A Reason to Raise Your Glass: Bob's Wine Reopens on Xindong Lu
Remember when all those small businesses were demolished on Xingfucun, such as RollBox, Anchor, Ling Er Jiu, along with the impeccably stocked Bob’s Wine shop? That period during The Great Brickening certainly was tough. But thankfully Bob’s Wine has bounced back, larger and stronger than ever before.
The new Bob's is located on the first floor on the west side of Shoukai Bojun on Xindong Lu, north of Heaven Supermarket and a quick walk from its original spot. One day, when we were passing by Xingfu Lu, the chic white tiled façade caught our eyes. We were not only overjoyed to see that this long popular booze seller had returned, but that it is also improved. Its larger floor space features a huge fridge loaded with craft beers at the entrance. Wines, whiskeys, sakes, and spirits line the shelves behind that. There’s even a cellar for wines in the back of the store.
Whisky lovers will be excited to see bottles of Ardbeg, Aultmore, Bowmore, Dalmore, Kavalan (the famous brand from Taiwan), Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Longrow, and a special selection of Japanese malts. There's also limited edition 8-year-old Lagavulin, to celebrate that brand's 200th anniversary. It's a mildly smoky, sweet and spicy whisky that we were happy to bring home.
Among the beers, we spotted plenty of imports from Stone, Anchor, Rogue, Ballast Point, Brewdog, and Epic, along with rarer options from Prairie Artisan Ales. All are reasonably priced (at least 30 percent cheaper than at beer bars).
Among those brews, we were excited to find one of our favorites, Double Red IPA from AleSmith, which was out of stock on our regular Taobao shop. Better still was around RMB 30 per bottle (we got it on Taobao for RMB 45). Without hesitation, our hands reached scooped up several. Just a tip: you might get greedy here at Bob's, and find your refrigerator overstuffed with booze, especially if you pursue the shop when you're already tipsy.
There are also two long wooden tables for people to sip away at their purchases, making it a good place to not only shop but also hang out. We’ll certainly return to this new haven to see what else they have to offer.
Bob's Wine
Daily 10am-11.30pm. Shoukai Bojun, 8 Xindong Lu, Chaoyang District (138 1188 6146)
新东路8号首开铂郡北区底商
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Photos: Tracy Wang
