The Good Spirits Co.
Three Oddbins alumni opened this basement spirits shop on Bath Street in 2011, and the house policy explains its survival: staff will pour you the whisky neat, in the shop, before you decide to buy it.
Why go
The Skinny calls the basement an "emporium of all things alcoholic" with "floor to ceiling shelving groaning with gins, vodkas, whiskies, rums, tequilas and bourbons," staffed by a team whose "collective CV includes running a whisky festival, being a qualified Sherry Educator" and WSET diploma study. Relationships with distillers and independent bottlers bring in shop-exclusive releases and own-label bottlings, which is what makes it Jeff's souvenir stop: bottles that do not exist in duty free. Behind the shelves sits "a purpose built tasting room" running classes every Friday evening.
Order this / avoid
- Order: tell the counter your budget and what you drink at home, taste the candidate neat, and leave with a shop-exclusive cask or one of Jeff's "local spirits and craft beer" picks.
- Avoid: filing it under whisky only; the gin, rum, agave and vermouth walls are stocked with the same intent.
What locals & experts say
- The Skinny: staff
often let you taste the spirit neat before you purchase,
and the Friday tastings send you homenicely tipsy and brimming with new found knowledge.
1 - Local rec: Jeff's save, his souvenir stop.
Good to know
- Timing: shop hours, daytime into early evening, later on Thursdays, shorter Sundays, per The Skinny; check before an evening trip.
- Booking: walk in; book ahead only for the Friday tastings.
- Getting there: 23 Bath Street, a block from Buchanan Street, minutes from Queen Street station.
Craft signals (bottle shop: rotation on beer, depth on whisky)
Two axes, read on their own terms. The beer and wine side is rotation, and the shop says so itself: the West Nile Street room carries an ever-changing range of craft beer beside wine from around the world2. The spirits side is depth, which is how whisky is judged, plus a tasting programme rather than a moving list. Both are drink-side signals, and neither rests on a star average.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Best bottle shop to find local spirits and craft beer. Be sure to visit for souvenirs."
Verdict
could-visit — If you are in the center with a suitcase to fill, this is the stop, and Jeff's note says exactly that. Three Oddbins alumni built Glasgow's specialist spirits shop, back it with a qualified-educator staff who pour you the dram neat before you commit, and bottle their own exclusives. It stays could-visit because it is a shop doing one thing well rather than a destination; the Friday tasting room is the upgrade path for anyone who wants it to be an evening.