The fact that there even exists a market for “curated boxes” is usually enough to make people chuckle, but there’s no arguing that it’s a booming business model these days. Whether you want designer clothes, beauty products, or organic, artisanal dog treats and chew toys, it seems like there’s a new company popping up every week that wants to mail them to you. We suppose it was only a matter of time before someone started doing it with booze, and UK-based Flaviar seems to have taken up the challenge with aplomb.
What It Is
As you’ve probably surmised, Flaviar is a subscription service that sends you a new box of premium spirits every month. It costs $24.99 a month ($18.99 for the first “trial” month), and if any of the sample products strike your fancy, you can order a full-sized bottle through their website with free shipping—not a bad deal in itself.
Unboxing Flaviar
The folks at Flaviar recently sent us one of their boxes for review, and we were certainly impressed with the overall quality of the product. Their branding, from elegant typefaces to painfully hip etchings of Victorian gentlemen with animal heads (a deer in a suit on the exterior of the package implores you to “Open the gates…”), is done quite cohesively.
The whole thing had a distinctly premium feel, which at this price point should probably be expected. The top of the matte black box slid off to reveal an array of five equally spiffy-looking 45ml bottles, each containing several drams of premium scotch, complete with instructions and tasting notes.
The Scotch
The actual selection of whisky itself was fantastic. Each sample was from a different brand, including recognizable mainstays The Glenlivet, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin, and the somewhat lesser-known Auchentoshan and The Singleton of Dufftown.
What was particularly notable, though, is that the offering from each was a step above entry-level: The Glenlivet 18 Year Old, Auchentoshan 12 Year Old, Lagavulin 16 Year Old, The Singleton 15 Year Old, and Laphroaig Quarter Cask, to be specific. For many fans of scotch whisky, it’s a fair bet that at least a few of these are still squarely on the “to try” list, given the ubiquity of their younger siblings.
One important thing to note, though, is that Flaviar subscribers only receive three samples per package instead of the five that we got. We’re not sure if that’s a recent development (our samples were all bottled in August of 2015, according to the labels), or simply a difference with the press version.
Final Thoughts
While we can’t speak to a few key elements of Flaviar’s subscription service, namely the punctuality of deliveries and customer service, we can say that the product we received was fairly impressive as far as curated boxes go. It was a well-designed package with a great selection of premium spirits, and it should appeal to neophytes and old aficionados alike.
Our box only included scotch whiskies, however, and a few other reviewers have noted that the service tends to prefer them over other products. The Flaviar site features gin, rum, cognac, and plenty of other categories, but it does seem to favor whisky, so if you’re looking for a more diverse spread you might want to hold off until they branch out a bit more.
Flaviar is pricey, too, but we’d imagine the overhead on a service like this probably demands it. It’s certainly a splurge purchase, for when you have an extra $25 a month to spend on a bit of luxurious indulgence—and considering that it only covers three samples, that might be too steep for many potential customers.
Overall, though, we had a great time checking out the product, revisiting a few drams of our favorite scotches, and getting a closer look into the world of curated booze deliveries. If you’re looking for a gift for your spirit-loving friends and relatives this holiday season, we think it’s safe to say they’ll be giddy to get one of these in the mail.
