This website can help you track Utah liquor prices
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If you're looking for price cuts, new products, and last-minute buys at Utah's state liquor stores, a local cocktail enthusiast has a tool to help keep track of your shopping list.
Why it matters: The state monopoly on liquor and wine means prices are at least transparent and consistent throughout Utah — but there's no market pressure for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services to make that information easy to get.
- Its monthly inventory and price lists are released in a long, unsortable PDFs.
Enter Dan Nelson, the Millcreek imbiber behind DrinkinUtah.com.
- It's a database that updates each month to show which products are new, which are being discontinued and which are cheaper or more expensive — and by how much.
What they're saying: "I wanted the information for myself, but figured others would find the data useful. So I registered the domain and put the reports there," he tells Axios.
The site also merges the monthly updates with data from the online inventory to filter information by what's in stores, rather than in the warehouse only.
- "Some of the data isn't very relevant if it's not a product you can actually buy on shelves," he says.
Zoom in: Sort by discount amount to find the most screaming deals.
Case in point: DABS is discontinuing Falcone Chardonnay and marked it down by almost half this month.
Zoom out: It also lists everything new to the inventory.
- I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for Five Wives' new premixed peach mules, on order now.
Caveat: The website notes its formulae are based on product ID numbers that sometimes change from month to month.
- You can double check the data by searching the state's recent lists here.
Between the lines: DABS sometimes releases its updates a few days before the new month.
- When that happens, DrinkInUtah is the easiest source to learn of your last chance to buy a bottle before the price goes up.
The bottom line: Cheers and bless, Dan. You're doing God's work.