Full disclosure: writing about alcohol affiliate programs on my first working day of 2024, after a typically boozy holiday season, is a bit of a struggle.
Having consumed my body weight in red wine and craft beers over the past couple of weeks, all I want to drink for the foreseeable future is lightly flavored cucumber water or perhaps green tea.
Still, I have to admit alcohol affiliate programs are a great way to earn money. In 2021, the global alcohol sales volume was worth more than $1.5 trillion. By 2025, it’s expected to reach almost $2.3 trillion.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average US household spends $579 on alcohol every year. So unless you specifically target teetotallers, you should find many marketing opportunities to exploit.
Like what you hear? Let’s take a look at the best alcohol affiliate programs on the market right now:
Alcohol Affiliate Programs
- Drizly
- Saucey
- WineExpress
- The Bro Basket
- The Whisky Barrel
- BarProducts
- Flaviar
- Craft Beer Club
- TheDrinkShop
- Zachys
- Homewetbar.com
- California Wine Club
- LIQUORexam
- Plonk Wine Club
Drizly
Drizly claims to be North America’s number one online alcohol marketplace, reaching beer drinkers, wine enthusiasts, and liquor lovers in more than 100 markets across the US and Canada.
It’s a pretty sleek online business with a superb, highly personalized shopping experience, tons of rich content, and a promise to deliver orders in less than an hour. All of which makes it easier for affiliate marketers to convert sales.
The Drizly alcohol affiliate program pays a pretty meager 1% average commission, so you’ll want to drive plenty of volumes if you’re going to earn decent money here. Another issue is that you’ll only be paid for sales to new customers, which means no commissions on repeat purchases.
Still, there’s plenty to like about Drizly. The average order value is solid at more than $75, plus you’ll get lots of marketing materials to help you out, including monthly affiliate promotions and a variety of updated creative.
- URL: Drizly affiliate program
- Commission rate: 1%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Saucey
Saucey is an on-demand alcohol delivery service — and, as you can tell from the swanky-looking website, it’s a lot more legit than those flyers you see plastered to streetlights.
At time of writing, the service is available in 13 cities: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, NYC, Orange County, SF East Bay, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Silicon Valley, South Bay LA, and Washington, DC. Customers in those areas can currently purchase the alcoholic beverages of their choice and have them delivered within just 30 minutes.
Saucey doesn’t impose a minimum order value, but just like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and all the rest, it charges a cart fee on each transaction. That fee varies across its delivery zones.
The Saucey affiliate program pays a commission of 4% on all sales, with an average order value of $56. That might not sound the most attractive, but the high average conversion rate of 12% means there’s a strong chance the people who click your banner or text links will actually convert.
- URL: Saucey affiliate prog§ram
- Commission rate: 4%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
WineExpress
WineExpress.com is the exclusive online retail partner of The Wine Enthusiast, a catalog and website that’s big with — you guessed it — wine enthusiasts.
Josh Farrell, the company’s wine director, is a big name among wine lovers, with more than 30 years of experience as a wine merchant and taster, including acting as cellar master and sommelier at Windows on the World.
The site stocks hundreds of wine varieties, including exclusive reserves that aren’t available anywhere else, with free shipping available on all sales over $149. It also offers several wine club packages, priced from $49.95 per month.
Sign up for the WineExpress alcohol affiliate program and you’ll earn a flat $10 fee on all wine club memberships you generate, plus a 6% commission on regular store purchases.
To make your life easier, WineExpress provides an array of promotional materials, including banner ads, text links, and product links.
- URL: WineExpress affiliate program
- Commission rate: 6% for regular purchases, $10 for wine clubs
- Cookie duration: 30 days
The Bro Basket
Launched in 2014 as a local delivery service for beer-themed gifts, The Bro Basket swiftly pivoted into shipping nationwide after noticing orders coming in from across the country.
The company sells craft beer gift baskets, personalized gifts, spirits, and even beef jerky, making it a veritable one-stop-shop for “bros” everywhere.
The Bro Basket affiliate program pays some of the most generous commissions of all the alcohol affiliate programs we’ve seen, with a flat 12% fee on all sales you refer within a 30-day window.
Payouts are made directly via PayPal, while all the tracking and reporting is made via the ShareASale affiliate network.
- Affiliate marketing URL: BroBasket affiliate program
- Commission rate: 12%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
The Whisky Barrel
If it doesn’t offer the world’s largest selection of whisky, the appropriately named Whisky Barrel is definitely right up there, stocking more than 1,000 varieties from across the planet.
The site’s extensive catalog includes lots of new releases, particularly focusing on fine and rare Scotch whisky from independent bottlers and distillers, with prices ranging from £30 – £30,000. It also sells a range of world rums, Scottish gins, rare Japanese whiskies, and more.
Although the company is based in Scotland, The Whisky Barrel ships far beyond the British Isles, with delivery available to more than 50 countries.
The Whisky Barrel alcohol affiliate program pays a flat 5% commission on all sales, which can add up fast — particularly if you’re promoting premium products to an affluent audience.
As an added perk, affiliate marketers can get access to review samples. Just don’t overdo it!
- URL: The Whisky Barrel affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
BarProducts
As its name suggests, BarProducts sells bar products, from bottle openers and corkscrews to liquor shelves and LED lighting — basically exactly what you need to start your own home wet bar.
The site also stocks a range of beer gifts; think bottle and can coolers, coasters, and even drinking games.
So does BarProducts run a great affiliate program? Well, it pays a solid if unspectacular 5% commission on all sales, with payments made directly into your PayPal account. That means if you don’t have PayPal (or you’d prefer not to use it), you can’t join.
To sweeten the deal, the website offers same-day shipping on the majority of orders, provided they’re made before 2pm EST.
- URL: BarProducts affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: Unknown
Flaviar
Flaviar describes itself as “a band of spirits enthusiasts, inspired by culture, rich history, and the art of distillation”.
In non-marketing-speak, that means it runs a spirits-themed membership club, delivering a curated selection of premium liquors direct to your door.
Annual memberships are priced at $349 and are billed once a year, while quarterly subscriptions are billed every three months and cost $109 per quarter.
As well as its subscription club, Flaviar operates an online shopping service, selling 37 types of spirit including obscurities like absinthe, grappa, and mezcal. In other words, whatever alcoholic beverages your audience is into, they’ll find them at Flaviar.
Commissions for Flaviar’s alcohol affiliate program depend on the type of sale you refer, starting at $40 for online purchases (with a 30-day cookie window) and climbing to $50 on memberships (with a 45-day window).
- URL: Flaviar affiliate program
- Commission rate: $40 – $50
- Cookie duration: 30 – 45 days
Craft Beer Club
Craft Beer Club is — you guessed it — a monthly club that aims to offer beer drinkers the best selection of American craft brews. It has a huge catalog of beers, most of which are sourced from independent brewers using traditional brewing ingredients and techniques.
Members of the Craft Beer Club receive 12 – 24 bottles a month from four different beer styles, depending on their own preferences. They can also choose their delivery frequency, whether monthly, every other month, or once per quarter.
The site’s alcohol affiliate program pays a standard commission of 5% on all new memberships you refer. That’s reasonable enough, although the seven-day cookie window is a little stingy.
In better news, Craft Beer Club boasts a substantial average order value of $190 and a conversion rate of 7% — so when you refer someone, there’s a good chance they’ll spend plenty of money.
- URL: Craft Beer Club affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
TheDrinkShop
Launched more than two decades ago, TheDrinkShop is an online business that strives to offer the largest possible selection of wines, beers, spirits, and related gifts.
It certainly appears to be succeeding, with the website boasting more than 7,000 products across its various categories, many of which can’t be purchased anywhere else.
That extensive product catalog has helped TheDrinkShip attract tens of thousands of consumers and big corporate clients, while its wholesale list is used by thousands of bars, hotels, and restaurants.
As for the company’s alcohol affiliate program, it definitely falls into the category of “solid but unspectacular”. The 5% commission rate and 30-day cookie window aren’t overly generous, but the vast product selection makes up for this somewhat.
- URL: TheDrinkShop affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Zachys
Zachys is a family-owned business that’s been part of the alcohol trade since the mid-20th century, selling thousands of high-quality wines from around the world.
From critically acclaimed wines to little-known discoveries and the latest vintage releases, if it pops, fizzes, or glugs silkily into a glass, you’ll find it here.
The website has grown in popularity over the years thanks to its excellent customer service, vast knowledge of red and white wine (and all the other varieties, of course), and huge choice of products.
Like the sound of the Zachys affiliate program? You’ll like it even more when you learn that the average order value is an astonishing $440. Clearly, there’s good money to be made here.
Zachys offers plenty of marketing materials, including creatives, text links, and banner ads in different sizes. It also runs exclusive affiliate promotions and has a dedicated affiliate manager to answer your questions.
- URL: Zachys affiliate program
- Commission rate: $5 – $150 per sale
- Cookie duration: 30 days
HomeWetBar.com
Since 2004, HomeWetBar.com has specialized in personalized gifts for the beer, wine, or spirit lover in your life.
It creates a variety of bespoke gift products, including glassware, barware, signs, and decor — ideal for special occasions, or simply for people redecorating their house (or building a home wet bar).
In total, the website stocks more than 2,200 products, with an average order value of more than $50.
The HomeWetBar.com affiliate program offers an attractive 10% commission rate, so on average, you should be earning over $5 from each sale you refer. The one small downside is the 15-day cookie window, which is a little tight by the standard of other alcohol affiliate programs.
- URL: HomeWetBar.com affiliate program
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 15 days
California Wine Club
California Wine Club strives to give wine lovers access to the very best in small-batch wines from California’s top artisan wineries.
Its subscription-based wine club memberships are priced from $43.45 per quarter or every other month. As well as critically acclaimed wines, the package includes the guide Uncorked, which offers tasting notes on the featured wines, plus pairing notes and personal stories from the wineries.
Subscribers also have the option to reorder their favorite bottles at savings of up to 50%.
The California Wine Club affiliate program is run through ShareASale and pays a 15% commission on all sales.
The website has an impressive average conversion rate of 5.5%, with a seven-day average sale of over $200, so there’s lots of wine club affiliate earnings to be made here.
As if that wasn’t enough, it offers a 90-day cookie window — the longest of all the alcohol affiliate programs we’ve reviewed.
- URL: California Wine Club affiliate program
- Commission rate: 15% per sale
- Cookie duration: 90 days
LIQUORexam
Now for something a little different: LIQUORexam.com doesn’t sell wine gifts, craft beers, or high-end spirits. It doesn’t run a wine club. Instead, it offers online training for prospective alcohol servers and sellers.
Its training programs aim to teach students all they need to sell alcohol legally and responsibly.
Approved for use in all states, the courses are priced from just $7.95, take place 100% online, and can be started in less than 24 hours. That means the barrier to entry is pretty low. Each course incorporates five instructional units followed by a final exam.
The LIQUORexam.com affiliate program pays a generous 25% of sales for every new student you sign up. Commissions are based on the total monthly sales you refer and are calculated automatically at the end of each month.
- URL: LIQUORexam affiliate program
- Commission rate: 25%
- Cookie duration: Unknown
Plonk Wine Club
Plonk Wine Club is the creation of food and wine expert Etty Lewensztain, whose work has been certified by the American Sommelier Association and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Priding itself on flexibility, Plonk offers a range of wine club packages. Choose as few as four bottles per delivery or as many as 12, and opt for all reds, all whites, or a rotating mixed wine selection that also includes rose and sparkling wine.
Payments can be made as a month-by-month subscription or a prepaid lump sum covering three, six, or 12 shipments.
So far, so good. And it’s about to get even better, because the Plonk Wine Club affiliate program pays up to a 40% commission on new memberships and 15% on one-off sales. With ShareASale reporting an average order value of $290, there’s bags of earning potential here.
As if that wasn’t enough, the site’s affiliate manager is happy to offer advice, marketing materials, and details of current incentive programs.
- URL: Plonk Wine Club affiliate program
- Commission rate: 15% – 40%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Conclusion: Are Alcohol Affiliate Programs Right For You?
As you’ll have noticed, alcohol affiliate programs don’t tend to pay sky-high commissions. That’s because alcohol margins are comparatively tight, so there isn’t enough value to give you a huge cut of the sale.
On the flip side, alcohol is extremely popular. Most of us like a drink and have our favorite wines or beers, which gives you a huge — and highly qualified — audience to tap into.
So it’s a double-edged sword, but there’s definitely plenty of money to be made as an alcohol affiliate if you get it right.
That means building a high-quality website, writing fantastic content, targeting the right keywords, and understanding what a “good” affiliate program looks like.
We can help with all those things.
Sign up for our free training, and we’ll give you simple seven tips to create an authority site in 2024.
I’ll drink to that!
