Top beer, spirits and cocktail clubs compared

About Top beer, spirits and cocktail clubs compared

Beer and spirits clubs sit between a subscription box and a bottle shop, and this ranking of 33 brands sets out where each one lands. Entry price, price per bottle, what a plan puts in the box, how often boxes arrive and which countries a brand ships to all shape the order. Introductory prices and the prices that follow at renewal are kept apart, so a cheap opening deal never disguises the ongoing cost. The main trade-off is breadth against commitment: a club fixes a box size and a delivery rhythm, while a shop sells the bottle you want and stops when you stop. Price per bottle rewards clubs that fill a case cheaply, and a bottle guarantee rewards brands that stand behind a bad bottle. Some names here are not clubs at all, and they stay on the list because buyers spend the same shelf budget on gifts and tea.

How we picked

Scores here rest on cost, offer and trust, and each one carries a stated weight. Cost is the heaviest at 40%, built from the entry price and the price per bottle shown on each brand's own pages. Offer counts for as much at 40%, covering box size, delivery rhythm, the drink mix inside a box and the spend that avoids a delivery charge. Trust fills the remainder at 20%, drawing on bottle guarantees, the legal entity behind each brand, the country it is registered in and the markets it ships to. Figures come from brand plan pages, shipping and returns policies, terms of use and help centre articles, read alongside the wider site data on drinks clubs. When brands finish close, the higher score sets the order, and placement is never sold. Partners would be listed first ahead of everyone else, then the rest follow by score. Across the 33 brands in this category, the entry price, box size and delivery rhythm of each plan sit side by side so a reader can cost a second shipment without guessing.

Our top picks

1. 2. Total Wine

   In this ranking because it prices a US drinks shop low enough to sit beside clubs on the same shelf. Total Wine sells wine, spirits, cocktails and alcohol-free drinks, wine shop, spirits and cocktails, with entry prices from $9.99 and support by email, phone, chat and help centre, email, phone and chat. It has traded since 1991 and serves US, so it suits drinkers who want a mixed order in one checkout. Bourbon Concierge, the next member in this ranking, goes deeper on spirits, spirits, but covers a single drink type, so Total Wine is the wider shelf.

   • Price from: $9.99
   • Markets: US
   • Legal entity: Retail Services & Systems, Inc.

   Pros

   • Entry price of $9.99 sits below Vino's €6.80, so a single bottle costs less to start.
   • The range spans wine shop, spirits and cocktails, wider than Bright Cellars' wine club and wine shop.
   • Support runs on email, phone and chat, so phone, chat, email and self-serve help are all open.
   • Trading since 1991 under Retail Services & Systems, Inc., with the shop based in US.

   Cons

   • It runs in US alone, so a shopper outside the US cannot order.
   • There is no club in the range: wine shop, spirits and cocktails is a wine shop selection, unlike The Wine Society's wine club, wine shop and spirits, so buyers wanting a scheduled selection get nothing here.
   • Rank 11 of 33 brands on entry price leaves plenty of cheaper doors open in the set.

2. 3. Athletic Brewing

   Low per-bottle cost is what earns Athletic Brewing a place in this ranking. It sends 6 bottles at $1.83 a bottle, from $9.74, with delivery monthly and flexible and no delivery charge over $50. The range covers beer clubs, cocktails and alcohol-free drinks, beer club, cocktails and alcohol free, and it ships to US, GB and CA. Support runs on email, help centre and community only, with no phone line, and the bottle guarantee is no, so nothing is promised for a damaged bottle. KrisShop, the next member in this ranking, keeps phone support, email, phone and help centre, but sells gifts, personalized and gift cards.

   • Price from: $9.74
   • Price per bottle: $1.83
   • Bottles per box (bottles): 6

   Pros

   • Free delivery applies from $50, and a case of 6 bottles clears that threshold in a single order.
   • The club delivers to US, GB and CA from a base in US, so one membership covers subscribers in every market it serves.
   • Delivery runs monthly and flexible, which lets a subscriber hold a regular rhythm or move it as plans change.
   • Against Total Wine, which lists wine shop, spirits and cocktails for one off shopping, Athletic Brewing is built around repeat deliveries of 6 bottle cases.

   Cons

   • There is no bottle guarantee, and 62.1% of the clubs compared here also sit without such cover, so it is a shared gap rather than an outlier.
   • Help runs on email, help centre and community, with no phone line, while 62.8% of the clubs compared do take calls.
   • The entry price of $9.74 places Athletic Brewing 10 of 33 brands compared on price from, so the joining cost is weaker than the running cost.
   • The range stops at beer club, cocktails and alcohol free, so spirits buyers find nothing here, where Bourbon Concierge lists spirits.

3. UP9. Une Petite Mousse: best for Une Petite Mousse

   Une Petite Mousse is a French monthly beer box service with gift ideas. Its site lets you browse beers by colour, style and origin.

   • Markets: FR

4. TW10. The Whisky Shop: best for The Whisky Shop

   The Whisky Shop is a UK retailer selling whisky online. Its range includes seasonal items such as an advent calendar.

   • Markets: GB

What to look for

Entry price

The median entry price across this category is €11.61, with the lower quartile at €7.67 and the upper quartile at €27.18. Check what that first payment actually covers, and read it separately from the price that follows at renewal.

Price per bottle

The middle of this ranking sits at €20.44 a bottle, so per-bottle cost separates a club from a shop faster than the entry price does. Divide the plan total by the bottles in a box to get your own figure.

Delivery rhythm

Monthly delivery is the norm here, 71.4%, and flexible dates are also common, 50%. A longer gap between cases, 42.9%, suits drinkers with more storage room.

Bottle guarantee

Only 28.6% of the clubs here stand behind a damaged bottle, while 71.4% do not, so read that line before committing to a case.

Support routes

Email reaches every brand in this category, 100%, with a help centre close behind at 84.4% and phone lines at 65.6%. Chat is rarer at 21.9%.

Frequently asked questions

Top beer, spirits and cocktail clubs compared by country

• Australia
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV