Maryland bourbon hunting guide

We’ve found good bourbon around Maryland and DC, but the best stops aren’t always the ones with the biggest allocated-bottle display. Here’s where we’ve shopped, what we paid, and which stores are worth visiting for picks, pours, or a bottle share.

Prince George’s County

Town Center Market, Riverdale

Near Hyattsville and around the corner from 2Fifty Texas Barbecue, Town Center Market has a massive bourbon, rye, and whiskey selection. We check the end cap as well as the display case, and we like comparing its prices with other local shops.

You can try store picks at the bar for a fee. On our more recent visit, we tried a Peerless single barrel. There’s also outdoor seating, with fans in warmer weather and heaters when it gets cooler.

Some display-case bottles require buying another bottle first, depending on the sticker. That was a new policy when we visited in August 2025, and we hoped it might change.

We previously found the High West Barrel-Aged Manhattan here for about $15 to $16. Between the selection, picks, and tasting bar, this remains an easy recommendation.

Esquire Liquors, Oxon Hill

Just south of DC, Esquire is one of our strongest recommendations for knowledgeable bourbon staff. Akash has steered us toward bottles we might otherwise have walked past, and we’ve tasted Angel’s Envy cask strength, an upcoming Penelope Architect, and other interesting pours here.

Our purchases include:

• Rare Character Fortuna Sour Mash, $75. Both of us called the 122-proof whiskey a solid red. It’s a slow-sipping Friday-night pour, though we wouldn’t chase it much above $80.
• Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye, Old Grand-Dad 114, and Penelope Rio batch three. We paid $99 for the Rio through the raffle.
• Royal Ranthambore Heritage Collection, about $40. Akash recommended this Indian single malt and gave us a taste. We found it affordable and easy to drink, with green and solid blue ratings.
• Reveries seven-year single-barrel pick, around $70 to $75, bought toward the end of 2025. Chris from Bourbon Retriever helped select barrel 23922, bottled at 121.4 proof. We gave it red and solid double blue ratings.

That Reveries pick sold out, and each barrel is a one-off. We also tasted a 16 to 17-year-old Reveries bottle priced around $400 and thought it was delicious.

Esquire’s monthly raffle rewards shopping there: purchases earn tickets, and at the end of the month, winners get the opportunity to buy selected bottles at cost.

S&W Liquors, Clinton

We’ve also called this shop SNW. It’s a good stop near Andrews, with worthwhile picks and prices that can be excellent, though not on every bottle.

Earlier purchases included Barrell Bourbon Batch 36 for $60 against a stated $90 MSRP, and the store’s Pursuit United Double Oak pick, which the owner signed.

On our August 2026 visit, we both left with the Weller Antique 107 pick and Old Louisville 10-year wheated pick. The Old Louisville was 112 proof. In our October hangout, we put the previously released, non-chill-filtered Weller pick at about $60.

The community side is a big part of the appeal:

• Bottle shares happen four times a week. We brought bottles and stayed about an hour and a half.
• Pours during our visit included Eagle Rare 12, Old Fitzgerald 11-year, and E.H. Taylor Cured Oak.
• Toward the end of the year, a points system gives access to fancier bottles. It favors sticking with one store.
• For the Black Friday share, people bring bottles and food while ordinary shopping continues. The store usually has a free unicorn-bottle raffle or releases a pick.
• Its SPCA picks feature a different dog’s picture, usually a dog available for adoption.

We don’t consider the surrounding area the safest part of town, but the bottle shares and picks make this one of our favorite stops.

B.K. Miller Meats & Liquor

B.K. Miller has been around forever, and we love its old-school feel. It’s one of our favorite liquor stores for selection, picks, and sales.

We saw New Riff 8-year, Knob Creek, Michter’s, Woodford, Willett, Bardstown, Russell’s, Booker’s, Binder’s Stash, and Penelope offerings, including Riviera and the Blackberry Old Fashioned premix. A Woodford liter was $35, and E.H. Taylor was $59.

Weekly sales pamphlets are available inside, and someone is usually working behind the bar. We paid $8 for a store-pick pour that was solid, though it brought plenty of heat. Our visit to B.K. Miller reinforced why we keep recommending it: good selection and everyday sale prices worth checking.

Andrews Air Force Base Shopette / Gas Station

At Andrews, about 10 miles outside DC, the shopette stood out for its large Jack Daniel’s selection, including Heroes bottles. We also saw Jim Beam, special releases and exclusives, Penelope, Willett, and Baby Jane.

Outside the Jack Daniel’s range, it was mostly shelf staples, and some prices were a little high. Still, we thought it was a good stop if you’re already in the area, as we covered in our Andrews-area hunt.

Andrews Air Force Exchange

The exchange on base was much more basic than the shopette. We found mostly shelf staples and no bottles that really excited us during our visit.

G.I. Liquors

Across from Andrews, G.I. Liquors had a basic selection, with much of the Jack Daniel’s behind the bar and difficult to see.

There were a few dusty bottles, including old Wild Turkey 101 and an old Old Forester, but the shelves didn’t have much rhyme or reason. We weren’t impressed on this stop.

Base Liquors

Just outside and next to Andrews, Base Liquors had Blanton’s in a glass case for $80. Beyond that, we didn’t think the selection justified spending much time here during our hunt.

Allentown Liquors

Next to Second Avenue Thrift Store, Allentown felt out of the way, but the tall shelves held a good selection. It turned into a honey hole for us, even though pricing wasn’t consistently good.

Weller Special Reserve was $100, which wasn’t appealing. We did buy Weller CYPB, marked $149 and about $160 out the door. This is a browse carefully, check every price kind of stop.

Clinton Liquors

Just outside the base, Clinton Liquors had WhistlePig, Rebel, Rabbit Hole, Sagamore High Rye Bourbon, Old Grand-Dad, Russell’s 10-year, Elijah Craig, Old Forester, and Jim Beam.

Buffalo Trace was about $39, Eagle Rare was available, and a bottle described as Chartered Oak was around $250. Whiskey styles were mixed together, some bottles lacked prices, and quite a few Basil Hayden bottles were tucked behind the shelf.

We called it “not a bad store” during our visit, but it takes some looking around.

Chesapeake Liquors

Next to Ledo Pizza, this store’s outside sign simply says “Liquor.” The shelves mixed standard bottles, Japanese whiskey, Willett, Plain and Fancy, and Buffalo Trace without much organization.

The selection was okay, but worthwhile bottles were expensive: Weller 12-year was about $300, Blanton’s was $89, and Eagle Rare was $100. It wasn’t a value stop on our visit.

Chris Mont Liquors, Jessup

We found a lot of store picks in this cool little shop, and the owner was there when we stopped shortly before closing.

We bought Knob Creek Blender’s Edition 2026 for about $55 including tax after finding it harder to locate than expected. We thought it was a solid, traditional, sweeter bourbon with plenty of vanilla, but at that price we’d choose Knob Creek 12 Year instead. The Blender’s Edition made more sense to us around its $40 to $45 MSRP range.

Anne Arundel County

Angel’s Share, Crofton

A recommendation from an employee, possibly one of the owners, led us to Old Pepper Bottled-in-Bond for $57, about $60 with tax. She thought it was probably in the running for her bourbon of the year.

We gave it double blue and straight blue ratings. It was very good, though not especially distinctive, and we both preferred the James E. Pepper Decanter Series.

Sam Chaney may offer recommendations or a taste of the store picks if you mention Wilderness and Whiskey. That makes this a useful stop for a conversation, not just a shelf scan.

Walgreens, Annapolis

Yes, Walgreens. We found Four Roses Single Barrel OESK here after struggling to locate it elsewhere, and bought the two bottles they had left for $37 each.

We considered roughly $45 MSRP a good price for this single barrel, so $37 was a great buy. It’s worth remembering that a less obvious stop can beat a dedicated bourbon shop on a particular bottle.

Edgewater Liquors, Edgewater

Just south of Annapolis, Edgewater Liquors was where we bought Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Triple Toasted for $60 in September 2026. We put its MSRP at around $70.

It’s a limited special release with availability that varies by market, so our find is more useful as a price reference than a promise that it’s still sitting there.

St. Mary’s County

Pax Naval Base

Our Jack Daniel’s 10-year Batch 5 came from Pax Naval Base for about $100, with no tax.

Larry, a friend through the Whiskey Tears Discord, muled it to us. This was a friend-assisted pickup rather than a regular walk-in shopping stop for us. The bottle was 97 proof.

Fred Liquors

We found Bulleit ’87 on the shelf at Fred Liquors and bought it for $28.

We usually find this St. Mary’s County store overpriced, so we wouldn’t make it our first stop for value. One memorable detail: horse and buggies outside.

Montgomery County

Moco Bourbon’s picks are worth watching, even when the purchase happens outside the county. We bought its 29-year-old Obtainium Canadian whisky through DMV Spirits in DC. That pick yielded just 96 bottles; the shop details and our purchase are below.

DC

Costco, Washington

Costco can be a bit crazy, but it’s useful for sale hunting and larger bottles. We bought two one-liter bottles of Kirkland Bottled in Bond for $25 each in August 2024, one for each of us. We called that a steal.

On that trip, the selection included Four Roses Single Barrel, Woodford Double Oak, Uncle Nearest, and private-barrel or single-barrel offerings from Angel’s Envy, Elijah Craig, and Old Forester.

In our October 10, 2026 Friday-night hangout, we talked about these more recent prices:

• Binder’s Stash: $225, versus a usual price we put at $300.
• Woodford Reserve rye: $74.
• Buffalo Trace: about $25, with the Magnum about $40.
• Blanton’s: about $80, which we didn’t consider a great price.

A Binder’s Stash bottle signing was planned for the following morning, October 11.

LAX Liquors, Southeast DC

About 10 to 15 minutes from Esquire, LAX is useful for store picks and inexpensive mixing bottles. We described the neighborhood as a bit sketchy.

We saw Old Charter French Oak for about $300, Redwood Empire Screaming Titan, barrel-proof bottles, and Old Fitzgerald priced well above MSRP. There were quite a few picks, including a Penelope Tokaji cask finish with one bottle left.

We bought Knob Creek Smoked Maple and Very Old Barton 100 proof for $29 and $6.99 respectively. Smoked Maple is a go-to for our Old Fashioneds, while Very Old Barton was an inexpensive mixing option and an approachable bottle for someone newer to bourbon.

Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, Capitol Hill

Schneider’s has an extensive selection, with plenty behind the counter. We saw BTAC, the Weller lineup, Antique 107, Booker’s, Old Carter, George T. Stagg, Rare Character, Willett, E.H. Taylor, and even a Jack Daniel’s bottle from 1981.

The catch is price. A 1792 Ridgemont Reserve store pick was initially $1,500, which we considered absurd even after staff offered to work on it. Staff may negotiate, and we thought cash could help with a deal.

The store has its own parking. Our DC hunt showed why it’s worth browsing for rare bottles, but not buying blindly.

Uncorked Wine and Spirits, Washington

The selection here was fairly ordinary, and we left disappointed. A Tin Cup Adventure Series bottle listed online wasn’t in the shop; staff explained that some website listings are bottles ordered from the manufacturer.

We saw an “FC” store pick and an Angel’s Envy pick marked Barrel 69. Garrison Brothers Honeydew was $80 for an 80-proof bottle, which didn’t strike us as good value. Other shelves held Knob Creek 9, Horse Soldier, Madame Whiskey, and Brother Whiskey.

The practical lesson from our visit: an online listing doesn’t necessarily mean a bottle is physically in the store.

J&J Liquors, Washington

J&J has sometimes been a honey hole for us, but it wasn’t on this trip.

We saw Jack Daniel’s 10, Jack Daniel’s 12, and a bottle we described as a Penelope Tokaji finish. We passed on what we found during our visit.

Whelan’s Liquors, Washington

Whelan’s usually has a great selection. We saw Barrell, Pursuit, Bardstown, Redwood Empire, High West, Green River, John J. Bowman Single Barrel, Russell’s Reserve, Wild Turkey, Weller Special Reserve, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, and Booker’s, among others.

There were specialty picks, including a Nova Whiskey Club pick and bottles behind the bar. A Four Roses DC barrel pick was $100, which was too much for us. IW Harper 15-year was about $75 or $80, and an older Woodford bottle at 124.7 proof was $160.

In our more recent October hangout, we discussed an Eagle Rare 12 offer: $60 if you spent $150 on other items, possibly including Sazerac products. We weren’t sure which purchases qualified.

Broad selection makes this a dependable browse, but promotional conditions and individual prices still matter.

Michigan Liquors, Washington

We think Michigan Liquors is in Northeast DC, near Whelan’s. Our first visit turned into a honey-hole find.

The standout was its store-selected Sagamore Spirit Sour Cask Ale Finished Rye, batch 101, for $30. It spent five years at Sagamore and two more in a cask that had held sour ale from DC’s Right Proper Brewing, making it seven years old in total, at 93 proof.

We both rated it solid red, and we went back for more bottles for family and friends. At our last check for that review, the shop had about three or four cases left. We thought it might be a one-off exclusive, and it’s especially interesting if you enjoy sour ale.

The wider selection included three Four Roses picks, OBSF, OBSK, and another we couldn’t recall, plus a large Bardstown range. Burning Chair was reduced from $80 to $26, and a private barrel was on sale for $60. Some rarer bottles carried secondary-market prices, though we didn’t think the markups were absurd.

Northwest Liquors, Washington

Northwest had two unusual Private Stock offerings, a hazmat rye and a hazmat bourbon. We sampled both and preferred the rye, which we thought was 146 proof.

One of us bought the Private Stock straight rye for about $80. Standard shelves included Woodford, Penelope, and Redwood Empire.

The back room holds unusual bottles and hosts tasting events. That tasting setup is a reason we’d return.

Wegmans, Washington

Wegmans offered a broad range of standard bourbons and other whiskies at fair, reasonable prices. The glass cabinet also held normally priced bottles, though nothing tempted us that day.

We noticed a Crypt Keeper bottle we hadn’t seen before. The biggest frustration during our visit was parking, which felt almost impossible to find.

DMV Spirits

This is the speakeasy of liquor stores: inside an office building, with a button to get in, then a walk toward the back to a couple of offices set up with purple.

The selection is broad, prices struck us as reasonable, and the sampling policy is excellent. Anything on the shelves can be tasted for free before buying. If it’s unopened, the owner will open it on the spot.

We bought the Moco Bourbon pick of Obtainium 29-year-old Canadian whisky here for $110. It was 162.4 proof, and the pick yielded 96 bottles. We rated it solid black; one of us called it “buy it now.”

For expensive or unfamiliar whiskey, being able to taste before committing makes this a particularly useful stop.

Other Maryland stops

Total Wine, Laurel

We bought Heaven Hill Grain to Glass straight bourbon here for $114. The head guy said it had just arrived; the other two releases had been available that morning, and ours was the last bourbon bottle.

The bourbon was 107 proof, with suggested retail said to be around $100.

At a Maryland Total Wine whose exact branch we didn’t identify, we also found Jim Beam Sunshine Blend for $30. We’d only seen it once. The 80-proof blend worked better for us with grapefruit seltzer than neat, and we recommended it for cocktails at that price.

Drug City Pharmacy, Baltimore

Drug City was about an hour’s drive for us, and we thought it was worth the trip. The whiskey selection was huge, with a broad Sagamore range plus New Riff, Redwood Empire, Peerless, Wilderness Trail, 2XO, and the Knob Creek lineup.

Picks included Knob Creek, WhistlePig, Wilderness Trail, a bottle described as Heaven Store, Bare Knuckle, and Premier Drams offerings. An Old Pepper bottle was a DMV collaboration involving Myron of Bourbon Drop, Chris of Bourbon Retriever, and Isaac of Happy Corner.

We bought Peerless Double Oak Rye and two Drug City Glencairn glasses.

There’s more going on here than bottle shopping:

• Glass-case bottles require membership points; bottles below the case can be bought without membership.
• Store pours are half-price Monday through Friday, 3 to 6 p.m.
• The Fountain has food, drinks, a small bar, and seating. We liked both the food and pours.
• A hidden passage leads upstairs to a speakeasy; ask the owner about access.
• Drug City had also held a Binder’s event in the speakeasy by our October 2026 chat.

A large flea market down the street can turn a Saturday visit into a full day.

Weems Liquor, St. Leonard

In Calvert County, Weems had Rock Hill Farms, Elmer T. Lee, and some Weller when our brother-in-law found Stagg 24C there.

He bought it for about $200 including tax. We both rated the 128.9-proof bottle double-black and thought it was worth $200, especially against local Stagg prices we put around $250, sometimes $300 to $350.

Weems’ prices were okay, but not great on every bottle.

Roland’s, southern Maryland

Roland’s is a grocery store with a small liquor selection. We found two bottles of E.H. Taylor Small Batch and bought both, one for us and one for Jeff.

They were $62 each before tax, $67.50 total per bottle. This was a small-selection store that happened to deliver a useful find.

Perfect Pour

Perfect Pour had an impressive selection, but its November 2024 allocated drop was not worth the headache for us.

About 200 people crowded into the small store, with the line wrapping around the block. We ended up buying a Rare Character Single Barrel at 126 proof after getting a ticket from someone who left.

Customers had to buy a store pick to get one of the drop bottles. Picks included Angel’s Envy and Sazerac Rye. After those ran out, the store substituted McKenna 10 and Rickhouse, a move we thought was shady.

Too many tickets, desirable bottles disappearing quickly, and the crowded setup made this a drop we’d skip in favor of shopping elsewhere.

Nix of Caliber

We found three bottles of Evan Williams Single Barrel left here and bought one for $39. We thought it was a really great store.

Calbert’s

Steve bought Jack Daniel’s Tanyard Hill Rye here for $99.99 and thanked Nick for the pickup. We recalled an MSRP of about $80.

Best stops

• B.K. Miller Meats & Liquor: One of our favorites for selection, store picks, sales, and a bar pour while browsing.
• S&W Liquors, Clinton: Bottle shares four times a week, interesting picks, and a loyalty-based route to allocated bottles.
• Esquire Liquors, Oxon Hill: Helpful bourbon staff, tastings, and a monthly raffle that has delivered real purchases for us.
• Town Center Market, Riverdale: A big selection, paid pick tastings, and an easy pairing with nearby 2Fifty.
• DMV Spirits, DC: Free samples of anything on the shelves make it our strongest stop for trying before buying.
• Michigan Liquors, DC: Unusual store selections and sale finds, especially that $30 Sagamore sour-ale-finished rye.
• Drug City Pharmacy, Baltimore: Worth the longer drive for selection, discounted pours, food, and the speakeasy.

For bottle choices once you’re there, our best bourbon under $50 and top whiskeys cover the value picks and standout pours we’d look for.