What did you buy at the liquor store today? (2014 – 2015)

[tanstaafl2]

Death's Door Gin w/ Q Tonic

St George Terrior Gin

Old Overholt Rye

Templeton Rye

 

I'm a little annoyed that I let the store clerk convince me to buy a more expensive bottling of the standard LDI Rye when I was happily purchasing a bottle of Dickel.

 

I'm hoping duty free will have another couple of treats before I head home.

 

Perhaps one of the better current MGPI (formerly LDI) rye bottling's these days is the 7yo Smooth Ambler Old Scout rye at 99 proof. Of course YMMV!

 

I was doing a tasting of ryes the other day and found the Dickel to be a little too soft, probably due to the charcoal filtering it undergoes. Works in cocktails but doesn't make the best rye for sipping to me. And I generally don't even consider Templeton just on general principal even though they appear to slowly admitting their Potemkin status (more or less at gun point).

 

Just recently ordered a couple of single barrel MGPI ryes that are each 17yo. Now that should be interesting! At least I hope so...

[Czequershuus]

Drinkupny order arrived today. Apologies for the poor picture quality.

 

The Punt e Mes and Smith & Cross are restocks, but the rest are new to me. 

[Hassouni]

Picked up for me by a buddy returning from Havana. Cost her all of $5 apparently (!!!)

 

 

I've had HCA3A a bunch of times before (usually in London or Beirut), but never in a context where I can do side-by-side tests or try it in a cocktail.

 

I'm going to side-by-side it with Flor de Caña, Palo Viejo, Caña Brava, and maybe Don Q and Doorly's White, though I don't think those are a fair comparison. Then I'm going to see how it does in a daiquiri and a mojito compared to those. If anybody else knows a good "Cuban style" white rum to put against it, let me know (I can already think of Cruzan and I'm not interested. Forget Bacardi)

 

 

Also, on Tuesday I was in the hood and figured I'd do a Ghetto Liquor Store run (I recently found a 1982 bottling of Barbancourt 15 for $25, and am still on the hunt for a $30 bottle of Chartreuse).

 

I did not find any Chartreuse (I think it's a myth that GLSes have them) but I did find some interesting rum:

 

 

Has anybody even HEARD of this? There's a stupid writeup on Uncommon Caribbean and a brief, faintly praising blurb on Beachbum Berry's site, and that's pretty much it.

 

I've just tried a sip of it, neat and diluted.

 

Lighter fluid. With natural sweetness and then a truly amazing taste of pure, fresh-off-the-tree young coconut. This gives any "coconut rum" a run for its money. Think WNOP, but less hogo-y and weird, and a lot strong in ABV. I'm a fan.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Hassouni (log)

[Hassouni]

Getting into the sherry game:

 

 

Good stuff, umami for days, plays well in cocktails.

[KD1191]

I did not find any Chartreuse (I think it's a myth that GLSes have them)

 

My Chartreuse shelf disagrees. It's the first thing I look for when I check out tiny out of the way stores...I think the earliest I have is from the mid-to-late 70s (green, found in Houston at a barred window hole in the wall that appeared to trade mostly in Soju...it was on a strip of Korean restaurants), but I picked up at least a case from the 80s between the south and northwest sides of Chicago. I've seen enough from the 90s hiding in plain sight in NJ that I don't typically bother with it anymore, unless the price hasn't been adjusted for inflation at all. The exception there is a 1999 I found that is the closest thing I've seen to the mythical White Chartreuse.

Edited February 16, 2015 by KD1191 (log)

[Hassouni]

Gah! DC area shops suck...

[ChrisTaylor]

Restocks: Appleton (V/X instead of my usual 12), Espolon blanco, Buffalo Trace and Maker's Mark.

A related purchase: a drawstring canvas bag for producing crushed ice.

[FrogPrincesse]

Restocks: Appleton (V/X instead of my usual 12)

Downgrading?

[ChrisTaylor]

Downgrading?

 

It's $20AUD cheaper for a still-good rum that mostly only ever gets used in cocktails. So, yeah, downgrading. But not without cause.

[Hassouni]

Getting into the sherry game:

 

 

Good stuff, umami for days, plays well in cocktails.

 

Ballin' hard in the game with new bottles of Lustau East India Solera and Osborne Manzanilla

[tanstaafl2]

Ballin' hard in the game with new bottles of Lustau East India Solera and Osborne Manzanilla

 

Those two are certainly at different ends of the sherry spectrum! That should be interesting.

[Fernet-Bronco]

After about seven unfortunate weeks of unintentional sobriety, I went liquor store hopping and bought a few things:

 

Smith & Cross

Lemon Hart 151

Wray & Nephew 151 126 (thanks, Hassouni)

 

These three were first time purchases after seeing them on here (thanks for that). The Smith & Cross is a particularly amazing, complex drink with a helluva finish. I think I got the last bottle of Lemon Hart for sale in Houston... after searching at a number of stores, I found a guy who was able to dig up a bottle in the back of the storage room that wasn't even in their inventory system. It's pretty hot to drink on its own but I look forward to mixing with it.

 

I also bought Ksara Arak and Bonal, neither of which I've tried before.

 

Also bought some equipment recently:

 

Koriko weighted shaker tins (an upgrade from a leaky tin & glass combination)

Large silicone ice trays

Lewis bag

A dozen gold cocktail picks from Cocktail Kingdom

 

And now I need to go get coffee to temper my hangover...

Edited February 27, 2015 by Fernet-Bronco (log)

[Hassouni]

Dude you made my day. SC, LH151, and WNOP + Arak + Cocktail Kingdom shit. That's what makes me happy! Enjoy it!

 

Quick note though, WNOP is 126, not 151

[pto]

Bounty from a trip to the States(Florida and Chicago)

 

Blackwell Jamaican rum

Meyers's Platinum

Mt. Gay Eclipse Black 100 proof

Zaya 12 yr

Pussers British Navy

El Dorado 5 yr

Wray & Nephew overproof

Scarlet Ibis

Few Spirits Navy Strength Gin 114 proof

R.L. Seale 10 yr

Smith & Cross Jamaican rum

Siesta Key Gold rum(Florida)

 

Agave syrup

Fees 12 pack assorted bitters

Orange blossom water

Bittercube Cherry Vanilla

Ango orange

Bittermen's Tiki

Fees Whiskey Barrel Aged

Bokers

 

Lost Lake tiki bar Chicago swiped coaster

Barspoon

Channel knife

Tiki stir sticks

Sword picks

Stainless steel picks

 

Tiki Bar sign, Lewis Bag

 

 

Three Dots and a Dash mug(paid for )

 

Genuine Swizzle Stick (bought at Independent Spirits, north side Chicago, only place saw one)

 

 

Very happy with my pull, though the Meyers's is questionable(haven't tasted yet) and I might have rather bought different individual bitters rather the the Fee pack.

None of these rums are available locally, so all new to me!

[Czequershuus]

Stopped at a liquor store I only get to occasionally, but that sometimes has inexplicably good prices, as well as inexplicably bad ones. Today I happened on a 375ml bottle of a 100% agave Reposado Tequila for under 5 dollars.It is called Cabrito. It is not sensationally good, but damn good at the price.

[FrogPrincesse]

Impressive haul, pto!

 

Bounty from a trip to the States(Florida and Chicago)

 

[...]

 

 

 

 

Three Dots and a Dash mug(paid for )

 

The mug has been on my list of things to get for a while now... I am very jealous :-)

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I went to Trader Joe's last week and went a bit overboard. Mostly local beer.

 

Captain Morgan 1671 spiced rum was an impulse buy - I needed spiced rum for a skip trip and this was only $9. But I like Kraken much better. The 1671 has a lot of vanilla and chocolate and not much spice actually. It is a bit boring.

 

I am a bit ashamed that I succumbed to the hype around the Monkey Shoulder blended scotch, after many of you recommended other more interesting scotch whiskies for mixing. It was mostly convenience and price ($29 I think).Tried neat, it's smoother and sweeter than what I am used to for a scotch, but I can see how it should work pretty well for mixing.

 

From their literature (!)

 

Some say it tastes just like riding bareback on the wild moors of Scotland with a flame haired maiden on Christmas morning. Others agree it tastes like 007 wearing a tuxedo wetsuit.

 

 

[tanstaafl2]

Some new fun play toys arrived today on the front porch including the Taos Lightning 17yo MGP rye I mentioned up thread.

 

 

The Blanton's Straight From the Barrel is not available in the US for reason's that mystify me so I had to get that from a circuitous route. Basically regular Blanton's but bottled without any water added. look forward to that one!

 

The other five include two "craft" whiskies that I took a gamble on, a Corbin Cash "Merced" Rye (made from local California grown rye), a Low Gap 4yo Wheat Whisky aged in used bourbon barrels (that supposedly previously held Stizel-Weller wheated bourbon bottled by Jefferson a few years back) that was distilled on the Germain Robin stills normally used for their brandy and an Oban 18. The two Taos Lightning single cask 17yo ryes are originally from MGP that have been aging for the last few years in the dry air of New Mexico. Supposedly barrel proof at a convenient 90 pf each. 

 

I was particularly amazed at the difference between the two TL's. They are non chill filtered so the haze in the lighter colored bottle I hope is a result of exposure to the cold in shipment. But its sibling looks crystal clear in addition to being considerably darker. Hopefully with time and a bit of warmth it will settle down.

 

Ah, the mysteries of barrel aging...

[Moto]

A few new additions in the last couple of weeks.  A friend brought the Junipero from SC.  It is a restock. I picked up the Forres Park thanks to Hassouni.  It was on the shelves of a truly random liquor store.

 

I also received a shipment from K&L.  I've taken a whiff of the Hampden. The nose is Jamaica to the core, banana-y ester funkiness, though lighter than a Smith and Cross.  The Uitvlugt is interesting though seems slow to reveal its secrets.  It needs a lot of time in the glass to open up and still seems bound up waiting to release its full depth. The aroma and taste undiluted has notes of cocoa, maybe some berry.  Despite its 100+ proof it is smooth as silk. With water, honey and dried and fresh fruits come to the fore. 

 

I will wait on the Cadenhead and crack that open after fully exploring the Hampden and Uitvlugt.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Moto (log)

[Rafa]

Let us know how you like the K&Ls. I was considering going in on a purchase with Hassouni.

[Hassouni]

Let us know how you like the K&Ls. I was considering going in on a purchase with Hassouni.

 

Might still happen...

 

 

Moto, how'd you like the Forres Park?

[mkayahara]

Thanks to a very helpful friend who was recently on vacation in Hawaii, I have laid my hands on a bottle of okolehao. It's the "Hawaiian Moonshine" one, which, as I read about it, sounds like it's quite light in flavour. Still, I'm looking forward to trying it out. (And it wasn't that expensive.)

[tanstaafl2]

Thanks to a very helpful friend who was recently on vacation in Hawaii, I have laid my hands on a bottle of okolehao. It's the "Hawaiian Moonshine" one, which, as I read about it, sounds like it's quite light in flavour. Still, I'm looking forward to trying it out. (And it wasn't that expensive.)

 

Is this the one you got? It is very light and a bit vodka like despite being cane based so presumably distilled to a pretty high proof. The Ti root does give it an interesting vegetal quality.

 

 

I aged about a liter for several months (probably a bit too long to be honest) and described it here. A bit tannic but I like it better than the original.

Edited March 3, 2015 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[mkayahara]

Is this the one you got? It is very light and a bit vodka like despite being cane based so presumably distilled to a pretty high proof. The Ti root does give it an interesting vegetal quality.

 

Yes, that's the one. I haven't sampled it yet, but it does smell quite light. Either way, I'm sure it'll be interesting in some Tiki drinks!

[FrogPrincesse]

You could try your okolehao in a Halekulani cocktail or Polynesian Paralysis if you have some orgeat on hand... then take a nap.