D'Artagnan's Cellar

Having seen the sign for several years, I finally wandered into D'Artagnan's Cellar today. It's in a strip mall in Glenview, and it looks less than imposing from the outside, but it's pretty exciting inside. They say the specialize in Armagnac, Cognac, single malt Scotch, and fine cigars, but that's just the beginning of what they offer. They only have high-end stuff, but if that's what you're looking for, this place is a real treat. They have a lot of dessert wines -- I picked up a nice bottle of Monbazillac 2002 today, but they also have old ports, icewines, and sauternes (including, of course, Chateau d'Yquem). There were some fabulous high-end wines, such as a Chateau Margaux that caught my eye. But the thing that makes it fun is that you can try most of the stuff. The ownder, Paul Bauman, doesn't open the great wines, because they turn too quickly, but he has all the dessert wines, cognacs, scotches, ports, and other more resilient beverages available for sampling -- and he serves them in real glasses, not little plastic cups.

It's a small shop, but if you're into rarer or more interesting (and expensive) wines, this is a great place to shop. Sure, Binny's may have some of these great wines, but they're not being offered at their wine tastings, and you have to wade through a lot of stuff to get to them. Here, the best is all they have. I certainly won't be shopping there weekly, but it was a fun stop for some Christmas cheer.

D'Artagnan's Cellar
Carillon Square
1486 N. Waukegan Rd.
Glenview, IL 60025
847-998-0303

Like Cynthia, I stumbled into to D'artagnan's cellar. I must have visited Carillon Square (just north of Lake Street on Waukegan Road on the way to fRedhots) a hundred times, and never knew of this place. But it has been in business for 15 years. Unless you look closely it is not immediately apparent that it is a liquor store - and a small, quirky, specialized one with an fascinating owner - Paul Bauman - filled with stories, and more than willing to share tastes of high end specialty liquors and wines (and cognacs, single malt scotch and cigars). I didn't purchase anything today, but I plan to return for the specialty gins.

Glad to see someone else found this place. I think it's a gem.