Bespoke Post is a monthly men’s subscription box. Unlike most subscription boxes, you get to preview the new Bespoke Post box offerings on the first of each month, and you can easily skip any month that doesn't interest you in your account section.
This is a review of the "Dry" box which is still available.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Bespoke Post
The Subscription Box: Bespoke Post
The Cost: $45 a month for members, $55 if purchased without a membership.
The Products: Monthly lifestyle items curated around a theme.
Ships to: The lower 48 US states for $3.95, Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada for $10. All orders over $75 qualify for free shipping.
Bespoke Post "Dry" Review
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My husband and I love bourbon and Old Fashioned cocktails so when I saw this box, I was really intrigued, and obviously very skeptical. How can you have a mixed drink without alcohol? As someone who has gone through three pregnancies and willingly gave up one of my guilty pleasures during those times, I was all about seeing how this Dry box measured up. I do have to point out something that bugged me a bit though; the front of this card lists the items in our box and says "flip to turn this stuff into a non-alc cocktail" and then on the back there is a recipe for a Paloma Fizz, but it requires completely different ingredients and none of the items we received in our box. Strange! Luckily I have my Old Fashioned recipe down by now!
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Ritual Zero Proof Non-Alcoholic Whiskey Alternative - Retail Value $24.95
The main component of our box is a 750ml bottle of this whiskey alternative. The bottle itself is nice and looks like something you'd find in a liquor store. The idea behind this brand is that a lot of people enjoy the actual ritual of drinking, so this allows you that ritual without any of the side effects (which seem to come a lot more quickly the older I get)! The label lists a ton of ingredients that are pretty unique such as sugar floss, hemp leaves, green peppercorn, prickly ash, mesquite smoke, and capsicum fruit. They also included the more traditional flavors that are more like what you would expect such as American oak, Madagascar vanilla, and warm caramel. This bottle does not need refrigeration and stays good for 6 months.
While it isn't a true liquor, I still decided to use our fancy whiskey glasses to try it out. The color was good and the nose reminded me of grain alcohol, similar to a rye whiskey. So how did it taste? My husband and I agreed on this one - that first taste is really odd. It's tart and watery, and nothing like you'd expect in a drink trying to mimic whiskey. After that initial first taste, it does develop into a nice spicy flavor, which again isn't so much a whiskey flavor, but was pleasant, and then it finished out with a more robust smoke flavor. Since the finish leaves that smoky flavor in your mouth, you can imagine *almost* being deceived into thinking this is whiskey, but as soon as you take that second sip, that weird first taste brings you right back around again.
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Jack Rudy Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Cocktail Cherries - Retail Value $9.00
Since I knew the whiskey alternative would be a hit or miss, I was excited they had a few other items in this box that would be sure winners! These bourbon cherries were a great more grown-up version of the traditional maraschino cherries. Since these are the non-alcoholic version, they are made with bourbon extract. While I didn't pick up on the bourbon, probably since we didn't use the real stuff in our drink to help enhance the flavor, these were still really good. They weren't as sweet and had a nice texture!
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Vena's Fizz House Aromatic Bitters Cubes - Retail Value $8.00
Since we use bitters and sugar in our Old Fashioneds, these were another item I knew we could make use of. These little organic sugar cubes have just enough of that bitters flavor and would be great for taking on vacation since they are a nice two-in-one product!
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Dry: Delicious Handcrafted Cocktails and Other Clever Concoctions - Retail Value $14.95 (found here for $10.04)
I wish I'd had this book when I was pregnant! This is essentially a book full of classy mocktails that would have been perfect for experiencing the ritual of having a drink without the alcohol! I think this book is such a nice looking one that will fit in easily on any kitchen shelf. The recipes are accompanied by photographs of beautifully staged drinks that make them all the more enticing.
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The book is broken into sections with a nice table of contents at the front and an index at the back. There are sections about what bar items you should have on hand, recipes for some simple syrups, and a ton of other helpful information!
The first drink we tried this in was an Old Fashioned. I made it our usual way, muddling a cherry with an orange slice and one of the aromatic bitters sugar cubes and then adding ice and the whiskey. Even with the added flavors, we could still taste that first tart fruity/botanical flavor and it just did not work in this drink for us. Whiskey and bourbon have so much more body than this alternative and that is part of the reason we enjoy it with the more subtle orange and cherry flavors. They usually help tone down the booze, but in this case, we needed something to amp it up a bit more.
I remembered we had some ginger beer on hand from my other favorite bourbon drink, a Kentucky mule, so I added a squirt of lime, the Ritual, and topped it off with ginger beer and ice. This time I think the Ritual worked. The lime and ginger flavors masked that initial tartness and the spice of the ginger played off of the spice in the Ritual so the overall flavor was much more cohesive. I still much prefer the real deal, but if I were craving a drink or the ritual of having a drink, I wouldn't mind this!
Verdict: Bespoke Post is such a fun subscription that offers so many unique items. While the non-alcoholic whiskey could never replace bourbon for my husband and me, we were both pleasantly surprised at the smoky finish and how well it worked in a Mule. It just wasn't full-bodied or rich enough to suffice as a true substitute even with that smoke profile. I'm planning on experimenting a bit more with some other drinks, and a spicy margarita might be next! As for the sugar cubes and cherries, these will be a great way to upgrade our regular Old Fashioneds and make them a bit more enjoyable. The Dry book was also a great inclusion that has a lot of delicious-sounding recipes that I am eager to try. The total retail value of this box came to $56.90, which is a savings of just $7.95 on this box. While it's not the best value that I've received from this sub, it was certainly a unique collection of items and I think it's worth noting that the Ritual ZeroProof is currently unavailable to purchase online which makes it being delivered to our door even more valuable!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes! This box is still in stock.
Value Breakdown: This box costs $45 + $3.95 shipping so here is what you are paying approximately per item:
- Ritual: $21.46
- Cherries: $7.74
- Sugar: $6.89
- Recipe Book: $12.86
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