Downtown Liquor Store

     Just around the corner, the lights shine bright giving the night an air of excitement. And I get excited. Through those automatic doors, I get to become a scientist, creating concoction after concoction. 2016 has proven that we become more grateful every day in the wine, spirits, and beer brewing industry. Maple syrup vodka, apple whiskey, cinnamon tequila, chocolate wine, grapefruit beer. The list continues. Some are great; some, eh...not so much. But to each their own. 
     Drinking can be a most joyous experience if you are smart about it and don’t take things too far. The different tastes of the elixirs can be euphoric, seductive even. Brew Masters these days have tried practically every combination possible with their beers. For instance, a local brewery, The Brewing Projekt, has an IPA mixed with green tea. The first time I set eyes on that one, I thought that it was unique and had the potential to be a shining bottled star if it took off properly. A favorite of mine is Shiner’s Ruby Redbird. It has hints of ginger with an underlying grapefruit taste. It is tart and refreshing.

     There is just something about gazing up and down the aisles of a liquor store, that brings me so much happiness. The different labels and colors. Advertising marketers have really stepped up their game. I feel like a cat in the aspect that the unusual bottles are what draw me in; I’m intrigued. Infinity Beverages, out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has silver wax dripped over their wine bottles, giving them a class of elegance while setting them apart from all other wines on the shelf. Their bottle makes it easy to spot as a customer milling about the store. Broker’s Gin has a hat placed on top of the cap of their bottle. Robertson Winery bottles are shaped almost like a genie bottle. Viniq is a pretty purple liquor that has silver swirls giving off a glimmering cloud effect when it is tipped upside down. One of my favorite bottles is Svedka’s Strawberry Lemonade vodka, it’s almost tie-die pattern of the pink and yellow catch my eye every time I walk past the vodka section of any liquor department. The colors distract our original train of thought and then draw us in. The labels move in for the kill next. A catchy design or pretty font on its letters will win head over heels against something a tad-bit more ordinary. And finally comes the name. 

     The names are in a category together all by themselves. Buffalo Sweat beer, Sweet Bitch wine, and Monkey Shoulder Whisky to name a few. Some remind us of places we’ve visited in our lives. Others bring back memories from the past. Some just sound fun and entice you enough to buy them. That is marketing at its finest. General themes with wines, beers, or liquors work for some companies. Random names will work for others.

     Downtown liquor stores have a special vibe that doesn’t extend to the atmosphere of a grocery store liquor department. There is convenience with the one stop shop, but that’s about all it has to offer. I’ve seen great beer case displays in gas stations and grocery stores, displays to shock and awe. The outskirts locations for spirits can be fun to happen upon after a long drive, but the downtown stores have friendly regulars. These customers are the face of downtown; they exemplify the city. They are the characters that give the city its style. The tourists that come inside the doors are looking for that special feeling of the city, and these visitors give off that feeling as well. Friendly smiles when you walk through the door are what make any business a good one.

     To fully get the essence of a city, one needs to stop at its shops. The atmosphere of the city relies on these establishments. For instance, a person isn’t defined by one personality trait. We all have many that make us unique, all of that compiled with experiences we’ve had. That would be the city’s history.

Highs and lows run in every business, every town, every person. Every store front has their own impact on a city. Downtown liquor stores are no different. They attract the night and weekend life of a city. They are the support system for when one wants to wind down after a long week at work.

Whether you are drinking as a stress reliever, a change of taste to anything other than the plain ole lemonade you’ve been drinking for months, or to have a little laid-back fun, liquor stores give you that answer in life. The answer to try what you want to try, to be your own mixologist.

There are countless options to buy and taste. At my local liquor store, there are samplings around the holidays, typically wine sometimes followed with a cream liqueur of sorts. There has also been beer to taste as well. That is a great way to try new things. Expanding your horizons helps you fully appreciate what you like. How do you know if you would like something else more than what you currently like, if you never give it a try? Tastings help with that.

My liquor store also has a great clearance section. That is a good way to try something for a very reasonable price. Some stores clearance out the beer that is on to the next season, wine that has been on the shelf for almost too long, or liquor even, when they need to make room for new products.

     Downtown liquor stores are wonderful things. They have creativity and variety, a special flair for the unknown. The gin section alone has so many different bottles to choose from. One can go in and get five different bottles and start out a good little home bar. A sixer of beer and a bottle of wine and bam...it was a good shopping trip. Whether one is cooking, just sipping, or mixing up a witch’s brew, the concoctions are only as limited as you allow them to be. So go ahead and experience the wonders of your own downtown liquor store.