Flaviar

I guess I wish I'd seen this page earlier. My experience seems like that of others. I ordered a bottle of single malt that has not shipped despite assurances at order time that it would arrive in 12-18 days. I emailed customer service twice but only received automated replies. Going to contact my CC company and file dispute claim. I'm quite disappointed as this seemed such a great idea.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I ordered a Scotch Sampler from them on December 3rd, 2014 to be a Christmas Gift. Received confirmation of the order that the order was charged to my credit card. When I hadn't received the order by December 18th, I emailed them and received an automated response that I would be hearing from someone. Never heard a peep.

On December 22nd I sent another (more stern) email and received a response that the order was dispatched on December 11th and that it should be received within 8-10 days.

It is now December 27th and we still haven't received a thing from this company. What a HORRIBLE EXAMPLE of a company. Will never order from them again and warn others of avoiding this company.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Ordered a tasting pack via Groupon for my son for Christmas two weeks before Christmas. By the 21st December they must have realized that they couldn't meet their commitments and sent a naff PDF Christmas Card to give him in lieu of the present arriving.

Now the 6th January and no sign of the tasting pack.

E-mailed them and they said one of their "Concierges" would contact me. No one ever did and they don't have a telephone number you can contact them on.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

They took over one month to ship my order despite telling me it was sent two days after my order was placed. It then took another month for it to arrive from Slovenia to the US.

I am shocked to see they have sent this as a gift to avoid paying import and alcohol taxes. To sum it up, poor customer service and a company which is committing fraudulent import.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This seems like a great idea for a gift. Implementation was a problem, though. In theory, you pay, then they send you a certificate with a code that the recipient uses to activate the gift. In practice, what happens is that you get charged, don't get a certificate, and can't give the gift or activate the gift without several days of emailing with their "customer service". The service folks, hopefully refer you back to a page where you can buy a new gift, but don't seem to be able to generate the mysterious certificate.

I still don't have a resolution on this and I am going to ask VISA to revoke the payment soon. It's frustrating given that it could be a really great gift idea.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This is a great idea, especially for individuals who want to expand their palate or have limited access to premium alcohol. Unfortunately, though, it's just a concept at present, which hasn't fully matured. You pay about $60 to "join," and usually after a "wait" because it's so demanding (it's BS and a marketing gig). Once you join, you'll fill out a questionnaire as to your likes and preferences.

Shortly after that, you'll receive three shooter glasses of, most likely, an alcohol you'd never drink on your own. From that point forward you'll receive access and notifications about alcohols that can be found competitively priced or, even cheaper, locally. There is essentially no real "member benefit" unless you believe throwing $60 to the wolves to be exclusive is a benefit.

The Pros: reviews, possible introduction and access to alcohol you haven't tried and may like, competitive pricing, occasional free shipping.

The Cons: at this point in the game, this idea and this concept hasn't yet fully matured to its potential and is an online gimmick like anything else. With some time this could evolve into something big that actually serves the customer, but at present that has yet to be realized.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This review is for the gift membership.

I received Flaviar as a gift, and it's really not worth the money. For $120 you get a 6-month membership and a tasting box for three vials of whiskey, around 2 oz, that can easily be bought at stores or your local bar for much cheaper.

I still can't figure out what is the point of the membership, since the whiskey they sell is charged at a much higher premium than at my local store.

As a regular person who would not bother with private bottling or have the need to get hard to acquire whiskey, it's truly a big waste of money.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My first tasting was the whiskey order with included a Bourgon, Rye, Scotch, all of which were excellent quality and taste! I chose to share with a close friend and fellow Marine...our tastes differ when it comes to our drink selections.

I chose not to do a blind taste test and instead opted to taste from A-C and after tasting reviewed the flavor notes to compare with our own nuances. Neither of us are regular Scotch drinkers but were both surprised and delighted by the selection sent! The Bourbon was also great quality but nothing out of the ordinary from a quality bourbon that we frequently imbibe. Next was the Rye, this too was impressive and will surely lead to further tastings.

I prefer to drink my whiskey "neat" and savor the experience without being influenced by any mixes, and so this was ideal for me!

My next shipment was the rum varieties. Generally, I don't drink rum like I do whiskey (neat) and therefore made this somewhat unique. Again I chose to share with my best friend for the chance to share and compare what we experienced. We started with A and finished with C. This turned out to be a surprising event! All of the selections were outstanding and we both gravitated to the darker of the tastings. We chose to rate the Rums from 1-10 and the lowest was 7.5 (Grander) and 9.25 for the darkest (Dictador), which I'm certain will be purchased separately in the near future!

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I purchased a bottle on 11/15/2014. This week having heard nothing I tried to email the company. My password would not work so twice I asked for a new one and finally one worked. Their reply was a rep would contact me. Several days later I tried to email them and my password did not work. This morning I contacted the fraud department of American Express. They have refunded my money while the check this transaction. I would advise all to see where their money went. AX clients can do this by highlighting the purchase on their computer. My payment did not go to England but it did find its way to an apartment in California USA.

Update (12/09/14):  The product arrived today.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Ordered a bottle over two weeks ago, never heard since. Charge went through right away. I tried contacting on Facebook even, and received a message that it would "ship soon" and I would receive an email when it does. This was a Christmas gift for my fiancé. Maybe I'll get it in time for his birthday, in June.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Ordered a taster pack as a stocking filler. It was in association with Groupon so very reasonably priced, and came with a 10 credit note. I was so impressed I ordered another taster pack but failed to spot the point on the order form where the voucher code is applied so was charged full price. My mistake. Contacted Flaviar immediately to ask for the order to be canceled. My five messages (to date) have been ignored and the pack has been dispatched anyway, six days after I first requested it canceled. Now requesting a refund. Disappointed.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend