John Walker & Company

John Walker Please Come Back!
I love this store and was disappointed going in to buy goodies for my crew. More information can be found here:
Open those doors please!

wow, what’s happened to this place? Safeway has a better selection and prices.

If you want to talk to someone who knows their wine and knows the full spectrum of wines, meaning wines that are $ 15 bucks to $ 115, then please call on John Walker. I always get someone on the phone who knows their inventory and knows how to stand behind their selections.
Do not be fooled by the tiny boutique-​like store and décor. They are very friendly and very approachable in here and can be very easy on your wallet if that is what you need.
I also consistently count on them to deliver cheese and salumi platters for clients who are working late into the night. They never disappoint. I am always happy to give my business to them.
The only point I would raise is their champagne inventory is a little… unpredictable. About a year ago, they sold me this amazing bottle of Canard Duchene. *foot stomp!*. I received so much great feedback on this champagne! It’s unreal! So yea they don’t carry this anymore. Now I am on to Tattinger but they have been out of stock for a while so I had to move to yet another. But I wouldn’t take away any stars just for this. I understand they are a smaller operation compared to the chains. It’s just a bit of feedback to be aware of in case they are reading.

My SO and I were walking around FiDi and stumbled upon this place. I saw the Unilocal Sticker and giggled to myself knowing I may be walking into a great find. You know what? I was right! Thanks Unilocal!
Drinking was considered enjoyable, so loosely, plenty of people would unwind for a good drink. Of course, laws came into play and prohibition began after the 30’s, it wasn’t easy to handle bootlegging and people would find speakeasies, requiring to give a password just for a taste of fine whiskey or a bottle of wine. After finding that one true place that still runs more than 70 years, I came walking into the oldest wine and spirits store in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district, John Walker & Company.
I spoke to the store owners for quite sometime after browsing their selection. I’m surprised with the stories they do tell. In case you didn’t know, it’s a family run business until now. Called Waldorf Liquors in the 30’s but changed to it’s current name, I am amazed at their knowledge with many of the spirits and wines. Well carried over the years, supplying many high quality products, I was guided through the variety they had… such as premium vodka, rum, cognac, and of course, whiskey! There are things in there that you won’t be able to find at BevMo. Nothing beats a good drink but a fine aftertaste for a bottle of liquor after so many years.
The John Walker & Company definitely kept up their reputation by offering customers nothing but the best! I know for sure, if I need to buy a bottle of champagne, wine, or something else to drink with the company of my friends or family, I can trust these guys to do the job.
Also, they do supply their hard-​to-​find products by offering deliveries from all over the world. Impressive! It’s quite expensive compared to BevMo, but worth the trip or buying their products online. Save yourself some money by signing up on their email updates and sales on their products including new stuff that comes into their store on a daily basis. Too bad they don’t expand their store for more NEW inventory since they say it’s hard to store the good stuff. Something you don’t want to pass up if you’re a hardcore drinker too!

The service here is awesome. Ask anyone for help and they’ll go above and beyond. They have free gift wrapping which is great and convenient for quick gifts. The major downside is that things are quite a bit overpriced, but I guess that’s what you get in financial district.

The good: they have an amazing selection of whiskeys. They will special order hard-​to-​find whiskeys (like George T. Stagg). The bad: Across the board, their prices are 10−20% higher than other stores. The ugly: If they special order one of said hard-​to-​find whiskeys and you don’t pick it up in 24 hours, they will sell it to someone else without calling you. I’m very impressed with the selection, but the prices and treatment I received is preventing me from shopping there again.

Great selection, helpful staff with spot-​on suggestions. The place looks a bit stiff from the outside, but don’t be fooled — there are regular folks in there who know their business. Stop in — you will never consider BevMo a liquor store again.

Yeah, they’re slightly pricey but look where they’re doing business and the selection and service merit paying just a bit more like a lot of things in life (otherwise we’d all be wearing Crocs on our feet ²⁴⁄₇).
I bought 3 – 4 bottles of excellent scotch for a scotch-​drinker. Being that I know nothing about scotch other than to throw around the «peaty» expression I put myself John Walker’s hands and my gift «wow’d» the recipient. Looking like a rock star to a friend is also worth paying a little more.

I live in Chicago and found a bottle of wine that I had been looking for for some time. So I am all excited and this John Walker seems great. Went through the website and saw some other stuff I may order down the road. Here I think I’ve found a great «go-​to» online merchant.
I come to Unilocal to read reviews to make sure this place is legit. Upon reading the reviews I decide to place my order for 4 bottles of wine online for a total of $ 160. I get an email receipt right back and I am so excited. This was back on March 3^rd.
Well here we are on March 22^nd and still no wine, no updates, no anything! I have tried calling their store twice only to have the ability to leave 2 voice mails in their customer service mailbox with zero response. Now their website seems to be completely down.
What a total joke. If you are going to be an online merchant have the courtesy to return a call when someone has placed an order.
Now I have to sit and waste time disputing a charge with my bank.
All I really wanted was my 4 bottles of wine. No matter how this turns out they’ve lost what would’ve been a good customer in me.

I signed up for Unilocal to «yelp» about this.
I receive gift of wine purchased from John Walker by my boss. Excitedly, I invite girlfriend over to share said wine for a girls night. We open wine and find a smelly, bitter wine with bad cork and foil.
I then proceed to take photos of the bottle and cork. In disgust and disappointment, I pour the wine down the drain, wrap the bottle to exchange at a later date I can get to this place. Girls night continues, sans quiet night in with wine. Hello, NOPA… We forget about the incident for the time being.
A few weeks later, I have a free moment and bring the bottle in, walking the few blocks from my office. I explain to shop girl what happened and she seems responsive, says she will check the back for a replacement. I wait up front for what feels like 10 minutes. She comes back and says, oh sorry, you see, this is an empty bottle. Normally, «people» bring back the wine so we can smell it and replace it.
This may be true, snobs, but this is not what I did. Have I ever wasted my time to bring back wine? No. I am inexperienced at this commonly known procedure. Could they have cut me a break as I took the time to bring it to work, then walk it over? Yes, I think so.
If this is supposed to be some higher end small business, then they should go above and beyond for exceptional customer service. These people suck.
It was a gift, okay? It wasn’t even worth me arguing over, so I left in frustration. Gave them their shitty empty bottle and stormed out.
If you don’t want to be waited on by a-​holes, then you should go somewhere else.

«Don’t judge a book by its cover.»
I am reminded of that expression every time I go into John Walker & Company. From the outside, I would assume that the prices were out of my reach and the service snooty, but neither assumption could be further from the truth.
John Walker is inclusive, not exclusive. Yes, you can buy a $ 100 bottle of wine here, but you can also buy a $ 10 bottle, and you will be treated with the same level of service and friendliness either way.
Why buy here and not in the liquor aisle at the supermarket? This is one of those old-​fashioned, independently-​owned, service-​driven businesses that we should be supporting. Remember how sad we all were when Stacey’s Books closed?
I really like that I can just stroll in and announce: «I need a red that’s interesting and full-​bodied enough to stand on its own without food and I only want to spend $ 20», and a few minutes later walk out with my carefully-​packaged bottle and a free mini-​lesson on choosing wine. Very nice!

Higher prices than Bevmo but you truly are getting what you pay for.
First off, it’s in the financial district so your options are limited of where to go. And I am sure the rent is not cheap there. I have been to John Walker several times and always walked away satisfied. The store is small and the selection is some what limited but you get the feel that every bottle they carry is selected to be there for a reason.
On my latest trip I was looking for a nice Bourbon to sip on before my holiday party. The gentlemen was able to help me select one that was in my price range and that didn’t have as much fire as Makers Mark.
My suggestion is if you really know what you want then hit up Bevmo. But if you want to try something new and don’t want to take the plunge of buying something without an informed decision then take advantage of the staff at John Walker.

«Good drinks, with bad prices!»
The good:
A competent selection of all sorts of good drinkables. Nothing really rare, or interesting, in my areas of interest, but then I am a weirdo who drinks Sherry and Madeira despite being neither 90 nor British.
The bad:
Prices are between 10 and 70% higher than most other liquor stores. Granted, most other liquor stores are not in the Financial District. Is saving 20 $ worth a 10 block walk?
If you’re in the financial district, and need a bottle NOW! and don’t mind paying extra, I suppose this is exactly the right place.

John Walker has the feel of a country liquor store set in Connecticut, but it’s centrally located in the hustle and bustle of FiDi/​Union Square. I imagine that they’re hurting a bit as storefronts along this stretch are sadly emptying out. Prices are higher than other shops in the area and significantly higher than BevMo (about 20% for my preferred liquor), but that is the price you pay to shop smaller businesses. Another flaw is that I think they should offer a broader range of chilled wines. I work in advertising, and my job regularly drives me to drink. I would appreciate more of a selection for last minute entertaining/​indulging.
Other than that, the selection of liquors is very broad and and the staff is always helpful.

Great selection without the overwhelming selections at the Wine Club, BevMo, or other places. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Ran in yesterday to pick up a chilled bottle of white wine for my wife and her hairstylist. Not a big selection of chilled wines, but a good mix of availability. After dropping off the wine, and having a glass, I returned back here to get a couple bottles for me 0 a nive Van Winkle bourbon and a Hanger One vodka.
Liquor prices here are a little higher than at the larger stores. So I don’t come here too often. But every time I am here, I leave happy with my purchases. Wine prices are pretty much in line with similar stores.

I didn’t know about this place. After wandering around for half the day, I made my way to Zubio for a chair massage. Afterwards, they asked me to pick a raffle ticket out of a bowl. I won $ 10 to John Walker & Co. gift card, Hell Yeah, so the masseuse pointed me in the right direction. It was only a couple of door down from the Crocker Galleria.
When you first walk in, its a bit intimidating. I didn’t know what I was looking at but the store has an amazing selection. As I wandered up and down the rows without a clue on what to get. I had to pick up a bottle for party I was having and at the request of one friend to have a «sweet white wine». The sales associate who let me look for a bit came over and asked if I needed help. hhhmmm YES. So he directs me to what he thinks my friend would like.
He rang me up and took my gift card. He was very nice and pleasant we ended up having another 10 minute conversation about driving down to S. CA where my party would be. He wrapped up the bottle in cardboard when I told him I had other bottles I would transporting and told him about other items I had. He nodded his head in approval.
There was no pressure to sell me something way over my budget, after all, I was bringing many other bottles with me. I will be back when the occasion arises for me to bring gift of booze to parties or for birthdays.

I’ve known Mike Hogan for years now. If I wasn’t scoring pocket shots before Giants, Cal Bear, or Raider games, I was perusing his wide variety of wines and spirits.
The staff is always ready to educate you about what wineries are popular and bottles to select, they have world class selections for any price range.
If you are downtown in the financial district shopping or pampering yourself at the Crocker Galleria Plaza, make sure you pick up a nice bottle or case of bottles for your home bar at John Walker and Company.

Decent selection, good prices and helpful staff. They ordered a bottle for me that was out of stock and called me when it was in, and then re-​ordered it for me and called me again when I didn’t react soon enough and someone else wanted it (we’re talking 3’s or 4’s of days here).
Although this store gets high marks for what it does well, it’s not everything *I* want so it gets a 3. The staff was not overwhelmingly knowledgeable, which might be inevitable when selling the full variety of liquors (rather than focusing on, say, whiskeys). This isn’t to say they’re *un*knowledgeable — they’re just not nerds about it. They’re more than capable of making a good recommendation to the casual drinker or gift-​buyer. On a similar note, the selection, while wide, isn’t particularly deep. Again, this is probably a function of being a small shop selling a variety of spirits.

Always walk by and do some window shopping here, but never a walk through. Today was the day and just as I feared, I wanted to buy the store.
OMG, I couldn’t believe the array of rare finds. I even found what I was looking for, the green fairy, opalescent muse, bottled madness, the essence of life, or whatever you want to call it, I found it here at John Walker & Co.
I’ll have to write a separate review on my new friend, la Fe Verte while under his influence.
The staff is attentive, friendly, helpful.

I love this place.
They deliver people. They DELIVER. Nobody else that I know of has a great selection and delivers in the Financial District.
This is who keeps the office fridge stocked with nice beers and booze, which plays no small role in keeping me functionally sane on most days.
Sure, it’s about $ 9 for a bottle of beer. But the firm is paying, so who cares, right? ;p