Use the drive-thru…read more Driving around Monroe looking for a place to buy airplane bottles of liquor is not my idea of fun. But that is what I found myself doing on a recent trip. You see, I do not always want to buy a full-size bottle if all I want is a couple of drinks in my room or in the hotel lobby. Before you suggest a couple of drinks in a hotel lobby is kind of trashy let me stop you. I grew up on the west bank and we are the classiest people on the planet. OK, maybe not but can't I get a few mini-bottles and enjoy myself a bourbon in a coffee cup? Now that nonsense is out of the way, on to my review. I tried a couple of stores before this one and couldn't find what I was looking for. As I pulled up, I realized that I needed to be on guard. There was an overall unsafe feeling to the store which was enhanced by the fake weed for sale, the dude wandering around going in and out as if he were casing the joint, and the steady stream of people who were coming and going while I searched for some booze. I would imagine it was less shady during the day but I usually buy hotel booze in the evening. Surprisingly, they had a pretty good selection of bourbon. Many of the bottles were behind the counter but the selection was good. The mini-bottles are kept in a glass display case that can only be accessed by the staff. I grabbed a few bottles of Makers Mark which were $4.41 each. I could have gotten a full bottle for only slightly more than the bottles I bought but who wants to drive around with a 3/4 bottle in their work car? Not this dude. Will I be back? Probably not. I felt very uneasy in the store and parking lot. But, nothing bad happened to me so the feeling may just have been a feeling. However, I am usually pretty good at detecting that sort of thing. Anyway, now you know my experience and can take it or leave it.

My sister made a wrong turn. Or . . . . a right turn? Daiquiri Oasis has a daiquiri competitor…read moreright next door to it?! How did I not ever KNOW this?! I thought this was just a liquor and smoke shop. But boy was I ever wrong as the dividing fence blocked our entrance into the next door daiquiri drive through and we were stuck in the lot of Smokers Paradise. But here we have 2 for $10.99 of 32oz styrofoam mugs of daiquiri goodness with a menu that goes on for days. Did I need this much daiquiri? God no. I don't think I came close to finishing it even though I really gave it my all. Did I want this much daiquiri for like $6? Yes. I went with a 'Dirty White Boy' which consisted of a hybrid of Pina Colada and a White Russian. Two drinks that you would think would never in a million years go together but they do. Trust me. My sister got the chocolate covered strawberry which I was tempted by but that was a rookie mistake because it tasted like cherry flavored cough syrup. Not a huge chocolate taste and didn't resemble strawberry too closely. But my drink was great until it started melting. I will warn you, these are ridiculously alcoholic. I could smell the vodka and fumes of the cheap liquor just permeating in the air around my cup. It's nitro fuel for sure. But this is what I came for in Louisiana: Paradise. Or something like that. . . .