The Oak Barrel

Great bottle shop if you like craft beers! A tad more expensive than some of the chain bottle shops, but way more selection. Very knowledgeable staff. I told the guy what kind of beer I like, and mentioned a few Australian brews that I had read about, and we discussed them a bit. Then he showed me a few other beers that he thought I would like, based on what I had told him. I bought several, then we had a beer tasting back at our hotel. He did not steer me wrong — I really liked most of the beers we tried, and it made it easier to buy beer I would like for the rest of my stay in other parts of Australia.

There is so much hype about this place, I have to start by saying I don’t think it’s entirely justified, at least on the wines and spirits side. Bearing in mind my interest in craft beers is relatively low, and this seems to be their largest selection, this may not apply if that’s what you are looking for. Also, I tend to react badly to unwarranted hype, so this review might be slightly negatively tinged.
There’s a small selection of wines from a wide variety of regions, and it’s relatively well chosen. For example, they had Madiran and Cahors in the French section, two good alternatives to a powerful Bordeaux which are rarely seen abroad. I’m not that familiar with Australian names, yet recognized many of the labels, so maybe the Australian selection is more oriented towards brands.
You can also walk over to their walk in closet for «prestige» wines or whatever they called it. But it’s smaller than it looks as half of it seems to be an out of bounds storage area. To give you an idea, I was looking for something from 1985 and there were only two bottles matching that year — a Viognier and… an armagnac.
As seems to be the trend in the city these days, many very old Australian ports could also be found for modest prices. I love this because I love old ports and, well, good luck finding something 40 years old for $ 50 in Europe. Australian old ports seems to be the last pocket of affordability for red wines.
For a place reputed for its whisky selection I was quite disappointed. There were only a few options of each; for example, maybe 4 rums (although Rivière du Mat is not to be laughed at — sure beats the usual solera scam). The Japanese section had a few Chichibus, which is understandable as they are gaining in popularity, and the usual «classics» at the now normal sky high prices. More interestingly, there was also a Mars Iwai wine cask finish; I bought the same bottle for about $ 18 at Hasegawa in Tokyo a year ago so was surprised to see it for as much as $ 125! I really don’t like it personally, but if there is a market at that price maybe I should crate a few and arbitrage… Anyway. I was not that happy to see that the clear spirits took as much shelf space as the brown ones.
Service was good, not just taking care of taste and occasion but also talking about things like wine storage conditions. (I’m somewhat spoiled by having spent many years next to a wine shop held by the former sommelier of the only restaurant in the world to have gotten ²⁰⁄₂₀ in the Gault et Millau, and his exceptional advice has become the standard to reach.)
So… I think the hype is unjustified, but this is a decent place to buy a bottle if you are in the area.

Totally awesome bottle shop in Sydney for craft beer, wine, and bourbon.
I interacted with several staff members here, including my namesake (well I don’t know his last initial), and they were all wonderful. Knowledgeable about the beer and wine they carry. Willing to make suggestions and have a conversation. Totally unpretentious about directing me to good wine within my budget.
The BEER selection is truly outstanding. Fantastic craft beers from what looked like every craft brewery in Australia. Also quite a good selection from around the world with a generous selection of US microbrews (which are $$$$). Ian knew his way around all of them and happily made some recommendations.
The WINE selection is also quite a pleasure. Their Australian wines avoid all the big producers that you might find in either your local bottle shop or even the wine-​focused chains. Lots of small producers. Decent selection from around the world as well with a broad range of price points. They even had my very favorite German riesling, which is not an easy find.
I spent less time checking out the hard LIQUOR, but they have quite a broad whiskey, bourbon, and rye selections. Prices are pretty insane… even compared to communist Canada, but then again, I haven’t comparison shopped, and at least for the bourbons are tricky to find.
It appears they have a nice program of TASTINGS and SEMINARS, but alas I wasn’t able to attend any of them. Definitely seems worth a membership if you’re local.
I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this as one of the best bottle shops I’ve been in around the world, and definitely the #1 I experienced by far in Sydney.

Very enjoyable bottle shop with regular tasting events for wine, whisky and beer.

A very large selection of beer and a great location.

Been meaning to review this place for ages. I signed up as a member some years ago, it cost about $ 30 from memory, you get 10% off purchases.
Paid me back in a week.
I was in here t’other day and there’s a bloke flogging Lebanese beer… made from chamomile sumac anise mint and a bunch of other spices. In Lebanon.
Only at the Oak Barrel would that happen.
Every Thursday someone is flogging /​tasting something, be it ancient whiskey, toxic burn your teeth off rum, wine, beer, metho… only the good stuff, vintage metho of course from the cool climate metho areas, like um… OK… there’s no metho. Sorry.
This is where I found Feral Breweries Hop Hog, an India Pale Ale. I have never seen it any where else, and I have looked.
My first Châteauneuf-​du-​Pape, my first Puligny Montrachet. All with guidance from blokes who don’t make me feel like an idiot just because I can’t taste lanolin in an aged riesling — my explanation is that I have never eaten a woollen jumper.
I have had plenty of laughs with the blokes in here, they’re as happy taking the piss as getting on it.
This is the only grog shop for me — it’s an absolute pearler.
I now have a fridge full of Lebanese Spiced Beer which BTW is amazing! — 904 I think its called — the boys will find it for you if you ask for «that spice beer from Lebanon» but don’t ask for the case of cold ones out the back — that’s mine.

With the closure of the Ultimo Wine Centre, the Oak Barrel is without a doubt one of the best liquor shops in the city. They have a wide range of wine, including plenty of international stuff (not just the usual suspects), and an excellent selection of single malt. I especially like how they have short reviews of a whole lot of the wines, some of which are very entertaining to read. Friendly staff, too.

I came here via a Unilocal event and couldn’t have enjoyed it more. It wasn’t a typical «bottle shop»; they had a free tasting at the front counter for passerbys and the event I attended was near the back. «Birra e cibo»! The staff present were super knowledgeable and pleasant, the main speaker was an Aussie lady who specialized in Italian beer. What a concept! Had never tasted such a thing until tonight and we were schooled in lots of things beer. Couldnt be more happier to spend two hours anywhere else. Keep an eye out for these events — definitely worth it!

Great selection and customer service! Out of all the place that I’ve been in Sydney, they were a memorable stop.

I came to the Oak Barrel for a tasting event for Unilocal which was great, but the Oak Barrel itself is a great find. Independent and bristling with our two hundred single malt whiskys (my favourite), it’s rare to get into a liquor store and find such a wealth of both information and enthusiasm about the products they collect.
A great range of other products on offer such as organic wines and a fantastic range of micro-​brews, both beer and ciders, round out their store collection. They have a full range of Australian single malts as well — not hard as there aren’t too many — but rare to see many in one place.
The guys behind the registers are quite passionate and knowledgeable about their product, so if you plan on going in and asking a question, plan to stay for a while. They also host a few tasting events throughout the year — the whiskey one is on later in August 2012. I wasn’t expecting much when I went in, but now I know whats there, I’ll be back.

What a great bottle shop. This ain’t your typical neighbourhood drive-​thru. They’ve got the good stuff here, whether that «stuff» is an imperial stout, a fine whisky, top-​shelf tequila, or a wine worth laying down for a few years. I can’t think of a better place in the CBD to browse and buy all the sorts of booze they’ve got.
And they’re big on appreciating the finer things. They have regular tasting events (cheaper if you’re a member) for wine and whisky. And, recently, their first Craft Beer & Cider Fair. I was lucky enough to go and found it to be a lot of fun.
They have function rooms at the back for these events. They’re not fancy, definitely emphasising the «functional». But they assembled a great bunch of microbrewery producers from Australia and abroad for the Fair, and they ran it smoothly, with food and security and the whole bit. Very cosy, but well done, not at all pretentious or shabby.
The Oak Barrel is a great setup for those who’d like some quality options for their drinking.
EDIT: 14-​June-​12. I’m revising the rating up to 5 stars. I went last night for a wine tasting event that was absolutely fantastic. You can see the review for that here:

Now, there is pretty much no booze I don’t enjoy (actually, there is one: fernet. Yeucch) but there is a special place in my black heart for dark spirits, and — good lord! — the range these chaps have.
They’ve got rums and ryes and bourbons and malts up the wazoo, every kind of conceivable small batch, artisan and limited run I’ve ever seen, and many I hadn’t. There are wild bottles with pewter race horses sitting atop the stopper and ceramic gourds the shape of flying saucers, it’s a boozer’s heaven in here. They’ve got a wall dedicated to craft beers, microbrews and ciders, and a gigantic selection of wines with a particular focus on Australian drops.
And the staff aren’t just pretty faces. .. there is some serious knowledge ticking about this place. Oh, and even better? The Oak Barrel is fully independent, in fact it’s one of Sydney’s oldest independent bottle-o’s. No big soulless chains here, fellow drinkers.
This is everything the discerning drinker could possibly want.

I love this place. They have a great selection and their staff is super helpful. There’s very little of the wine shop pretension, yet the guys working there seem to really know their stuff.
Like I said, their wine selection is great. They have a wide variety from all over the world, but the selection is curated so it’s manageable. There is also a range from expensive to inexpensive, and they have some of the best inexpensive wines I’ve had in Australia!
They have events (tastings, classes, etc.) around wine, beer, and spirits. They look cool and I will check em out… the tequila tasting sounds particularly interesting.