Independent Off Licence V Supermarket Booze Aisle
Provender Brown has long since been a champion of quality, great tasting wines, beers and spirits from small artisan distillers and breweries.
Provender Brown has long since been a champion of quality, great tasting wines, beers and spirits from small artisan distillers and breweries.
It struck me recently, that we are one of only two independent off-licences in Perth city centre. You might ask yourself if that matters. Supermarket booze aisles are chockablock with various wines, beers and spirits these days, often at knock down prices.
It might not surprise you to know that I think it matters a lot! Pile it high and sell it cheap is only ever going to serve one master and its certainly not you as the customer, or our amazing artisan distillers, independent breweries, and family vineyards.
Like most of the products we sell, the main difference between our off-licence and the supermarket drinks aisle is choice, quality and expertise. Finding those hidden treasures - like the amazing, easy drinking Riojas from tiny vineyards in the mountains around Baños de Ebro - or picking up a bottle of small-batch, limited edition gin distilled in the hills of Perthshire is just not possible in Tesco!
I've not mentioned the fact that you will be served by passionate, knowledgeable people who probably spoke directly to the beer brewer when placing the order because that really should be a given by now!
If you've never considered Provender Brown as the place to you buy your booze, please do pop in and give us a try. As well as speciality wines and small-batch artisan gins, we also stock an impressive selection of whisky – both single malt and blended - real ales and lagers from Perthshire and beyond, and many craft spirits including rums, vodkas, brandies and liqueurs.
Ever since we opened our doors, Provender Brown has been a champion of quality, great tasting wine. We work closely with speciality merchants to offer a carefully chosen selection of wines from small producers that you won’t find in supermarkets or the larger big-brand wine retailers.
One supplier we're partnered with is Enotria&Coe, who have over a century of experience in the fine wine trade. They source exceptional new and old world wines to stock their cellars, which you can see reflected in the diverse selection we stock! We work closely with our representative, John, who, based on the success of the previous in-shop food and wine tasting, is keen to do more in the future, so keep an eye out for future tastings!
We have an ever-changing selection of wines from old world wine producing regions such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and France and the new world regions of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America. We are very selective about the wine suppliers we work with, sticking with those we know we can trust to supply consistently great wines at every price point. We've got great wines for all seasons; this summer, try the delicate and citrussy Saint Max Provencal Rose, or a juicy and bright Aubert and Mathieu Palooza, which is lovely chilled.
And of course, we are also lucky to have Cairn O'Mohr on our doorsteps. The strange Scottish WInery as it is affectionatly known, produce an eclectic range of fruit wines using ingredients from right here in Perthshire.
Over the past few years we have famously become Perth’s most prolific gin aficionados. We boast dozens of gins and gin liqueurs making Provender Brown one of the largest gin stockists online and in store in Scotland and the UK. I’m proud to say that our range is largely Scottish - including Perth Gin from a distillery that is literally less than 100 metres away!
If you’re new to the world of gin – or if you just fancy a change, you might want to start by reading our Top Ten Scottish Gins blog featuring different gins, mixers and serving ideas.
Do please drop into the deli on George Street in Perth to speak to one of our gin experts or send an email and we’ll happily get back to you.
It started with a few local ales and before we knew it we had an explosion of craft beers, ales, stouts and more lining our shelves. Our Perthshire breweries remain at the heart of our selection, with Abernyte and Cullach both supplying new brews on an ongoing basis. That hasn’t stopped us venturing along the road to Dundee and Blair Atholl, up to Glen Spean, and further still to Orkney.
Painstaking attention to ingredients and detail and fuelled by desire and enthusiasm for the traditional craft, these local brewers are making their mark across the country and beyond.
We also stock some great Scottish ciders, like Aipple and Lost Orchards, many from right here in Perthshire.
In recent years we’ve extended our choice of whisky and now stock an impressive selection of both single malt and blended. As you might expect, we’ve carefully selected some of the more unusual blends and boast many 10 year old, 12 year olds and special reserves.
Perthshire certainly sees a fair share of the shelf space with local distilleries well represented. Add to this all of your favourite malts from Speyside and the Islands and you’ll have a sense of just how far we’ve come!
Port, craft rums and vodkas, vermouth, saki, grappa, schnapps, calvados, madeira, marsala and more– we have the lot!
It’s hard to note just how far our range stretches so we’ll simply leave you some links and let you have a browse around our virtual shelves:
We offer a great choice in premium mixers to ensure you create the best pour each and every time. Fever Tree is a favourite here at Provender Brown and the team will be happy to recommend which of their great flavours marries up best with our gins and spirits.
For the non-drinkers, the choice in soft drinks extends to thoughtfully crafted drinks from Fentimans, including their famed Rose Lemonade, and cordials from Belvoir Farm. Buddy Kombucha is produced in Newburgh, and features a rotating line of seasonal flavours, in addition to a their core range. There is also traditional ginger beer from Bundaberg and brands such as San Pellegrino and Bon Accord.
The good news is that more and more we are seeing quality, non-alcholic spirits and beers on offer. At present we have Seedlip Gin, which is the answer to every gin lover's non-drinking evenings.
Seedlip is "on a mission to change the way the world drinks with the highest quality non-alcoholic options" and we can confirm they taste wonderful. Pour their unique and complex blend as you would gin, and simply serve with tonic or mix to create sophisticated non-alcoholic cocktails.
Delicious low alcohol cider from Lost Orchards, and Sparkling Elderflower from Cairn O'Mohr means you don’t have to miss out when you’re not drinking at special occasions.
More The Off Licence >
Each and every month - and possibly twice at Christmas - we send out every food lover's favourite newsletter.
Packed full of news from the deli, you'll find recipe ideas, new products, producer interviews and lots of really interesting chat that us foodies like to get excited about!
