A Look Inside Qatar’s One and Only State-Owned Liquor Store

Though Qatar has banned alcohol sales at the 2022 World Cup, there are still places off-premises at which liquor can be legally purchased. Photo: Christopher Pike/Getty Images for Supreme Committee 2022

Less than a 10-minute drive from the Al Thumama World Cup Stadium in Qatar lies the nation’s one and only liquor store, simply named after its owner, the Qatar Distribution Company.

After making an appointment and showing security your government-issued liquor license, you’ll find shelves stacked to the ceiling with imported wine, beer and spirits.

This is the shop where non-Muslim residents and visitors can indulge in all manner of non-halal goods. If you look around, you’ll even find shelf space and refrigerators stocked with giant slabs of bacon, Spam and cans of pork and beans.

The Qatar Distribution Company is a state-owned business, one of several subsidiaries of Qatar Airways alongside enterprises like Qatar Duty Free and United Media International.

To be eligible for a license, customers need to be “qualifying private individuals”, i.e. non-Muslim foreigners or visitors. Prices run the gamut from a USD $44 bottle of Vodka Skyy to a $113 bottle of Whiskey Chivas.

A 31-year-old British woman interviewed outside the store by ABC News said that the process of buying alcohol felt routine despite the circumstances.

“It’s really not that big of a deal. It’s like going to the supermarket – for alcohol.”

Commenting on the recently announced alcohol ban at the World Cup stadiums, she simply remarked “I’m British. I know what it’s like to be around drunk people all the time.”

Though this may be the only official liquor store in Qatar, there are still plenty of other places that FIFA attendees and local drinkers willing to pay high prices have flocked to in search of booze.

Over the past few months, Seattle-based aerospace salesman Ed Ball has even created an entire Qatar Alcohol Map. On it, you’ll find everything from restaurants to hotel bars and rumored “fan fests” dotted across the Qatari capital of Doha.

Alcohol is not entirely prohibited in Qatar but rather is limited only to licensed restaurants and bars in hotels.

As headlines about the Qatari alcohol ban continue to run rampant, it seems that the story beneath the surface is a little more complex.

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