The Future of ‘Shoppable Entertainment’ Arrives for Whiskey Fans

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- The rapid growth of online shopping may be the dominant retail storyline of the past decade, but e-commerce in the liquor industry remains something of an exotic curiosity.

Don’t blame the alcohol. After Prohibition, regulation in the U.S. was left to individual states, which means that, including the territories and commonwealths, there are 54 separate sets of logistics for a potential purveyor to navigate. The byzantine landscape is confounded further by a three-tiered system in which suppliers and retailers can connect only through distributors.

Charting a surprisingly seamless course through these murky waters is the Spirits Network, a “shoppable streaming entertainment channel” that started in September 2019 with around-the-clock programming. It’s available on demand and free online or through its app to your preferred device, though you need to sign up with a credit card to enable one-click purchasing. By integrating buying opportunities into original content, it positions itself somewhere between Netflix and QVC. An Amazon Live, but for liquor.

It airs both licensed content and original shows, which currently consist of about a dozen titles. #WhiskyWednesdays is built around themed, virtual tastings. The host of Home Bar Hero is “liquid chef” Rob Floyd, who walks you through classic cocktail preparations. Bourbon personality Peggy Noe Stevens shows up to demonstrate how to batch Manhattans, and Flavien Desoblin, who owns Brandy Library in New York, is a ubiquitous presence.

Anytime a bottle is mentioned in a show, a little pop-up “buy-bar” appears in the lower left corner of the screen. Click that, and you’re taken to a purchasing page. (The show continues to play in one corner.) If you live in a major urban area, your order can arrive in two hours; the suburbs take a day or two. Harder-to-find products can require five days.

In a sense, the Spirits Network acts as a fourth tier to connect connoisseurs with shops that have what they want. “We play arbitrage to get the product through a retail network,” says co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nick Buzzell.

The concept is on firmer footing now that the ­coronavirus has altered how Americans access their booze. In the first two weeks of April, ­e-­commerce for adult beverages rose almost fivefold compared with the same period last year, according to Nielsen Holdings Plc. Sales on Drizly, the largest alcohol delivery app, have risen 300% since mid-March. Kantar, a data insights company, suggests a third of these shoppers could permanently alter their buying habits.

Buzzell says the network has a subscription base in the tens of thousands. A $99-per-month Enthusiast package includes one bottle of midshelf liquor (think Bushmills 10) mailed to you based on your flavor profile on the site. A $149 Connoisseur membership bumps to top-shelf territory with a bottle of, say, 18-year-old single malt from the Glenrothes or Bunnahabhain. Both paid tiers include barware and a concierge service to help procure highly allocated Pappy Van Winkle and notoriously elusive Yamazaki 25-year-old whiskies.

On the platform, it’s easy to toggle through snippets of trending content, and below that are rows of recommended programs you can tailor to your drinking specifications. Most feature no more than three episodes, but the content consistently brandishes impressive production values; expect multiple camera angles and ­studio-quality lighting and sound.

The Spirits Network has no “interruptive advertising,” but the trade-off is the inevitable appearance of sponsored content. Liquor behemoth Diageo Plc is one of the primary spenders, and it shows: Affiliated brands such as Don Julio tequila and Bulleit bourbon appear across the “related products” section wearing conspicuous banners. In the original programming, the company’s myriad bottlings often enjoy center stage.

I didn’t see any small craft producers partnered on the platform, and I doubt they have the resources for such an expense—especially now. They rarely appear in the shows either, which is a shame.

Traditionally we’ve relied on local bottle shops and barkeeps to learn what’s new and next. In an uncertain future, when in-person relationships aren’t a given, the Spirits Network could try tapping into that same honest rapport to highlight something obscure yet sensational. When they do, I won’t hesitate to raise my glass.

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