Sundy Liquor Suppliers (Taipei Boozehunting)
October 24, 2012
A trick I have, whilst boozehunting, is to look on the back label of the bottle and find the address of the supplier, distributor or wholesaler. I’ve found a few this way.
The best is a place in Neihu called Sundy. Here’s their website address.
They ARE a wholesale outlet – there’s a street address you can visit, but they don’t have all their stock on display, and all new stock is (apparently) on their website. The best bet is to wait until you need 3000NT worth of stuff and then they’ll deliver free in the Taipei/Xinbei area. If you’re in other parts of Taiwan, they can send it to you for a small charge.
So what do they have that you can’t get elsewhere?
Lillet Blanc – Sundy is the only place I’ve seen this super-fine aperitif wine, much beloved by cocktail geeks (and for a reason). It’s a little dear, at 1000NT, but worth it.
The entire range of Fees Brothers Bitters – I’ve blogged about how these great bitters are available at Breeze, but Breeze gets them from Sundy and they have been very short on stock recently. In fact there are few flavours left. If you want the good stuff, you’ll have to go to Sundy. I recommend the Whiskey-Barrel-Aged Bitters, Rhubarb Bitters, Black Walnut Bitters and Grapefruit Bitters, in that order.
Kirsch (Massanez) – A fine old cherry eau-de-vie (they also have pear and wild raspberry, which I haven’t tried).
Creme de Violette (G. Miclo) – An essential ingredient for authentic old Aviations, but expensive at 1900NT (I haven’t tried it – they also have Creme de Roses).
Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo) – Hard to find elsewhere, and essential in many vintage cocktails. (There are other Luxardo products. I am particularly curious about Luxardo Fernet and St Antonio Liqueur. Anyone know about these?)
Stock Vermouth (Dry) – I’ve seen this a few places recently, actually, but am very curious how it compares to Martini and Rossi (the only other brand – along with Cinzanno – of vermouth in Taiwan). Anyone know?
Goldschlager – a kind of schnapps I’ve been curious about, but have yet to try.
You can browse from their website, but the last link on the left, this one, will take you straight to a spreadsheet which is much easier to browse.
Note for newcomers, this place has good stuff for odds and ends, but for Bourbon, go to ‘Number 8 Bourbon Shop’ and for gin go to ‘9 City’.
The Boo Lion 
October 25, 2012 at 1:44 am
The creme do violette isn’t worth it (IMHO) too soapy. The Aviation is better w/out it…
October 25, 2012 at 7:05 pm
Thanks putneyfarm. That is something I’ve heard before, and one reason I haven’t bought it yet (the other being the price). But there is a a certain perverse attraction to a rare liqueur which is only useful in a single, almost forgotten recipe. I will probably get it sometime, just not in the near future.
October 25, 2012 at 11:53 pm
I undertand…seeing as we have the Violette… 😉
October 29, 2012 at 5:10 am
I’ve got a bottle of Luxardo Amaro Abano. It is bitter, pungent and cloying. Barely drinkable neat. Quite marvellous really. I would imagine the Luxard Fernet is even more disgusting.
Speaking of fernet, here’s a very strange but strangely declicious cocktail: equal parts fernet, Chartreuse, lemon juice, sugar syrup.
October 29, 2012 at 9:31 am
The Luxardo Fernet is a clone of Fernet Branca, and I have heard it said that it is even more bitter. I never tasted them side by side so I’m not sure. I’m sure there are differences, but to me they seem much alike.
I haven’t tried the other Luxardo liqueur you mentioned, though I have tried most of their products. They are generally good and the Triple Sec is excellent if you happen to come across it.
The Amaro Abano is interesting. I like it straight. It tastes vaguely like intense and spicy coca-cola. I tried it in a cocktail with spiced rum that kind of worked.
October 29, 2012 at 4:37 pm
That’s great to know, you two. I think I can probably get all or most of the Luxardo range, here in Taipei. If Sundy doesn’t have it, there’s a guy who sells mostly Italian wine and gets their stuff.
The only other Amaro I can get are Campari and Aperol. I also have Cynar and Fernet Branca, but they were brought for me form overseas. If I want more, it’ll have to be those Luxardo products.
October 30, 2012 at 10:09 pm
[…] I finally got my hands on a bottle of this (previously unavailable in Taipei) from Sundy, and if it wasn’t essentially a 1000NT bottle of wine, I’d be drinking it all the time, […]
November 10, 2012 at 11:00 pm
[…] Lillet Blanc – a delicious ‘quinquina’ fortified wine with some similarities to vermouth – is also really good. It’s a nice light Manhattan with a definite taste of Manhattanness. (In Taipei, you can buy it at Sundy). […]
December 10, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Hi!
I’m really interested in buying Aperol. I’m in Kaohsiung, how can I get it?
thanks!
December 10, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Sure. There’s a company which sells it (and little else of interest except for Fees Brothers Bitters, very overpriced). They sell it for 900NT, I think. Here’s the website. If you click on contact it has their phone number and address. You’d have to call them and ask if they’s send it to you and what the charge would be. Otherwise, they have a retail outlet on the 1st floor of the back of that address, if you’re visiting Taipei, so you could pick it up yourself.
http://www.fontanbev.com
December 12, 2012 at 6:44 pm
Thanks!
December 15, 2012 at 8:49 pm
[…] looking for volunteers – apply within). If you are in Taiwan, you can get Luxardo Fernet from Sundy, which is apparently very […]
February 8, 2013 at 10:58 pm
[…] Note: I have found Aperol in only one place in Taiwan, a small distributor called Fontanbev. Their website is a horrible Flash mess, so if you can’t navigate it, their address is Zhongxiao E Rd, Sec 5, No. 508, 21F-3, and they have a small shop on the first floor of the back of that building (Phone 02-2759-1358). The Aperol is about 900NT, I think. I’ve mentioned before that you can get Lillet Blanc from Sundy. […]