Amazon is now delivering booze to your door, if you live in the right city


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
On Tuesday, Amazon gave tipplers one more reason to consider its $99-a-year Amazon Prime service. The online marketplace rolled out its Prime Now rapid-home-delivery option in its hometown, Seattle, and added beer, wine, and liquor to the list of deliverable items. It has been delivering alcohol in London since June, but Seattle is the first —and, as of now, only — U.S. city where you can get Amazon to do your liquor shopping for you.
Amazon says it will consider adding alcohol to its Prime Now offerings in other cities, so cross your fingers drinkers in New York, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Indianapolis.
How does booze delivery work? You order on a smartphone app, and you can have the alcohol delivered within an hour for $7.99, or if you can wait up to two hours, it's free (assuming you are a Prime member). Cost-wise, "Amazon Prime Now's price for a 750ml bottle of Absolute Vodka, including state taxes, was almost exactly the same as the price of the same bottle at the neighborhood liquor store," said Todd Bishop at GeekWire, where they tested out the service on Tuesday. They ponied up for the one-hour delivery and were happy with the results: "Thirty-four minutes later, we were pouring screwdrivers in the break room."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Remember that the next time somebody tells you that journalism is a thankless profession.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
-
Microscopic items
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily gossip: Chevy Chase says 'Community' wasn't 'funny enough' for him, Golden Globes to add a category for blockbuster movies, and more
The daily gossip: September 26, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Equality
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Elon Musk used Starlink, which saved Ukraine, to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russia's Crimea fleet
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Fitch downgrades US credit rating, citing 'repeated debt-limit political standoffs'
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Bed Bath & Beyond relaunches online following bankruptcy
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing is closing after 127 years
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Lawmakers say tax prep companies illegally shared taxpayer data with Meta and Google
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Microsoft wins FTC battle to acquire Activision Blizzard
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Tesla reports record quarter for sales
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
48 states sue telecom company over billions of robocalls
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published