A Question for my Albertan Friends

[drezz01]

Hello fellow Canuckians!
I will be in Calgary for my company Christmas party in January and was wondering if you could suggest me a tobacconist! Hoping to pick up a couple of blends while I'm in town.
Bonus points if you can suggest me a good liquor store with a decent scotch selection! I'm trying to hunt down a fairly priced bottle of Lagavulin 12yo - not terribly rare but less often come by than your standard stock of glenlivet/glenfiddich
Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

[pruss]

Drezz, I like Epicure Cigar and Pipe on 8th Ave. between 5th and 6th Streets SW. It's, mostly, central to downtown and walkable from many of the hotels. I stayed at the Fairmont and found it a pretty simple walk. They have a good selection of bulk and tins, and a good rotation of pipes.
http://www.epicurecigar.com/
Unfortunately I can't help with the liqour store ask, as I'm not local to Calgary... just the occasional working tourist.
-- Pat

 

[northernneil]

Where in Calgary are you staying? If you will be downtown, then Epicure will be your best bet for a tobacconist. However, since Alberta banned the sale of flavored tobacco, their bulk selection has really gone down.
As for a liquor store, I cannot recommend Vine Arts highly enough (12 Ave & 1 St SW). Great staff with tremendous knowledge of all things liquor!

 

[drezz01]

Thanks for the tips gents!
I actually don't quite know where I am staying yet, the company is arranging rooms for us.
The SO wants to do some shopping while we are there so I will likely be downtown at some point. I'll make a stand that in between every 5th shoe/dress shop we have to make a stop for me! Wish me luck.

 

[kanada]

There are a few other tobacconists in the NW of Calgary. One called gold leaf cigar and I believe the tobacco stop.
Crowfoot wine and spirits is a really good liquor store with a lot of selection...again, in NW Calgary

 

[stickframer]

Epicure is a must. I'm not sure about liquor stores downtown but Willow Park Wine and Spirits has a great selection. Any Calgary Co-op liquor store would be a good bet, too.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I grabbed a cigar at epicure a couple months back. Nice place, but I soiled myself when I saw their tin prices. You can buy one there or you could buy 4 tins or so online.

 

[northernneil]

Nice place, but I soiled myself when I saw their tin prices. You can buy one there or you could buy 4 tins or so online.

You nailed it. The Alberta government sure make it difficult to support my local tobacconist.

 

[andrew]

Calgary is booze heaven, check out the superstore liquor mart. If you drink vodka at all I would recommend getting a bottle of kirkland brand france vodka, the costco brand. Most people can't tell the difference between it and grey goose, there's several internet rumours it's actually grey goose in a different bottle, a more plausible explanation is that it's manufactured by the same place that makes grey goose. I snagged a 66'er of the american kirkland brand that someone had bought for a wedding and never opened it, it's one of the best vodka's I've ever had, I wish it was the france stuff though as I really want to try that.

 

[northernneil]

Calgary is booze heaven

We do enjoy our alcohol around here hahaha.

I'm trying to hunt down a fairly priced bottle of Lagavulin 12yo - not terribly rare but less often come by than your standard stock of glenlivet/glenfiddich

If you are a big scotch fan, Eau Claire Distillery is an amazing craft distillery that is in the process of creating / aging Alberta's first single malt whisky. They offer super inexpensive tours, and will let you smell / taste off the cask, if you are nice enough. Well worth checking out if you are a scotch fan, and have a couple of hours to drive to and from Turner Valley.

 

[drezz01]

Nice place, but I soiled myself when I saw their tin prices. You can buy one there or you could buy 4 tins or so online.

You nailed it. The Alberta government sure make it difficult to support my local tobacconist.

Here I thought tobacco would have been cheaper than in SK. I'm hoping to buy something or other for the memories at least. Maybe I'll find a nice pipe in my price range - though that is doubtful these days. Cigars are a tough sell for me this time of year but maybe they will have some good quality cigarillos. Mostly I just love stepping foot in a decent tobacconist! Not an experience I get to have too often in Saskatoon. Mmmmm I can smell it already!

Calgary is booze heaven,

Yes I've found this to be the case! I've been able to snag bottles of scotch that would typically cost me $135 (Oban 14yo for instance) for $88 in Alberta. So far I've had friends bring me back bottles - this will be the first time I've spent more than an evening in AB this decade crazily enough! Usually I am just passing through on my way to Kelowna where my brother lives.
Do alcohol prices vary depending on the store very often in Alberta? I know in Toronto there are a couple of higher wine and spirits shops where you pay a premium.

I would recommend getting a bottle of kirkland brand france vodka, the costco brand.

I have actually heard about the kirkland vodka, my room mate buys it a lot. I think I abused the vodka a little too much in my younger years and have yet to disassociate it from the piles of vomit that followed its consumption.
I've had the kirkland single malt and the crown royal style whisky. Both were very good for the price. The single malt made for some cost effective scotch and sodas and the crown royal style whisky makes for some fantastic rye & waters.
... I'm starting to feel like this may be an expensive trip!

 

[kanada]

Costco has oban for $88/bottle. Epicure does have some reasonably priced pipes, as far as I'm concerned when I was there last.
Crowfoot wine and spirits is a bit more expensive than others because of their selection

 

[drezz01]

If you are a big scotch fan, Eau Claire Distillery is an amazing craft distillery

That sounds like a great stop for one of my summer motorcycle travels!!

Crowfoot wine and spirits is a bit more expensive than others because of their selection

Good to know, I'm fairly deadset on a bottle of lagavulin 12yo so if I can't find it anywhere else I will check there! The one-and-only co-op liquor store here has a very decent (compared to most offerings) scotch selection but their bottle of Lagavulin 12yo is ~$140 I believe.

 

[kanada]

https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/products/scotch/#

Kensington wine market apparently has a really big selection. 12 yr seems to be out of stock but 16 yr is $114
They are apparently a very good scotch store