Island Estate Liquors

Way over priced so unless u are in dire straits I wouldn’t recommend buying spirits there

My rating scheme:
5 — The best of the best. Not many in this category.
4a — Wonderful, hard to get better than this — wide appeal
4b — Wonderful, hard to get better than this — limited appeal restaurant
3 — Perfectly acceptable though not earth shaking
2 — Only if there are no other options
1 — Dont even think of it
Island Estate Liquors: 3
Visit details: December 2014, holiday weekend
A peculiar (leaning to the uncomfortable side of the spectrum) place. First, I didnt know if it was open; the architecture of the building doesnt provide a bright welcoming «wer’re open» appearance. The first thing you notice when walking in the stuffy smell of years of cigarette smoke and musty air that hasnt been well circulated. I know better, of course, but I wondered if they had a swamp cooler. It sort of reminded me of grandmothers house — musty, dusty, cigarette smoke, a bit to warm.
But look … Im not here to experience the meaning of life — I just need some booze.
And booze they had. A pretty decent selection too. Not top-​shelf boutique stuff — but a very compliment of the basics with a number of options from the lower end to the upper end. I didnt do a side-​by-​side evaluation of the inventory — but the wine selection at Publix next door looked to be more comprehensive.
Need booze? — this place is fine. Next step … Clearwater Beach sun and fun!

One of the strangest liquor stores I’ve ever been into. Seriously. This is probably the closest liquor store to the beach, so I would imagine it would be a popular place. Its located in the Island Estates Publix Plaza.
I stopped in on a beautiful cinco de mayo day while on the way to enjoy the beach as I wanted to enjoy some adult beverages later that day. Upon entering around 2 PM, I at first thought they were closed. There was no obvious open sign and it was a bit dark with very low lighting. They were apparently open though, so I continued on inside. The décor in here was straight up weird. It was an old beachy theme but felt like it was straight out of a 70s TV show. The carpet smelled musty. The lady working at the cash register looked like she belonged in a library, not a liquor store. Heck, she was even playing the classical music station on pandora. Nothing says «I want to get liquor and party on the beach» like hearing Beethoven at the liquor store LOL!
However They did have a decent selection of different choices and the prices were reasonable for being so close to the beach. Not bad overall