Liquor Stores Open Near Me and Best Wine Shops in the US

Would you like to know those Liquor Stores Open Near Me? Whether you’re expanding the drinks in your home bar or getting into distilled spirits for the first time, you should know what types of liquor are out there. 

Full bar service covers beer, wine, and liquor, and expert knowledge of all three makes you a better bartender. In this article, you shall learn about liquor stores near you in the United States.

Read on for the full article on Liquor Store Open Near Me!

What is a Liquor?

Before diving into the discussion of Liquor Store Open Near Me, please note. Liquor or spirit (also hard liquor, or distilled alcohol) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, or vegetables that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation.

For a drink to be liquor, it must be alcoholic and distilled. Because of the distillation — and minimal to no added sugar — hard alcohol unsurprisingly has a high alcohol content.

Bottles of spirits will tell you on the label the alcohol content in percentages and proof. The percentage refers to the liquor’s alcohol by volume (ABV), and the proof is that percentage doubled. So a spirit with 40% ABV would be 80 proof.

What is not Liquor?

Beer and wine are not hard alcohol because they are not distilled beverages. If you’ve previously only been a beer or wine drinker and you’re nervous about the higher alcohol content in liquor, don’t worry.

When using hard alcohol in a mixed drink, the other ingredients help dilute the overall percentage of alcohol.

You can adjust the non-alcoholic ingredients to your preference if you prefer a weaker or stronger drink.

Examples of liquors include brandy, vodka, absinthe, gin, rum, tequila, and whisky.

Types of Liquor

Call these forms of distilled alcohol either liquor, hard liquor, spirits, or hard alcohol. Any of these names will suffice for the six general types of liquor.

1. Whiskey

As one of the more complex categories of liquor, whiskey includes a variety of spirits. Scotch, bourbon, and whisky all fall under the umbrella of whiskey.

Location of the spirit’s creation is part of what determines the different names. Scotch and whisky come from Scotland, while bourbon is American-made.

Below is a list of some classic mixed drinks that feature whiskey.

• Whiskey sour: Lemon or lime juice, simple syrup, and whiskey make this popular drink. While the drink is a bit sour, as the name implies, you can adjust the levels of syrup, juice, and whiskey to suit your preference.
• Old-fashioned: Another classic cocktail, this mix of bitters and sugar can combine with bourbon or rye whiskey. Opt for a sugar cube and soak it in bitters once in the glass for a classic method of preparation. Top with your preferred whiskey and an optional splash of club soda or orange peel for garnish.
• Manhattan cocktail: Rye whiskey, bitters, and sweet vermouth mix to create this great beginner cocktail. Add dry vermouth and garnish with a maraschino cherry for more flavors.
• Irish coffee: Beginning with an unsurprising base of Irish whiskey and coffee, add sugar, cream, and optional whipped cream to make this drink. Use brown sugar instead of white for an even sweeter flavor, and leave out the cream for a bolder coffee taste.
• Mint julep: For a more complicated concoction, muddle mint leaves with sugar. Use crushed ice in this recipe for a traditional drink.

2. Brandy

The word brandy comes from the Dutch word brandewijn, which translates to “burnt wine.” And that’s basically what brandy is: distilled wine.

Like whiskey, brandy’s category includes another related spirit — Cognac. Unlike other hard liquors, though, brandy is made with fermented fruit instead of grain. Most of the time, the fruits in brandy include:

• Grapes
• Apples
• Apricots
• Cherries
• Peaches

3. Rum

Legend has it that rum got its name from a Latin word for sugar, Saccharum. That also provides a hint about how it’s made. Rum is made by fermenting and distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice.

• Flavor profile: sweet, toasty, sometimes spicy
• Aging: oak barrels, up to 10 years (the longer it aged, the darker it is)
• Styles: British rum, Spanish rum, English rum
• Famous distillers: Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Havana Club
• Alcohol content: Typically 40%, can go up to 75%
• Glassware: Rocks glass, grappa glass, snifter
• In cocktails: rum and coke, daiquiri, Mai Tai, piña colada

4. Vodka

Unlike brandy, vodka does not typically age, and the color remains clear. You will find vodkas with alcohol contents ranging from 40 to 50%.

As one of the most popular types of hard liquor today, vodka can be a key ingredient in almost any drink. Thanks to vodka’s neutral flavor, its uses range from simple to complex, pairing with one ingredient to multiple other liquors.

While vodka comes in a variety of flavors, these mixed drinks use the standard form and add other flavorings.

• Vodka martini: A versatile drink, the vodka martini uses vodka, dry vermouth, and bitters along with a garnish like olives or a lemon twist.
• Cosmopolitan: Orange liqueur, lime juice, and cranberry juice combine with vodka to make one of the most popular mixed drinks.
• Bloody Mary: Make this cocktail as simple or as complex as you like, starting with a base of tomato juice and vodka. Mix in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and garnish with a celery stalk.
• Moscow mule: Choose either ginger ale or ginger beer when making this cocktail. Add lime juice, vodka, and garnish with a lime wedge. While you should serve this beverage in a copper mule mug for it to be traditional, you can use a regular glass, and it will turn out just as good.
• Screwdriver: The most straightforward mixed drink of all combines orange juice and vodka. Adjust the ratios to suit your preference, and try fresh-squeezed orange juice for an even better taste.

5. Gin

Gin is made by first creating a neutral spirit then redistilling it with the addition of a combination of botanicals. That means seeds, berries, spices, roots, and herbs.

Juniper berries (an antioxidant used in some aphrodisiac drinks) were the earliest and most popular botanical used to create gin. The English word gin comes from the French word for juniper, genévrier.

• Flavor profile: depends entirely on the botanicals, common flavors include juniper, anise, coriander, fennel, and citrus peel
• Aging: Sometimes oak barrels, up to six months
• Styles: London dry, Genever, New American
• Famous distillers: Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire
• Alcohol content: At least 40%
• Glassware: Martini glass, rocks glass, inward-curving stemmed glass
• In cocktails: gin and tonic, Negroni, gimlet, martini, Tom Collins

6. Tequila

Tequila is a type of mezcal, which is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of succulent agave. Specifically, tequila is made from the blue agave plant primarily in the region surrounding the Mexican city of Tequila.

• Flavor profile: bright green fruit, earthy tones, oak, spice
• Aging: oak barrels, 2 months to 3+ years
• Styles: blanco, joven, reposado, añejo, extra añejo
• Famous distillers: Patrón, Jose Cuervo, Don Julio, El Jimador
• Alcohol content: typically 40%, up to 55%
• Glassware: shot glass, rocks glass, snifter, Riedel Ouverture tequila glass
• In cocktails: Margarita, Tequila Sunrise, Paloma

Is There Any Difference Between Liquor vs Liqueur?

Liquor and liqueurs are often confused with each other because they have similar spelling, they’re both used in cocktails, and they both go through the distillation process to become what they are.

But unlike spirits & liquor, liqueurs are different.

Liqueurs, on the other hand, are liquors that have had some kind of sweetener added to them. They’re also often flavored with various herbs, fruits, or spices, and they generally sit around 15-30% ABV (alcohol by volume) but can go as high as 55% ABV.

Important Fact About Liquor vs Liqueur

However, the flavoring and the ABV aren’t strict requirements. What matters for a liqueur to be called a liqueur is that it has been sweetened in some way. Otherwise, they’re just flavored liquors.

For example, gin is flavored with various botanicals. But gin is a liquor, not a liqueur because it hasn’t been sweetened in any way.

There are several brands of vodka that are also flavored but not sweetened. These types of vodka are simply called flavored vodkas, not liqueurs.

Some examples of the more common types of liqueurs you’re likely to use are, Triple-sec, Sambucca, Creme de Cacao, Pastis, Amaro, Chartreuse, Drambuie, Amaretto (or as some people like to call it, hamhareaaaatto).

Top 50 Liquor Store Open Near Me

Below are some of the top Liquor Store Open Near Me in the US:

1. 21st Amendment
2. ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
3. Acme Liquor
4. Andrew’s Wine Cellar
5. Applejack Wine & Spirits
6. Argonaut Wine and Liquor
7. Bacchus Wines
8. Banks Wine & Spirits
9. Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits
10. BC Liquor
11. Beards Hill Liquor
12. BevMo!
13. Binny’s Beverage Depot
14. Boone’s Wine & Spirits
15. Bo’s Wine Depot
16. Bourbon Street Wine & Spirits
17. Broadway Spirits
18. Broudy’s Fine Wine & Spirits
19. Brown Derby Intl Wine Cellar
20. Buster’s Liquors and Wines
21. Cellar Door Wine & Spirits
22. Cheers Liquor Mart
23. Chili Liquor Store
24. Chilly’s Liquors
25. Compass Wines
26. Cordially Yours Wine & Spirits
27. Cork and Barrel
28. Court Liquors
29. East Branch Organics
30. Evergreen Wine Cellar
31. Fine Wine & Good Spirits
32. Fisher’s Liquor Barn
33. Flanagan’s Stop and Shop
34. Garfield’s Beverage Warehouse
35. Gary’s Wine & Marketplace
36. Gator Beverage
37. Goody Goody Liquor
38. Gourmet Liquors
39. Half Time Beverage
40. Haskell’s
41. Helen Cellar Package Store
42. Hugo’s Wine & Spirits
43. Jimbo’s Liquors
44. JJ’s Wine, Spirits, Cigars
45. Joe’s Liquor & Bar
46. Jubilation Wine & Spirits
47. Khourys Fine Wine and Spirits
48. Kirby Wines & Liquors
49. Kreston Wine & Spirits
50. Lakeville Liquors

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Now you’re ready to shake together everything you learned about Liquor Stores Open Near Me. Thus, start using various liquors and liqueurs! Please feel free to leave a comment, like, and share with friends and family!