I am impressed ... while reading some of the other reviews, you may be lead into thinking this shop is larger than it is. It's on the small side considering where the liquor market is headed with Bevmo, Wegmanns and Total Wine and Spirits offering a football field of choices. They key to this shop is that everything is well organized and the selection is good for a shop of it's size.
I met the owner who is very knowledgable in wine and what he has to offer. I believe he is French, which adds a bit of authenticity to browsing the Boudreaux section. I felt like I could trust his recommendations and he was honest and did not pull any punches. He gave me a few informed choices and let me make up my mind vs. pushing one particular bottle on me, which I like.
I've been at some stores where the owner is more concerned about clearing out a certain brand or a new product, so I can tell the picks they offer are based on that. However, here, I felt that the owner was doing his best to give me several great recommendations so I would return. And I will. After I got done, another (local) customer asked the owner to pick a wine that goes with mushroom soup, so that is how specific the knowledge is here!
The cheese case here is unreal ... there are plenty of great cheeses to choose from and I felt the prices were on par or much better than Guido's or Wholefoods. Don't sleep on the fresh baked breads. I bought what may have been the best fresh sourdough baguette I ever tasted here. It tasted like fresh charred pizza crust. I smacked on it all day.
I buzzed the beer selection which looked like it had a lot of very unique picks and they even had cigarettes behind the counter. I did not see cigars but I'm sure they had them somewhere. The store is classy looking ... exactly what you'd expect to find in a town like Stockbridge. I recommend stopping by if you are in town. Each time I visit The Red Lion, I find a new great place like this! read more