Eclectic inventory at couple’s liquor shop

It’s not the selection of more than 300 spirits and 1,600 wines that first caught my attention at Hargrove’s Fine Wine & Spirits. It was the stylish brassy light fixtures and a rolling ladder reminiscent of an ancient English library that let me know owners William and Amber Hargrove had opened a different kind of liquor store.

The couple launched the new business in late June in The Boardwalk on Broadway just south of Hildebrand. It’s snug at 1,600 square feet but appointed in a way that seems more like peering into a classy friend’s home liquor cabinet than browsing a store.

“I don’t want to be the biggest. I want to be the best,” William Hargrove said of the shop. “I wanted a boutique feel. We’re like the Saks of the liquor store world.”

For customers, that translates to a curated inventory veering toward the rare and unusual, although Hargrove’s has respectable bottles at all price points.

If you want a 25-year-old Macallan single malt or a big Napa Valley red from Harlan Estate — both cross the fourfigure mark — Hargrove’s can deliver. If it’s a less pedigreed but equally intriguing option from a niche producer you seek, there are plenty of options you won’t see in larger stores for $50 or less.

But to my mind, the biggest perk is this: If I walk through the door, I’ll find an owner behind the counter. Because they hand-picked every item in the store, I know they can steer me right when it comes to a smart pairing or innovative cocktail. And if it isn’t on the shelf, no worries.

“We place special orders all the time,” Hargrove said. “When a customer wants something, we’ll get it.”

Paul Stephen / Staff Hargrove’s Fine Wine & Spirits offers rare and unusual (as well as respectable) bottles at all price points.