The Spirit Shop
Second Generation Owner Matt Sterr Builds Norman’s Palate
We’ve all gone into a liquor store, bought the usual, drank it, and it was fine. If you roll up to The Spirit Shop, you’ll be out of that rut in no time.
Second generation owner Matt Sterr uses a lifetime of knowledge to train a staff, who now have decades of expertise. He expanded the location in 2011, and it’s packed with bangers: a wall of bourbon labels ten paces long, enough tequila to kill a pack of chupacabras, displays of global wine too tall to see over, and a staff to help you select any of it.
Walk in, tell them what you like, then ask them what they recommend. Even if your favorite is a mass-produced wine you could find at the grocery store, you deserve a little variation and The Spirit Shop staff is here to help.
“You wouldn’t go to a gas station for a gourmet meal, why would you go to a grocery store for a bottle of wine?” asks Sterr.
Drinking trends change. New craft breweries expand our palates. The 90s and 00s single malt Scotch drinkers gave way to the current bourbon renaissance. Grocery store wine drinkers can (and should) discover the greatness that lies beyond the bottles sharing shelf space with Twinkies, and the Spirit Shop, a pillar of the Norman community, has spent decades helping people find that next step in their drinking journey.
We are in swelter season, when the sweat leaks from our pores faster than we can pour a drink. Here is the Spirit Shop's riff on a drink that is a bartender's best friend when all you need to do is fill a glass with ice and add the following ingredients:
