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DemonKnight42 t1_j2b6unr wrote

Reply to comment by BlackbeltJones in Best bottle shop in the area? Seeking higher-end bourbon and wine by BlackbeltJones

Legitimately, regardless of your motives, your best bet is to drive the 3.5 hours to the Portsmouth, NH liquor store at the Portsmouth Circle. Or 3 ish hours to Gorham, NH. Why? Because as you mentioned ME liquor laws suck. NH liquor stores, especially the new ones, have a great selection. If you’re looking for specialty Bourbon or Scotch, they usually have a glass case somewhere in the store for the really top shelf stuff.

Other than that, you’re stuck with whatever your local stores ordered. ME is very controlled and if the distributor didn’t grease the liquor commission well enough you won’t find that “small batch” whatever. You won’t find much local liquor in ME, it’s mostly breweries. VT and NH however have a handful of local distilleries that are available via NH liquor stores.

Good luck.

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hadriangates t1_j2bf4u7 wrote

Actually there are quite a few distilleries in Maine. Many are more in Southern Maine, but I carry quite a number of them in my store. As to OP’s question, there are certain items that are highly allocated and it can take a bit of doing to get them from Pine Tree Spirits.

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DemonKnight42 t1_j2bg1a1 wrote

Interesting to learn, I’m a big whiskey fan and I’m always on a lookout for local distilleries, but haven’t seen very many ME based ones in my times there. Is there anything you would particularly recommend? I cover New England for work and spend a lot of time on the 95/93/91 corridors and all in between. 2 of my recent finds were Smugglers Notch and Barr Hill.

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BlackbeltJones OP t1_j2b9cc7 wrote

perfect, thank you! I had not realized the proliferation of breweries in Maine was not alongside the relaxation of alcohol regulations overall (clear evidence of my intimate 'industry' relationships!)

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