King Liquor

Although they still have a great selection and remain very convenient, I have mostly stopped shopping here. Every time I stop in the prices have gone up again.

The Good:
: it’s a local business!
: lots of parking
: the people who work here are incredible. they are so helpful and so knowledgeable, it is a breath of fresh air compared to dealing with people who don’t know highly marketed overpriced kaka from the really good stuff. you tell the people your price point and what you are looking for and they will find you several options to fit your needs. it doesn’t matter if it’s tequila or vodka or whiskey or wine: they know their shit
: their frequent tastings held at their business! vendors come and offer awesome tastings. for example, i got to sample from a $ 400 bottle of Macallan and it was the smoothest stuff i’ve ever had.
: there is a cute, low-​key dog that roams the aisles. pet the pooch and say hello!
: they carry so many amazing brands of liquor. you will find something very special for sure if you are needing something special.
The Bad:
: none
The Ugly:
: none
Would I go back? 100% for sure. Screw Twin Liquors and Specs. The people who work here have a passion and the knowledge to back up what they sell.
This place is IN.

This place was a great find. A true local store different from the big box stores you usually find along the highways. I went there about 2 months ago and the selection was great and I got a very good service. I just returned and they’ve expanded and remodeled the place. The wine selection is quite impressive. The wine lady is very helpful and well informed. You don’t have to stroll along the aisles and chase an attendant to get a question answered, but they come to you rather quickly when you get in the door. I recommend it.

I live around the corner from King and it is THE place to go if you are looking for a specialty liquor. My husband is an avid bourbon fan and asks for special bottles at Christmas. They always get it for me at King, whereas Specs doesn’t seem able… The only slightly things i have to say about them is that the staff is sometimes a little odd and when you ask for a special bottle, they say they’ll call you when it comes in, but they never do. So i just call them back to see if its in yet.

Lived across the street. Great selection on liquor. For a dry ish area technically.
But.
After spending ten min going over their awesome beer selection. Waiting for cashier to finish transaction w guests. I see the bathroom right by where I am standing. While he is in the middle of ringing someone up, he says «ugh ma’am?! Can I help you! ?» With a insulting rude tone and look. How about saying «sorry ma’am we have no public restroom». Or «hey you seem stinky and with no money. You’re a piece of shit!» ?
Way more real.
Thanks for making a customer feel like she was attempting to drink your selection in store, steal, or do something wrong. Using a restroom while
Or after shopping and spending way more than specs or twin, seems like the restroom (with a sign) is the last of your issue. And that’s why I just left. And said «oh sorry?» And thats why I just spent my money at a lame chain. Because of zero consistency. You shouldn’t treat 21 yr old annoying dorm spices like shit, and you shouldn’t assume I’m that (at 34) and be so rude. Even if your restroom policy is. Go take a trip to San Francisco. Your «homeless» bathroom usage is of zero importance. Get over yourself. You’re lucky anyone is in your store. And you should be greatful as a small biz. Because your space will be a steeping room or
Chipotle next year. Wake up. The thing that separates you is: actual customer service.
You Fail. Off one employee. Lame.
Just rude. Just lame.

This is NOT just a neighborhood liquor store. This place has great tastings and also has a vast array of wines, liquors and beers.
My favorite thing though about this place is the knowledgeable owners and their huge collection of mini or travel sized liquors.
Yes, if you are going somewhere where you only need a shot or two they have these wonderful things called «Pocket Shots». These shots are available in: vodka, rum, tequila and whiskey. I swear by them for outings and events that you may only need a little oommph to your drink.

I had a pretty unfortunate experience here. I went in for wine and after looking at the selection a few times, i left without finding anything. I walked to my car and saw the clerk running after me. He opened my passenger door (without my permission) and accused me of stealing. Of course, I hadn’t stole anything. This was a jarring experience being 5’2 and a female and having no clue why an older guy would chase after me and open my car door. There is a twin liquors next to HEB a couple blocks down that is a safer choice with a bigger selection.

Intense selection of all the major spirits. I love the variety of tequila they offer. Their staff is extremely helpful and knowledgable on everything they carry in store. It’s a great liquor store with a great selection of wines and beers. They won’t have every microbrew or niche beer you’re looking for, but they’ll have stuff that meets your needs.

These guys have a superb liquor selection. I was blown away by the choice. I could not be happier when I found this place in my neighborhood.
The beer selection isn’t as good — but this is a liquor store not a beer store, and it is still adequate.
The staff are really friendly and will help you find whatever you are after.

I stayed at a friend’s place who lived at the Amli next door. I was about to meet a few friends at Trudy’s North Star to begin birthday festivities. I was so glad that King Liquor was in the strip next to the Amli. It’s a small store (compared to Spec’s) but has everything you need and so easy to find. I was able to get everything I was looking for in 2 minute tops. I was looking for deep eddy vodka and lo and behold, it was an endcap. Down the whiskey aisle, I found my friend’s favorite tennesse honey whisky — in a cute gift set. It came with two branded shot glasses.
As I was checking out, I mentioned that I wish I had thought of getting gift wrap or a bow to make this last minute gift item more presentable. The cashier immediately said he was going to solve my dilemma. He whipped out silver giftwrap… unfortunately it was too small. He offered to cut 2 apart (it was bag shaped) to wrap it for me. I declined and took a bow instead — which he tied on very nicely! I was so moved by his kindness for offering me gift wrap and willingness to cut it up for me! This liquor store reigns supreme over any others for their excellent customer service!

I’m sad to be writing this review as if you would have asked me last night I would have rated it much higher… BUT… Not going to spend my money there anymore. I used to live walking distance from there and like to support local businesses so when I moved over a year ago, I didn’t see driving past other bigger chains as a big deal. I also love that the guys a night are knowledgeable and friendly. So much so that I took the guy’s suggestion on a beer selection when my favorite seasonal beer was finally gone. I took it home and opened it up and it tasted weird… I thought maybe it wasn’t for me but when my bartender boyfriend came home and tried it, he said it was weird too… I look at the label and it’s well past the expiration date.(I didn’t know that beer had an expiration date but it could explain the funky taste) I took it back in and the owner was rude and apathetic and told me it was my problem. My problem??? Then she said beer doesn’t expire but the federal government makes them put it on there for no reason. Why then is it on there? Besides that point, I’m an unhappy loyal customer that has sent countless referrals in and has been frequenting your establishment for more than a few years, why the apathy? I went to Twin Liquors just up the way and they were more than happy to help me without an attitude.

I would never have given this shop a second glance, as there’s nothing unique or special you’ll see from the sign or storefront. I’d driven by it on Burnet MANY times, and never even noticed it was there. But, in a quest for more tequila choices, Unilocal led me to King Liquor.
This was a terrific find, and I’ve been spreading the word to tequila fans I talk to.
You will not find huge selection at King Liquor. But, what’s missing is lots of low-​end stuff that fills out the shelves of bigger stores. The owner told me that she only carries what she’d drink.
As for tequila, I can say that I’ve never found so many brands I’d never seen before. The owner offered to let me sample a couple from Los Altos, which turned out to be a terrific bargain at only $ 23. I also found, on the higher end, some terrific «single field» tequila, which has more of a tequila taste than anything I’ve had before.
So, this is not the place to get a great deal on Jose Cuervo by the gallon, but if you want terrific finds you won’t see elsewhere, and prefer mid to higher end liquors, check out King. I didn’t check out the other categories, but I’ll guess you’d find similar results.

How could I live in such ignorance? I lived next to this liquor store for about 7 months before realizing its greatness.
Everything’s incredibly easy to find; I came specifically for beer, but from my quick glances, there’s great selection for liquor and other things. There’s a load of craft beers and local offerings found here that are either in a) greater variety or b) harder to find in other places.
If you’re reading this review, that means they’ve added more beer refrigerators, increasing their beer selection by 100 brews, coming to around 325 different ⁴⁄₆ packs (I believe). The guy behind the counter told me they’ll have the largest selection in Austin, and they have a deal in place to buy every single beer that comes into town.
I’ll come back soon to check it out, but I sure hope he’s right. It’s a good problem to have too many choices for beer. Cheers!

Me and my boyfriend just moved in the area. We went in to check out the supply and I was surprisingly happy to see my good ‘olé favorite beverage, Lindemans Framboise Beer. The guy behind the counter, Justin was very cool. I saw the beer was on sale and I asked if he was getting rid of it. He said yea because it isn’t a big seller. I convinced him to keep ordering it. I will most def’ buy it. He took my name and number down to let me know when he’ll get more. THAT was very cool of him. He even said that if we had a request for an item he’ll see what they can do. What else could you ask for in your neighborhood liquor store? They even have free tastings on Friday and Saturday… I’m there!

Fantastic selection, great prices, and an extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff. Can’t get much better than that!
Oh, and my husband LOVES the mystery bags of beer that they sell. It’s like Christmas!

I ran out of Johnnie Walker Black and having just moved to Austin did a Unilocal search for liquor near me and found this place. I was expecting it just to be a decent place to pick up a common bottle of scotch, but I was so much more impressed.
First, we walked in to a few local people having a friendly conversation in the front and laughing with each other. We walked back through the scotch selection to find that despite the store being much smaller than most it had pretty much all the scotch selection you could ask for.
Even better, as we walked down the aisle, we saw the beer selection in the back. It’s incredible. I just moved here from Seattle – the land of great microbreweries – and this tiny little store would give all by the absolute best specialty stores in Seattle a run for their money. Better yet, while we browsed, the beery guy – Jeremy – came back and gave us tips on what was local that was good and what he was particularly proud of.
To top everything off, after chatting about beer with a few people for a bit, we were invited to a local bonfire the next night. This is about as good as you can ask any store to be. Good local people, great selection, friendly service and good prices.

This is the best liquor store ever. The staff is great, the selection is fantastic (specifically for the wine — because that’s what I am the most fond of), and the location is perfect. The parking lot is never full, and that’s great because you wanna park nice and close when you have to carry a case of wine (but truth be told, they’ll usually carry it for you if you’re nice :)).
Karen is the go-​to girl for wine suggestions. She has forced some excellent wine on me, and for that I am grateful. The other great thing about them is the price. If you buy a couple bottles, then you get 10% off. 6+ is 15%.
One day I decided that I’d try to go over to Specs (it IS close to my office). Mainly I wanted to get a cheap case. Well, to get a discount, I need to pay cash (I hate paying cash = no points). Additionally, the selection isn’t really all that great. Sure they have MORE wine, but mostly wine that I wouldn’t drink. So, I ended up walking out of there with only a case and paid ~$ 140. When I recalled what I spent when I went over to King Liquor on my 6-​pack, I realized that the price was exactly the same… but at King Liquor I could use my credit card, AND I got excellent service and selection. Oh, the other reason I went for Specs was the chocolate… I’m a lover of dark chocolate — and their selection was weak at best. I didn’t find a single one that got me excited. How on earth that is possible is beyond me: I guess that I have «odd» chocolate tastes? Crazy!
So, a big fat thank you to the staff and selection over at King Liquor (maybe you could pick up some dark chocolate for me? :)). After the ho-​hum experience at Specs, the only place I plan to go for wine is King Liquor. I have also been to other liquor stores for wine… and while they are pretty okay (Twin Liquors, others that I can’t remember names for) — King Liquor by far the best.

I look young. No wait, I look very, VERY young. I look so young I have had my very real ID be such a question a security guard had to confirm that it was in fact a real ID. It’s not that my ID looks like someone else. You can clearly tell that the 4’10″ girls in pigtails with the freckle on the bridge of her nose in the picture is the 4’10″ girl in pigtails with the freckle on the bridge of her nose in front of them is the same person. Its just I look VERY, VERY young. In direct relation because I look so young, I HATE liquor stores.
On a typical date with my boyfriend I spend 20 – 30 minutes making myself cute and pretty. When I go to the liquor store I spend about an hour getting ready. Not so I can flirt with the person at the register and get a discount. I do it because when I go to liquor store I get followed around and watched. Not friendly customer service sales following and watching. I get followed and watched like I look very young, too young to buy alcohol and very likely to steal the alcohol because I look so damn young.
So I dress up for the liquor store. I wear my expensive nice clothes, I dress up my hair and put on a little make-​up. I never wear make-​up. I HATE MAKE-​UP. But I wear it to the liquor store because I hate the liquor store more than I hate make-​up. Which says a lot because at my fathers wedding I tossed a bowl of candy at the make-​up artist who was supposed to make me look ‘natural’ (i did not look natural) and then I refused to put on any make-​up.
Back to to King Liquor, like other liquor stores I was asked to show my ID upon entering, and of course they spent awhile looking at my ID. Then she smiled, handed it back she laughed and said ‘You are so lucky, you will be carded until you’re 50! You are absolutely ADORABLE!’ I said thanks! and wandered off and looked for some rum. Prices are totally reasonable and guess what, I was able to shop around, and actually look at the booze. Most places I get so frustrated with the hawks watching me I just look for the cheapest tag and rush out. I was able to actually browse the selection.
I FINALLY BOUGHT THE BOOZE I WANTED. I was able to go to the liquor store and buy the liquor I wanted.
Today I went to the liquor store, and I spent 3 minutes putting my shoes on and then I left. New cashier, but I was still able to buy the booze I wanted. YAY KING LIQUOR! This is a first for me so I’m so happy to have found my liquor.

Just another scenario where my confidence skyrockets where alcohol is involved. Only this time, it’s not consuming the liquor that is doing it, just buying it.
Everytime I go in here, the same guy is working (gosh, I swear I’ll get his name next time and update my review with it — probably around 25, long hair) and is always so helpful and complimentary. I remember bringing my mom in here once during her need of Jack Daniels, and he was also very nice to her as well.
You know, come to think of it, I’d probably be pretty happy as well, if I were around all that liquor on a daily basis.
They have an awesome liquor (doy), wine and mixer selection. Need liquor? Or anything to do with liquor? Go here, to the King of liquor stores.

I stop by here frequently on my way to bff’s place to pick up some sweet tea vodka for our afternoons by the pool. And yes, they do have a substantial selection of booze (3 kinds of sweet tea vodka!).
But what I love about the place is the guy behind the register. It’s not Dracula anymore, sadly. This is just a good olé boy that also knows his spirits. Like Dracula before him, I think he’s sampled every thing in the store, I’m sure to better assist his customers. It’s what I would do. I’m dedicated like that. Anyway, not only did he give me a taste comparison of the vodkas and how to use them in drinks, but he always calls me Sweetie. I’m at the point in my life where people are starting to call me Ma’am and I don’t like it! I’ll take Sweetie any day. Cause I am. Sweet that is, and I’m glad he can recognize it!
Also, they are now selling a little bit of brilliance (why didn’t I invent this???). It’s «shots to go». So say you are going to a show, or family reunion, or church, what have you. These little bags fit in your pocket and are impossible to detect. Slip that little pouch of vodka in the communion juice and a real miracle will happen, amen (yes, I know I’m the Antichrist… hubby tells me all the time). But Mr King Liquor mentioned he’d probly sell alot of these gems for ACL, and I just wished I had invented this stuff!