I don't generally get excited about retail therapy. I abhor shopping for clothes. It's a chore…read morepurchasing home goods. Buying food is marginally more enjoyable. But when it comes to booze, I could go on all day. In a city where cocktails are questionable and scotch is king, Good Spirits Co is a gasp of fresh air to a drowning man. Not unlike Gerry's in Leeds/Soho or Astor Wines in NYC, this shop offers enough variety and substance to satisfy most any liquor lover. Beyond a product selection that could leave me browsing the shelves for hours, the staff is knowledgeable (and trying to become even more so!), welcoming, and the space is noteworthy in its own right. Ask about the cashier's counter sometime - it's a piece to be pondered and appreciated. I'm excited about the forthcoming tasting room to come, and hope that local Glaswegians come to admire and adore this liquid gold outlet for the treasure it already is.

good selection of bottles. but the most hostile sales person…read more(with the short bleached hair) I ever met in Scotland. I will take my custom elsewhere.

A stand out location for the procurement of Whisky…read more This place has been a landmark for those Whisky afficinandos who need a wider selection of Malts to satisfy. I came across it on my way to the Ayrshire Whisky Festival - held in conjunction with Burns an' a that Festival in Ayr. Great staff and a stunning array of Malts. This level of stock does not occur in a year. It takes decades to develop a collection of malts like this. I would stop here if you are near. I know lots of folks who travel a sizeable difference to visit and gaze in wonder at the array of Whiskies available.

This is what a customer emailed to the IWSC -…read more Every visit is a pleasure. Kim and Stuart are accommodating, knowledgeable, friendly and willing to go that extra mile to help or answer any queries. I can even take my children along safe in the knowledge they can sit at the little table with crayons and paper while I have a glass of wine and a chat and make my purchases. They carry an excellent range of wines and spirits catering for all tastes and every budget or occasion. Mostly Wine is how shopping should be, I cannot recommend them highly enough. - Jay Todd

Despite getting the wellies out, the poncho's purchased and the ark carved for Taste, it was sadly…read morecancelled, so Saturday was spent checking out the great places Edinburgh has to offer. Also, thanks to twitter, I found out that we could still 'taste' as The Bon Vivants Companion and Sipsmith had hastily arranged a tasting in place of the scheduled stand at Loch Meadows... The Sipsmith tasting was fab and the Summer Cup with its fresh hints of cucumber (which I normally loathe) was a revelation and has ruined Pimms for me due to its superiority. The Sipsmith Gin was also great - even neat and is a new favourite. Could I be biased about TBVC? Well, as someone who loves the Bon Vivant, I've also checked out TBVC which is also totally fab all of the time and never disappoints which is why all these reviews are all 5 stars. . Staff really know their stuff - I hate discovering a certain type of wine when I've been travelling to discover, I'll never see it again just because I've returned home and I speak to someone in a Wine Merchants who has no idea and won't offer to do a bit of hunting for me. Not the case at TBVC and even 'Its really rare' won't put them off. If you are looking for some of the rarer spirits and great wine, this is the place to come as a first stop instead of trudging round town and getting sore tootsie's. Yes, there is some high end stock but there's also some reasonably priced bottles. It is definitely the place to come for some special occasion wine or a boozy gift :-) I'm hoping to attend some of the regular tastings held in the basement this year now I'm twitter stalking and at the risk of letting the secret out, this is a great way to find out what is happening here. The guys at the Bon Vivant and Bon Vivant's Companion are great at posting events on twitter, hence attending the last minute Sipsmith tasting. TBVC - just awesome and I love it :-)

I've joined the raving party as The Bon Vivant's Companion literally made my night after a…read moredisappointing meal out. Anchor Steam? In Edinburgh? Snuggled in beside Le Chouffe? Interested in my recommendation to check out Lost Coast (Downtown Brown and Tangerine Wheat Beer.... YUM) to import? Bring these babies in as well as the summer beer from Anchor Steam and you have my heart in your hands. Oh and Zichichi wine too, please. When the designated driver more excited about finding beer than eating food, you know you are onto a winner. Hugs to this place, and lots of them!

I'd been meaning to visit since this place opened and finally made it on Sunday. It's by the Good…read moreSpirits Co folk (obviously) and specialises in beer and wine (again, obviously). I'm already a massive fan of what Good Spirits do at their original location so it's great to see them expanding. This shop is quite small but they've managed to fit in a huge range of interesting beers and wines. I wasn't after anything particular so just did a bit of a random swoop of the store and grabbed 3 beers and a cider which came to about £10 which is totally reasonable. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in the city centre looking for some good beers as I can't think of any other great beer shop like this in town. Win.

The only thing I could ask of this business is that it stay open just a little later. Everything…read moreelse is exactly what I would hope for but I am disorganised and lazy and I've arrived at it's doors ten minutes too late too many times. I've been successful in arriving on time on two occasions. For the first I needed a bottle of wine. I like wine, but I don't really know much about it and my usual approach is to buy whatever's cheap-ish or on offer at the supermarket. On this occasion I decided to splash out and picked up a bottle of red for £13. Shock horror - I could have had three bottles for that price in Lidl! It turned out to be a mistake, not because the wine was unpleasant, quite the opposite. It turns out that expensive wine can be really, really good. So now I know I like expensive wine... which could be problematic. On the second occasion I needed beer. I chose three different bottles, based mostly on the fact that I liked the labels. The gentleman running the cash register grinned knowingly at me and informed me that I'd chosen three of his favourite beers. Good to know and, as it turns out, he and I have very similar tastes. He was also kind enough to help my partner choose a couple based on other beers my partner likes. Apparently they were also pretty great. There are a few good beer and wine shops in Glasgow now, but the city centre did need one quite badly and Good Spirits Wine & Beer has solved that problem perfectly.

I like Corky. The guy is pleasant and I doubt that is his name. Probably the name of the guy he…read morebought this place from - but he will still answer to it. What a guy. You are chucking yourself into the wild west to get here. But if you are in the area, it is the best of the lot. This guy has gone out of way to locate some lovely beers. I used to wander down here on a Friday night to get ready for the weekend. I would choose this guy over the convenience store next door.

We popped in on a whim while on holiday because it was cold and I spied the liquor! We were very…read morepleasantly surprised. The ladies there were very knowledgeable, answering any and all questions we had, and offered samples as well! Who knew? The liquors we tried were all very good, flavorful, rich and definitely lend themselves to experimentation. My favorite was the Gooseberry however we enjoyed the Black Currant as well. Honestly, we didn't try one thing that wasn't exceptional. The down low is that if you use or enjoy oils, vinegars, or liquors, you really should stop in. Small batches of all these items. You get great information while trying before you buy. Bring back your bottles for discounted refills! We ended up making a purchase as a gift and some to fly home with. We most definitely will go back on all of our return trips.

I stumbled upon Demijohn by mistake and then entered the establishment with the express intention…read moreof not buying anything at all. What. A. Fail. Demijohn is a so-called 'liquid deli' on Victoria Street, right off the Grassmarket, which is, in my most humble opinion, the place for quirky shopping. It's also the area that will have your money flying out your pockets before you've had the chance to figure out what's going on. So, my flatmate and I stumbled into the shop, dazzled by the large curvaceous bottles on display in the shop window. These are the kind of bottles that look like they belong in an apothecary or in a giant's chemistry lab. All we wanted to do, in that very naive way of ours, was to have a few tasters of the delicious, decadent looking alcohol. The woman who worked there was very kind and patient, and not at all put off by our excited yelps at all the different delicious liqueurs and spirits that swam in the bottles, which were many times the size of our heads. Me, I'm a fan of port. I know some people find it sickening, but I'll choose port over dessert (almost) any day. I also love elderberries. Demijohn, would you believe, has elderberry port! We were sold. Apart from deliciously fruity liqueurs, whisky and sloe gin, Demijohn also has an array of olive oils and vinegars that look to die for. The deal with this place is that you have to buy a bottle. The apothecary kind. The prices range from 10 pounds up, depending on the size of the bottle. Then, you try the different delectable boozes, point excitedly at the one you crave, and get your bottle filled. Not only do you get tasty liquids from this process, but a pretty snazzy vessel for it too. You can come back and refill your bottle at any time so that you don't have to spend money on another. Demijohn is just plain awesome. I highly recommend stopping by to have a look. At your own risk, that is.

I'm not sure how long The Cave has been about, I'm sure its at least 10 - 15 years. I remember…read moregoing way back and if im honest not being that impressed really. Back then I probably thought "bloody hell this is expensive" and left to get a cheap 6 pack of beers somewhere else. How times have changed! These days I would rather buy 3 expensive nice beers than get 6 crappy bottles, so this time when I walked in last Saturday I was very very impressed. It seems to do a mixture of beers, wines and spirits, but focuses more on the first two. The range is very good and on the beers I noticed several interesting cans and bottles that I have never seen before. There were all sorts of obscure American breweries and also some better known ones like Rogue and Stone. I liked the fact they also seem to have lots of different beers from each brewery, rather than just the odd one. I can see myself making my way through a whole brand range to see what I like best. For those not into beer they had some crazy Rogue alco-pops drink that was bright pink and claimed to be donut vodka. Pricing looks on a par with Hippo and VG, so it can be expensive, but worth it in my opinion when you manage to search out that sweet hoppy IPA you have been looking for all your life. Cool wee shop. I will be back.

You know the story. Heading somewhere for prenight out drinks, but wait, you're low on cash, and…read moredon't want to end up drinking paintstripper or vinegar from the offy round the corner, so, the Cave is where you go. They have a massive selection of beers, spirits and wines that can cater to any need. Personally, I think the staff love a challenge, so go in and try my personal tip: say you have X amount to spend, and they're to find you a decent wine. They will never fail. I have walked away with a decent bottle of white wine on more than one occassion, for under £4-5. Score! Watch out though, as I think for a lot of the stuff, it can be quite pricey, however, imported specialities are never going to be cheap, so I can assume that you will expect to pay a bit more for the rarer species of beer/wine/spirits.