Have Your New Year’s Eve Spirits Delivered
By Tracey Dowdy
Just because, like most Americans, you’ll be all dressed up – and by dressed up, I mean a clean t-shirt and yoga pants – with no place to go on New Year’s Eve doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate at home. A global pandemic that brought quarantining, lockdowns, and masked shopping, meant that alcohol delivery became very much a thing in 2020. In fact, Drizly, an online beverage alcohol delivery service, has seen their business more than triple since 2019.
So, whether you’re stocking up for New Year’s or a long winter, here a few of the best online liquor delivery options to consider.
Remember, even though you’re staying home, the same rules apply – drink in moderation and NEVER drink and drive.
Drizly partnered with over 2,200 retailers across North America to send beer, wine, liquor, and even snacks to your door. Available in 26 states and DC. Simply add your selections to your cart, then choose which store you want to fulfill the order in your area. You’ll see your estimated delivery time, minimums, and fees. You may be able to get your order delivered in under an hour through contactless delivery (though Drizly warns holiday demand may impact delivery times) or schedule a delivery for a later date. As with other delivery services, you can tip your driver.
Total Wine has a broad selection of liquor, beer, and wine, and like Drizly, offers same-day alcohol and snack delivery. They have stores across 19 states and offer delivery as well as curbside and in-store pickup. Their inventory is massive, with selections as low as $3 running into more expensive and exclusive wines, craft beer, and spirits.
Minibar is available in 19 states and DC and promises to deliver beer and liquor to your door in under an hour. If you’re not in a hurry, it offers statewide shipping within three to five days and an in-store pickup option at your local liquor store, making it ideal if you’re looking for an item out of stock locally. The site is streamlined, making it easy to filter your choices by type of alcohol, store, country, size, container, and price point.
Wine.com promises the world’s largest wine selection and will ship directly to you or your local Walgreens or FedEx. If you sign up for the StewardShip program – a one-year subscription is $49 – you get free shipping all year. They also offer Picked, an online wine club with wines hand-picked by experts just for you.
If you’re looking at delivery on an ongoing basis, consider Winc, a wine-of-the-month club, and wine subscription service. Members take a short quiz with questions like “How do you drink your coffee” to refine your preferences and offer recommendations that will match. You can search for specific varietals or wines, and if you choose four bottles, you get free shipping.
Bottles start at $13 each. Shipping typically takes 3-7 business days depending on your distance from their fulfillment center, but again, there may be delays due to holiday demand.
*Alcohol delivery laws vary by state, so not every service is available everywhere.
Tracey Dowdy is a freelance writer based just outside Washington DC. After years working for non-profits and charities, she now freelances, edits, and researches on subjects ranging from family and education to history and trends in technology. Follow Tracey on Twitter.