for sipping.

[bartenderkyle]

Brinza,

So is the Genepy more along the lines of yellow Chartreuse? I'm heading to HiTime this weekend and was thinking about picking some up.

[KD1191]

I showed great restraint and walked out of the Whisky Exchange store in London with only a bottle of Mozart Chocolate Bitters. This was possible due to the fact that I knew I had a bottle of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12 Year waiting for me when I got home. Haven't tried the former yet, but the latter is spectacular (and, something of a steal priced in the $40 range at 137 proof). Tons of character, lots of spice, not overwhelmed by wood (which was the downfall of the Stagg, Jr. I tasted a few weeks back).

[Adam George]

[Czequershuus]

My local Liquor store finally started stocking Rittenhouse. Yay! Normally I go there for the excellent craft beer selection (And the free tastings twice a month), but their whiskey selection has been steadily improving, and now I find Rittenhouse in my area. Woohoo!

[KD1191]

My local Liquor store finally started stocking Rittenhouse. Yay! Normally I go there for the excellent craft beer selection (And the free tastings twice a month), but their whiskey selection has been steadily improving, and now I find Rittenhouse in my area. Woohoo!

I've noticed a lot of shelves flush with Rittenhouse recently. In other good news, the stuff in the bottle once again appears to have come off Heaven Hill's own still (DSP 1 is listed on the bottles I've seen recently), as opposed to the Early Times make (DSP 354). Was never completely satisfied with the 354, compared to the pre-fire stuff. So, not sorry to see it go.

[tanstaafl2]

My local Liquor store finally started stocking Rittenhouse. Yay! Normally I go there for the excellent craft beer selection (And the free tastings twice a month), but their whiskey selection has been steadily improving, and now I find Rittenhouse in my area. Woohoo!

I've noticed a lot of shelves flush with Rittenhouse recently. In other good news, the stuff in the bottle once again appears to have come off Heaven Hill's own still (DSP 1 is listed on the bottles I've seen recently), as opposed to the Early Times make (DSP 354). Was never completely satisfied with the 354, compared to the pre-fire stuff. So, not sorry to see it go.

Interesting that you associate DSP 354 with Early Times. I suppose since the new Early Times straight bourbon is called Early Times 354 it is easy to do. DSP 354 is the Brown-Forman Distillery in Louisville (located pretty close to the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville now run by Heaven Hill and where the new DSP 1 Rittenhouse is made) and is certainly where Early Times is made.

But the name Early Times which was once the brand made by Jim Beam (yes, that Jim Beam!) in Early Times Station, KY and was bought by Brown-Forman during prohibition basically to acquire the stock of whiskey they had in barrels to have aged whiskey available for the day when our long national nightmare of prohibition ended!

As for which is better I suppose it is a matter of ones individual palate. So far I tend to prefer the newer DSP 1 too in blind taste tests although I like them both and would probably have a hard time distinguishing between them in a typical cocktail.

Edited October 4, 2013 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[KD1191]

Interesting that you associate DSP 354 with Early Times. I suppose since the new Early Times straight bourbon is called Early Times 354 it is easy to do. DSP 354 is the Brown-Forman Distillery in Louisville (located pretty close to the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville now run by Heaven Hill and where the new DSP 1 Rittenhouse is made) and is certainly where Early Times is made.

But the name Early Times which was once the brand made by Jim Beam (yes, that Jim Beam!) in Early Times Station, KY and was bought by Brown-Forman during prohibition basically to acquire the stock of whiskey they had in barrels to have aged whiskey available for the day when our long national nightmare of prohibition ended!

As for which is better I suppose it is a matter of ones individual palate. So far I tend to prefer the newer DSP 1 too in blind taste tests although I like them both and would probably have a hard time distinguishing between them in a typical cocktail.

Interesting that you find it interesting...I've been acting under the impression that it's been shorthand for that distillery for years, at least for some time before this list was compiled in 2010. I believe it was adopted in an attempt to differentiate BF's 354 operation for the 414 in Shively (on the other side of Louisville).

[tanstaafl2]

Interesting that you associate DSP 354 with Early Times. I suppose since the new Early Times straight bourbon is called Early Times 354 it is easy to do. DSP 354 is the Brown-Forman Distillery in Louisville (located pretty close to the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville now run by Heaven Hill and where the new DSP 1 Rittenhouse is made) and is certainly where Early Times is made.

But the name Early Times which was once the brand made by Jim Beam (yes, that Jim Beam!) in Early Times Station, KY and was bought by Brown-Forman during prohibition basically to acquire the stock of whiskey they had in barrels to have aged whiskey available for the day when our long national nightmare of prohibition ended!

As for which is better I suppose it is a matter of ones individual palate. So far I tend to prefer the newer DSP 1 too in blind taste tests although I like them both and would probably have a hard time distinguishing between them in a typical cocktail.

Interesting that you find it interesting...I've been acting under the impression that it's been shorthand for that distillery for years, at least for some time before this list was compiled in 2010. I believe it was adopted in an attempt to differentiate BF's 354 operation for the 414 in Shively (on the other side of Louisville).

My understanding is that the DSP number is registered to the actual producer of whiskey and the equipment they use to include the still. In this case B-F moved the still registered to DSP 414 (which made Old Forester) from downtown KY to the current Shively location where DSP 354 (which made Early Times) and both stills now sit essentially side by side in Shively, which as you note is kind of a suburb in SW Louisville.

For some reason they tend to use 414 as the bottling plant number and 354 as the still number. 354 was the Early Times still and 414 was the Old Forester still until they brought them together at the same location some years ago (not sure of the date. Early 80's I would guess). Speculation was that they started refering to all of the operation in Shively as the B-F or Old Forester distillery because at that time Early Times had more of a reputation as bottom shelf whiskey. I am told B-F can run both stills in parallel so the whiskey they now produce could be a product of both stills and both whiskey could come from either still.

A DSP is used by a "producer" of whiskey. They could be a bottler, an importer or a distiller but as I understand it they don't have to even have a still to have a DSP. An example is Willett/KBD which has had a DSP (DSP 78) for nearly 30 years but only recently built a new still and began making their own whiskey.

The shell game distilleries play can get quite confusing!

This site has interesting info from around 2000 although I can't speak to the veracity of all the details!

Also it appears I am mistaken in that it was Jim Beams uncle, Jack Beam, who started Early Times and not Jim Beam.

Edited October 7, 2013 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Restocking the bar except for the bottle on the left which is new and was already put into good use in a Nouveau Carré.

Was also looking for a good genever (Bols or ...) but did not have any luck so far.

[FrogPrincesse]

Oh, and after following the discussion between tanstaafl2 and KD1191, I checked my bottle of Rittenhouse (that I have a tendency to hoard because it's really good and can be hard to find in San Diego), and it's the DSP 354. So now I have an excuse to finish it if the new stuff is supposed to be even better!

[tanstaafl2]

Oh, and after following the discussion between tanstaafl2 and KD1191, I checked my bottle of Rittenhouse (that I have a tendency to hoard because it's really good and can be hard to find in San Diego), and it's the DSP 354. So now I have an excuse to finish it if the new stuff is supposed to be even better!

Better, as I am sure you know, is subjective. Save that DSP 354 until you find a bottle of DSP 1 and then you will be able to do a blind tasting for yourself. Or better yet buy a new bottle of 354 to put aside so that when you find a new bottle of DSP 1 you will be able to open them together and taste them together over a period of time.

Can always find a use for Ritt Rye so it certainly won't go to waste!

[FrogPrincesse]

tanstaafl2 - agreed. Plan is to keep enough of the old bottle to do a side-by-side and see if I could detect a difference.