I received this as a gift so I'm not actually out any money. The gifter assumed, like many, that I would be receiving "monthly" tastings to sample and discover new spirits. That is not at all what this is. I'm still not sure what Flaviar is.
You receive a tasting box every 90 days, NOT monthly. So if you purchase a 6 month subscription for $120, you will receive 2 tasting boxes throughout your subscription containing 3 vials with about a jigger each. They also ship it through random companies and it takes about 5 weeks to receive your boxes AFTER it ships.
Also, AFTER it ships you receive a note stating that someone over 21 needs to sign for the package since it's alcohol. After scrambling to have it rerouted to my office since the random delivery service "doesn't deliver on the weekends" I found my tasting box by my front door at my home on a Saturday. They left it without anyone signing for it.
The spirits were good but one of my local stores, Martin's Wine Cellar (free plug) has all three at comparable or cheaper prices. I can get it same day instead of waiting about a month for a random delivery person to leave it on my doorstep. Now after dropping $120 on a six month membership, you can purchase additional tasting boxes for around $40 each that contain about 3 jiggers of spirits.
They also will pull totally unheard of bottles from their "vault" that you can purchase for a limited time. Purchase a bottle of something I've never heard of? I can go to Martin's Wine Cellar (2nd free plug) and do the same thing for free!!! I thought Flaviar would be a great way to experience and introduce myself to new spirits but really it's just a money pit.
Save your money and shop local. Go to your local spirit store and ask what they recommend and ask if you can sample it. Many stores have tastings all the time. Even World Market does spirit tastings FOR FREE. You can end up drinking more spirits there than come in your tasting boxes.
I would not recommend Flaviar to anyone. If you are really interested in sampling new spirits, get a group together and everyone bring a new bottle every month. It will cost you less and can still experience new spirits and have a great time doing it. Cheers!
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
4 people found it helpful
Link to this Review
Company Response from Flaviar Ltd.
Hi Dustin,
Thank you for sharing your concerns. Constructive feedback is always appreciated and helps us improve further.
Speakeasy Club is a membership experience, not a monthly subscription service, and we do our best to advertise accordingly. We understand if your needs and wishes differ from what we offer and I’m terribly sorry that the membership didn’t work out. There are numerous other benefits save for the tasting boxes but it looks like this Club really isn't well fit for you.
Allow us to provide some insight on long shipping times and delivery customization. Shipping alcohol is an extremely complex process. By now, we are well versed at handling unexpected delivery issues and fluctuations in state laws so there is no disruption in the quality of our service. Recently, though, we’ve experienced several such issues at the same time, which has made resolving them efficiently a lot trickier. This, in turn, caused shipping delays, longer transit times, and issues with order tracking.
Rest assured that we are working around the clock to get this solved as soon as possible. If you’d like us to help you use the membership to the fullest or if you believe your issue wasn’t resolved to your full satisfaction let us know, we’re easy to reach if you write to us at hello@flaviar.com.
Take care!