8 Beverage Dynamics • November 2023
www.beveragedynamics.com
by KYLE SWARTZ
mong many trends in the alcohol industry super-
charged by the Covid−19 pandemic was direct-to-con-
sumer (DTC) shipping.
Sheltering in place during the health crisis, consumers
learned at a rapid rate that they could order alcohol online and
have it sent to their door. What was a growing DTC movement
before 2020 burst into an enormous number of orders zinging
across the country, arriving at home addresses.
This occurs both legally and illegally. In part 1 of our al-
cohol DTC series, we looked into the latter. Illegal shipping
takes many forms: wineries mailing more than their legally
allotted amount into states that limit these orders, retail-
ers shipping rare whiskeys and even entire single barrels to
wherever paying customers may live, overseas websites ille-
gally importing bottles by switching labels in transit, and bad
actors who operate shipping warehouses out of unmarked,
unregulated locations.
Now, in part 2, we explore alcohol shipped to consumers
compliantly within the constraints of state and federal laws.
These are the faces of the fast-expanding DTC industry, which
shows no signs of slowing down as consumers today expect on-
line shopping with convenient delivery.
MODERN TECH ENABLES DTC
Launched in 2013, ReserveBar has grown into the primary
ecommerce platform for premium spirits and buying products
