Peacock Liquors

great liquor store. the cats, jake and garth, are classic hard core chicago grimy ass holdin it down cats like radley from empty bottle (RIP).

An amazing place. Quiet, down to earth, divey, full of regulars, with very nice staff. Garth the cat was very friendly, and spent his time working the room endearing himself to everyone at the bar. Old Style on draft was very inexpensive. There was a nice selection of European liquors. Also, they sell Malort. Well done.

I have actually NEVER been in the peacock to sit down and drink @ the bar, but it seems like it would be the perfect chill spot to get away and drink for $ 20!
i run through there all the time to grab a 12pack before hitting a party and there is always people in there.

Love it. Great bar in the back where you can kick back, watch a game, chat with locals, and down the Old Styles. (I hope you like Old Style, because that’s the only draft option.) Had a great time here one night with a friend after a Cubs game. We were there for five minutes and two dudes at the bar started friendly conversation, and one of them shared a gigantic pizza with everyone at the bar. Terrific little corner dive.

I’m officially the first person from Chicago to review Peacock. Awesome. Peacock is a pretty cool liquor store on a stretch of Montrose that has more shitty convenient stores than I could ever imagine in one place (none of which, of course, sell alcohol). We didn’t even notice it at first, really. Sure, the sign that says «Peacock Liquors» is pretty flashy, but the «Liquors» part is small.
It looked like they had a pretty decent selection so we went in. Turns out, it’s a dive. In the greatest way possible. There’s a lot of beer just kind of stacked around in front of a really small cooler area. There isn’t very much cold beer (definitely no Miller or Bud as far as I could tell) but there were a lot of six packs like Sam Adams, Goose Island, etc. that were chilled and reasonably priced. They had a lot of warm 12 and 24-​packs of beer but nothing chilled so don’t get your hopes up. They had a HUGE selection of bottled liquor behind the counter near the front of the store so you’ll be able to find something.
And in the back — awesome! — there’s a bar. The kind of bar where a few locals hang out because they’re the only ones who know this place even has a place to sit and have a drink. The owner/​bartender was a super nice fellow and everyone seemed to be having a good time in their normal hang out. Beware: there were only like five seats at that bar, so this isn’t a place to come with a huge group. I will definitely come back here to buy some beer before I go to my friend’s new apartment in the area. Also, CASH ONLY. Even if you buy a ton of liquor, there’s no way to pay with plastic so make sure you stop at an ATM before you come.
Oh, and the owner’s cat hangs out sleeping on the counter in the front near the cash register. He was super cute and curled up in a ball, sleeping. I love cats, especially the kind that hang out in stores.

Don’t let the flashy neon sign in front of the Peacock fool you — this is one of the least ostentatious watering holes around. If you choose to take the plunge and open the door, inside is a carefully preserved old-​school full-​service liquor store, with carafes of who-​knows-​how-​old-​they-​are Paul Masson «Burgundy», bottles of Taylor Claret (more likely from the ‘70s), and bottles of Slivovitz. But look past the sticky shelf tags with their reasonable prices and you’ll start noticing a few more details: a sleeping cat, curled in a ball, next to the cigarette display, liquor cabinets built at least 50 years ago with windows into their contents, and one of the most charming back-​room bars this side of prohibition.
I should correct myself a bit — the bar in back is remarkable and charming not because of what it has but rather because of what it doesn’t have. There’s no artisan beer on draft, there’s no selection of hand-​made tequilas, there’s no wickedly expensive single malt scotch just waiting for a high roller to come in and rescue it. There’s no pool table, no darts, no hipster crowd, no DJ spinning discs on a Thursday night. There’s just Old Style on draft and in bottles, plenty of it, next to all your favorite call and well-​drink mixers and shots, served for a fraction of the price you’d pay anywhere else, yet still served in glass. And a bar with seating for about 12, standing room for about 20, a jukebox, and two adequate rest rooms to handle all your post-​drinking needs. Of course there’s the vintage wood bar, still done up for the holidays at the end of January. Service is friendly and cordial.
If you have a birthday but aren’t quite sure of what to do with yourself, head over the peacock, hand the barkeep $ 100 or so of your well-​earned dollars, and invite your pals over to enjoy your tab. You’ll be surprised to see how far it goes.

This place is just waiting for you to have a party. There are boxes and boxes of beer and liquor stacked in the front ready to go. The front is the liquor shop and if you walk all the way to the back you’ll find the bar where you can actually sit down and order a drink. And you can pick up food at Angelo’s a block away on your way home.

Peacock Liquors is one of the most magical places I have had the pleasure of visiting in this great city. While I’ve actually never purchased liquor from the storefront, the real joy is in the bar in the back. The owners are the sweetest bunch of sweethearts, it seems that Jackson is always playing on the jukebox, and the beer is cheap and delicious.