"So goodbye yellow brick road Where the dogs of society…read morehowl" (Elton John) The SAQ stands for the Société des Alcools du Québec. It's the network of government-run liquor stores in Quebec. It manages the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages across the province and operates its own retail stores. We were fortunate enough to win a gift card to SAQ at a charity event last week, so one of our final visits in Montreal was to walk over to this small store at the Place D'Armes and pick up whatever we could for our C$50 prize. Although the store wasn't very large it was very neat and fully stocked, with prices clearly marked for every bottle and can in the store. One of their sales associates was very friendly and helped us find what we were looking for. I'm a big Bloody Mary fan, and from previous trips to Canada knew that "Bloody Caesars" are favored up here. The differ from a Bloody Mary by using Clamato juice instead of a tomato juice base. So, when I saw a shelf with plenty of Clamato choices, I knew one would be coming home with me. I selected a 16 ounce can of Clamato Caesar "With the Works" (Le Tour Garni) with extra spices, seasonings, hot sauce and horseradish (C$3.80). We rounded out our purchase with a bottle of Cliff 79 Shiraz (C$11.75), a bottle of Folonari Pinot Grigio (C$14.95), a bottle of Casa Santos Sangria (C$12.45), and a nifty little branded tote bag for (C$2.95). The only down note of our visit concerned a bottle of SIVO blueberry liqueur I had hoped to buy. I had some at a social function on Thursday night and liked it so much I took a photo of the bottle. When I showed the photo to the sales associate, he not only told me they didn't carry it, but he also told me it was just syrup, and not alcoholic. He said any grocery store would have it. I learned that he was wrong, it is an alcoholic product made in a Canadian distillery.

Excellent selection and what seems like decent prices. I found what I went for: maple whiskey and…read moremaple cream liqueur.

This is my new favourite SAQ in the same building as the Four Seasons and steps from the Fine Arts…read moreMuseum. Firstly because it is compleeeetely beautiful with an incredibly wide range of products and price points and rare treasures. And mostly because the service is outstanding. I went in looking for a bottle of whiskey to take to a dinner party and ended up having the best time with the gentleman working here. I told him my price range and that I was sort of hoping to bring something good which my friends wouldn't have tried before. He seemed to take so much pleasure in this task, asking me questions about the guests and myself, and taking out a tiny book of handwritten tasting notes on all the whiskeys, scotches and bourbons in his section. This made the experience so fun for me, and made this my default SAQ from now on. Made me want to spend a crazy amount of money on beautiful booze too, so mission accomplished gorgeous SAQ!

Great option when downtown to stop in and pickup drinks for the weekend or after work for at home…read more They always have a great selection and their staff is always super nice. Usually amazing stock but I do notice it runs low around major holidays. So buy in advance. They have great shooters and different types of alcohol to try different times of the season.

Convenient wine and liquor store. The upstairs Signature boutique is pleasant and ritzy, and the…read moredownstairs SAQ Classique is like a clean mini-mart. Picked up a few bottles for dinner (not too expensive, credit cards accepted), then headed on our way. The cashier asked me if I wanted a bag (extra); next time I'll buy an SAQ wine tote! Neat trivia: This is the first SAQ I've ever walked into.

We stopped in to SAQ specifically looking for Moscato but they only had a 750ml bottle. They didn't…read moreoffer much variety and nor a brand I cared for. We settled on a small bottle of Barcardi Vodka, a Malibu Cocktail Variety Pack and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Lemonade. It was a perfect buy for our stay at Sens Høtel.

I rushed in minutes before closing under difficult circumstances. The staff could not have been…read moremore helpful. I didn't catch the woman's name, but she listened to what I needed and my target price, quickly found two bottles that fit my needs and totalled less than what I had budgeted. My host and hostess were thrilled with the selection. Items rung up quickly and I was on my way. Clean, well-organized store, centrally located.

Lots of saq are running low on bottles, the large 40 oz or even simple good wines. This place…read morewasn't huge but wasn't the best saq I've been to. Sometimes it's nice to have help on the floor but this location was pretty quiet. Quick in and out but crappy thing the email I got said I would get extra points didn't say when so when I went to saq she said it started Friday. Not her fault but that's the location I went to after getting the email. Tricky

Outside of two traumatizing experiences related to language (English / French) it has always been a…read moregood experience shopping at the Morin Heights SAQ. One such experience was when a customer flew into a huge rage because English was being spoken in the store. The other very recent experience unfortunately came from an employee I'd never seen there before. He said something very fast in French as a customer was entering the store. She did not understand him and she just nodded and continued toward the interior of the shop. He kept shouting the words in French until the customer asked if he spoke English. He angrily explained that he needed to see proof of vaccination. He went on to accuse the customer of ignoring people who speak French. The customer apologized at least three times and even said that she appreciated that vaccination proof was required. The man never accepted or replied to the apology. Each time she apologized he continued in silence to give the customer a very angry expression and this made the customer cry.

SAQ stands for Société des alcools du Québec or translated in English to Québec Liquor Corporation…read more It is Crown operated which means prices are controlled by the Province of Quebec. B and I came inside to check out the liquor and to see if there is anything that would tickle our fancy. This location is quite small. Therefore selections are very limited. But again, it is located downtown and if I were to guess rent in downtown is prime real estate with a premium. B and I ended up not getting anything from here. The liquor that they sell here are nothing special. Most of them are the common brands that you usually find at any liquor stores.

This SAQ has the best vibe of all SAQ's i've been to. The staff is friendly and very helpfull. And…read morethey have many unknown beers that are waiting to be tasted. It's 1 min away from Concordia University, so you can buy alcohool in between classes wich i recommend....

With a name like House of Beers (translated of course), you might expect there to be quite the…read moreselection of chips, no silly -- beer, and they don't disappoint in that category. It may be one of the most diverse selections of single can offerings I've ever encountered in the realm of specialty beer stores. That being said, they do also have a nice selection of snacks (which do include chips) and other related beverages like artisanal root beers, ciders and the like. The shop has a bit of a rustic saloon feel from what I can remember on a quick visit at night. Another quick notable is the person behind the counter was quite friendly and say them helping another customer with their selection among the various rows of shelves and beer fridges lining certain walls. The only negative is that the prices did seem on the high side (and I tried to find exceptions), even for specialty bottles and cans that are known not to come in at run-of-the-mill brand prices. I also didn't notice anything on promotion and seemed most were at the retail price. In a beer keg shell -- great selection, cool ambiance, neatly kept, but boohoo pretty pricey.

This is NOT an inexpensive store, you're getting high end beers at relatively high prices…read more I gave the employee the ability to pick out six different beers for me and he hit it out of the park on five of them (the sixth was very good, but not amazing). I wish I could (legally) bring twenty or thirty bottles back with me into the USA every time I visit my daughter at McGill! Looking forward to my next visit to this fine establishment.

Great spot to grab alcohol selection is good. No beer just great prices on spirits. So weird that…read moreyou can't buy beer too. It's a different way of control.

I hate how in Montreal the SAQ, the alcohol control of Quebec, has the gambit on many alcoholic…read morebeverages. For example, although you can buy bottles of wine in the grocery store, they are generic reds or whites with no year. However, only at the SAQ can you buy good wine. Only at the SAQ can you buy microbrew beer from the US. Only at the SAQ can you buy liquor. Nevertheless, I can't let this bullshit control board cloud the review of the SAQ itself. I like that the SAQ depot exists because the more you buy, the more you save. For instance, if you buy 3 bottles of wine, you save 3%, if you buy 6 bottles you save 10% and if you buy 12 bottles you save 15%. Saving money is always good! While they may not have the best of selections, like other SAQs (e.g. SAQ Selection), they do have a fair representation of each region. Also you can achieve the same savings on liquor, which is nice...you can even mix and match, with 3 bottles of liquor and 9 bottles of wine and still save 15%. IMHO, this is the best place to buy proper alcohol in Quebec at a decent savings.