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

[Plantes Vertes]

Blume Marillen, Zwack and G Miclo are producing; try Amazon, Master of Malt and Astor Wines.

[FrogPrincesse]

Also Etter from Switzerland. Very good quality eaux-de-vie.

[Hassouni]

est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un aux EU qui vend leur eau de vie d'abricot?

Edited April 17, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Cher Monsieur Hassouni,

I get my stuff directly from Switzerland, but I would ask Hi Times Wine Cellars. They carry Etter, although I don't see the apricot currently listed on their website.

[Hassouni]

Yeah a look on wine-searcher yielded no results stateside 

 

ETA: "I get my stuff directly from Switzerland" is one of the more baller things said on this subforum

Edited April 17, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Also Etter from Switzerland. Very good quality eaux-de-vie.

Okanagan Spirits here in Canada does as well. They do apricot, pear, apple, cherry, chokecherry, Italian prune, Mirabelle plum and raspberry eaux-di-vie as well as a couple of grappas, several nice liqueurs, an aquavit and a pretty decent absinthe. They've ventured into gin, vodka and whisky as well but I haven't tried any of them.

 

[EvergreenDan]

Interpreting a recipe that calls for "apricot brandy" (or cherry brandy for that matter) requires some thought about age of the recipe and sugar balance and the recipe construction.

 

In my recipes I use eau-de-vie (unaged distilled fruit wine), dry <fruit> brandy (aged distilled fruit wine), and <fruit> liqueur (fruit flavor or juice added to some base spirit, plus sugar) to distinguish three rather different ingredients. "<fruit> brandy" could mean any of the three. Argh.

[mkayahara]

Haus Alpenz has been distributing Blume Marillen in the US for (relative) ages now; it should be easy to order through any store that carries the rest of their portfolio.

[Rafa]

And Blume Marillen is delicious, with untapped cocktail potential. 

[tanstaafl2]

A friend returning from Paris was kind enough to bring me a couple of bottles back that I had been interested in to add to my "odd and unusual" bottle collection.

 

 

The Eddu Silver and Hammer Head 23yo Czech malt were for me. The Amer Picon Club was his but he was sharing!

 

Unfortunately this was yesterday during one of my marathon Wednesday tastings and the old palate had been getting seriously beaten up before he arrived with Caol Ila whisky and overproof rums, not to mention a taste of the 2014 edition of the Devil's Bit.

 

 

We tried them all anyway but they deserve a chance to be tried on their own as they are both fairly light low proof whiskys.

[Hassouni]

Dude, I think you have the envy of everyone here. Look at those Caol Ilas!!!

[FrogPrincesse]

Yeah a look on wine-searcher yielded no results stateside 

 

ETA: "I get my stuff directly from Switzerland" is one of the more baller things said on this subforum

Oh, the glamour and amazing perks of business travel... You have no idea.

[Hassouni]

My most recent biz travel took me to Kuwait - A DRY COUNTRY!

[Czequershuus]

Thanks to lovely sale prices, I came home with a bottle of Bols Yogurt Liqueur today, as well as the sampler pack of St. George Gins. Very excited about both these purchases. 

[J_Ozzy]

A trip to Calgary provided an opportunity to pick up some products that were unavailable (or significantly more expensive) in Montreal:

Cocchi Americano, George Dickel #12, Four Roses Single Barrel, Barbancourt 15, Lagavulin 16 and a 10 year old Scapa bottling.

 

Edit: spelling

Edited April 19, 2014 by J_Ozzy (log)

[Hassouni]

Dorothy Parker gin - wonderful stuff. This is my first real "new generation" gin besides Bombay Sapphire (if that counts) and it's quite fantastic. I broke my non-agave $20 white spirit limit, but oh well, all in the name of scientific research.

 

Restock of Pheasant's Tears Saperavi - both from a store run by Georgians (read more about Pheasant's Tears here, it's seriously one of the best wines I've ever had http://weballharder.com/2012/07/19/georgian-wine-at-its-best-pheasants-tears/ )

Edited April 19, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[richl2214]

Never had the Black Maple Hill 16 (the one on the left), it has eluded me until now.  It should say its prayers.

 

The middle is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Thomas Hardy Sazerac 2013 and the right is the "run of the mill" Black Maple Hill Small Batch.

Should be an great weekend.  

[KD1191]

Never had the Black Maple Hill 16 (the one on the left), it has eluded me until now.  It should say its prayers.

 

The middle is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Thomas Hardy Sazerac 2013 and the right is the "run of the mill" Black Maple Hill Small Batch.

Should be an great weekend.  

 

I want to go to there (there being any store that has those three bottles sitting on the shelf).

 

Haven't seen any Black Maple Hill in the wild in a couple years (the 23 rye is one of my many white whales), and while Handy used to be available nearly the entire year 'round in places, it's been several months since I saw a bottle.

[FrogPrincesse]

Beer shopping this weekend at Bottlecraft in North Park.

The Bruery Sucré 2014 anniversary ale (aged in bourbon barrels), AleSmith/Cigar City Ramblin' rye brown ale, Dogfish 90- and 60-minute IPAs, bière de garde from The Commons brewery in Portland, Olde Ale British-style ale MMXIV from AleSmith.

 

 

 

Some earlier shopping at Hi-Time Wine Cellars and The Mixing Glass, a new shop in Costa Mesa (book, bitters).

 

 

Edited May 5, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Hassouni]

Let us know how the book is please!

[FrogPrincesse]

So far, so good, although I only read a few pages and then got distracted. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet.

[Tri2Cook]

Thanks to someone awesome, I got two bottles of Carpano Antica and some crème de violet... along with several other goodies I'm looking forward to trying.

[sbumgarner]

We have a liquor store in my neighborhood that looks like time passed it by - random boxes everywhere, macro-brew only beer selection, hasn't been cleaned in quite some time, run by a very nice elderly couple who don't even seem to know what they have. I never see anyone go in there, and given it's prime real estate right on the nicest park in town it seems it may not be long for this world. The alcohol selection is meh for the most part, though they do have a couple of bottles of decent stuff (Rittenhouse and Bulleit Ryes, Buffalo Trace, Old Granddad, etc). However, as I walked by today this caught my eye:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aphonik/11746709673/

 

Based on the info on that page it must be a pre-1980 Lemon Hart 151. NY tax seal still intact. Probably old inventory they never got rid of, though given the store is in Jersey City who knows where it came from. $18. Sold.

 

Also noticed a bottle of Cherry Heering with a label from at least 2 labels ago, and maybe more. Didn't have enough cash to grab it (they're cash only not surprisingly) but that's on the docket.

[Hassouni]

Wow, that Lemon Hart is a hell of a find, and a superb price. Enjoy!

 

I, on the other hand, succumbing to the tacit peer pressure of the eGullet Spirits & Cocktails forum, got some Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters. Nice chocolatey taste up front, INTENSELY bitter finish. What the hell do they put in it??

[lesliec]

Tacit peer pressure?  That doesn't sound like us.

 

What's in it?  I dunno - some chocolate, a few bits of chopped up mole (with the dirt still on).

 

And there are heaps of things it's good for.  A modest sampling includes things like the Tres Sangres, Oaxaca Old Fashioned and Rafa's The Man Comes Around.  You have years of pleasure ahead of you.