The Whisky Shop

I always feel like it’s really hard to get the attention of the sales assistents here. The store is usually quite busy but even when it’s quiet I struggle to get their attention. I don’t know a huge amount about whisky and I idoubt I’m alone there — usually when I visit it’s to look for a gift for someone who is more of a whisky drinker. So, I probably know the names of a few of the whiskies that they like and would like a recommendation based on that.
If I can’t find someone to ask I usualy end up aimlessly browsing the store, certain I’ve seen the same bottles elsewhere but at a lower price and wondering if really this shop’s target market is the tourist visiting Scotland. I’m unwilling to chose a random bottle for a high price so I quite often leave empty handed.
I feel like there are other, friendlier stores nearby, with staff who actually want to talk to you about what’s on sale. I always drop in to give this place a try if I need a bottle of whisky but its been a long time since I’ve made a successful shopping trip here.

The Whisky shop is part of a small group of tourist aimed whisky shops. Almost an airport shop, but in Buchannan galleries! The aim here is clearly tourists and people doing the obligatory Christmas /​birthday bottle for Dad etc. For this I suppose it serves a purpose.
I also suppose that, on the face of things, I appear like I could fall into the «buying whisky for my Dad» category. But alas I am not, I am a certified whisky geek so wasn’t thrilled with the rather patronising greeting I got from the assistant, who I assumed that I had no prior knowledge of anything, let alone whisky. After explaining that I was in fact buying for myself and was ok looking by myself, the assistant more or less did a runner away from me. Repeat with another male member of staff. I was a little disappointed to see only standard bottles on offer, not quite the specialities I was looking for. If you are after the more widely available bottlings, this shop may be able to help you with your search.
Perhaps I’m being a little harsh — maybe that day the assistant was having a bad day, or my revelation that I knew what I was after was a little too much to handle. I just found that this quite rude and sexist attitude off putting. Maybe I should give them another chance, but with better options open to me in town it seems a little unlikely that will be any time soon.

This place has a selection of whiskies for folks who are either visiting the country or need a present for a whisky loving friend.
The stock is spotty with some real rare bottles, a lot of the quirky bottlings (death to the golf club bottle) and a neglect of the whiskies that collectors and whisky fans love. It is your Canadian uncle’s whisky shop which is fine if you are buying whisky for your Canadian uncle, Unfortunately, the price reflects their intended market. You will be spending like a tourist if you buy from here.
If you are looking for a whisky shop that is a little more discerning — then check out the others on the Whisky Purveyor list.

LFW, Tam’s and Inverarity all offer more for folks for less when you are buying for yourself or those who love their whisky.

This is without doubt a tourist shop, however it ain’t really a bad one to be honest.
Most of us whisky drinkers will purchase our nectar from the local supermarket, off license or kid in the street. This place however is aimed at the tourist or even gift buyer who maybe ain’t entirely sure what they are looking for.
This isn’t to say its a bad thing, god no! I don’t want you to think I’m suggesting that a store that sells any kind of alcohol is anything less than a joyous wonder of wondrous joyness… with one exception, if you ever hear about the fire bombing incident in the WKD shop then its safe to assume that I’m a suspect.
Right then, Whisky shop. Touristy, yes… a wee bit pricy… of course… interesting and worth a visit… for sure. Oh! and you can also pick up a fine cigar when your there… the perfect combination.

I don’t like Whisky myself, but the two men in my life do. A lot. So I couldn’t really go to a better place for the obligatory bottle of the good stuff for Xmas and birthdays.
This place does exactly what it says on the tin– sells every sort of whisky you can imagine. They also have cool novelty stuff, like whisky in golf ball shaped glasses and even McCondoms (Whisky flavoured condoms, if you hadn’t guessed)
The staff are incredibly knowledgable and friendly, and helped me pick something out for my dad which he loved. I also bought a wee pack of cute mini whisky’s for my boyfriend for Xmas, which he loved.
Brilliant if you like… well, whisky.

Another one of those places I have walked past countless times.
Long story short my girlfriend is Finnish which has indirectly re-​introduced me to Glasgow, finding myself going into shops and cultural hotspots I have overlooked.
As far as buying presents for friends and relatives go, sticking to the old traditional Scottish goodies like whisky tick all the right boxes.
Found myself in here in what was like a glorified wee whisky sort of stall you find in airports and with similar prices.
I mainly drink spirits, but consider myself a wine man when it comes to forking out on expensive alcohol so I went along with the recommendation from the staff in here with what would be a sensible purchase.
Suffice to say it was a half bottle. but it went down a treat.
Good knowledgeable staff and a great selection of whiskies. Can’t argue.

Do you love whiskey? Do you hate whiskey but know someone else who loves it? Do you not mind either way but can’t think of anything else to buy someone as a present? My friends, look no further.
The Whiskey Shop on the ground floor of the Buchanan Galleries is a slightly touristy Whiskey Shop. You’ll find no other spirits or even wines here — this place is limited to whiskey alone! But don’t let this make you think that the stock here is limited. Nope! You will find every shape, size, taste and price of Whiskey here — from little touristy tasting bottles to proper grown up expensive bottles. They even have whiskey decanters on sale in here — the ones that caught my eye had Celtic players painted on them.
My favourite product in here was the tiny tiny bottles of whiskey on the counter. Billed as the smallest whiskey bottles in the world, they were smaller than my little finger. Cute! (Also very inexpensive if you’re a bit of a cheapskate present buyer!)

My dad is a Whisky kinda guy. When other gift shops fail, the Whisky shop comes up trumphs.
In a similar story to that of Catriona’s, I was at a loss as to what to buy my dad. I’d given him socks and slippers for Christmas and my gran was buying him a jumper, so the generic present options were obsolete. I found myself in here on a whim, hoping to find something. Luckily my sister was in a bit of a pickle too, and she said that she’d go halfers with me on anything I found… result!
So, I went in and explained my situation the the guy behind the counter, who chuckled, and asked me a couple of questions about my dad’s whisky tastes, etc etc. In the end I left with a bottle of Japanese whisky (which I’d tried… pah! I don’t love whisky, but it definitely puts a fire in your belly… eeep!), which was unusual and didn’t cost the earth. Well you can imagine my delight when my dad opened his birthday gift and ta-​da! apparently he’d been looking for it for ages, and could only find it in a Tescos in Cumbernauld (random).
So, a winner of a present and a winner of a whisky. Result!

This little shop recently came up trumps when I was looking for a present for my dad’s birthday. My dad is into whisky in a big way, and while I couldn’t afford to buy him a bottle of the stuff (well, a decent one anyway), this shop had enough whisky-​esque treats to keep me choosing. I opted for a nice set of whisky maramalade, whisky jam and whisky mustard. You could also buy whisky fudge or tablet, or a mini bottle of the stuff.
The staff were incredibly helpful and they’re passionate about what they sell. They’ll even give you a taster of a bottle– nothing like a wee dram to keep you going on the rest of your shopping trip.

The Whisky Shop hides behind the escalators in Buchanan Galleries. It attracts both whisky connoisseurs and tourists who want to bring a piece of Scotland home.
It’s quite a small shop, but the range of whiskies is amazing, and the staff can find anything you are looking for — they are very well trained and seem to like their work. They have a nice wee range of selections of miniatures. I got one containing four miniatures for my dad last Christmas — I don’t know a lot about whisky, so I thought there would be at least one he liked in here.
Prices vary, of course, with the whisky and the age, but generally you get what you pay for.

The largest selection of whiskies I have ever seen in my life. Hubby was in seventh heaven and would have happily spent all day there. Some bottles were seriously outwith our price range, much to hubby’s disappointment.
The staff however clearly knew their stuff and were quite happy to discuss the finer points of their favourite malts with the other half. I now have a better idea of which one or two to buy for hubby’s Xmas stocking.