Cook Street Village Liquor

No Longer In Business

A more upper scale place in a richer, trendy part of town. Prices are thus much higher than other places. Selection is reasonable, though no better than some of the other upper tier places in town. If you’re going to only go to one or two shops when in Vic, I can’t really recommend it, but they do have a few things others don’t.

Nice boutique like shop in the trendy area of town. Staff was nice for Victoria, but not friendly. Selection was good and prices for some stuff is a little higher than other shops.

Wow. First store I walked into in BC and I was amazed at the selection. A whole shelf of de Molens, Brooklyn Black Ops and loads of other stuff. Then I started looking at the prices and realized how much of a tease all of this was. I had forgotten about the cold beer and wine mark up of $2-3 a bomber. A little ridiculous to pay $8 for a 650 of IPA made down the street when you can get 500 ml of the same beer for $6 across the street at the bar and watch the game. Friendly staff though.

Tucked away just off the main strip of the bustling little Cook St Village lies easily the best cold beer and wine in Victoria, Cook St Liqour. When this place first opened I was extremely happy just to have a CB&W so close to where I live, but had no idea they would take it to the level they are currently at. You can tell the owner(s) of this place are genuinely passionate about bringing in good, high-quality products and their selection seems to get more impressive with each passing week. On top of their unbelievable craft beer selection, their penchant for finding good wine and a very solid wall of scotch seperates this place from the others. It’s almost kind of sad actually that when I go in there I feel like a kid in a candy store, getting wide-eyed over the new stouts they’ve brought in and taking forever as I carefully make my selection. Where some places would look at me like a total weirdo for taking 20 minutes to choose what beer I’m having that night, the staff there is amazing and always up for sharing some laughs as you comb the racks. Also as an added bonus they are very on top of their website and social media letting you know whenever a new product has arrived with a helpful write-up to tell you more about it. All-in-all this is a true Victoria hidden gem and is worth going out of your way for even if you don’t live in town. Highly recommended!!

I was shocked to read about this place in Monday Magazine - it has gained some real notoriety for how fast they’ve built their reputation. I’ll have to agree - as Cook Street Liquor Store DEFINITELY has a better selection than Spinnakers. Some real gems not seen on Vancouver Island too often - like Hitachino Nest and Jolly Pumpkin. Still missing the Dieu du Ciel 6-packs that are available at 6-Mile. Prices are somewhat elevated - in the realm of $0.50 more per bottle than the BCLS ($3 more per 6-pack) but likely in line with the Strath, which I consider the high end. Walked around and saw some real nice European and small choice special BC wines. Overall, I like the accessibility of Cook Street Liquor Store and will try to check in somewhat regularly to see how they progress.