"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.

Amazing place! The workers are acknowledgable about the beer and sell beer that not really sold…read moreelsewhere in Montreal. Live the selection and the vibe!

Easy walk from hotel and got what i was looking for in terms if wine. Its easily accessible from a…read morelot of local hotels.

Small but reasonably stocked retailer, two narrow aisles run the length of the store with wines…read more$10+, adequate selection in the $20 range. France and USA are over-represented in wines, other countries (literally "Autre Pays" in their signage) much less so. Small selection of basic spirits but not much for beer choices, though there are a few ciders / rosé type options too. Hours are good til 10pm each night, nice for visitors staying at various area hotels.

A couple years ago Maltéhops hosted this whacky horror street festival along Wellington. I found it…read morea little strange that a speciality beer store was hosting a horror street festival but didn't investigate further. I finally got around to visiting the shop itself and it alllll came together: it's a tastefully horror nerdy beer shop with all the fixings. I love it- everything about this store reflects the unique personality and passion of the owners. Honesty, I'm so impressed with the variety of speciality beer, spirits, wines and ciders. In fact, it's overwhelming. Also, as an occasional teetotaler their selection of alcohol free drinks was amazing. More and more brands are developing interesting booze-free alternatives and this place has a great variety. While I didn't buy a ton on the booze front today I epically indulged in their snack selection- the salmon jerky and chorizo were both great. I'm also really impressed with their extensive hot sauce wall. Overall, a great place to indulge and definitely a great spot for gifts for foodie friends.

Everything you need..or..ask and you shall receive. Handy location and late hours yo accommodate…read morethe bring-ur-own booze places in gentrified Verdun. The owner is super friendly..obviously knowledgeable and loves his beer. Go in..ask for something new..or buy a gift..their gift certificates are made of cool chunks of wood from his shop!

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.

You don't really come here for the atmosphere, the inside of the store is just like any other…read moreDepaneur in Quebec but is has a fantastic selection of Quebec micro brews. However, there is a shelf that covers one wall filled with a great variety of Quebec Micro brews. La Trou, Charlevoix, Dieu De Ciel, La Brasserie, and many others are represented. When you first walk in though, you'll see a small cooler with limited selection and a few bottles on top, and a few near the cash register. The long wall of beers though is around the corner and easy to miss thinking there isn't much here, so look around and you'll quickly see it. The proprietor speaks English fine if you need help, and he does know the product. I did ask for a few things and he knew what I was talking about but they didn't have them. Also if you come as a vistor not from Canada you can not use credit cards here, it's Cash and Canadian debit only. This is a great store if you want to take a peak and grab some Quebec beers. However I dropped by on a quiet Sunday, and the proprietor told me that they usually get the bulk of items on Fridays and Saturdays and it becomes quite busy then, and Sundays are a little picked clean and dead customer visiting wise. Everything I've also read calls this place a little expensive, but personally it's inline for what I would pay if I was in DC, and I didn't find it that much more expensive than other places I saw beers at, so I find it reasonable, but there might be a better deal if you went somewhere else, but I wouldn't call this place a rip off joint. Still if you want Quebec beers, this is worth stopping in for, I could have easily bought many things. But if you want more international variety or something else then you're not going to get much out of it. Dieu de Ciel is also just up the the street a few blocks, so it's a perfect one two punch for visiting.

Le Paradis de la Bière is way overhyped given their name. We found another place with a beer…read moreselection that was easily twice as large. I also found the guy who runs this shop to be very difficult to deal with; in fact, he was the rudest person I met during my time in Montreal. As previous international reviewers have said, he only accepts Canadian debit and cash, and brusquely refused to take my international debit card. I have had zero issues using this card at shops of all sizes in Montreal, Vancouver, Reykjavik, Osaka, and everywhere else I've been except this place, but he refused to run it because "it would cost him $2.00." Even if that's true--and again, I've never heard it anywhere else--it seems like pretty shoddy business sense, as I was planning to spent well over $100 here. I pointed this out to him and he said I didn't understand how card processing worked, muttered something about small profit margins, then told me I could pay him $2 if I wanted to use it. No thanks. I went to a competitor, used the same card (with no complaint), and was much happier with both their selection and service. Stay away from this supposed "Paradis."

Strategic location, in the middle of GriffinTown. Compared…read moreto other SAQ, it is a bit small. Nevertheless, they have a good variety of wine. Lets not forget to mention that service is also good there.