Having trouble finding your distilled spirit of choice in Beijing? Then look no further because this guide to Beijing liquor and wine shops will put your search to an end. Take a walk down your average street in Beijing and you will be hard pressed to find a liquor store that offers a reasonable selection of alcohol. In a typical Chinese liquor store you will only find one choice of spirits, Baijiu, which for those who have not tried it, is like drinking liquid fire. In most stores or restaurants, the only beers you can find are local favorite Yanjing or China’s most popular beer, Qingdao, both of which are light and tasteless beers. Good luck trying to find a decent bottle of wine in any run of the mill store or restaurant!

However, just because you can’t find some western alcohol varieties on "Main Street" in Beijing doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Whether you are looking for hard liquor, wine, or beer, the good news is that it is now easier than ever to find in Beijing.

Supermarket:

As opposed to the west, where liquor stores are free standing entities, in China most western style supermarkets contain a fairly sizeable collection of foreign alcohols. The following chain stores (in alphabetical order) all have a decent amount of space dedicated to distilled spirits. BHG seems to have the most expansive collection but is also the steepest in price. Conversely, Wal-Mart is the cheapest but offers the smallest selection.

1. April Gourmet-four locations: Sanlitun area (2), Lido, and Shunyi

2. BHG Market Place-five locations: Dawanglu, Solana, Shuangjing, Sanlitun, Wudaokou.

3. Carrefour-seven locations: Sanyuanqiao, Temple of Heaven, Shuangjing, Zhongguancun, Beijing Zoo, Fengtai, and Wangjing.

4. Jenny Lou’s-seven locations: Central Park, Jianwai Soho, Dongzhimen, Ritan Park, Chaoyang Park West Gate, Sanlitun, and Wangjing

5. Wal-Mart-four locations: Zhichunlu, Dawanglu, Wangjing, Xuanwumen, and Dajiaoting

Source: echinacities.com