Nova Scotia Liquor

Well, I’ve never been treated as poorly by any staff member of well… anywhere, as I was here on Saturday.
My friend was buying some beer, we were chatting in line, when it was his turn to pay I said «ok, I’ll wait for you in the car.» I began to walk out when I heard «get over here!» «Excuse me, get over here right now!» It took me a second to realize she was talking to me. I walked over, the cashier, with the biggest scowl on her face told me: «ID, now. Or your friend gets nothing.» To which I replied «I’m not buying anything», she then told me «if you’re in the liquor store you need to produce ID at any time.» Makes sense, but I’ve never encountered this situation before. I began to search in my bag for my ID.
At that point, she said «you need to have your ID or I’m going to ask you to leave and your friend gets nothing.» I then admittedly was a bit pissed at her attitude and handed her the card. She THOROUGHLY examined it while smacking her gum and scowling at me. I grabbed the card back and walked away. She then said «you have no idea how easily I could ban you.» I don’t like being threatened, especially since this is my favorite liquor store. I was pissed, and almost called her a word that begins with b, but I didn’t thankfully. I spoke with the manager who was really understanding and promised to have a talk with her. This particular cashier’s name is Erin, and since I didn’t have a chance to say it when I was in the store, she sucks.
I’ll never return to this store in fear that I’ll run into Erin, which is unfortunate because its close and convenient. Boo, boo I say.

Sure — maybe I’m spoiled by all the brand new NSLCs scattered throughout Dartmouth, each filled with ridiculously awesome staff who drop everything to make sure you’re getting drunk in only the best possible ways.
Sure — maybe my blatant dislike of the neighbouring and very dated Superstore and Canadian Tire is spilling over to their fellow stripmall-​ians to the point of putting me in a sour mood before I even walk in the door.
Sure –maybe big piles of boxed booze filling up the entire back of the store just doesn’t quite tickle my merchandizing fancy the same way nice shelves with pretty signs might.
I could likely get past all of those things if the cashier didn’t spend the entire time ringing me in awkwardly flirting high-​school-​style («You’re so stupid… teeheehee…No *you* are… teeheehee») with the security guard.
I actually had to wait a minute despite being the only person at the cash so that she could finish up her conversation about how far he ran (I kid you not) but no — she wasn’t finishing up at all. What I thought would end for the two minutes it would take to get rid of me continued the entire time…
Young love doesn’t belong in a liquor store. It’s a sacred space for those of us old enough to drink memories of ‘that time with the security guard’ away to make room for better memories like ‘that time I got to go home and drink my damn wine.’

The front counter area of this location somehow looks like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. I used to check IDs at this location when it was Ambassador Video (before which it was Jumbo Video and after which it was Roger’s) so it’s strange for me to buy liquor here. But I like it. This store has a pretty decent selection of most hard liquor categories considering its size. This location will forever be remembered as the location at which I was first tempted to try Bulleit Bourbon and where I later scored a bonus Bulleit glass.
One day a cashier could smell a banana in my bag and asked me if he could have one. We held up the line and talked about yoga and potassium. Friendly folks. The staff are always laughing here. It’s a pretty busy store, so it helps break up the sometimes long lines and cheers me as I sign my Mastercard receipt.

I hold a drink in my hand as I write this, bought from this particular NSLC. Now I’m just lying, I’m actually drinking tea. But I thought perhaps that the imagery conjured of me sloshing a drink around as my fingers came crashing down on the keys was pretty grand and maybe funny to you? No?
This NSLC is five minutes from my pad, so obviously I end up here whenever I have a vino need or a gin desire. The fortunate thing here is that they have a fine wine selection and an average booze offering. They definitely could stand to boast some more exciting wine varieties, but I always feel like I have a good selection to choose from, so I ain’t complaining.
On the other hand, their beer selection can be on the tragic side. They stock the university crowd’s favs, but not necessarily brands for the «adult» taste buds. However, in the last little while they’ve been selling the Propeller Pilsner as well as a wonderful Spanish beer, Estrella, so maybe some change is on the horizon.
It’s nice to swing by a place with familiar faces, but it would also be great if there were some neat new exotic choices for all of us booze hounds. Okay, I’m not a booze hound but I love to play the part biweekly and tonight’s my time in the spotlight. Bottoms up.

The NSLC is my liquor store of choice. Close, convenient, and stocked with everything I’m interested in drinking.
This store is recently opened, so the lighting is very trendy, but not especially appealing for me personally. But hey, I’m here for the drinks, not the character.
Not to say there isn’t character here. Some of the staff are quite hilarious, friendly and helpful. Occasionally they make suggestions for drinks and on one occasion I actually took a staff member up on their suggestion. It was pretty tasty, though the name currently escapes me.
I’m a pretty basic alcohol consumer. I enjoy Gibson’s Whiskey and Wildcat Beer (No preservatives, it’s practically good for you…), so for me, this store has all I need. If you’re looking for exotic alcohol you may want to check elsewhere, but if you’re sticking to the basics, the NSLC on Quinpool should have everything you need.