Hidden away in the sleepy seaside village of Groomsport is Neill Wines and perhaps Northern…read moreIrelands greatest selection of bottled craft beers. Neill wines is unassuming from the outside, located on Groomsport's Main Street it has limited branding and no flashy signs that give any indication of the delights that are inside. Much like a treasure chest it's only when you go inside that you are exposed to the vast bounty. The shelves are stacked high and deep with a huge array of craft beers. From local brews to exotic Caribbean beers this place has it all. Along side the traditional lagers they had a bargain bin with 3 beers for a fiver and being the adventurous type I choose 3 beers I had never seen or heard of before. I ended up with a coffee flavoured beer from Ireland (nice and local) and a pale ale from England that made my taste buds scream for more. That's the beauty of going to Neill Wines, it's a lottery and you might just hit the jackpot and come out clasping your new favourite beer. If you're more of a wine connoisseur then they have a huge selection for you too, not being a huge fan of wine I stuck to the craft beers but I noticed the wines were all shelved by region. Ask the staff for advice if you're not sure what to go for, they seem to know their stuff although I wish the attendant had of warned me that my coffee flavoured beer was more like beer flavoured coffee, anyway you live and learn. If you're a craft fan, as so many people are these days, I would suggest you take a wee jaunt down the coast to visit Neill Wines or look them up online and see what they have in stock you're bound to come across something new.

This Dr:nk is a student magnet, and it is clear why: it is the most convenient off-licence to the…read morestudent housing at Elms! Dr:nk does a good job of what it does though, as it always has a wide range of special offers on to placate the masses, with a personal recent favourite 5 cans of Kopparberg for a fiver, which is phenomenal value! The best thing about Dr:nk compared to cheaper supermarket outlets is that the vast majority of goods are chilled which means you can pick up stuff from here on short notice and it is good to go straight away rather than having to chill it yourself for ages or diluting your sweet booze with ice, the natural enemy of all beverages!(some may disagree but my view is that drinks should already be cold, they shouldn't have to be watered down!) Dr:nk will continue to thrive as long as students of the area love booze, and I can confidently say that trend will not be stopping any time soon!

Rarely do people actually make an effort with their off-sales businesses. Procure the premises,…read morestock and staff, maybe put up some generic brand signage, start flogging stuff. Dr:nk is different. I like this place on the Malone Road in student land. It's bright and nifty, and I happen to have fallen in love with some of the wines that I can't get my hands on anywhere else. If you ever come across a wine called Heartland (an Aussie shiraz), buy all of it. There's always a big advertising board outside, detailing all of their monthly specials. The management seem to trust the staff to play their own music too, which is pretty cool... I know they're ubiquitous now, but the first time I heard Mumford & Sons was in Dr:nk. Not to be sniffed at.

Stopped in to pick up something particular, and only had a minute to chat. This is a tremendous…read morestore. Excellent selection, knowledgeable staff. Wish I had been able to spend more time.

I can and do drink pretty much anything - Father Jack on the Toilet Duck has nothing on my house on…read morea Friday night - so while I do occasionally splash out on a nice bottle of red wine, I am more often to be found with a bottle of rose at a maximum price of £5.99. And considering myself quite cultured among my Buckfast-swilling friends too. As such, the Vineyard isn't an offy I go out of my way to, specialising in proper wines and drinks for those who drink for taste and actually keep the cork of a bottle of wine to put it in the bottle and keep it for later. I do call in fairly often as it's on my way home, and no doubt embarrass myself terribly by going for the £5.99 or £4.99 rose, but I care not. The Vineyard is about the best place on the Ormeau Road to go if you want to buy someone a nice bottle of wine as a pressie, or to bring to someone's house if they're making you dinner. But I call in mainly for convenience rather than choice, although clearly that's my fault for being such a pleb.

This is my local off license that I've been calling into for years, it's so handy when you need a…read moredecent bottle of something! There is such a thing as an alcohol emergency! Their wines are extensive, from cheap and cheerful to expensive and delicious. They also have a large variety of spirits, stocking some of the higher end gins. Not only that they have plenty of different mixers, from basic Coke to organic fever tree tonic, which I love! I'm not massively into beer so couldn't tell you the types they stock but looks like there are plenty of options for the discerning customer. The shop assistants are all very friendly and more than happy to help if you want advice on anything, they will also order a bottle of your fave in if they don't stock it. My only problem with the place is they've stopped asking me for my id.... Clearly I've started showing my age!

This off licence is, as my 5 star rating would suggest, is as good as it can get when it comes to…read moreBelfast off licenses. The service is incredible and the range of alcohol is spectacular. I have discovered a number of great red wines that are very reasonably priced, one such being the Black Shiraz, which in my opinion is the best wine you can get for under ten pounds. If you are unsure about what to get, then simply ask the friendly staff who will not confuse you with specialised wine tasting jargon, but keep it simple and to the point. Even if wine is not your thing Gap Wines sells an eclectic mix of beers from around the world. I would suggest you try some BrewDog, specifically the Punk IPA beer which, if you are a beer fan, you will certainly enjoy!

Direct Wine Shipments are an independent, family run wine importers and distributors. This…read moreAladdin's Cave of wine is an absolute delight to visit. Prices range from bottles under £10 to bottles worth hundreds of pounds - so be careful you don't accidentally knock one over as you explore the shop! All wines are grouped by country of origin and the selection is vast. They also stock some gins, whiskies, liquors and spirits. Staff are exceptionally helpful, knowledgable and pleasant. Direct Wine Shipments run wine tasting events, classes and evenings all year round. I'd highly recommend the Christmas Wine Tasting, which at £20 makes for a lovely afternoon on a cold, wet, windy November or December day. These book up extremely quickly though, so you need to book tickets immediately when you see the events appear on Direct Wines Shipments website. I recently attended the late November Christmas Wine Tasting Event which was brilliant. Hosted by wine expert Peter Morris Wilson, we sampled ten wines and heard all about them in proper wine speak. An informative and fun day. Our wines were five whites including Champagne, Alvarinho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, four reds and a dessert wine served with Ditty's Mince Pies. There was plenty of crusty white bread on the tables and our wine glasses were quickly filled, which I was amazed at as approximately 100 people attended the event. It was superbly well organised. There was also a 15% discount on all wines on the day of the Christmas Wine Tasting, so a lot of people took advantage of this and purchased bottles and boxes of wine. An excellent day and an excellent store.

Wine tasting - friendly, helpful staff. Excellent experience. Loved the Chilean wine expert.read more

I live attached to this building. It has, for that reason become my last bastion of booze if a walk…read moreto Tesco is considered too far. Wineflair is just beside the bookies on Cromac Street and is really the usual sort of place you tend to find around Belfast, there is nothing particularly outstanding. The beer, although bland and macro in every sense is reasonably priced however the hilariously small wine selection is unbelievable. You're talking maybe eight types of red, ranging from £4.50 (for utter dyed alcoholic water) to £8 or 9 for utter guff at that price, I mean we're talking £7 for a bottle of Hardy's standard mediocre Shiraz... not good. One of the guys I've dealt with is sound, spoken to him a few times and 'shot the shit' as the phrase goes. That aside it's a little pricey and limited range wise. However, if you are looking for booze in the area and there's nowhere else,... have at it.

When it gets to around 5pm on a Saturday afternoon I am usually on the lookout for a place like…read morethis. Grange Wine Merchants is conveniently located on the A2 from Bangor to Belfast next to a BP filling station. It is kind of hidden away and you can't see it from the road; which means it often goes unnoticed. One thing is for sure this place shouldn't go unnoticed; its range of alcoholic beverages would rival any supermarket. Grange also has an excellent selection of craft beer, both local and foreign as well as a reasonably small spirit selection. On Saturday when we went in they had completely run out of dark rum except for Havana Club. The member of staff was really helpful though and tried her best to find us an equivalent. Convenience is key for Grange Wine Merchants - There's an ATM next to the filling station and also a Spar where you can buy party snacks and cocktail ingredients. If you are heading to a party in Belfast from the North Down direction this is where you should stop to pick up drinks. Useful for those with extravagant tastes as well as those who just want something to wet your whistle!

Great place to get your booze on the Lisburn Road. Called in her before the football on Friday…read morenight to grab a bottle or two and was surprised about the depth of the store. I say depth because on the outside it looks relatively small but once you're inside it stretches all the way back. They use this space to stock a wide variety of alcohol including a good selection of beer and everything from fine wine to Lambrini. Don't look round the store for the spirit section, they keep the hard stuff behind the counter. Open until 11pm this is a good place to grab a few drinks after an afternoon pint. Be warned on match day evening they operate a one in one out policy and you may have to wait to even get close to the booze. Although don't fear the counter staff have this serving malarky down to a tee. They are also fluent in drunk so you won't need your subtitles turned on in here. All in all a good and handy store. No complaints from me.

This is my local off license. It's about 9 seconds from my apartment which makes it the most…read moreconvenient place in the world. It's a strange place compared to a lot of the other off sales stores in Belfast. It looks a little dated and the door bell is the loudest, most irritating thing ever. I really do feel bad for the employees having to hear it everyday. In saying that, those employees are lovely people, there are a lot of deals always on, saving you lots of money and its just so close...so very close!