I'm so confused...

July 29, 2010 3:43 PM

Does anyone know where I can find a bottle of Peychaud's bitters in Philadelphia?

So, PA supposedly has a monopoly on liquor sales. Unfortunately, none of the wine and spirits shops carry delicious, nutritious Peychaud's bitters (or any kind of bitters, for that matter). I asked an employee last week.

Then I went to the grocery... I found Angostura bitters over by the dairy aisle... weird, but whatever. It's Angostura.

So, does anyone have firsthand experience buying Peychaud's in Philly? Where did you go?

Bonus points for being near GradHo or Rittenhouse.

posted by chicago2penn to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

According to the State Liquor Control Board, the stores in Philadelphia do carry Peychaud's. Maybe try calling around to other control board stores?
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 3:56 PM on July 29, 2010

Oh, the link doesn't discriminate to just Philadelphia City stores. Just pick Philadelphia County off the drop-down list here.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 3:57 PM on July 29, 2010

Response by poster: Those are all near Pittsburgh.
posted by chicago2penn at 3:58 PM on July 29, 2010

Response by poster: nevermind. Thanks, i'll check them out -- though they are kind of far.
posted by chicago2penn at 3:59 PM on July 29, 2010

Best answer: The Premium Wine & Spirit store at 1913 Chestnut – two (short) blocks north of Rittenhouse Square itself – carries 'em, I just called.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 4:04 PM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you can wait for a bit and deal with the hassle, you can try and order Peychaud's through your local store. You should be able to find the code here [warning, 695 page PDF] and follow the procedure listed here. A friend of mine managed to procure creme de violette this way.
posted by alynnk at 4:07 PM on July 29, 2010

If you don't mind waiting for the mail, Amazon will sell you Peychaud's (and Regan's, and a boatload of Fee's).
posted by mumkin at 4:14 PM on July 29, 2010

Seeing as I live in the original home of Peychaud's bitters and I can probably throw a rock and hit a store that sells some, you let me know if you can't get any and I'll ship some to you all hush-like.
posted by komara at 4:29 PM on July 29, 2010

Doesn't DiBruno carry Peychaud's? I know they carry Fee Bros., also worth seeking out.
posted by desuetude at 6:35 PM on July 29, 2010

I was in a liquor store in western PA earlier this week and saw it behind the counter with the pint size bottles.

Relating to the reliability of state store employees in answering inventory question: my brother asked someone in that store if they had any Fernet Branca. The guy looked it up (or acted like he looked it up?) and said no, no stores in PA carried it. My brother said "to heck with this, I'm just going to the store in Monroeville where I know they have it" and so he did.
posted by oreofuchi at 8:01 PM on July 29, 2010

Just to correct mumkin, if it's alcoholic, there are certain states that they won't ship to. Usually Pennsylvania is one of those, since we technically aren't allowed to import alcohol across state lines. (but tell that to everyone who drives to delaware)
posted by polexa at 9:12 AM on July 30, 2010

polexa: that's why I was offering my personal services.
posted by komara at 9:25 AM on July 30, 2010