Hunting in France?

[Goose1023]

 

Will be headed across the pond in May for my honeymoon and will be making a 3 day stop in Paris towards the end of the trip.  Other than LMDW, are there any shops worth checking out in Paris?  Will be on the lookout for the usual international suspects (i.e. Gold, SFTB, etc) as well as anything else the hive recommends.  Will also be doing a day trip to Reims to tour Veuve Clicquot (for the wife's sake), so if there are any local spots in that are to peek at I'd love to check them out.  Recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[Anwalt]

What I did:  Looked up "liquor", "wine", and "beer" on Google maps when I was outside of Paris.  Stopped at a lot of places.  Found a whiskey place that sold SFTB (189 Euros, too much for me), Gold at 95 (Cha-Ching!), and Weller 12 at 40 (Cha-Ching!).  The whiskey places tend to limit sales of these bottles to one per customer and some look at you and your spouse as "one".  So I'd send the spouse separately, and not immediately after you.

 

I also found a wine shop that sells very little whiskey but gets a regular drop of 6 Blanton's SiB, 3 Gold, 3 SFTB, and 4 W12, all at good prices.  And because their customers are not whiskey people, the bottles sit and sit and sit.  They actually gifted me some wine when I bought their entire inventory (which I split with friends at cost).  Those little places are honey holes.  The one I found allows me to buy all their Gold, SFTB, and W12 the minutes it comes in (they hold it for me to pick up) on the theory that it'll otherwise sit.  But you won't find those places except by walking in.  And like elsewhere, it pays to take one's time and play nice.  Apologize for not speaking French.  Mention that the Europeans were smart enough to get the best bourbon exports.  Chit chat, break the ice.  Mention that you are buying local (if you in fact are)....I bought a lot of Sauternes while there, and all could be shipped and did not interfere with muling liquor back in suitcases (we did 4 per, will do 5 per next time).  We talked about local chateaus and made fun of the Parisians (their New Yorkers); I wait for them to start on that subject before laughingly agreeing.

 

Comptoir Irlandes often has Gold, sold only in person, 1 per, same rules for spouse.  They are all over the country, with two in Paris.  Given the nature of their business (all things Irish), they usually have someone who speaks English.  You call ahead and ask them if they have it, they do not seem to get their feathers ruffled over the question.  I usually buy a Red Spot as well, only 100 euros for 700 ml, whereas 750 ml usually runs $175 to $200 Stateside.

 

I did not get anything in Paris.  Granted, it was after some big whiskey fest.  But I got the sense that is more picked over than many of the places in the countryside.  Indeed, a relative picked up Gold & SFTB at MdW in December after their drop (1 per) and they pretty quickly showed "out of stock".  They certainly have some extra in the back for good customers, don't blame them, I'd do the same.

 

I found the Nicolas chain (it's everywhere) to never have anything I wanted.  Perhaps your mileage will vary.

 

If you'd be so kind, please take the time to share what you learned.  So many people lurk here, take info, and give very little.  I should hope you're not one of those.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Anwalt

[Goose1023]

This is great info.  Thank you!  I'll be sure to report back once I return stateside.  I'll also be in Sicily and Barcelona for several days over the trip so if I see anything worthwhile I'll be sure to mention it.