New Hampshire State Liquor Store

The new market basket in Salem has a much better wine selection than here. Having been said, if you want liquor, this place is the place to go. Not because it’s that good, but because we have a state monopoly.

This is from an incident that occurred during a snow storm in December of 2009. A disgruntled old woman working at the cash register denied me from spending about $ 950 on hard liquor and mixers because my valid New Hampshire Driver’s License had a quarter inch-​sized rip on the corner. She was nastily assertive about how she had discretion to refuse my order, even though the police officer patrolling the area didn’t seem to have an opinion on the matter.
The refusal of about a thousand dollars in revenue for such a trivial thing? That… makes… a lot of… sense…
Good thing Plaistow had a separate location!

Since liquor in New Hampshire is universally priced, what distinguishes the stores are inventory and location/​convenience. This store scores well for both. But what that also means is that it is crazy crowded both inside and in the parking lot. Since the store is just a little bit north of the MA/​NH border, you can bet a lot of folks from Massachusetts come up here to shop.
On weekends, it’s very common for the equivalent of double-​parking in some areas of the lot, compounded by the fact that there is often some type of sale table or special interest group set up in front of the store.

The best variety of liquor, the best prices, the best service… See where I’m going with this???

The NH state liquor stores do have good prices. Good prices, not great. If you have a decent store nearby that does large volume (Kappy’s, Gordons, etc.) then it is very likely that you will find as good if not better prices on lots of different liquors. And, if the item that you are looking for is in the least exotic, you will likely not find it at a NH state store; and if you do, it will likely be much higher than what you can buy it for in a good MA store (see St. Germain.) So, don’t assume that if it is in a NH state liquor store that it is much cheaper than in MA. It ain’t so.

this is where i get it in

No tax on booze. Great!
Yeah no beer, but you can get that else where. If they carried beer then there wouldn’t be the variety you get with liquor or wine.
Best part is that the website tells you the inventory for each NH store.

If you’re up from Massachusetts doing some shopping in NH, might as well stop and save yourself a decent amount of cash by stopping at the NH State Liquor Store.

Easy to drive to, lots of parking.
If you are planning a party or stocking up it’s worth checking the website to see what is going on sale. There are other locations too, check that out.
Far from Boston? True, but why not pick up that large TV you were eyeing in MA (without the tax)?
Then you can tell us how much you saved (can you hear the cheers? Who doesn’t want to hear people saving a few $). It means you can spend more on other stuff and write reviews!

Why not 5 stars? No beer or ciders…
But, they did have great wines and hard liquors!
With the state tax recently going up on booze in MA, it was a no brainer to make a stop here when heading up through NH.
They were having sales AND it was tax-​free. HELLO! Decent wine selection, more than reasonable vodka selection. Stopping was a good decision!
Bring on the liver damage!

What else can I say? Did you say NO TAX?

I love all NH liquor stores equally. I’m drunk, what can I say?
For realz… this one is pretty good, its large enough to carry a ton of wines that you won’t find at smaller stores and grocery markets. Since they have more space they also carry more specialty boozes which is pretty nice to see. And I completely disagree with what another review says about my home!
I believe this store also carries local wines too… at least they did 2 years ago, a nice table wine from NH. Its worth going to if you are in the area plus you will save on tax woohoo.

I will always fondly recall the Sunday afternoon that I pulled into the State Liquor Store in Salem, and noticed a smell like a bag of burning balloons.
I prayed this smell was not coming from my car, and was relieved to find that there was a black Subaru station wagon parked next to mine, with Mass. plates and black smoke wafting out from under the hood.
And I thought to myself, ‘Yes. THIS is the car you go to the liquor store in. This will let everyone know that you are not fooling around and are very serious about your liquor.‘
Other than that, hey, its a store. It sells liquor. What’s not to like?

tropic bay light rum!!! never more than eight bucks for like twelve gallons!!!
hurray!!!
i dislike excessive use of punctuation but it is totally necessary!!!

Let’s do some Unilocal math:
Cheap booze: Woo Hoo! +5
Located 33 miles north of Boston: –1
State run enterprise violating the Capitalist Free Market: –1
State employees who staff the place don’t know sh*t about wine or spirits: –2
Reasonable customer service, in spite of their ignorance: +1
Poor selection, in particular of wine and top-​shelf liquors: –1
Unilocal Rating: 1
Okay, it doesn’t deserve 1 star, but face it: the New Hampshire State Liquor Store IS overrated. Yes, they sell alcohol much cheaper than most places in Massachusetts — I blame Massachusetts’ archaic liquor laws rather than shower praise on New Hampshire’s socialist enterprises. And price aside, the selection is mediocre, the staff (try as they might) are clueless, and the store is a 65 mile round trip from Boston!
IF I happen to be driving through New Hampshire AND I happen to be throwing a party in the near future where I’ll need 10 gallons of cheap booze, then yes, I’ll stop and shop here. But in all honesty, the prices at the New Hampshire Liquor Store are exactly the same at the CostCo 2 miles from my house. Face it — it’s overrated.

A short journey up 93, the New Hampshire State Liquor Store is a Godsend for us Massachusetts residents cursed with normal levels of taxation on alcoholic beverages. Everything there is reliably 10−35% cheaper than it would be in Boston, making it the only place to go when you’re throwing a larger party.
They also have liquor gift sets much more frequently than Massachusetts stores. Liquor gift sets are probably the greatest marketing gimmicks ever invented. Ever.
Whoever works at liquor companies and decided they’d throw in stupid knickknacks for free to entice you to buy things you don’t really need was a brilliant man: Do I want a NASCAR baseball cap with my Jim Beam? Yes please — I feel like I’m a drunken redneck already. Do I want a visor with my knockoff Malibu? Hell yes! Am I at the beach? Do I want my Tommy Bahama rum to come in a CANVAS SUITCASE with two highball glasses and a muddler so I can make mojitos while I’m on safari in my living room? Is that even a question? They have more of this sort of hilarity around the holidays, but there’s always something great to be found year-​round.

You know, a lot of people are complaining about the state of the economy and being a real Debbie Downer about the cash flow — so here’s what I have to say…
Throw a party and get your friends drunkity for cheapity!
The New Hampshire State Liquor Store should be your number one stop if you’re looking to pinch your pennies when buying a ridiculous amount of booze. Sure, gas prices may not allow you to trek that far up north for one bottle of Pinot Grigio or a handle of vodka — but if you’re to looking drop some cash on a mass quantity (i.e. — Tori G. and Jeffrey H’s annual holiday party) then the drive beyond our border is worth it!
There’s no beer here, but you’ll be sure to find some great deals on wine and the hard stuff. If you’re a real rebel, be sure to know that NH also sells cheaper ciggabutts than Taxachusetts.
You’re welcome.

Looking for some cheap booze? Than this is the place for you!
They only carry hard alcohol and wine, you can’t get beer here, and that’s fine by me.
I’m like a kid in a candy store when I’m there. Aisles and aisles of pretty bottles of vodka and rum and tequila, oh my!
And it all goes on sale!
Loves it!
You can pick up a handle of Smirnoff for $ 22.99, and I think that’s great.
They have a HUGE selection, it’s a great place to hit up when you’re stocking up for a party or cookout, you’ll save a lot of cash by going here rather than your local liquor store.
Thank you state of New Hampshire.

One can only buy liquor in NH at a State owned liquor store. The state controls it. However, it sells for CHEAP here and droves of people from Mass and Maine come to stock up like its going to be outlawed in this century. I can find great deals on all types of liquor, but however be warry that I can not find too many deals on wine. They do have a great wine selection, but its pricey and not as low as you can find in Mass. For wine, I suggest Kappy’s, Blanchards, or Trader Joes.
They extend there hours during the holidays.