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Berry Bros, Cadenheads, Good Spirits Co, Gordon & MacPhail, Loch Fyne Whiskies, Robertsons, Royal Mile Whiskies, TB Watson, Whisky Exchange
Glasgow Whisky Shops
This blog appeared on 6th October 2010 from Glasgow Whisky and Ale (the website it came from is no longer active), since when Oddbins have gone bust and come back to life in a smaller incarnation, Tam's Drams has turned into an Auction House, and The Good Spirits Co has been set up - as hinted up in the final paragraph.
Whisky Shops in Glasgow
I have been asked quite a few times now about the best places to buy whisky in Glasgow so I’m writing it all down here as I no doubt miss something each time I reply.
You would expect Scotland’s biggest city to be utterly chock full of whisky shops, wouldn’t you? We should be falling over the damn things. One on every street by law. I’m sure the SNP have that written into their manifesto somewhere in small letters. Maybe not.
Well, we’re not falling over them. There isn’t one on every street and if you are a visitor here you will struggle to find one at all. What a disgrace! Here’s my opinion and findings on the whole debacle which I regularly repeat to anyone who asks:
In the city centre we have two dedicated whisky retailers: The Whisky Shop and Global Whisky Shop. Both are expensive. The Whisky Shop is REALLY expensive. REALLY EXPENSIVE! Don’t ever go in there unless you want to be robbed without them having the decency to point a pistol in your direction. When I think of that retailer I think of Stand and Deliver by Adam and The Ants. Watch the video. Well, ignore the mirrors and poncing about. Cue bugle intro…
Global Whisky Shop, part of the Robert Graham mini-chain, is also relatively* expensive and is so small they can’t really stock a wide range. They do lots of very nice cigars, though, which makes them, for me at least, a more appealing place than The Whisky Shop.
Slightly off the beaten track, in the centre at least, is Peckham’s in Glassford Street. They are not a whisky specialist and therefore don’t have a particularly wide range but they do have lots of bottled ales. Yum. They can be a teeny bit pricy too but not as bad as the previous two in general. If you venture out to the west end you will find their dedicated booze store at the top of Clarence Drive which has a bigger selection and some other interesting spirits too. Possibly the best general range of spirits in Glasgow in fact.
Getting back to the centre of the city, a hidden gem of sorts is a tartan-and-shortbread tourist shop on Buchanan Street by the name of Hector Russell. Downstairs you’ll find a wall of whisky that puts at least one of the specialist retailers to shame. They are heavy on the Gordon & MacPhail bottlings but there are plenty of other bottles on the shelves too and you might find something that has long since sold out elsewhere. Clearly I’m letting a little secret out here which will no doubt mean less choice bottlings left for me the next time I visit but what the hell.
Back out west there’s a new shop called Tam’s Drams which I mentioned in a previous post. Again, small shop means small range and there’s a tendency towards independent distilleries and bottlers. The wee guys. The prices are much better than other shops, though, which means it gets the thumbs up from me.
Right, not doing too well here. Not doing well at all. Where to next? Lemme see… Nope, think that’s it. Oh, almost forgot Oddbins! Well, easy to forget as the range in there is worse than you’ll get in any big supermarket. They occasionally do their own bottlings but these are becoming fewer and far between. It’s a shame because I used to buy from Oddbins quite regularly. The prices are usually good with interesting deals from time to time. Sadly that’s becoming less and less of a draw for me too as it seems to be the same malts from the increasingly shrinking range that get the price cuts.
There’s no point mentioning supermarkets other than we have them. Yes, we do. Waitrose at the top of Byres Road gets a particular mention for their fantastic deals, usually at Christmas, on some excellent malts.
So there you have it. Compared to Edinburgh we’re pretty short-changed in Glasgow for anything whisky-related but there’s another reason for all this and not just to get down in writing what I repeat regularly: things are hopefully going to change. Soon.
* I am basing prices on what I would pay at Royal Mile Whiskies or The Whisky Exchange.
Whisky Shops in Glasgow
I have been asked quite a few times now about the best places to buy whisky in Glasgow so I’m writing it all down here as I no doubt miss something each time I reply.
You would expect Scotland’s biggest city to be utterly chock full of whisky shops, wouldn’t you? We should be falling over the damn things. One on every street by law. I’m sure the SNP have that written into their manifesto somewhere in small letters. Maybe not.
Well, we’re not falling over them. There isn’t one on every street and if you are a visitor here you will struggle to find one at all. What a disgrace! Here’s my opinion and findings on the whole debacle which I regularly repeat to anyone who asks:
In the city centre we have two dedicated whisky retailers: The Whisky Shop and Global Whisky Shop. Both are expensive. The Whisky Shop is REALLY expensive. REALLY EXPENSIVE! Don’t ever go in there unless you want to be robbed without them having the decency to point a pistol in your direction. When I think of that retailer I think of Stand and Deliver by Adam and The Ants. Watch the video. Well, ignore the mirrors and poncing about. Cue bugle intro…
Global Whisky Shop, part of the Robert Graham mini-chain, is also relatively* expensive and is so small they can’t really stock a wide range. They do lots of very nice cigars, though, which makes them, for me at least, a more appealing place than The Whisky Shop.
Slightly off the beaten track, in the centre at least, is Peckham’s in Glassford Street. They are not a whisky specialist and therefore don’t have a particularly wide range but they do have lots of bottled ales. Yum. They can be a teeny bit pricy too but not as bad as the previous two in general. If you venture out to the west end you will find their dedicated booze store at the top of Clarence Drive which has a bigger selection and some other interesting spirits too. Possibly the best general range of spirits in Glasgow in fact.
Getting back to the centre of the city, a hidden gem of sorts is a tartan-and-shortbread tourist shop on Buchanan Street by the name of Hector Russell. Downstairs you’ll find a wall of whisky that puts at least one of the specialist retailers to shame. They are heavy on the Gordon & MacPhail bottlings but there are plenty of other bottles on the shelves too and you might find something that has long since sold out elsewhere. Clearly I’m letting a little secret out here which will no doubt mean less choice bottlings left for me the next time I visit but what the hell.
Back out west there’s a new shop called Tam’s Drams which I mentioned in a previous post. Again, small shop means small range and there’s a tendency towards independent distilleries and bottlers. The wee guys. The prices are much better than other shops, though, which means it gets the thumbs up from me.
Right, not doing too well here. Not doing well at all. Where to next? Lemme see… Nope, think that’s it. Oh, almost forgot Oddbins! Well, easy to forget as the range in there is worse than you’ll get in any big supermarket. They occasionally do their own bottlings but these are becoming fewer and far between. It’s a shame because I used to buy from Oddbins quite regularly. The prices are usually good with interesting deals from time to time. Sadly that’s becoming less and less of a draw for me too as it seems to be the same malts from the increasingly shrinking range that get the price cuts.
There’s no point mentioning supermarkets other than we have them. Yes, we do. Waitrose at the top of Byres Road gets a particular mention for their fantastic deals, usually at Christmas, on some excellent malts.
So there you have it. Compared to Edinburgh we’re pretty short-changed in Glasgow for anything whisky-related but there’s another reason for all this and not just to get down in writing what I repeat regularly: things are hopefully going to change. Soon.
* I am basing prices on what I would pay at Royal Mile Whiskies or The Whisky Exchange.