By DCist Contributor Nathan Wilkinson

Smartphone users have come to expect more convenience with each app they download. We no longer need to go outside to shop for clothes or buy food, and now we can even get liquor delivered to our doorsteps without having to walk into a store or talk to a single person. Home bartenders everywhere (or at least those within D.C. city limits) can rejoice that we have not one, but five alcohol delivery apps to choose from when stocking our shelves. But with so much choice comes an obvious dilemma: which one to use?

After about two years of operation within D.C., applications like Ultra, Klink, Minibar, and Drizly, as well as the local company, D.C. Wine Guy, are strikingly similar. This is due in part to the District’s liquor laws limiting alcohol sales to licensed vendors: those neighborhood shops that you used to frequent before you wised up and got an app for that.

With only local stores doing all the deliveries and sales, it follows that the tech companies differentiate their product by adjusting the user experience to meet the customers’ needs. These apps are selling you convenience, so it makes sense that they focus on simplifying the ordering process. Just enter your address, fill your virtual cart, and check out with your credit card, and your order arrives in less than an hour. Delivery areas and fees are also comparable (between three and five dollars), and the liquor selection is necessarily as varied as the stores themselves, which is to say not very much.

Ultra was the pioneer alcohol delivery company in D.C., and as such it focuses on simplifying liquor shopping.

“We try to mimic the experience of walking into a liquor store and choosing a product with a budget in mind,” says Ultra owner Aniket Shah. He recommends that users set parameters for how much they are willing to spend to filter their selection and quickly find what they are looking for. Ultra allows users to schedule deliveries weeks or months in advance, and a text message reminds you that your order is on the way.

Shah says that Ultra has come a long way since they first entered the D.C. market. “Back then there was no other alcohol delivery service to look to, no prior precedent to guide us in working in D.C. The only info we had was from looking at GrubHub, Living Social and Groupon—companies that offered coupons to be redeemed at a local businesses,” he says.

“We ran afoul of regulations because the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration ruled that we solicited orders and processed payments without a license, so we changed our business model.” Now all alcohol delivery services profit solely from user fees and delivery charges and leave the processing to the liquor stores. Shah says that soon Ultra will become more visible when plans to add a line of logo-sporting delivery vehicles and company-paid drivers to D.C. streets come to fruition. “It’s all part of our goal to making liquor shopping simple,” he says.

Klink (formerly Drink Drivers) and Drizly most resemble online catalogue shopping and will be a comfortable experience for anyone who uses Amazon. Drizly, which operates in more than a dozen major cities, breaks products down into categories of wine, beer, and types of hard liquor available in your zip code, making it easy to find what you are looking for. Smart software can recommend products you will enjoy based on your previous purchases and suggest mixers to enhance your drinking experience. You can even ship gifts to friends and relatives within the cities where Drizly operates.

Klink offers the same basic services, but their smaller footprint in only Ann Arbor, Miami, Orlando, and D.C. allows them to tailor their content to the user’s region. Use their app to find drink recipes, read articles on cocktails and mixology trends, as well as to find seasonal promotions in your area. For example, Klink partners with other local businesses to bring you specials like liquor-infused cupcakes with every delivery on Valentine’s Day. You get the feeling you’re part of a young drinking community on Klink, where you’ll find a whole page devoted to drinking games based on popular television shows like The Walking Dead. It’s essentially a social shopping experience for millennials who are as interested in trendiness as they are convenience.

The newest entrant in the liquor delivery market is Minibar. Not to be confused with José Andrés’ restaurant, Minibar is a delivery app that is geared to the practical concerns of shoppers. “Our goal is to make Minibar the better way to shop for liquor: whether it’s buying the wine you like with dinner, or getting tips for planning a party for 100 guests,” says co-owner Lindsey Andrews.

Minibar’s website is full of useful tools for party planning, stocking up or building a home bar with fresh ingredients and fruit, and creating cocktails for special events. Minibar’s technology goes beyond delivering a few bottles when you need them. It’s really the app for people who like to entertain, whether you are a serious bartending hobbyist or a beginner who needs help with the basics. Use Minibar’s sliding scale tool to determine how many bottles of beer, wine and liquor you need for any size party—it even lets you adjust for your guests’ tastes in alcohol and how heavily they tend to drink.

“Preparing for a party can be confusing for shoppers,” says Andrews. “People don’t always know what they will need.”

Minibar is a one-stop shop for party supplies, including mixers, garnishes, and cups. Individual or corporate customers can even contact their service team for personalized help with event planning. If all this web content seems overwhelming, the basic shopping functions are remarkably intuitive to use.

Choosing the right delivery app comes down to knowing your own speed. If you are a wine and liquor enthusiast shopping for yourself or friends, any one of these companies will serve you well. Home bartenders will get the most out of Minibar’s tools and Klink’s content, but the other companies offer their own promotions and sales that you might find more beneficial. All apps have a twenty to thirty dollar minimum order requirement and will charge a twenty-dollar restocking fee if you don’t comply with the terms of use agreement. So don’t try to gift alcohol to someone who is underage.

Local liquor laws limit deliveries in Maryland and Virginia, which means these apps won’t deliver outside of D.C. boundaries at present. Residents in far flung corners of the District also have fewer options: Ultra and D.C. Wine Guy cover the entire city, but other apps only serve more densely populated neighborhoods. Even with an expanding universe of delivery services, you might still have to settle for going to store like some poor luddite.