Critic
The Future of ‘Shoppable Entertainment’ Arrives for Whiskey Fans
From streaming to buying to sipping in as little as two hours.
From left: Bulleit bourbon, Don Julio tequila, Bunnahabhain whisky.
Sources: Getty Images (hand); Spirits Network (bottles)
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.