Keg N Bottle - West Loop

Mike 5 months ago

I recently read a review that prompted me to visit this store to see their selection firsthand since I live close by. Unfortunately, my experience today mirrored what was described in that review. For a small, family-owned business, I was disappointed by the level of customer service. The prices were higher than expected, and the overall attitude I encountered made the experience unpleasant. As someone who regularly spends a significant amount on bourbon, I would have been happy to support this store, but the customer service made that unlikely. For others considering a visit, there are nearby alternatives with better pricing and service, such as Binny’s or West Town Liquors. Dont waste your time, pass on this place, its a joke. They think they are special, hope your "allocated" bottles get dustier.

Evin Vinson a year ago

One thing I will say about this place, if you’re a person of color, maybe this isn’t the place for you. I walked in here looking to see if they had any interesting bottles I might want to pick up for my whiskey collection. They looked like they had a good selection from the outside. I walked in and the guy at the counter asked what I was looking for and I said “something interesting”. And that was it. No other engagement unless i directly asked a question. I wouldn’t think anything of it, except a white guy walks in right after me. The guy at the counter asked him what was he looking for, and the guy said “something good”. The same type of answer I give, except the guy behind the counter proceeds to engage. “Well what do you consider good?”, “what do you typically like to drink?”, “what are your go to’s?”. The employee behind the counter and a second employee proceed to engage the other customer for the entire duration I was there. They got to know where he’s from, the different bourbons he’s had and everything, and for the entire time I was there I was ignored unless i specifically asked something. They didn’t ask if I was finding everything okay, if they could help me, what I liked, nothing. The stark contrast back to back made me feel like they didn’t value me as a customer and didn’t feel like they needed provide me any customer service. If that wasn’t enough, the prices of the place rival the secondary market. If you tour the store, you’ll notice they don’t have prices up for the most part. That is likely for a reason. I asked about a bottle of Bookers they had on the self, and I was told it was $150. The MSRP on Bookers is $99. You can get Bookers at Binnys for about $100. You can get it at Jewels for $110. I understand that everyplace has to make money, but a 50% mark up is wild. They did have a 2 bottles of Michters Rye 10 years, which is impressive. The MSRP on that bottle is $200. Is this a hard bottle to find? Yes. Do I expect a mark up in a store? Absolutely. But they priced this bottle at $400 with 3 bottles of regular Michters. That’s secondary prices that you can find online regularly, and that’s on the high end. A lot of times, that bundle is $350 at online retailers. So they are expecting patrons to pay between above 50% MSRP to be treated like they don’t even exist. You can just go to Binnys, or a number of different liquor stores in the city to get better prices and better customer service. I’ll give them 2 starts for the selection alone, but the customer service really makes it feel like they only want certain people shopping there, and the prices makes it feel like they only want to cater to novice who don’t know how to shop for good bottles. Edit: in response to your reply Anthony. I was quoted a price from your employee for $150 for a bottle of Bookers. I agree that $110 would be a fair price considering that it only comes out a few times a year. But that is the problem with not having prices listed. I asked your store clerk and he gave me a price of $150. An easy way to make sure that mistake (I hope it was only a mistake) is to have the prices listed on the shelves. Then if a clerk gives the wrong price, the customer has something to reference. And I would appreciate if you didn’t insinuate that I was “inaccurate” in my description of my experience in your store.

Sebastian Konja 3 months ago

Great customer service and wonderful selection of bottles for daily and special occasions. Highly recommend.

Nick a year ago

This place is awesome if you like whiskey. They’ve got a ton of options—Scotch, bourbon, and Irish. Prices are decent, and the shelves are neat and easy to look through. The staff was super friendly and helped me pick a bottle when I couldn’t decide. Found a few favorites and some new ones to try. Definitely recommend stopping by if you want a good selection!

Michael Wieland a year ago

Ordered a bottle online to pick up at their West Loop location. I was informed after ordering that the bottle was only available for pickup in their California locations. Matt (absolutely top notch responsiveness and communication), in their customer service department, informed me that he would include my bottle in a shipment he was sending out to Chicago so I could avoid paying the shipping cost. I am very happy with the service (even if it took a little longer to get here). Definitely hit this place up. Awesome selection and great store.