For $60, Bob DeMars’s company, Blind Barrel, will ship a package of four craft-distilled whiskey samples, unmarked, with a tasting glass. Recipients can then try them and guess the whiskey type, age, and proof.
It’s a game using Blind Barrel’s app, preferably with friends. Participants can purchase entire bottles at discounted prices.
Bob launched the business in 2021 from his base in California. In our recent conversation, he addressed the company’s growth, marketing tactics, legalities, and more.
Our entire audio is embedded below. The transcript is edited for length and clarity.
Eric Bandholz: Tell us what you do.
Bob DeMars: I’m the founder and CEO of Blind Barrels, a whiskey-tasting experience. Subscribers receive unlabeled samples and, using our gamified app, try to guess the type of whiskey, its age, and proof. It’s fun and interactive, but what keeps members around is the exclusive access we provide.
We feature small American craft distilleries and offer special barrel picks at competitive prices — like a bottle from Still Austin, normally $80–$110, available to members for $75.
It’s a subscription starting at $59.99 for one quarter or $49.99 per quarter annually. We ship curated lineups to U.S. customers only in March, June, September, and December. We chose quarterly because creating these blind tasting lineups — sourcing, bottling, legalities — is complex.
It’s tightly regulated. Quarterly curation helps us manage inventory — each lineup is limited, high-quality, and intentionally sourced.
Bandholz: Can you sell to consumers in all U.S. states?
DeMars: We’re limited. Some states are too restrictive. For example, we don’t ship to Utah. We can ship to Hawaii and Alaska, but it costs $60 to send a $2 item, so it’s not feasible. It also depends on our fulfillment partners. Having the right ones is key for both sample kits and full bottles.
A big challenge is the distribution system. Many craft whiskeys we feature are only distributed in their home states. After Prohibition ended in 1933, the U.S. implemented a unique three-tier system: producers must sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers, and only then to consumers. This setup doesn’t exist anywhere else worldwide and creates a stranglehold on access.
As a retailer, we sell to end users. We need the craft brands to get their products into at least one distributor in a compliant state. From there, our fulfillment partners can legally ship to most other states. It’s a complex process, but we’ve figured out how to navigate it.
Bandholz: Do you include big whiskey brands?
DeMars: We don’t feature the big guys — there’s nothing special about including a Jim Beam or Maker’s Mark in a tasting lineup. Even something like Johnnie Walker Blue is mass-produced. The big brands dominate through distribution. That’s why you see the same bottles in every bar and liquor store.
Craft producers, on the other hand, make some of the best whiskey in the country, but no one outside their region knows they exist. Our goal is to spotlight those hidden gems.
We don’t select brands — we select whiskeys. We build every lineup through blind tastings. No brand can buy its way in, and we don’t charge marketing fees. If your whiskey is in our lineup, it’s outstanding.
Craft distillers drive innovation. They’ve pioneered barrel finishes and experimental mash bills — recipes — and the big brands are starting to follow. Craft is where the creativity lives.
Bandholz: What are your shipping and product costs?
DeMars: Our boxes cost about $2, and the glass bottles, landed with shipping, are about $2.50. I called seemingly every vendor in the country to get those rates.
Even then, we pay slightly above cost for whiskey because it has to move through the three-tier system. So between the whiskey, bottles, caps, and shipping, our margins are roughly 50%.
The first kit we ship is basically breakeven — we don’t make or lose money. Profit comes from retention. We were profitable in our first year, but reinvested everything into site optimization and marketing.
When we launched, our website purchase conversion rate was just 0.6%. After tweaks, we hit 1.6%, and then I brought in an expert — we’re now at 3%.
The real game-changer has been low churn. The industry average for alcohol subscriptions is 10–12%; we’re under 3.5%. That loyalty saved us when conversions were low.
People share the kits with friends, especially now that we’ve gamified the experience. It creates viral momentum. Great whiskey is meant to be shared.
Bandholz: How do you acquire customers?
DeMars: We have multiple tactics. I didn’t raise much outside capital — I put in most of the funds myself because this was a risky model.
One of our first breaks came from a prominent Southern California FM radio host who joined as an advisor. He talked about us on-air, and suddenly 50% of our first few hundred members came from those mentions. That gave us enough cash flow to start testing marketing.
Now, our main acquisition channels are email and Google and Meta ads. We don’t use SMS much yet but plan to test it. Father’s Day and Christmas are big for us. We’ve grown revenue by around 25% per quarter.
I’ve bootstrapped everything. I didn’t take a salary until we hit 2,500 members. I managed all advertising and social content at first. I’m a filmmaker, so that helped. Meta ads can be tricky for alcohol brands.
For example, Meta doesn’t allow targeting consumers by age using Advantage+. We’re on our fifth marketing team, and they finally get it. They understand the brand, and I no longer have to carry the whole creative load.
Bandholz: Where can people subscribe?
DeMars: Our site is BlindBarrels.com. You can follow us on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. I’m on LinkedIn.