We Tested All the Mail-Order Alcohol Services and These Are the 7 Best
Booze-based subscription services are basically a party in a box. But just like mail-order meal services, there are waaaay too many of them. And not all of them are worth your money—or the waiting required for the mail truck to bring them to your door.
So we took it upon ourselves to sample wine, beer, spirits, and cocktails from stacks of options (on different nights, mind you), decode our notes the day after, and settle on the seven that really deliver.
And we found, in our research, that the markers of a great mail-order alcohol service include three primary things:
The service provides a wide variety of options. Too many subscriptions lure you in with an impressive array of flagship options, but then quickly run dry in terms variability. A good booze-based subscription box deepens your love for the drinks you enjoy and urges you to expand your tastes.
The service is straightforward. That means no complex ingredient steps if you're concocting cocktails. That means no longwinded reading materials if you're taking a tasting tour of wines. That means no fussiness when it comes to sampling spirits. The less B.S. the better.
The service delivers really, really delicious drinks. This, of course, is self-explanatory.
With our criteria out of the way, let's get to the good stuff.
Here are the seven best mail-order alcohol services, ranging from beer to spirits to sake, on the market.
For Beer: Craft Beer Club
Microbrewing still largely a local phenomenon, so if you live in L. A., it’s hard to score beers from Boulder or Asheville. This company ships rare and coveted releases from small U.S. brewers. Styles rotate, but past 12-packs have included porters from Rad Brewing Co. in Indianapolis, brown ales from Back Forty in Birmingham, and Pilsners from Hinterland in Green Bay. $42/month
For Wine: Winc
It's Pandora for vino, taking all the befuddlement out of wine by asking you . . . not about wine. Do a six-question survey (How do you take your coffee?) and Winc ships you four full-sized bottles to sample. It then adjusts its algorithm based on your ratings. So if you favor bold, juicy reds, you might find that you love Spanish Tempranillo and Sicilian Nero d’Avola as much as merlot. From $13/bottle
For Spirits: Flaviar
To keep your liquor cabinet minimalist, Flaviar sends you only one full bottle of a spirit you enjoy (though from a brand you haven’t tried) and a themed sampler of three 50ml bottles to let you branch out. So a box may have a full bottle of limited-release Madre Mezcal and samples from three boutique cognac distilleries, with three totally different flavor profiles. From $95/quarter
For Cocktails: Saloonbox
Turn your living room into a speakeasy (hold the suspenders): Pop open one of these boxes, pull together a cocktail from the pre-measured ingredients provided, and repeat with a second cocktail. Sample drinks: the Antidote (spiced rum, pineapple, coconut cream, nutmeg) and the Birdsong (brown-sugar bourbon, elderflower, marionberry, black pepper). From $49/month
For Sake: Tippsy Sake
If you’re not a fan of fermented Japanese rice wine, you probably haven’t had a sip since you tried it with a California roll 10 years ago. Well, A LOT has changed in the world of sake. A new generation of breweries are breaking long-held traditions to make sake with the depth of whiskey, the spice of gin, and the surprise of tequila. Tippsy is an easy-to-use sake clearing house that has individual bottles for sale, but their hand-picked starter packs are super helpful for newbies. From $93/box
Bonus! A Booze Box—Without the Booze: Shaker & Spoon
Three cocktail recipes from three mixologists, and all the mixers, bitters, and syrups required to make four drinks of each. (You just need to supply the booze.) The box’s ingredients are NA, which means Shaker & Spoon ships to all states. You’ll know in advance which spirit you’ll need, so all you have to do is pick up the alcohol and invite your friends over. From $40/month
This article originally appeared in the May 2020 issue of Men's Health.
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