Unbeknownst to some, I am an avid brewer and whisky enthusiast, besides programming and music. Finding your preferred type of whisky can be a big undertaking. The world of whisky is intricate, and exciting and can be intimidating to newcomers.
Before joining The Whisky Club, I saw ads for it constantly in my Facebook feed and wrote them off initially. I suspect the Facebook ads are how many people find their way to the holy grail of Whiskydom.
While always drawn to nice drams, I’ve never been a whisky genius. Honestly, my approach used to be a mixture of price, brand and the shape and label on the bottle. There are so many whiskies out there. Even price can be the wrong indicator of a good bottle (many of my favourites are under $100 a bottle).
If you are unaware of what The Whisky Club is, they call themselves “Australia’s biggest whisky subscription club” — think of them as the Netflix for whisky, except the whisky selections are curated and it’s one showcase bottle a month.
Using their sizeable subscriber count, The Whisky Club broker deals with distilleries to get some incredible bottles. Each month they have a featured whisky, giving you the option to receive one bottle or double-up (get two bottles). A lot of single malts, some unique blends from renowned distilleries and other gems can be found.
I finally joined The Whisky Club in December 2020, and since then, my whisky collection has grown astronomically. It takes me a while to get through a bottle, but whisky tends to last a long time if you store it correctly.
When writing this review, this month’s whisky is Lark Rising Tide.
Lark is one of those established and respected Australian distilleries, and for July 2022, they have created what appears to be an incredible dram for subscribers. Some month’s they get something special, and you will want to double up in those instances (subject to allocation).
It’s quite a simple process. You are not obligated to buy any whisky. Suppose the whisky of the month doesn’t appeal to you; you opt out. Otherwise, they assume you want that month’s whisky. There are no contracts. You’re not forced into anything. Admittedly, some months I opt out because of the number of whiskies in my cupboard.
As you can see in a snippet of my order history, I sometimes skip one or more months.
On top of the monthly whisky, they also do additional optional add-ins. Sometimes it will be the whisky from the previous months or a special bottle to add in.
Cost-wise, you are looking, on average, $130 a bottle, depending on what it is. Some of these whiskies are worth more than that. The special bottles they offer to bundle in your order can be double the price, but they’re optional.
Like a real whisky club, they also do virtual tastings, and there is an active community of whisky lovers. They also offer discounts and access to events through their whisky network. Admittedly, I haven’t taken much advantage of those. Unlike other subscription services, you feel like you’re a part of something special, not just a fish in a big sea of whisky brokerage power.
When I joined in December 2020, I told myself I would only try it out for a month (a monthly whisky subscription seemed excessive). Well, almost two years on, and I am still a member. It’s nice not having to linger in the aisles of Dan Murphy’s looking through their whisky cabinets for something to try.
The thing about The Whisky Club is I don’t just treat it as a means of stocking up my overflowing whisky selection. I also gift some bottles I’ve bought as birthday and special occasion gifts (Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, Christmas).
When our dog ran away recently, we thanked the people who found him and returned him to us with one of those bottles of Lark Rising Tide from the July 2022 offering. I ended up ordering a replacement bottle because I enjoyed this bottle of Lark so much. It is handy to have some spare whisky around when you need it (not just for drinking).
Understandably, given the rising cost of living, subscriptions like The Whisky Club might be a bit expensive to justify regularly. However, The Whisky Club is a great option if you’re looking for a way of trying new delicious whiskies or a gift for someone. You can always cancel or pause your subscription after the first bottle.
If you do decide to try The Whisky Club, by using my referral link here, we both get free whisky. I have no idea what the free whisky is. They say it depends on availability, but if you were going to join anyway and try it out, free whisky is free.
