There are countless liquor stores in Amherst. But Spirit Haus stands out for its welcoming…read moreambiance and--what puts it in the no. 1 spot for me--the extensive selection of wines, from modest to ... daunting (!) prices. I also enjoy the Saturday winetasting, conducted by the owner, Gary--who selects the wines and provides excellent recommendations.

@@ road trip review @@…read more Pros: * Local beer! We got recommended Spirit Haus specifically when we asked a friend where we could get some local brews to take home. * Good selection overall. They had a good selection of beer from real close, from Massachusetts, and of course from the rest of the country/world. * Walk in cold storage in the back. * Didn't partake since we were on the way out of town, but there was wine tasting going on. The store carries liquor, wine, and beer. * Friendly staff. Cons: * I do wish local stuff had been a little better designated. There was local and local-ish kind of all over the cold storage room, so it was a little hard to figure out at first for us out of towners.

Neal is the best! I just went in with my roommate to get a bottle of wine, but we were really…read morejonesing for our favorite beer, Grey Lady, from Cisco Brewers in Nantucket. No where around here sells it, but we asked Neal and he ordered right on the spot and is even sending us a personalized text when it comes in! We couldn't be more grateful for fantastic local business owners like Neal. Can't wait for our Grey Ladies!!

Amherst Liquors is amazing!! Neal, the store owner, is always so hospitable and considers every…read morerequest special. I often find Amherst Liquors has the best prices, too. This store is locally owned and operated!! I'm certain we'll be back again :)

The sign at the entrance said, "20% off all American white wines."…read moreI bought my favorite local white wine as I have many times in the past. When I checked out, the price did not seem discounted. When I asked about it, I was given a retail price that was larger than I have ever paid for this wine. With the supposed 20% discount, the price was the same as it always was. They claimed it was the distributor, but when I checked another liquor store, the price from the distributor had not gone up. So they raised the price and then gave me a "discount". I will be shopping elsewhere in the future.

I left a Christmas purchase behind. I called and the woman who answered my call went and over…read morebeyond to help me out. She listened to my hysterical call ( my opinion) she checked the camera's ,took the time to call me back!!! We set up a time to pick up my purchase. She set my mind at ease. Holiday shopping in itself is stressful ....never mind leaving a purchase behind!!! They are located in the heart of 5 Colleges and I was treated with so much RESPECT. Thank you LIQUORS 44!!!!!

This place has an incredible wine selection AND they have Sharon who is the most knowledgeable and…read morehelpful wine expert. She suggested a Cabernet Sauvignon from Lodi that knocked my socks off! This little gem of a wine place is easily overlooked but if you don't go to check it out, you are missing out!!!

Don't be fooled by the small size. They have perhaps the best rum and tequila selection in Western…read moreMass (and maybe northern CT too). Much better variety than stores several times their size. If you want 7 bottles of the same mass-produced stuff, they may not be your place, but if you want to sample variety, they are amazing! I always find something I want, and have never been disappointed with the new-to-me varieties I have tried from here.

It's a small store so the selection is naturally limited. The owner gave me top notch…read morerecommendations. Love this kind of local store and am happy to support them!

So, I'm pretty sure this place is designed to keep the riff-raff out. And by riff-raff I mean,…read morecollege students, aannnddd that's the point of view you're getting from my review. Maybe a more seasoned consumer would rate Russell's more highly, but that's not me. This place is a little larger than my college dorm room with crates and shelves of alcohol stacked waist high. I get super nervous turning around in this store for fear of knocking lots of things over. It's impossible to see the bottom two shelves of liquor against the wall, and the labels are hard to read from the distance, and because they're crammed so closely together. I don't remember ever seeing a price sticker unless something was clearly marked off on sale. There's a pretty good wine selection-- the liquor selection is pretty basic; very well stocked but not very varied. Not a great beer selection in my opinion. For service-- I generally get ignored by the staff unless the proprietor is there. He's really helpful and sweet, and saved me $7 but telling me I should get a magnum instead of two standard size bottles. If only he were there all the time!

Wow. I had never been to Johnny's and tried it tonight with three others. First of all, our server,…read more"Karen 2" (on the bill) was fabulous! I swear the woman could read our minds, anticipating our questions. Now to the food. We started with fried brussel sprouts. Huge portion. Flavorful, not overcooked, just the right amount of crispness...and those bacon pieces!? Yum. I had the chicken wings and a beet salad. I'm a Buffalo, NY native folks, and thus have had my share of great chicken wings. Johnny's wings were on par with anything I've had in the Queen City. My only suggestion to make it real Buffalo style is thick blue cheese dip. The other meals served were amazing - two pasta dishes and the fried chicken. All tasty. Everyone loved their dishes. The prices were very fair for the quality and quantity of food brought to the table. I'm surprised at the 4.1 Yelper average. The meal and service we had tonight was excellent.

I took my daughter to Johnny's for her birthday and was looking forward to trying the restaurant…read moreagain. It had been a while since I was last there. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer and it was very good as usual. Calamari (fried) is served atop an aioli that's heavy with garlic. For my main course I opted for the branzino with seafood risotto. I would not recommend this dish. The branzino came out slightly warmer than room temperature with a big dollop of room temp butter on it. I wonder if the intention was to put the plate under the salamander to warm / crisp things up prior to service but was forgotten. So I scraped the butter off the fish and onto the side plate it went. I was hoping for crispy skin but alas it was not to be found on this dish. Off came the skin and onto the side plate as well. The fish did have a good flavor to it. The seafood risotto was swimming in butter and was not edible. There were several mussels (in the shell) in the risotto, as well as small bay scallops, and several shrimp. The scallops and shrimp were incredibly overcooked and the mussels so gritty that they were inedible. This place used to be my favorite restaurant. I think that this is the last time that I'll dine at Johnny's in Amherst.

I went to Watroba's Liquors regularly from 1992 - 1997. Does "Best Packy Ever" describe it well…read moreenough? At first glance, it's a regular packy. But once you frequent the store as often as I did, you quickly realize the special nature of this place. Mr. Watroba helped fuel countless crazy parties. For every major bender, guaranteed we were stocking up at Watroba's Liquors. That guy was prepared for anything! 10 cases of Genny 30-packs? Anytime at Watroba's Liquors. At Watroba's Liquors, the Customer is King. Visit today to find out why Watroba's Liquors has been voted "Best Local Liquor Store" for decades.

Just your average neighborhood packy. They do have a decent selection of wines, beer and liquor…read more You can also get your scratch ticket fix taken care of while you're here. Just try to wait until you get to your car to scratch your ticket.

Aster + Pine is the best thing that's happened to downtown Amherst in a while, IMHO. It's a small…read moremarketplace with more offerings (at better prices) than I ever imagined would be tucked in there. I'd wandered in just to check it out, all set not to buy anything because it would have to sit in my closed car for too many hot hours, but ended up with a delicious loaf of bread from Easthampton, almond cookies from Italy, a tin of trout pate, and numerous other well-priced offerings. Welcome to Amherst!

A little of everything, from carefully curated wines to locally produced milk, fresh vegetables,…read moreand artisan bread. Ingredients for your dinner, specialty foods, cheeses, various cuisines represented. Don't expect Costco prices in a small independent store. With that in mind, it's a great addition to downtown.

This is my local beer store, living in South Amherst, but I used to avoid it years ago due to the…read moreunfriendly dudes and weird vibe. It's so much better now. I can chat with the register folks a but and don't feel creeped out anymore. So that's a win

I've never cared much for reviews but honestly, the old man who works there specifically is so rude…read moreand unkind that if I ever walk in and see him behind the counter again I'm walking right back out the door. I've worked in customer service for years and always take care to be polite when speaking with employees. That man can never be bothered to do the same to me. I'm not sure if he's just permanently having a bad day or what but I don't appreciate being belittled at the register. I'm a college student but I'm also a year-round local; this place is just lucky that Amherst is full of party people for 9 months a year.