Canadian liquor/ingredient advise

On 2012-11-19 22:20, Sweet Daddy Tiki wrote:
What? No more Curacao at "popular" prices? I guess I'll have to nurse the bottle of Meagher's I have.

Hey, SDT, if you want to pick up an extra bottle, the place where I saw them on clearance is in the West End on 149th St at about 115th Ave, where Campbell's Furniture used to be if that helps. Google search says it's called Anderson's Liquor, but I think the sign actually says 149St Liquor. Just don't buy them all, cuz' I have to pick up a bottle for Slacks...

On 2012-11-20 07:50, Slacks Ferret wrote:
In the mean time, I may have to start making blue mai tais for the folks who don't care about authenticity (that's pretty much everyone who comes to my bar)...

Hey, I come to your bar every once in awhile and I'm a "sophisticated" cocktailian. But really, it doesn't matter what color a mai tai is if it's served in a Kanaloa Kannibal. :drink:

On 2012-11-21 14:40, Sweet Daddy Tiki wrote:

On 2012-11-20 07:50, Slacks Ferret wrote:
In the mean time, I may have to start making blue mai tais for the folks who don't care about authenticity (that's pretty much everyone who comes to my bar)...

Hey, I come to your bar every once in awhile and I'm a "sophisticated" cocktailian. But really, it doesn't matter what color a mai tai is if it's served in a Kanaloa Kannibal. :drink:

Marie Brizard's Blue Curacao is really good! I don't know if it's the same as their orange curacao, but I've subbed it out for Cointreau in a few recipes just for the colour and was pleasantly surprised! It's the best I've tried, but we can also get Giffard here, which I'll bet is pretty decent. I just can't bring myself to use it in a mai tai. Not while I've got Senor Curacao, Grand Marnier, Creole Shrub, Cointreau, or even DeKuyper's on hand...

The only blue curacao available here is McGuinness. Actually, the LCBO carries Bols too but not anywhere near where I live and that "your local store will be happy to order anything the LCBO carries" on the LCBO website is complete BS. They are not happy to do it and usually won't. Just not worth the battle to upgrade from McGuinness to Bols. So I just skip the blue drinks.

Just FYI:

Original Lemon Hart can now be found in some Costco Liquor Stores. About $29.00 for a 1.14L

Regular Lemon Hart (not the 151) is now in various LCBO stores.

GTFO!! Someone call Ripley's, cuz yes indeed, Lemon Hart is FINALLY in Ontario. One of the chimps at the LCBO finally woke up.

Now lets see what they do with my suggestion to stock Deadhead rum....

Gonna have to keep my eyes open. I haven't seen Lemon Hart in any of the LCBOs around where I live yet.

Didn't see Lemon Hart in Hawkesbury this weekend. But the LCBO web site tells me there's 12 bottles waiting for me in Cornwall. It's a short drive from my home in southern Quebec. Very good news indeed!

I picked up two bottles of LH151 in Hawaii this summer and I don't know when I will be able to resupply. LH80 is certainly better than nothing!

So just as an FYI for all you Ontario tikiphiles, I contacted the LCBO through Facebook and they said that a)they liked my enthusiasm re: carrying Lemon Hart and b) unfortunately they will NOT be carrying LH151. No real surprise there. But they did send me the link for specialty ordering, if I wanted to order a case of it. Maybe I'll get a quotation from them and see if it's worth splitting.

On 2013-03-27 13:01, Kahuna Tiki wrote:
Maybe I'll get a quotation from them and see if it's worth splitting.

I don't know what the cost would be directly through the LCBO. I know K&L wines and spirits in California will ship to Ontario via the LCBO in case quantities (the cases can be mixed). I discussed it with them (K&L) and they were up front with saying that it's costly. The cost basically adds up as K&L charges their price for the case plus $150 for shipping/handling/whatever. Then the LCBO pretty much doubles the case price. So a $300 case of booze would cost $300 + $150 to K&L and $300 to the LCBO for a total of $750 for that $300 case. Can't think of too many things I want that bad.

[ Edited by: poutineki 2013-03-27 18:17 ]

On 2013-03-27 18:16, poutineki wrote:
So a $300 case of booze would cost $300 + $150 to K&L and $300 to the LCBO for a total of $750 for that $300 case. Can't think of too many things I want that bad.

In that case, and if you live close enough to do so, it might be worthwhile to drive across the border into the US and bring some back by car. You may still have to pay at the border crossing, assuming that you're even allowed to do that. Or stash a few bottles under your car seat, but that would not be legal, and I'm not advocating breaking the law. :)

Another idea -- there may be a way to trade Cuban cigars for liquor? heh...

Mosaiq has advised me Lemon Hart Original One Hundred British Proof Reserve Rum will be available in Quebec liquor stores in May........no 151 however.

Thanks for the info. Very good news for the tikiphiles her in Quebec. My personal reserve of LH151 (two bottles I bought in Hawaii last year) is nearly depleted. So I guess I'll try this new Lemon Hart rum in my Zombies.

Here's a very positive review of this rum : http://therumhowlerblog.wordpress.com/rum-reviews/dark-rums/lemon-hart-original-one-hundred-british-proof-reserve-rum/