San Francisco Bay Area Rum & Ingredient Finder

I felt that our friends in Florida started a topic, so here is my attempt to copy their success. Feel free to post your finds.

The two best sources I found for rum are BevMo! and Beltramo's in Menlo Park.

Coruba- I've been searching everywhere for this and have come up with nothing. I emailed the people at Appleton's and they haven't gotten back to me. I've also emailed BevMo about special ordering it and nothing back from them either.

Curacao- BevMo is good for DeKuyper or Hiram Walker. I haven't been able to find any of the "top shelf" brands around here.

St. James Martinique- Beltramo's in Menlo Park has some decent prices 17.99 for Amber and 23.99 for the extra old. John Walker's in San Francisco also has it once in a while at a much higher price.

Barbancourt 5 Star- BevMo has it for 22.99 and Beltramo's has it for 21.99. These are the two cheapest prices I found it for.

Bacardi 8 year- BevMo has it for 17.99

Cruzan- BevMo stocks just about every type at low prices

Lemon Hart- Beltramos. 151 for 27.99 and 80 for 18.99. I also found the 151 at Royal Liquors in San Francisco for 31.99. John Walker's gets it once in a while, but again at an inflated price.

Mount Gay- BevMo stocks every kind at a really good price.

Myers's- This can be found everywhere, but once in a while Safeway has it on sale for like 11.99 for 750ml.

Trader Vic's Rum- BevMo has "Authentic Dark Rum" for $7.99

Syrups- Trader Vic's in San Francisco or Emeryville.

[ Edited by: TraderJonah 2006-09-11 20:36 ]

A capital idea!

I've also been pretty happy with Beltramo's in Menlo Park, though I don't remember specifics about what they had in stock. I asked them to order some Coruba for me, but I never got a call from them. They seemed to otherwise be very on-the-ball with service, I suspect (hope?) it was an aberration.

We've purchased syrups at the Palo Alto Trader Vic's, too.

The BevMo here in silicon valley (I forget exactly where -- Palo Alto?) is pretty abysmal, they only had the same rums you could get at the grocery store.

On 2006-09-11 20:44, Humuhumu wrote:
... they only had the same rums you could get at the grocery store.

That is one of the things I miss most from California, buying Ice Cream and Jack Daniels in the same store.

Mollie Stone Market (local chain) in Marin carries Lemon Hart 80, Barbancourt 5 star, Appleton, and a few other better rums. Their prices are nothing to write home about though.

Vintage Wine and Spirits in Mill Valley has a fairly good premium rum selection (and a very good bourbon and rye selection). They have Rhum St. James Hors D'Age for $32.99.

The biggest selection of booze I have seen locally is at Ledger's in Berkeley on University, and at Weimax in Burlingame. Both have more variety than John Walker's but I have not checked out Beltramo's.

Bevmo stores vary greatly. The Oakland Jack London Square location has an abysmal selection of booze. The San Pablo Ave. location in Albany has a slightly better selection, and the one in San Rafael has a pretty good selection. But, the Trader Vic's premium dark is not at any of them while TraderJonah was able to find it at a Bevmo somewhere.

I check Long's drug store weekly for big discounts on everyday (well, everyday for some of us) booze like bourbon (Maker's and Evan Williams), blended scotch, gin, and some rums (Myers's and Bacardi can go as low as $14.99 for a 1.5 liter bottle or $9.99 for a 750ml bottle). I recently bought a bottle of Southern Comfort for the occasional cocktail at a low price of $9.99.

I seem to have good luck getting most of the bottles I want from the BevMo on Hillsdale Ave. in San Mateo. They rum section seems to have a lot of choices and some great deals from time to time.

I do occasionally find a good deal on something at Trader Joe's... but they are much less consistent in what they stock.

There are a few good bottle shops in and around Burlingame but prices are subject to change based on the size of the store.

Ledger's is like an acholic treasure trove. Whenever you go in, check the entire 30ft tall Wall of Booze behind the counter. We (TofuJoe & I) have discovered bottles many a hard to find item, such as Lemon Hart 151.

On an iside tip, I got a bottle of Coruba there yesterday (I was in to get some Blood Orange Bitters) - It was the young(er) knowledgeable guy behind the counter. He says he's still trying to source Marie Brizard Orange Caracao for us.

Ledger's Liquors
1399 University Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702-1796
510/540.9243

Ha,

I was in Berkeley on Sunday and Ledger's was closed. Damn! It's good to know that they have it though.

The folks at Appleton recently got back to me and said that Liquid Experience on Haight sells Coruba. I haven't been there to check it out yet though.

Haole do you remember how much you paid for your Coruba? also what size bottle was it?

Thanks!

Falernum- Some BevMo! locations carry the alcoholic version from Barbados. I'm curious to try this once I run out of my Fee Brother's.

I find the best selection of Rums at our BevMo in Santa Rosa (Cruzan Black Stap, Appleton Estate Extra, Gosling Dark). We also have a local liquor store called The Bottle Barn which carries a HUGE selection of wines, but also has a fairly good selection of Rums, mixers (some Trader Vic's) and beer (of all kinds). Our local Cash N Carry carries the best Torani selection (Tamarindo, Coconut, Orgeat, Passion Fruit) and around the corner from them is Lola's (Mexican) Market for limes (10 for $1.00) and fruit juices (Tamarind, guava, mango). Cash N Carry is also the best place (as an alternate to CostCo) for party supplies (plates, napkins, containers, steamer trays).

• Myke

I know this is off the beaten track for Bay Area TCers, but if you ever find yourself in South Lake Tahoe, Dart Liquors has some very interesting selections of liqueurs with many I've never heard of before. Their tequila selection is pretty huge (for the drunken frat-boy crowd) as well as the scotches (for the cigar chomping, big rollers). The rum section is weak at best, but I did find Lemonhart 151 for the unbelievable price of $21.99!! It definitely made me forget about my gambling losses.

Anyone know a place in the East Bay(pref Oakland) area that stocks Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 for a decent price?

On 2008-04-18 10:40, TIKI KAIMUKI wrote:
Anyone know a place in the East Bay(pref Oakland) area that stocks Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 for a decent price?

Ledger's has it, but when I checked a couple weeks ago, it was around $55 a bottle.