Urban Drinks

Urban Drinks: an online shop for champagne, spirits and gift editions

Urban Drinks is a United Kingdom-based online retailer whose catalogue centres on champagne and spirits. The shop presents itself as a destination for "exclusive spirits and champagne" and organises its offer around a broad set of drink categories, from sparkling wine and cognac to gin, vodka, rum, whisky and liqueur. Alongside the bottles themselves, the site lists accessories and gift-related options, including laser engraving.

Champagne and sparkling wine

The champagne section is structured in some detail. Buyers can browse by dosage, with brut, brut nature, extra brut, semi-dry, dry and sweet styles listed, and by type, including blanc, rosé, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs and vintage champagne. The catalogue also groups bottles by house, naming producers such as Armand de Brignac, Ayala, Billecart-Salmon, Bollinger, Bruno Paillard, Cattier, Dom Pérignon, Laurent-Perrier, Louis Roederer, Moët & Chandon, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Pommery, Krug, Charles Heidsieck, Deutz, Piper-Heidsieck, Lanson, Gosset, Lallier, Perrier-Jouët, Nicolas Feuillatte, G.H. Mumm, Jacquart, Philipponnat, Duval Leroy, Jacquesson, Drappier, Salon and Egly Ouriet.

Bottle formats range from piccolo or quart bottles and demi or fillette bottles through the standard bottle to magnum, jeroboam or double magnum, methuselah, balthazar and nebuchadnezzar sizes. A separate sparkling wine selection covers producers and brands such as Astoria, Bottega, Castello di Gussago, Chandon Garden, Cinzano, Euforia, Freixenet, Fresita, Gancia, Gold Fusion, Henkell, Il Miogusto, Luc Belaire, Martial Richard, Martini, So Jennie Paris, Sua and Veuve Amiot.

Spirits across categories

Beyond champagne, the store covers a wide spread of spirits. The cognac range lists houses including Andre Renard, Ararat, Baron Otard, Bisquit Dubouche, Camus, Carlos I, Chateau Du Breuil, Ciroc, Claude Chatelier, Cles Des Ducs, Cognac Park, Courvoisier, Davidoff, De Luze, E&J Ferrand, Frapin, Godet, Grey Goose, Hardy, Hennessy, Joseph Guy, Landy, Martell, Menard, Merlet, Meukow, Montifaud, Moullon, OG Brandy, Planat, Rochenac and Rémy Martin.

Gin receives particularly extensive treatment, with a long alphabetical roster of brands that includes Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, Brockmans, Caorunn, Citadelle, Cotswolds, Edinburgh, Elephant Gin, Fifty Pounds, Four Pillars, Gin Mare, Hendrick's, Hernö, Monkey 47-style listings within the wider selection, Sipsmith-range names and many smaller distilleries. The site also groups gin and tonic sets. Vodka is organised by origin and by brand, with countries such as Poland, France, Sweden, Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Japan and Iceland represented, and brands including Absolut, Cîroc, Belvedere, Smirnoff, Grey Goose, Beluga, Crystal Head, Tito's, SKYY and Au Vodka. Flavoured vodka variants listed include strawberry, bison grass, vanilla, raspberry, gold, peach, mango, watermelon, lemon, apple, blueberry, espresso, cherry, caramel and grapefruit.

Rum is sorted by colour and by country of origin, with Caribbean, Jamaican, Bahamian, Barbados, Costa Rican, German, Cuban, Martinique, Dominican, Mauritian, Panamanian, Venezuelan, Guatemalan, Guyanese, Mexican and Spanish rums named, alongside brands such as Bacardi, Barbancourt, Clairin, Crossfire, Dictador, Diplomatico, Don Papa, Havana Club, Palm Republic, Patridom, Ron Centenario and Ron Miel. The whisky section spans Scotch whisky by region (Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown, Highlands and Islay), Irish whiskey, American bourbon, rye and Tennessee whiskey, and whiskies from Japan, Germany, Canada, India, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Taiwan, Iceland, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands. It can also be filtered by cask type, including bourbon, sherry, port, rum, mizunara, virgin oak and wine casks, and by age from 8 to 40 years.

Gifts, engraving and accessories

Gift-oriented buying is a visible part of the offer. Champagne, rum, vodka and whisky each have dedicated gift sections, with options for a gift box, laser engraving or wrapping paper. The shop also sells accessories such as spouts, bar accessories, mugs, clothing, champagne glasses, champagne coolers, ice cube moulds, gin glasses, copper cups and coolers. A newsletter subscription is promoted with a 5% discount.

Brands and product examples

The catalogue mixes large international names with smaller and niche producers. Examples shown on the site include Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut 0.75L at £53.90, Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut at £41.90, Landy XO 0.7L at £79.90, Courvoisier VSOP 0.7L at £49.90, Pastis 51 Anisée 0.7L at £31.90, Cointreau 0.7L at £33.90, an O'Donnell Moonshine pouring lid at £9.90 and a Cattier "Vasque Inox" cooler at £145.90. Some items are marked as unavailable or with a delivery estimate, such as Landy XO listed as available in 5-7 days.

Online retail operation

Urban Drinks operates as an e-commerce store with account login, a wishlist and a shopping cart, and it presents a country selector covering the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands and an international option. The site also maintains a blog. Its Trustpilot review page is referenced as a source for the business listing.