Buying alcohol for someone else is mostly a question of knowing two things: what they already drink, and whether you can legally get it to them. This covers both.
Three things have come off this page. The best-of rankings, since we sell all of it. The tasting descriptions, for the same reason. And a line suggesting you wait until someone is tipsy to ask what they like, which is not advice this blog is going to give.
Start here: can it actually be delivered to them?
This is the part people discover too late, and it is worth checking before you choose a bottle.
- Delivery and shipping are different things. Delivery is local, from a licensed retailer, same day. Shipping crosses state lines and is regulated separately and much more tightly, especially for spirits.
- Someone 21 or over has to be there. An alcohol delivery cannot be left at a door. If the recipient is not home with ID, it does not get handed over. That makes it a poor surprise for someone who works unpredictable hours.
- Their address decides everything. Check which states allow alcohol delivery before you plan around it.
If it needs to be a surprise, telling them a delivery is coming is usually better than the alternative of it going back to the store.
Choosing, if you know what they drink
Buy the category they already drink, one step up from what they buy themselves. That is the whole rule. Someone who drinks bourbon wants a bourbon they would not buy on a Tuesday, not a gin because you read it was interesting.
Choosing, if you don’t
Pick on format rather than flavour, because format is the thing you can reason about without knowing their palate:
- Sparkling wine works for an occasion and does not require them to like a specific spirit.
- A cocktail set, meaning a base spirit plus the mixer and the citrus, gives them something to do rather than another bottle on the shelf.
- Something local to where they live or where you are. It carries a reason for the choice, which most bottles do not.
- Barware if you genuinely do not know. A decent jigger or a shaker outlasts the bottle.
When not to give alcohol
Worth saying on a page like this, because a gift guide is not the place to pretend the answer is always yes.
If you do not know whether someone drinks, do not make them tell you by handing them a bottle in front of people. Plenty of people do not drink, and some have reasons they would rather not explain at a birthday party. If you are not sure, pick something else. Nobody has ever been offended by good coffee.
The fine print
What’s available depends on your address. Enter it and we’ll show you what’s in stock nearby. Delivery is $4.99, plus applicable taxes and fees, shown before you order, as fast as 25 minutes in the best case. Alcohol is 21 and up. ID at the door, every time, no exceptions and no negotiating with the driver, and that applies to the recipient of a gift as much as to the buyer.
