Empire Liquors

I’ve frequented most of the liquor stores in the Kew Gardens-​Forest Hills neighborhood in search of good bourbon and rye, and Empire Liquors by far has the best selection at fair prices (well, for New York anyway). There’s so much to choose from I easily could spend hours ogling the shelves.
The customer service was great and the owner was very nice and welcoming as well.

I am very unhappy here the fact that when I was getting a bottle wine last night in pouring rain and gave her my American Express card, she said «$ 20 minimum»!! REALLY $ 20 I really hate that the stores put a minimum to use of credit cardS, but $ 20 is pretty ridiculous UNHEARD OF IT!!! For God sake go to a Starbucks or go anywhere, they are happy to put a charge on your card for $ 4.00!
I will still go here because its the closest one from me, and because other than that I haven’t had a problem here, been here quite a few times.
There is always couple of guys working on the floor ready to help you, behind the counter is a different story!
I still can’t believe the lady didn’t just take my card, she knows me
For definitely when Im in need of many bottles for birthdays, holidays any other special occasions I will go to Leiser’s liquors in Flushing, they are wonderful and they are my favorite! Try them you won’t be disappointed, if ever you can’t find something and they don’t have it either they will find it for you!
A little tiny smile can go along way for a good expression

This is a great neighborhood liquor store. They have a good selection of wines and their prices are pretty decent. Can’t go wrong here!

As neighborhood liquor stores go, Empire Liquors is relatively large. Located along a busy business strip on Queens Boulevard, the space feels bright and open from a lack of tall aisles.
Wines occupy the right half of the store, divided by region, mostly Italian, French, and American, with small sections for other regions, and Kosher wines also. A large collection of champagnes in the back, including large format bottles.
As typical of most liquor stores, their selection reflects neighborhood demand. Among spirits, vodka and whiskies are plentiful; for the whiskies, the selection takes up much of one wall and extending behind the counter, including American, Irish, Japanese, Scotch, and others. They even surprised by carrying two whiskies from Kavalan, Taiwan’s first distillery. Gin and rum have fewer choices. Others like tequila, and particularly mezcal, have the fewest choices.
Whether the selection by spirit is large or small, Empire curates well enough to carry not just the most popular brands for most, but sometimes a few more interesting choices. So among amari, not just Campari and Aperol, but Amaro Montenegro is available. The back wall has a good selection of liqueurs, often with more than one choice per type, such as two elderflower liqueurs and a few pear liqueurs.
Empire is a good neighborhood liquor store; broad selection such that even for more obscure items, it is very likely to have at least one option for purchase. Prices are reasonable. The staff also tend to be consistent. A gem to have close to home.

The prices are great compared to all of the other liquor stores in the area, I love the wide selection of both wine and liquor.
I definitely recommend

My go-​to store for liquor. They have a large selection of wine at good prices. The hard liquor is a little more expensive than what I’m used to paying, but the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. It’s worth paying a few extra dollars to support their business.
Bottom line: clean store. Great selection. Good prices. Wonderful staff. Don’t bother trying other stores just come here.

liquor store by my house with a large selection of wine!!! can’t complain!

Pretty large liquor store with a decent selection. They are along a stretch of stores along Queens Blvd. Staff is helpful there if you need help finding anything. Meter parking out front. There are alternate side spots on the side streets if you can find one.

Good cheap choices large selection

So I came here a few times. Also on New Year’s Eve. They made me and about 10 other customers wait outside because it was too over crowded. Very strange, they probably didn’t want anyone stealing from them. Which is fine, but don’t make us wait out in the freezing cold. Hire more staff to walk around. This place is pretty big. The girls seem nice. They have everything organized into sections which makes it easier for me to find what I’m looking for.

Best and biggest selection in Queens. Extra bonus: prices are more than fair! Just don’t expect the Asian cashiers or the Latino floor men to have any knowledge of the goods outside of which shelf they reside on…

Being a modest drinker who appreciates quality, you’ll enjoy the range and massive selection here. For holidays and gift giving. I’ve found Empire better than many to most Manhattan liquor stores.
Contrasted with other reviewers, I don’t find Empire exceedingly overpriced.

Empire has a great selection of liquor and wine! The employees are extremely friendly and also do their best to help out. Unfortunately, I never got the impression that they had anyone with any level of real «knowledge» about the wines and liquors, which means you need to know what you are looking for. I’m a little surprised to read complaints about their prices as I believe they are probably on the more reasonable side than most places in Queens (and especially NYC as a whole).

I know very little if not anything about wine. I came here to buy some alcohol for the holidays and the employees were friendly and extremely helpful in choosing the right bottles for gift purposes. I would definitely come here again for any booze needs.

Little on the pricey side but this particular liquor store always has what I need whether it’s for me or for some party/​event I’m attending.
It’s absolutely huge and probably carries every type of consumable alcohol there is to offer: liquor, champagne, wine, cordials, liqueurs (to name a few).
For my faves: Vodka– holy heaven they have some BIG ASS BOTTLES; wine– they have an extensive amount from Spain to Long Island, including organic types; champagne– they have a holy hell load of this stuff… can’t go wrong with the bubbly!
I like that it’s clean and organized, and that the bottles aren’t friggen dusty like many of the spots I’ve been in. Sometimes, they also offer free samples– can’t beat that!
The only thing that stinks is that parking isn’t easy, and I do come with my little Car-​lina. For the ones who don’t drive though, not to worry it’s right by the train.
Lastly, there’s a $ 20 minimum for credit card purchases. I’m not a fan, as I never have cash on me, and sometimes I don’t want to spend $ 20 on alcohol –_​_​_​-​. Oh well. If coming here I know to bring cash, and plenty of Quarters for the Muni Meter!

They say you only have an alcohol problem if you don’t admit it. Well, I have a biiiiiiig problem with alcohol and it’s that I can’t get enough!
Luckily for me, Empire Liquors is just around the corner. There is a vast wine selection — from Argentina to Spain, California to Long Island, and they even carry organic wine. They also carry a huge selection of the hard stuff — scotch, whiskey, vodka, everything.
It’s awesome having a liquor store close enough to home and the subway. It makes it much easier to pick up a couple of bottles of wine when heading out for events — even if it’s not for me. :)

No complaints here! They always have everything I’m looking for. They’re a little expensive, but I’d rather go here than have to travel to multiple places to find what I need.

«my store has very best for me, Booze Emporium, Booze Emporium…»
this is truly an empire of liquor! huge variety, good prices, and friendly staff at this giant store. does it take up the whole block? it sure feels like it. it’s like the League of Nations of alcohol up in this joint.
they even have a clearance section for older bottles, overstock, and damaged packaging (as in, the box is ripped or partly crushed, but the liquor is still good) — holy crapola!
lots of crazy liquor bottles you must fight to not spend your money on. like a huge bottle of Beefeater Gin inside a holder that’s a scale model English phone booth (dooo weee oooooooh), or a bottle of cognac shaped like the Eiffel Tower.
free samples from time to time, and gift certificates to purchase too.
will I be back? of course, I’m running low on gin — down to four bottles on my shelf!

The range of wine and liquors here is outstanding. The store is very neat and clean and the service here is quite excellent.
Range 1 to 5
Vodka — 5, A huge section of all types of vodka. They got just about everything and every size you can imagine. They even got the Skull vodka in a liter size. It’s a great lookin bottle, check it out!
Whiskey/​Bourbon — 4.5, They have a nice range of Whiskeys and Bourbons but they continue to fail at getting Pappy Van Winkle.
Tequila — 2, Their tequila section would have to be their weakest point in the store. A very small section. I guess tequila isn’t a big seller in this neighborhood.
Rum — 4, They got the usual line of popular rum brands like Bacardi, Malibu, Captain Morgan, Brugal, and others.
Cognac/​Brandy — 5, They carry the usual stuff. Hennessey, Remy Martin, Martell, E&J, Christian Brothers, but I’m not sure if they carry Louis XIII. If they do, that’s a gangsta bottle to have in your liquor cabinet.
Champagne — 5, They have a butt load of champagne here so you can’t go wrong.
Liqueurs, Imported Cordials — 4, Pretty neat selection of stuff to mix. Prices here are great for Midori, Baileys, all Dekuyper and Hiram Walker products. And they also carry those other weird flavor patrons.
Wines — 4, There’s a wall load of kosher wines due to the Jewish Population in Forest Hills but their foreign wines are a bit limited. They have a decent selection of California wines but when it comes to French, nothin much goin on there. There’s no Fine Wine Room for more of the vintage collection or anything. It seems like whatever that is on their racks/​displays is what they got. As for their wine prices, it’s excellent here.
Gift Sets — 5, Awesome selection of gift sets here.
Pints/​Half Pints/​Airplane bottles — 5, Name it, they should have it behind the counter.
The only thing that is a inconvenience here is PARKING! There are meter spots along Queens Blvd but in this area, those are usually taken. And to find a residential spot, forget about it. You gotta be extremely lucky to find a free parking spot here because this store is surrounded by apartments!

Great selection, huge place (for queens), decent prices.
Liquor stores in queens tend to be small affairs with a shitton of bottles shoved in.
This place though? Nice large aisles, good setups of wines and liquors. Helpful workers. Prices are about average of any other liquor store. You want it liquor-​wise? Chances are they have it. Wine-​wise? Eh, maybe. But you’re better off here than anywhere else in the area.