Jenna J.
Yelp
Sure, Barrel House has one of the better selections of liquors in the downtown/Dupont/Shaw areas, but at what price comes that selection, I ask?
The good side is the wide selection, wide enough for any moderately stocked home bar. You won't find any fine or specialty ingredients there (like french-made Creme de Framboise, or Allspice Dram, etc.), but you will find all of the basics, including every available flavor of DeKuyper schnapps,with such perennial favorites as Pucker Up and RazzMaTazz. So, its good in a pinch if you're looking to make some basic cocktails.
However, the service is...challenged, to put it nicely. No one who works there seems to be even moderately fluent in English, and on top of it, are unfamiliar with alcohol. I mean, even if English isn't your first language, if you work in a liquor store, won't you learn the difference between orange curacao, triple sec, and creme de cacao? You would think yes, but in the case of Barrel House, it is a resounding "no!" I exaggerate not, but not ONCE in the 25 or so times I have been in that store, have the guys behind the counter been able to pick up the right bottle of liquor for me, even when I'm pointing directly at it and saying the name very clearly. Not once. There is inevitably an awkward dance across the shelves as they pick up and put down several different bottles, until I, leaning over the counter, nearly touch the one I want. My boyfriend, upon picking up beer, has experienced the same problem on every occasion he has went there.
So yeah, go if you're in need, but be prepared for some serious annoyance.