Ft Lauderdale, Fl Liquor stores

The Mrs & I are headed to Florida for our vacation in 3 weeks. we're flying into & out of Ft Lauderdale and (have I mentioned in another post) we are visiting the Mai Kai at the end of our vacation. We have rented a great house in Marco Island that we've rented 3 years running now. I'll have a full bar set up at the house, and I am shipping some items that I haven't been able to find in Florida; Coruba, Demerara Rum, John Taylor's Velvet Falernum, good orgeat, St Elizabeth Allspice Dram etc.

The liquor stores around Naples/Marco don't have great selections, Total wines is about as good as it gets. are there any stores in the Ft Lauderdale area (especially near the airport) that have good rum selections? I can't locate Coruba on the Gulf Coast, nor can I find the aforementioned Falernum & Allspice Dram as well as Rum Agricole. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Mahalo,

Craig

the Total Wine store at "The Harbor Shops" has the best Rum selection I have found the few times I have been down there.
http://www.theharborshops.com/directions.html

Chip should chime in here. He knows.

I can't think of any Ft Lauderdale-area liquor stores that stand out from the ordinary. Your list of "things that can't be found in Florida" is about right, although rhum agricole in its various forms and brands is readily found.

Thanks for the replies Gents!

Anyone ever run across Coruba in Florida? The brand is owned by Appleton/J Wray Nephew, so one would assume that it would be distributed concurrently with the Appleton brands-although I can't find it on the Gulf Coast as I said. I hear that the Mai Kai uses Coruba as well, so it's gotta be around there someplace. I would really like to be able to buy it there instead of shipping it.

I just checked out Total wine's Naples store and they now carry the st James Rum Agricoles, so there's two bottles that I won't have to ship.

[ Edited by: CincyTikiCraig 2010-09-03 08:02 ]

I found Coruba just once here a couple of years ago and when I went back for more, they didn't have any and I was told it was a slow seller so they stopped. Not sure I believe that was the real reason, but I haven't found it anywhere else so far around here. Maybe in the Miami-Ft Lauderdale area it's a little more readily available?

In my local liquor store (North of Ft. Lauderdale), Coruba and Clement VSOP are gone . . . apparently I was the only one actually buying them. I ventured out and about to several other liquor stores in neighboring communities with the same results. Pity, I'll now have to buy them on line.

On 2010-09-03 14:43, GentleHangman wrote:
In my local liquor store (North of Ft. Lauderdale), Coruba and Clement VSOP are gone . . . apparently I was the only one actually buying them. I ventured out and about to several other liquor stores in neighboring communities with the same results. Pity, I'll now have to buy them on line.

GH,

From what I'm seeing online this seems to be the case all over Florida. Just a 'heads up' that Total Wines & More sells st James Rum Agricole, both their Amber & Extra Old. These are great rums, and I personally prefer them over the Clement for my Mai Tais.

I did find Coruba at 67 Liquors in Ft Lauderdale, which is near the Airport, after searching online today.

[ Edited by: CincyTikiCraig 2010-09-03 21:25 ]

I've NEVER been able to get any St. James . . always had to order the Hors D'Age online, so Clement served as a pretty good "Stand-In" between the main shows. Besides, the price of Hors D'Age got to be a little too ridiculous to be sensible (with the shipping, etc.), so when I wanted a Martinique rum I used the Clement and it did the trick, but go no standing ovation like the Hors D'Age used to.

My local store, Davie Discount Liquors, has Coruba and a great rum sellection. Take 595 from the airport, west to Pine Island Ridge. Turn left, go under 595, left into Pubix Shopping Center. The store is about 5 doors down from Publix. If he doesn't have it he will try to get it for you.

I'm not going to give up all of the secrets of Booze in South Florida..... :wink:

For you, however, I'll make it easy.

17th Street Causeway and Cordova Blvd.

A wee bit north of the airport (I assume you have a car) on Federal Highway is 17th street which takes you out to the Barrier Island and Fort Lauderdale Beach. Take Federal (Highway 1) north, turn right onto 17th and then turn right on Cordova Blvd. In that center is a Publix Supermarket where you can get some lemons and limes (and any other groceries you may need). Also, Total Wine which has probably the third best Rum Selection in the area.

That center also has a Five Guys Burgers which is pretty highly recommended.

Then, on your way out of the center, on the north side of 17th, is a Crown Liquors where you can get stuff you may not have found in Total Wine. Not the best rum selection around, but good prices overall. Across the street is a Liquor 67 which is always a fun stop, the selection there is very hit or miss, strange things available and never the same thing twice.

If you decided to skip Five Guys, just a few doors further North of Liquor 67 on Cordova is South Port Raw Bar and Grille. Cheap eats and very tasty, get the Conch Chowder! The Conch Fritters are OK too.

Then, go back to 17th street and head out to the beach and stop at the Yankee Clipper (now just called the Sheraton on Ft Lauderdale Beach) and visit the Wreck Bar. If it is a Friday night, Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid and her Pod of Mermaids swim starting at 5:30.

If you happen to be doing this little trip in the middle of the day (and therefore want to skip the Wreck Bar), go back to Federal highway and turn right (north) and stop by Tom Jenkins BBQ. It is a tiny little place that has the most amazing BBQ you will find in all of Florida. Follow your nose, you can't miss it. And, if your lucky, they will have fresh fruit cobbler for desert! (pardon me, I have to go wipe the drool off the keyboard now).

Resist the urge to hit Eric's BBQ which is right there at the corner of Federal and 17th. It says its BBQ, but its not. Their slaw is pretty good, but the meat is overly dry and their sauce is overly sweet.

After all that, head south on Federal back to 595 and head West to hook up with 75 and go do the Gulf Coast part of your trip.

Good luck, Happy Hunting, and last time I was at Total Wine they did have Coruba. And, if you can't find Coruba, get some El Dorado Dark (not the aged, just the dark) for a decent substitute.

Chip,

Thank you for your kind reply, it will really help make stocking our bar easier. I had almost forgot about the Wreck Bar, which is a must-see while we're in Lauderdale!

Mahalo,

Craig

Might be too late for CincyTikiCraig's trip but I wanted to add some info I've just discovered. Coruba is very difficult to find for some reason. The Davie store listed above didn't have it and I've not seen it at the more than 50 liquor stores I've browsed in South Florida over the past several years.

When I called all the 67 Liquors stores they said they didn't have it either. However, you can order it on the 67 Liquors Web site and have it sent to the main store for pick-up. This also saves the shipping charge.

I too have been looking for John Taylor's Velvet Falernum and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram so if anyone knows of a South Florida location for these, it would be much appreciated. Shipping costs can get outrageous. I've been using other brands but I know these are highly recommended.

I do have a great source for Lemon Hart 151 up in Palm Beach County. If interested, send me a personal message and I'll clue you in.

On 2010-09-24 09:45, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
Might be too late for CincyTikiCraig's trip but I wanted to add some info I've just discovered. Coruba is very difficult to find for some reason. The Davie store listed above didn't have it and I've not seen it at the more than 50 liquor stores I've browsed in South Florida over the past several years.

When I called all the 67 Liquors stores they said they didn't have it either. However, you can order it on the 67 Liquors Web site and have it sent to the main store for pick-up. This also saves the shipping charge.

I too have been looking for John Taylor's Velvet Falernum and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram so if anyone knows of a South Florida location for these, it would be much appreciated. Shipping costs can get outrageous. I've been using other brands but I know these are highly recommended.

I do have a great source for Lemon Hart 151 up in Palm Beach County. If interested, send me a personal message and I'll clue you in.

Aloha Hayward,

Thanks for the kind reply, it came just in time-we're flying out of Cincinnati at 9:15 tomorrow morning! I ended up calling some stores in Ft Lauderdale, Naples & Marco Island (where the house we are renting is located) and couldn't find a store that actually had Coruba in stock, so I ended up shipping it, along with Demerara, Falernum, Allspice Dram, quality Orgeat (Tessiere) and some wine & Champagne. I'm going to have to buy some Appleton, Cruzan white, Bacardi 8 & St James Agricole and we'll have one of the best stocked bars in Florida (Mai Kai aside)! After a week at the house we are headed back to Lauderdale, and visiting the Mai Kai two nights in a row!

Mahalo,

Craig

Sounds like you're more than prepared. I'm sure you'll love the Mai-Kai. There's no place like it in the world.

Mahalo!

An update on Coruba in Fort Lauderdale if anyone's interested: After ordering several bottles online, I now discover it's well-stocked at 67 Liquors, at least the North Federal Highway location.

I'm also trying to talk them into ordering St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram. It's available on the 67 Liquors Web site for New York state but not the one for Florida residents.