Want Cucumber Vodka? The Liquor Cabinet in East Granby Has it All

George and Sergio Castro, the father and son duo who own and operate in East Granby, didn’t have to look far when they decided to move their business to a larger space in town.

Indeed, the Castros moved their business, which they have owned since 1994, just next door from their previous location at the shopping plaza at 54 Rainbow Road and, in the process, increased their floor space from 3,600 to 13,000 square feet.

“We couldn’t do business any more in the smaller spot that we were in,” Sergio Castro said in an interview Thursday morning. “We were going to move down the road, but this is a good location with a good parking lot.”

It’s been a soft grand opening, Sergio Castro said, with almost no fanfare when the doors to the new location opened just after Thanksgiving, just in time for the holiday rush.

“There was enough craziness going on,” Sergio Castro said. “It’s definitely working out. It’s only been a month.”

Customers are now treated to a huge selection of vodkas, whiskeys, tequilas, wines, beers, microbrews and specialty items.

In the vodka section alone, flavors range from the traditional to wedding cake to grape to cherry to even, incredibly, cucumber.

“We just increased the variety that much more,” Sergio Castro said. “Everything has increased. We tripled our beer selection. Vodkas are almost 40 percent of my liquor wall. It’s unbelievable.”

Castro said that customers are now looking for higher-quality liquor, such as tequila and high-end American bourbons, than 10 years ago.

“It’s not just Jose Cuervo any more,” he said. “Smooth, easy drinking. People, across the line, are going for quality, not quantity as much.”

Sergio Castro said that his craft beer sales have shot through the roof in recent years as well.

The store is also stocked with wines that hail from all over the world, including places such as California, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France.

“The whole gamut,” he said. “People, when they walk in, they drop their jaws.”

Without hesitating, Segio Castro said that customers get the best selection in the area, along with low prices.

“We brought the price of 200 to 250 items down because we are buying so much more product,” he said. “That’s something that’s going to change now that we are dealing with suppliers in the coming months.”

In addition to the massive traditional floor space, The Liquor Cabinet also has a small Connoisseur’s Room that features higher-end, more expensive wines and liquors.

So far, the response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.

West Suffield resident Mary Baldyga was spotted perusing the vodka aisle on Thursday evening. She said it was the first time she had been in the store since it opened at the larger location.

“I’m really impressed with the rows and rows of wine and the lots of different types of vodka,” she said.

The larger location does not mean that customer service is lost in the transition.

“We love it here,” Dave Hudson said. “They have always treated us good here. I think [the new location] is great.”

The Liquor Cabinet is open six days a week, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.