Having the ability to have beer delivered right to your door within as little as 60 minutes is everything we need in our lives right now and more. These days, who isn’t living off delivery services?
I have to be honest and say that I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with delivery apps. While I love the idea of never having to leave my home to stay fed, I do miss the convenience of being able to order a nice cold beer with my meals at restaurants.
Now, I have to consciously remind myself to pick up a case of beers at the grocery store to have one on hand with my meals. It’s a pain to lug around the store and, I always tend to forget it and be sorely reminded when my food comes, and I don’t have a cold beverage to enjoy.
I’m a little late to the game, but I’ve recently discovered the ailment to my latest first-world problems. Welcome to the wonderful world that is Drizly.
Keep reading for my in-depth Drizly review where I share my first-hand experience, dive into what it is, how to use it, and who should be using it (spoiler alert, it’s everyone 21 and up!).
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What is Drizly?
Drizly was initially founded in 2012 and is an e-commerce alcohol platform that delivers beer, wine, and spirits from local retailers directly to a specified location. You can access Drizly’s features through an online website or download the macOS or Android compatible app on your mobile device.
How Does Drizly Work?
To access Drizly, you have to make an online account to ensure they deliver in your area. You go online, via their website or mobile app, and place an order. Your order is sent to a local store to fulfill.
When you stop to look at it, it’s a win-win-win situation. The apparent win for the consumer is that you have alcohol delivered to your door. I don’t think it gets any better than that, honestly. It’s also a win for Drizly because they are also getting paid. But, it’s also a win for the local stores, who might not have gotten your sale organically.
Does Drizly Take a Cut?
One of the most incredible features of the Drizly app is that it does not take a cut off your sale. The New York State Liquor Authority only approved Drizly to operate without a proper liquor license because of this feature, so you know it’s the truth.
Instead, Drizly charges stores directly to use its fulfillment software, iPads, and iPhones, every month. The result? Zero markups on alcohol prices, another win for the consumer. And another win for the retailers who gain access to Drizly’s proprietary ID verification technology allowing delivery drivers to quickly scan IDs and ensure legal purchases and deliveries.
Some retailers might require a minimum order and/or a delivery fee, which varies from store to store. From what I found from browsing around, delivery fees were usually about $5.
Where Does Drizly Serve?
Initially, Drizly served the greater Boston area but has since done some significant expansion over the last decade. Now, Drizly serves over 180 markets in 30 states across the US and even Alberta, Canada.
You can check online to see if Drizly currently serves your area, and if not, don’t worry because they are continuously expanding. Don’t be surprised if they’re in your neighborhood any day now.
My Personal Experience Using Drizly
So there it is; a brief history and overview of Drizly as a company. It all sounds good and well on paper, but the proof is in the pudding. So, I took to my couch and gave it a spin for myself to see if Drizly is all it’s hyped up to be.
User Interfacing
I happened to have my laptop handy, so I accessed Drizly using their website. I found their site very user-friendly, providing an experience very similar to being in a store. The alcohol types are displayed on the home page, making it easy to select and browse through your options.
Variety
I went straight for their Beer page, where I was pleasantly surprised by all of the options. At this point, I started to get excited, knowing I could find anything I wanted right at my fingertips. At this moment, Drizly proved to be better than the typical in-store experience for the simple fact that they had a variety that was unmatched by even the most prominent stores.
Search Filters
The paradox of choice started to set in real quick as I wondered how I was ever going to be able to decide on their wide selection. Thankfully, Drizly has some pretty incredible search filters that make it easier than ever to shop around without feeling overwhelmed; this was a huge plus for me.
Categories
You can easily click to filter by category of beer or press more filters for even more options to choose from at the top of the page. The categories they had listed included:
- Ale
- Specialty beer & alternatives
- IPA
- Lager
- Pale lager
- Hard seltzer
- Belgian-style ale
- Sour/wild ale
- Stout
- Cider
- Wheat ale
- Pale ale
- Malt liquor
- Fruit beer
- Pilsner
Type
You can also sort by type of beer, including:
- Craft
- Variety pack
- Non-alcoholic
- Seasonal
Pack Size
You also have the option to select your preferred pack size, which ranges anywhere from singles up to 36-packs and everything, I mean everything, in between. I thought this was a pretty great feature because it’s nice to have the option to grab a single of some of the funky new beers out there without having to commit to a whole pack.
Container
Filter by your preferred container type, including:
- Can
- Bottle
- Keg
Price
Sort by price is a pretty standard filter for all retailers but can be especially helpful with alcohol. You can choose from their preselected ranges or create a range of your own. I can imagine this filter being beneficial if you’re grabbing some liquor as a gift or have a strict budget for whatever reason.
ABV
You can choose your beer to be filtered by ABV. This filter is super fun since they range as low as <1.0% up to 15.0%-39.9% for beer alone.
Volume
Another fun filter they have for their beers is volume. They have sizes ranging across the board, including:
- Small – under 12 ounces
- Standard – 12 ounces
- Medium – 12-16 ounces
- Tall – 16 ounces
- Large – over 16 ounces
Features
I thought the features filter was another very unique and potentially beneficial tool. For anyone with gluten intolerance, this is a great way to find new brands that won’t disrupt your body. You can choose to select gluten-reduced and organic features, neither of which is easy to find information on in-store.
Country of Origin
While I didn’t use the country of origin feature, I thought it was a great way of displaying just how wide of an assortment they have. They have 15 different countries listed in this filter, with beers from each. I thought it was pretty great to be able to have access to beer from all over the world from my couch, including:
- United States
- Belgium
- Germany
- Mexico
- Canada
- England
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- Austria
- Australia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Italy
State of Origin
You can narrow down your origin by state, with 36 different states within the US to choose from.
Ratings
Another excellent filter option is by ratings. I played around with this as a way to browse around through their selections a bit.
Availability
Potentially the most incredible filter Drizly has is by availability. I was in no rush for my order, I placed it a few days ahead of time, but I can appreciate this filter option for obvious reasons. Choose from:
- Now (1 hour or less)
- Today
- Tomorrow or later
Store
I used the store filter more than I anticipated I would. Since you have access to multiple retailers, filtering by store helps you cut down on delivery fees and not have to watch your order minimum closely. Once you find one product you are looking for, stick to other items within that store, so you only have to pay a delivery fee once.
Brand
Last but not least, they have the option to filter by brand. This filter can be helpful, and with a list as long as theirs, it’s yet another testament to the wide variety they have to offer.
Ordering
Honestly, the most challenging part of the process came down to making my final decisions. Otherwise, it was completely seamless and foolproof. I decided to go with some California locals and tried to find some funky choices that I don’t usually see in stores, because why not?
I also got a $5 promo code (DRIZLYDEAL) to use on my first order when I signed up, which I thought was a nice touch on their part. Here’s a look at my cart with the price breakdown:
As you can see, the prices are pretty reasonable, save the $9.99 delivery fee. There were other delivery fee options from stores in my area, but they didn’t have the unique assortment I was looking for. So, in the end, I opted for one of the higher delivery fees by choice.
Check Out
Once you confirm your order, you move on to check out where you put in all of your typical information, including your address and payment. Then you pick your delivery schedule like this:
While my order had the option to be delivered within the hour, I ordered mine for a couple of days out. They had every day and every time window option, which I thought was great. I also appreciated that they provided one-hour delivery windows, much better than some other delivery services that leave you hanging around for hours at a time.
Delivery
Then came my delivery day. I was so excited! I was shocked to see how communicative they were about my order. The day of my delivery had a communication timeline that looked like this:
- 9:00 am: E-mail confirming my delivery window of 12:00 – 1:00 pm
- 12:22 pm: Text telling me my delivery driver was on their way from the store I ordered from
- 12:34 pm: Text notifying me the delivery driver was at my door
Admittedly, I happened to be in my backyard when the delivery driver arrived, so I’m glad for the text because I did not hear my doorbell.
When I opened the door, the entire process was contactless, which was another pleasant surprise. My delivery was in a box at my doorstep, and the delivery driver asked to scan the back of my ID to confirm that I was of legal age. It also required a signature, to which the driver opted to sign on my behalf if I did not want to touch his phone, which I thought was a nice gesture.
And that was it! Easy as that. Even my dog enjoyed the delivery process.
Drizly Review – Final Thoughts
All in all, I was blown away by several features that Drizly has to offer, but most importantly, let’s not forget its alcohol delivery. That itself is genuinely great. I highly recommend Drizly to anyone who might fall into any of these categories:
- You are of legal drinking age
- You are looking to shop for alcohol from the convenience of your own home
- You are looking to find some unique liquors, wines, or beers
- You want to help support small, local liquor stores
- You want alcohol, and you want it fast
That being said, Drizly might not be for everyone. I would not necessarily recommend Drizly to any of the following:
- Anyone under the legal drinking age
- If you are looking for cost savings (tip and delivery fees can add costs)
I had a great experience with Drizly, and they followed up by sending me a series of discount opportunities for future orders. I can honestly say that I look forward to future orders through their website and mobile app!
Get $5 Off Your Drizly Purchase HERE, Use code DRIZLYDEAL
