Joe Canals

I went here for the 1^st time last night. Normally I love a Joe Canal’s & I was thrilled to find one fairly local. I have to say though, it was disappointing. If you are looking for liquor or wine, it definitely looks like the place to go. Aisles & aisles of both. Thus the 3 stars. However, I was on a craft beer hunt. They had roughly half an aisle of ‘craft’ beer, another half of generic beers. With all of the fantastic craft beers out there it’s hard to believe they can’t find a more diverse selection. Unlikely I will go back.

If they don’t have the wine you’re looking for, go to whoever bottles it. Seriously huge selection. Ample beer choice as well with plenty of single bottles for the build-​your-​own six-​pack sampler. My only complaint would be that the microbrew selection is typically regional, as opposed to national, and yet the international houses are represented for the most part (need my New Belgium!). Every liquor is stocked, of course. Prices all around are great, but damn, the Southern Tier Pumpking has GOT to stop charging $ 8 a bottle. It ain’t *that* great.

Supermarket for Liquor. I didn’t realize this was a chain until I started to get older and traveled other parts of NJ besides Cape May. If you can’t find it here than you probably already know it’s a lost cause. Prices are at least below Philadelphia «State Stores» and maybe on par with Delaware.

Ever been to Costco? Remember the first time you walked into one, and went, «Wow, this place is huge» as you stared in awe at the isles upon isles of sales? Apply the same feeling to Joe Canal’s, only with beer and liquor instead of TV’s and toilet paper.
This place is huge, simply stated. The whole front of the store is *filled* with wine, categorized into every style, country, and color you can possibly think of. They even have a few decent sakes, including unfiltered. Very impressive. Naturally, I usually walk right past the stuff, since wine isn’t really my thing — and head straight into the «man cave» portion of the store: the beer section. Yes, the entire rear of the store is devoted to beer, both cold and warm. Craft beers typically line the warm shelves, along with the imports that I tend to buy. There’s even a section where you can make your own six pack, which usually contains at least a few bottles that I’ve never tried. Their prices are about the cheapest I’ve found in the area as well, making this my one stop shop for when I have a party to attend.
The front right of the store is devoted to liquors, and there’s an immense selection of flavored vodkas, rums, and even a fair number of oddball liquors that are hard to find elsewhere, such as Cachaca and Lillet. There’s a great scotch and Irish whiskey area, too.
A frequent shopper card nets you a small percent discount on any non-​sale purchases, which is great if you’re trying to stock up for a party (or just splurging on yourself), often giving quite a few dollars off. If there’s something that you want that isn’t on the shelf? They’ll even order it for you and call you when it comes in, free of charge. My only wish is that they had a better international beer selection. Sure, there’s a decent selection of stuff already, but it’s mostly the typical stuff from Belgium and surrounding areas: Chimay, Kasteel, etc.
There’s only two (well, two and a half) liquor stores I visit with any frequency, and this is one of them. ‘Nuff said.

Best price on wine around.