Where is it? I've been getting into geuzes and really want to try this granddaddy of them. Found a few places in MD that say they stock it, but haven't had any in in months. Where is place in the dc metro area that I could reliably find a bottle or two?
Churchkey always has a bottle or two on their menu, and Paradiso in Dupont will have rotating bottles on occasion. Get ready to pay, though. As for shelves, good luck. When cases hit places like Connecticut Ave, they stay behind the counter. We (Ricks) haven't had any in since June of last year. We got a whopping 6 bottles of 750ml classic gueuze. Total Wine Landmark go a case of Rose de Gambrinus in a few weeks ago, but you can imagine how long that lasted. Here is my understanding. Shops can "special order" Cantillon. And then when H&W gets it in, the stores that special ordered it get it. But I am not 100% sure of the process, because every shop should special order every bottle and just play the waiting game (at least imo). However, Shelton Brothers plays games, ESPECIALLY with stuff like Cantillon. They send it to their favorite markets (oh, hey, Massachusetts). So it gets to the area but in extremely small doses.
Damn, thanks for the update. Looks like short of getting some serious trade bait or moving to massachusetts I probably will never get my hands on this for a private tasting. I will just keep my ear to the ground, and of course keep checking ricks!
That is ridiculous. It always pains me to see mark ups like that but that's the free market for you...
Être gourmet, order it and it show up at your doorsteps. Good price too if you buy in bulk, 10 bottles seem to be the best price point.
Wow those are good prices. And they ship to the US I guess. Have you used them yourself? Reading the terms and conditions makes me suspicious. It basically says that you are paying for the bottle, not the contents? (Source: http://www.bieresgourmet.be/catalog/index.php?main_page=conditions ). Also, its strange to me that the cantillons are anywhere from 5 to 15 euro but the armand'4 's are 40 or 32 euro?
Pretty sure the Armands were pretty expensive over there as well, but they do seem a bit marked up. I've ordered from Etre before and my experience (so far) has been great. Shipping is expensive, but the packages arrive VERY quick, and if you buy 10 bottles, you're usually doing better than what usual shelf prices are in the US. edit: rogue apostrophe
