Best liquor store in Seattle?

[blkery]

I'm looking for a place with good prices and a large selection of liqueurs. I know Washington is strongly regulated, but I'm hoping to find more variety than what can be had in Oregon.

[LemonyRoux]

When searching for the nearest availability of a particular type of liquor, I have found the WSLCB website most helpful:

http://www.liq.wa.gov/LCBhomenet/Stor...

[PeteSeattle]

I think the place on 4th Ave South is the largest one in the state, and might have the widest selection.
It's where I go to get Bulgarian Brandy, although I'm sure that if you want something specific, you can ask your local store and the can bring in some for you from a store with a wider selection, if it's available at all in Washington state.

[k_hack]

Agreed-- the (gigantic) 4th Ave S one has stocked almost anything I've ever had difficulty finding elsewhere.

[eight_inch_pestle]

+1. It's still not going to on par with a great privately owned store, but it's the best I've seen in Seattle.

[PeteSeattle]

In Washington State, there is no such thing as a legal privately-owned liquor store. They may be leased by various private individuals, but at their heart they're still a state bureaucracy through and through.

The last time we voted on this issue I believe we decided to change that, but I'm not so sure. When we do, we're going to see Seven-Elevens carrying hard-core booze and drunks falling down EVERYWHERE.

[eight_inch_pestle]

Sorry if my post was vague, but I didn't mean to imply there were privately-owned stores in WA. I was saying no store in Washington is going to be as good as a great private store.

JFYI, the privatization effort failed last time around, although possibly/probably because there were two competing privatization initiatives on the same ballot, generating confusion and effectively splitting the pro-privatization vote. A Costco-backed privatization measure for this fall's election just cleared the signature validation process in the last week or two, so we'll have another go at it shortly.

[lavaca]

The prices are set by the state, so they're the same at every store.

7th & Bell is the store that handles a lot of high-end restaurant orders and is generally the best place to look for relatively obscure products. Only a portion of their inventory seems to be available in their retail section, so you will have to ask if you can't find something you think they should have. My local store (25th NE & NE 54th) is surprisingly nice, but I won't say that it's worth a special trip.

Otherwise, just go straight to liq.wa.gov and search for what you want.