Dusty Liquers

[michaelturtle1]

In my dusty hunts I have come across all varieties of liqueurs I generally leave them on the shelves as I am unsure if they are drinkable like older straight higher proof alcohols. Does anyone on here buy them and use them? Is there a general guideline for what proofs to look for which would likely have survived better? A few bottle have peaked my curiosity and I have wanted to grab a couple but I keep hesitating given that I dont' want to kill myself sipping on something that may have spoiled..

[squire]

I buy them if the proof is high enough, say 54-86 for the really old ones. When I was a young man the proofs were substantially higher than what are on the shelves today. Oh I don't think the lower proofs will kill 'ya, the sugar in them is also a preservative, but less alcohol also means cheaper ingredients so it's not something that has improved with age.

[michaelturtle1]

I will pay a bit more attention to them next time I am out making my rounds, a few of the stores I have been in have a bunch of liqueurs in the closeout bins for $1-$5 so even if it is terrible I will not have wasted a ton of $$

[Wryguy]

I do buy the occasional dusty liqueur, following the guidelines that Squire mentioned, as the higher the proof, the better if keeps. In particular, I look for two out of production liqueurs: Macallan Amber and Johnnie Walker Liqueur. Both are really tasty and very fun for use in cocktails. The JWL was only produced for a short time for the NY market, and apparently fetches a crazy price across the pond. I cracked mine and it is so good that I scour all shops I go to for it. The Macallan Amber is also tasty, though lower proof, but a recent enough dusty that it should be in good shape. I did see a few that a liquor store owner had pulled behind the counter to "research." I'm guessing he got tipped off on how good/collectible it was and they went home with him.

[White Dog]

Stick with 70 proof and up. The only liqueur that I hunt is green Chartreuse, but that's over 100proof.

[squire]

I stay on the lookout for Lochan Ora but haven't seen any in quite some time.

[devillighter]

I'd be very happy to find some dusty Chartreuse at dusty prices. It supposedly gets better the longer it is in the bottle, but I don't know how much I believe it.

I picked up some Unicum (not Zwack liqueur) from a dusty shop you've been in, Mike, that is interesting. You'd have to really like bitter amaros. A good thread on Zwack is on the egullet cocktail forum: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/131973-unicum-vs-zwack/ . Apparently they are reintroducing it to the American market, where previously only the liqueur was available.

Another dusty amaro that would be awesome to find would be Amer Picon, used in classic Brooklyn cocktails. It is currently unavailable in the US and was reformulated sometime in the 70s to be lower proof. If you find some, let me know.

I have picked up some Trimbach Grappas at the same store as the Zwack for good prices, but haven't been terribly impressed, but I have little experience with that spirit category. They are high ABV so I doubt that they have been damaged by age. For the most part, however, I'd stay away from lower proof liqueurs.

[bmajazz]

I'd be very happy to find some dusty Chartreuse at dusty prices. It supposedly gets better the longer it is in the bottle, but I don't know how much I believe it.

Believe it. At least, I think so. I love, **LOVE** Chartreuse. I have a number of vintage bottles, a mix of green and yellow. Also, I have a particularly old bottle, i.e. no UPC code, tax strip, etc. The color of the liqueur inside is markedly different from the more recent bottles I have, which themselves are dusties from the early 80's. The old, old bottle is a brilliant, beautiful green.

The bottle on the left is the old non-UPC bottle. The bottle on the right is the dusty from the early 80's.

On another note, anyone heard of the 86 proof yellow? I have two mini bottles of it, but everything else I have is 80 proof.

P1230265sm.jpg

[squire]

Yes, I remember the Yellow as being 86 proof, maybe 86.8, but that was some years back. I also remember when single malt scotches were 94 proof.

[devillighter]

Believe it. At least, I think so. I love, **LOVE** Chartreuse. I have a number of vintage bottles, a mix of green and yellow. Also, I have a particularly old bottle, i.e. no UPC code, tax strip, etc. The color of the liqueur inside is markedly different from the more recent bottles I have, which themselves are dusties from the early 80's. The old, old bottle is a brilliant, beautiful green.

The bottle on the left is the old non-UPC bottle. The bottle on the right is the dusty from the early 80's.

On another note, anyone heard of the 86 proof yellow? I have two mini bottles of it, but everything else I have is 80 proof.

P1230265sm.jpg

Thanks for posting your thoughts - it is very interesting. I love Chartreuse as well and would love to compare with older bottlings.

What do you think of the VEP and Elixir Vegetal? I've considered ordering a bottle of VEP from my local liquor store, but I think I want to try it first before ponying up the $150. I found a bottle in a dusty liquor store a month or so ago, but the guy behind the counter wouldn't sell it to me because he didn't know the price. I am planning on going back to check on it, so maybe I can make a deal.