Southampton’s only dedicated craft beer, wine, and cider retailer, at 45 Bedford Place, has revealed its new logo and name — Good Libations.
The rebrand transforms what had been the Unity Bottleshop and Tasting Room following the closure of Unity Brewing Co earlier this month. The shop’s existing staff are all retained, with Unity’s founder, Jimmy Hatherley, stepping into a new role as owner-manager.
“We’re really excited to launch Good Libations as a home for craft beer and wine retail in the city,” he said. “Our mission is to bring the people of Southampton some of the best quality, most delicious, and most interesting drinks from the UK and beyond that you just can’t get in the supermarkets, and to share our enthusiasm and passion for delicious drinks for every palate and preference.”
The wide product range spans more than 200 craft beers, over 100 wines, and a curated range of ciders, spirits, and no-/low-alcohol drinks, many produced using low-intervention and natural methods.
The shop offers tasting benches — as well as a Belgian beer café-style snug — with space for around 20 customers to taste their purchases on site, for a small corkage fee. Alongside cans from the fridges, there are six taps of fresh beer to sample, plus wines by the glass.
Jimmy Hatherley at Good Libations
The premises has continuously been an off-licence for more 100 years, more recently as Cloud Wine, where Jimmy worked in his 20s. He is focused on creating a warm and approachable environment in Good Libations, where customers can ask questions and get to know the team.
“Our new name sums up the positive vibe that we’re inviting customers to join us in — we want to build a really welcoming community around the shop,” he said. “And we’re launching a loyalty discount card this weekend to give our customers something back when they shop with us.”
Jimmy is optimistic about the shop re-opening through the cost of living crisis. “Craft beer, wine, and cider has never been more exciting, with so many people discovering more variety to what they enjoy over the past few years. But with it being so expensive to drink out at the moment, we’ve seen more and more people wanting to buy interesting drinks to enjoy at home.”
The shop will be open seven days a week from 6th March onwards. It will also host a Farewell to Unity Brewing Co party on Saturday, 25th February, from noon to 10pm, where everyone willbe welcome to enjoy the final Unity beers.
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