Borisal Liquor & Wine

This is for an online order places through DrinkUp, their online storefront. Ordered 7 bottles, 5 shipped. No explanation, neither via email or phone for the missing two bottles. Have now sent an email to their customer service and followed it up with three chat conversations to get a resolution. According to an email I got from them, they sent a notice and a refund. I received neither.
The chat people are nice enough, but largely useless. Twice now I’ve been told that their «buyers» need to look at this to figure out what happened. And, on top of that the last chat assistant could find no communication under this email address.
I’ll get the refund in the end, I’m sure, but it’s been a total waste of time dealing with these guys. Clearly they have no clue how to run an online business, so I’ll stick with others who can.

This place is the worse liquor store totally over priced I just actually went in there right now for a pint of Hennessy and he told me $ 25.00 lmfao who ever goes in there r stupid u got 2 better liquor stores in the area on 9^th street snd 5^th Ave and 14^th street and 5^th Ave where the rents r higher then 4^th Ave this guy is a crook and should b put out of business I wish I could give this loser place negative 5 stars because that’s Wat they deserve go to the other places I mentioned much better prices and more friendly then this old man

Pretty disappointed tonight. I used to go here all the time because they have a great selection. Unfortunately they’ve started price gouging! Widow Jane Bourbon is $ 58 everywhere but Borisal charges $ 68. There is no good reason for this as the distillery is literally 2 miles from this shop. I won’t be going back after that.

Great selection. Their whiskey selection in particular is the best that I’ve seen. The prices, while not rock bottom cheap, are eminently reasonable.

I placed an order online for a gift. Despite selecting the gift option, the website did not process it as such. When I tried to contact customer service, they were extremely unhelpful and simply blamed me for not placing the order correctly.

I had another good experience with
I ordered 11 different items, for a total of 12 bottles (split an order with my neighbor). Ordered on Friday, they shipped on Tuesday, I recieved in NJ on Wednesday. Again, my only motivation to not give them 5 stars is that the charge to your credit card happens as soon as you order, not when they ship. But seriously, this is very reliable and convenient. They have a great selection and after two orders that processed in very similar times, it seems somewhat predictable.

I get my Curaçao shipped to me at a great price. No taxes; I love it.

I ordered two packages to be delivered to two separate addresses. The first one shipped immediately and was packaged so incredibly well, I was truly amazed. The second one shipped a few days later and UPS damaged it during shipping. I contacted these guys and immediately arranged to ship a replacement out. Superb customer service.

this is my experience with
…
order 2 bottle of titos handmade vodka and 1 bottle Auchentashan 3 wood scotch… paid $ 30 for overnight/​next day shipping… I get my delivery USPS on FRIDAY NIGHT! called Borisal to complain and was told because of the winter storm on TUESDAY NIGHT my online next day priority order placed on SUNDAY EVENING was delayed till FRIDAY NIGHT and it was totally usps fault… mind you the origin scan from ups show the acceptance scan of WEDNESDAY, the day after the storm, so the delay was soely caused by drinkupny/​Borisal, and was lied to over the phone by not one, but 2 different employees… the best part is when I complained I wanted my $ 30 overnight shipping fee back, I was told that i have to contact UPS myself and that its, «not their problem»…
I can’t predict the weather, but I see a BBB complaint in your near future…

If I could give them zero stars, I would.
I put in an order over xmas. I wanted to send my father-​in-​law a bottle of scotch. They billed me for it but days later, no shipping confirmation. I have called them numerous times over the past few weeks to no avail. I have left serval messages with them, and they refuse to get back to me or even refund my purchase. I still haven’t received my money, my merchandise, or even a phone call. Simply put, they stole my money.

This place is unbelievable. I have placed an order with them. The bottle was never delivered. I called them twice and a phone parrot took a message for their sales to call me back. Never a word back.
So, I went to the PayPal and emailed them from there. Again, no response. Then, I repeated the email from the PayPal with a threat to escalate it to the PayPay resolution. IN 20 MINS MONEY WAS REFUNDED! What an arrogant business this is!

Ordered a gift through their website DrinkUpNY in early December (before the promised ¹²⁄₁₅ cutoff for «guaranteed» Christmas delivery). Received an order confirmation but then heard nothing so I assumed everything was OK. December 22^nd I started to get nervous and sent them an email and also tried calling but could only reach their call service. Called again ¹²⁄₂₃ during regular business hours. Called again ¹²⁄₂₄. Each time they took a message and promised that I would receive a call back very soon.
Finally, on the evening of 12/​24, realizing that there’s no chance the order shipped, I went and visited their store in person and they were completely unwilling to help, and did not have the item I ordered as a Christmas gift available. So, basically, I was left without any means to get this gift. Very disappointing. The *least* they could have done is be honest and let me know they weren’t going to be able to fulfill my order and give me a chance to order from someone else.
I still haven’t even resolved my initial order from them — it’s unclear if it’s been cancelled or is pending or when I’m going to have to fight my credit card company about this. I rarely say this, but I would never deal with them again.

Awful experience. TL;DR I paid them $ 89 for two bottles that I still haven’t received, or have had refunded, despite making the trip in person to try to pick them up. (So I guess they stole my money?)
I ordered through
2 bottles to be delivered to a friend. Because of logistical issues, the bottles were sent back to DrinkUpNY, who demanded I pay additional shipping and return fees on top of what I had already paid.
Rather than risk paying them for an additional delivery only to have it turned away, (at their suggestion) I went in to pick it up when I was next in NY. When I arrived, they insisted I’d been refunded months ago — weeks after I’d had email exchanges with them encouraging me to pick up my bottles in person. Despite showing them evidence that I had not been refunded (it was paid through my largely inactive PayPal account, so this was not hard), they refused to either give me the bottles I’d paid for or refund me.
Do not trust these people.

This is a review for the website

I’ve had nothing but excellent service with multiple (4 – 5 now) orders from them. Usually, the package ships the next day after I order, which is pretty fast. It takes 2 days for delivery. The last order I did was delayed by a week, which was unusual, but it’s probably because I ordered a whole bunch of random things (one was out of stock). However, after inquiring, they sent me a tracking # and arrived two days after that. While that order was delayed more than usual, I am still happy with the service.
Everything is all handpicked rare selections you simply can’t find in most shops. The Absinthe selection is stellar! Shipping cost is reasonable, along with safe and secure packaging. The website is also easy to order from. I read some of the other bad reviews here and was shocked. I guess don’t be in a rush if you’re wanting some rare stuff, but I’ve usually always received my shipment in 3 days of placing an order (ground shipping).

Horrible online experience. Total lack of customer service.
Not sure what the difference is between Borisal and DrinkUpNY. I don’t care.
I had an abysmal experience with ordering online. They should not have an online store if they cannot manage to keep anything in stock. This is absurd. They also provided zero follow up when the product I was waiting to ship when «indefinitely out of stock» — they blamed the distributor and recommended a refund. They were not helpful at all in helping me find it anywhere else. It was a gift that I ordered rush, and they did nothing to warn me that I would be waiting such a long time without hearing from them.
Not to mention, they still have it listed online as for sale when they still tell me it’s indefinitely out of stock.
Ordered on ⁹⁄₁₀. Did not get notice of «indefinite out of stock» until ⁹⁄₂₉.
FAIL.

Pros
1 — Great selection for such a small shop, seriously they have hard to find stuff.
2 — Prices are pretty good for having such a wide selection. Not the cheapest but definitely cheaper than places on 7^th Ave.
3 — Staff has always been friendly and helpful.
4 — Pretty much anything you see on their web site is usually in the store.
Cons
1 — Kind of narrow aisles inside, so maneuvering around can be tough.
2 — The bullet proof glass can be confusing. I’ve been going here for a long long time. I think the safety glass was from way back in the day when 10^th St and 4^th Ave wasn’t exactly the safest place to be at night. Seems like its just there now because it would be too expensive or time consuming to remove it. Just walk in thru the door and go past the glass, they don’t lock you out of the booze aisles, there is an open door going thru the glass, not really too hard to figure out.
So if you are looking for something hard to find or just want to try something new and want to save a buck or two this place is perfect. Seems like most of the negative reviews are for their website, not the store.

This is a review for their website,
I ordered a couple hundred dollars worth of bourbon for my bachelor party, and did it a couple weeks in advance. To make a long story short, the phone number on their website goes to a call-​center and most of those interactions were not helpful at all. Considering now this is a day before the party, I had to find some other way to get in contact with them since they weren’t responding through email or call center.
Finally, I called this number, explained the situation, said I’d love to have my liquor still, but it would need to be overnighted and was unwilling to pay that cost since it was their mistake. They said that they were not going to waive the shipping costs and that they could either delay the shipping or cancel the order. Instead of making it right, they were just going to act as if they hadn’t made a mistake. I decided to cancel the order. TBD how quickly they refund my credit card and whether or not I“ll have to call them again to figure that out…
I’m very disappointed about this whole interaction and will not be using this site again.

Who cares what the place looks like, they have one of the best selections of Whisky and hard to find booze ever. Seriously, their selection is mindblowingly awesome.
If you are buying liquor/​wine online and having it shipped, the #1 thing you worry about is packaging and these guys do it right. I have placed dozens of orders and am always impressed by their careful attention to detail and secure packaging.
I have had a few customer service interactions with the dudes at the store and they are always courteous and professional and took care of everything.
I would HIGHLY recommend this place.
If you live in NYC and are spoiled enough to have all the selection you’d want, continue to complain about this place all you want.

This review is for their online service.
I was excited to see some bourbons on their website that are sometimes hard to find near my home. I placed my order and eagerly awaited my 3 bottles. I waited patiently for the email in regards to tracking info, but it never arrived. I called their # and I guess it’s an answering service. The person said the company was swamped over the holidays and my order would ship ASAP. I waited another 2 days and no email. I called again. I received an email that stated one of my bottles was out of stock but my order would ship the next day. Another day goes by, I email them again. They replied that a different bottle was out of stock until the end of the month.
This was really annoying. It shouldn’t be «available» online if they are out of stock/​backordered etc. I finally decided to cancel my entire order.
People complain about Walmart, Amazon running the little guy out of business. Well, you have to operate on the same level, with great customer service to survive. I would not order from them online again.

Wowza, should I be wearing a bullet-​proof vest? This is my neighborhood liquor store so I’m entitled to diss it. I know 4^th Ave in Park Slope isn’t exactly glamorous, but I don’t typically feel unsafe… I’m starting to rethink that after my recent visit to this liquor store. After unsuccessful attempts to procure beer at local bodegas, I came to this store to get the «hard stuff.» (Read: I tried two bodegas, they don’t sell Guinness and I’m too lazy to walk to 5^th Ave)
Walking into the store, I was dumbstruck. I had no idea how to react to this. Why are all these liquors behind a thick glass wall? Am I supposed to already know what I’m going to get? Where do they list the prices? Do they have an app for this? Why is there only one tiny window that one can talk through? Am I supposed to wait for this lady to be done with her yammering about what kind of vodka gift set she wants?
Maybe I haven’t been to enough liquor stores, but I felt completely lost here and would have been better off walking the short distance to Owl Farm or the liquor store on 5^th Ave.
PS. Service was nice enough after you get over the initial shock of the glass window and the patrons clawing to ask questions through the tiny window.