When Chris made his bikie customer cry, he wondered what the payback would be.

Dozer Wallace looks like your quintessential hard man. But as Chris Dzodzos discovered, inside, he’s pure marshmallow.

Of course Chris didn’t know this the first time Dozer walked into his Liquor Barons store. He initially thought, “Here comes trouble,” and tried to get Dozer on his way by helping him choose a gutsy Australian red (a Pirathon by Kalleske Barossa Shiraz) to share down at the club house.

Dozer obviously enjoyed the recommendation and became a regular, so Chris signed him up for the free Liquor Barons Club so he could earn points to redeem for beer, spirits or that Pirathon he was so fond of. That’s how Chris discovered Dozer’s real name was Leslie and his birthday was August 6.

Chris and his team built up quite a friendship with Dozer/Leslie. By the time August rolled around, Chris decided to acknowledge Dozer’s birthday with a card and a bottle of Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot (it’s not expensive, but it’s a ripper red). From Dozer’s reaction, you’d have thought someone had given him a custom Harley. While Dozer will deny it to this day, Chris saw actual tears well up in his eyes. One little tear in the left eye was even brave enough to slide down Dozer’s stubbly cheek.

Chris wasn’t sure whether it was a wise thing to make a bikie cry; he didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

Two weeks later a young guy, who definitely didn’t need any more alcohol, started creating a ruckus when Chris gently refused to sell him bourbon. Dozer was in the store and used his powers of persuasion to get the man to step outside and calm down.

But the story doesn’t end there.

The next morning, while Chris was trialling some unusual imported beers (English Banana Bread Beer anyone?) in walks the now sober troublemaker. He had come to apologise for his behaviour the night before; an absolute first in Chris’s 20-year history as a Liquor Baron. Apology accepted the conversation turned to bourbon. Chris even introduced him to Buffalo Trace, bourbon so smooth it demands to be sipped slowly. (If your local Liquor Baron doesn’t have it, they’ll happily order it in for you.)

Like Chris, all Liquor Barons take pride in getting to know their customers personally. That’s because the guy who runs the store usually owns the store. Liquor Barons aren’t a soulless chain; we are a co-operative of independent stores that use our combined buying power to secure you great prices. Every store is tailored to reflect the tastes of its community. In Chris’s case, that means hunting down Shiraz that brings a tear to the eye.