Why Join A Whisky Of The Month Club | Liquor Subscription
After writing about the best wine clubs available online, we decided to find the best whiskey of the month club on the web. We love wine, but we think variety is important when it comes to great drinks. We have plenty of wine in our basement, we needed some great options for the liquor cabinet. We were surprised at the number of online clubs that focus on spirits. There are whiskey of the month club options, bourbon of the month clubs, cocktail subscription boxes, and even clubs that just focus on mixers. We decided to start by focusing in on the whiskey clubs and go from there.
Whether you’re regularly entertaining guests or keeping the fun all to yourself, there’s nothing like a good whiskey, be it bourbon, rye or scotch, to take the edge off things. However, the sheer amount of options can be overwhelming, so we’ve decided to do the legwork for you and make a list of five best liquor subscription services out there.
What’s nice about joining a liquor of the month club is that they make it easier to choose the right booze. You can do lots of research before committing. Moreover, it makes finding new booze options all the easier as it introduces you to new varieties and flavors that you’d otherwise never find on your own. Perhaps most importantly, it greatly reduces the trips to your local liquor store. We find that being a whiskey of the month club member expands our horizons. It also means we can also mix up an old-fashioned when the feeling strikes us.
After we decided to review some of the more popular whiskey of the month clubs, we dove into the scotch of the month clubs and general liquor of the month clubs. We were looking for a combination of value (the cost of the bottle through the club isn't marked up too much over store prices), selection, and good customer service. We came away impressed with these liquor subscription boxes.
Flaviar
Getting started: Flaviar starts you off with a Welcome Box that includes a trio of whiskeys in 1.5 oz. bottles. These tasting whiskeys are the perfect way to kick off your whiskey of the month club deliveries.
What’s in the box: The box includes any of the 20,000 spirits they have on offer, be it bourbon, brandy, gin, rum or whiskey. While the Welcome box holds jigger-sized samples, all subsequent boxes will come with full-size bottles.
Delivery: Monthly, adult signature required.
Cancelation: Any time, no questions asked. There’s a three-day window after you sign up for paid membership that makes you eligible for a full refund.
Fee & Discounts: The cost is $15 per month, which is billed quarterly (so, $180 on a yearly basis). There are no discounts, though the Welcome Box for new members is free of charge, and all members can get a Tasting Box each quarter. The Tasting Box is not sent automatically, you have to request it. The shipping is free.
Overall: Impressive range of spirits, nice welcoming offer.
Click Here To Learn More About Flaviar
Bitters and Bottles
Getting started: Bitters and Bottles starts you off with bourbon, moving progressively to the more exotic spirits. The site offers a 12-step… er, 12-month program, and you can opt to prepay for a single box, three. six or all twelve of them.
What’s in the box: Bitters and Bottles stocks over 1,500 spirits and other items required for cocktail-making. Your box will include 4-6 items, among which full-size bottles of craft liquors, curated assortments of other necessary ingredients, as well as about a dozen recipes for cocktails. This liquor subscription box will have you feeling like a world-class mixologist in no time!
Delivery: Monthly, adult signature required. Office addresses preferred.
Cancelation: Any time, automatic after the end of the program.
Fee & Discounts: The cost is $79 per box and doesn’t include the cost of shipping ($9.99 per box).
Overall: High-end subscription service for people who know what they like in a whiskey of the month club.
The Premier Bourbon Club From Reserve Bar
Getting started: This amazing whiskey club starts out with a shipment of the Dartington Bar Excellence glass set. This sets the tone for the premier whiskeys that will follow.
What’s in the box: Each month you will receive a bottle of top bourbon. This may include bourbons like Jefferson's Ocean that is aged at sea or the uniquely delicious Stillhouse Black Bourbon.
Delivery: The first bottle of bourbon will ship out within of a week of you receiving the welcome package. Then you will receive shipments each month around the 15th. This can vary by a few days.
Cancelation: You should contact Reserve Bar customer support if you want to make changes to or cancel your club order.
Fee & Discounts: The Premier Bourbon Club costs roughly $83 per month and lasts six months.
Overall: This is one of the best whiskey clubs we can find for bourbon lovers. This is the perfect club for someone who really knows their bourbon and it makes a great gift.
Click Here To Order | The Bourbon Club From Reserve Bar
Mash & Grape
Getting started: There’s no special welcome offer standing, though you can get coupons that take $10 off your first box!
What’s in the box: The box includes three full-size bottles, curated and accompanied by tasting notes. There are five different boxes – bourbon, gin, scotch, tequila and whiskey.
Delivery: Monthly, ships on the 15th, delivery not later than the 20th. Adult signature required. You need to submit your order by the 10th to receive the current month’s box.
Cancelation: Anytime.
Fee & Discounts: The cost varies depending on the box you pick – the Scotch of the month club sells for $89, Bourbon and Whiskey of the month clubs come at $79 per box, Tequila of the month club costs $59, and Gin is $49. You can opt to prepay for 3, 6 or 12 months or have an on-going subscription.
Overall: No-frill subscription for true spirit aficionados.
Crafted Taste
Getting started: There’s no welcome program as of writing this.
What’s in the box: This really depends on the program. “Mixers” includes pretty much everything you need for the featured monthly cocktail, barring spirits. “Monthly” contains full-size bottles of spirits and everything else required for a wet bar. “Premium” looks like “Monthly” on steroids – enhanced program, additional bottles or upgraded liquor selection.
Delivery: Monthly, adult signature required. The cut-off date is the 5th, and all boxes ship around the 15th.
Cancelation: Anytime, though keep in mind that any cancellations after the 4th will come into effect the following month.
Fee & Discounts: Crafted Taste offers three month-to-month subscription programs – Mixers, Monthly and Premium, which cost $100, $150 and $200, respectively. Upgrades are possible at any time. All shipping and handling fees are included.
Overall: Lots of unique ingredients that are hard to come by on your own.
SaloonBox
Getting started: There’s no welcome package as of yet for this cocktail of the month club.
What’s in the box: Everything you need to start mixing cocktails, except the bar tools (though they do have those available for purchase, they just sell and ship separately). The ingredients are curated and shipped along with recipe cards and a little bit of background on each product. The amounts are exactly portioned for two distinct two-person cocktails (so, four servings in all).
Delivery: Monthly, adult signature required. You can also sign for a one-off box. Shipping may take longer due to their choice of vehicles (temperature-controlled). Commercial addresses are much preferred.
Cancelation: Anytime, though you will still receive the box for that month – the cancellation takes effect the following month.
Fee & Discounts: Monthly subscription costs $37.50 (plus a $12.99 shipment fee and California sales tax). You can pay it month-by-month or choose a prepay plan. There’s a slight discount if you choose the latter, as the 6-month plan comes to $35.50 per month ($213 in total), while the yearly plan costs $33.50 per month ($402 altogether).
Overall: Perfect economical subscription for cocktail lovers.
Shaker & Spoon
Getting started: While there are no incentives to start, you can drop the cost per box $10 if you pre-paid 12 months.
What’s in the box: Have you dreamed of being a mixologist? Or do you just love being the person at the party with the best drinks? The Shaker and Spoon box gives you the knowledge and the tools to create mind-blowing cocktails. This isn't a whiskey of the month club type shipment. This is the box that will let you transform that whiskey, rum, gin, or whatever you have on hand into a killer cocktail.
The box includes mixers and drink recipes. You supply the booze.
Delivery: Boxes are sent out monthly and typically reach you in 1 - 3 days via USPS. Your first shipment will go out on the first Monday of the next month. If you order in August, your shipment will go out the first Monday in September.
Cancelation: You can cancel your Shaker & Spoon subscription box at any time by going to your user profile screen. That will spot future autopayments.
Fee & Discounts: The cocktail subscription box costs $50/mo. if you pay month to month. You can get it down to $40/mo. if you pre-pay 12 months. There is a $5 fee for shipping.
Overall: This is a perfect compliment to some of the other whiskey of the month club options or really any liquor subscription. This will elevate you drinks game and make even the rot gut stuff taste good!
New Addition: Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey Club From Reserve Bar
Getting started: When you sign up for the Johnnie Walker 3-bottle scotch whiskey club, you (or your gift recipient) receive a welcome package with Dartington Bar Excellence glasses and a printed card with details about the club.
What’s in the box: You, or the lucky person you gifted this to, will receive a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. This is the perfect start for a scotch whiskey of the month club. The next bottle is Johnnie Walker Black Label and the final delivery from this scotch club is the legendary Gold Label.
Want even more Johnnie Walker? Consider the six-month scotch whiskey club.
Delivery: The first bottle of scotch will ship out within two weeks of you receiving the welcome package. Then you will receive 2 more shipments around the 15th of the following months. This can vary by a few days.
Cancelation: You should contact Reserve Bar customer support if you want to make changes to or cancel your club order.
Fee & Discounts: The Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey Club costs roughly $143 per month and lasts three months.
Overall: This is one of the best whiskey clubs we can find for Scotch Whiskey lovers. This is the perfect club for someone who can appreciate fine Scotch.
Click Here To Order | The Scotch Whiskey Club From Reserve Bar
Honorable mentions
We’ve included a couple of subscription services that aren’t spirit-related, just in case you feel like diversifying your booze selection. For beer, the selection boils down to the Beer of the Month Club and Craft Beer Club. On the other hand, wine subscription boxes come in a greater variety, though three do stand out – Winc, Bright Cellars and the budget-friendly Firstleaf. If you’re a coffee person, the Misto Box comes replete with artisan coffee to suit your taste and drinking habits.
