Post #98994 by woofmutt on Mon, Jun 28, 2004 10:11 PM

A thin line of political talk may be walked crookedly here...

Wash. stores can't sell mixers unless there's alcohol in them. This is because the grocery stores can't sell hard liquor. Grocers got some whining "Unfair if the state can sell Coca Cola!" thing into law.

I don't mind state run stores as profits go to the state...But post Mariner and Seahawk stadium BS I'm not so in love with wa.gov. I think the "controls the flow" argument for vice is a lame one. On the other hand, I've found the claims that "The booze is SOOOOO cheap in [name of state with free for all booze laws]!!!" to be largely untrue. Prices I've seen in Califusa or Nevada are similar to WA's (and WA is often lower with sale prices). The exceptions are the cheapo house brands (such as Albertson's big line of booze) but most that stuff I've tried is at best just good for mixing and at worst just god for looking at. ( Albertson's scotch: Uhg!). So far in my limited travels I have not found the mythical land of cheap good booze. The selection at private booze shops is better than any of the state ones I've been in. In WA if you want something special you usally need to get a case of it.

For mixers and syrups and straws and li'l umbrellas I go to Bargreen Ellingson (1275 Mercer). They have some Trader Vic's stuff (which is a line of products I'm not fond of) and the best prices in town on Coco Lopez, sweet lime juice, orgeat, and grenadine. Eagle Bar Supply (2001 S Plum) has a wide variety of their own syrups which are fairly inexpensive. All the tropical fruity ones I've used have been good. They also have gallon size jars of maraschino cherries. (Sadly the three jars of orange, blue, and green cherries are just for show...Apparently they're popular overseas.) Cash and Carry has many locations and lots of syrups and various bar things.