The Fancy Mini Liquor Pack That Costco Shoppers Say Is 'Gimmicky'

Encased in a gold container shaped like a briefcase lay 12 glass figurines filled with liquor. Dramatic as it sounds, this is a regular product of Costco shelves in the winter season. The Napoleon XO Brandy Zodiac Signs mini liquor pack is by now a familiar sight to Costco regulars. With such familiarity with this product comes the knowledge that these twelve glass bottles filled with 100 milliliters of Napoleon XO brandy may not be the best buy.

While brandy is usually a classic choice for spiking a variety of holiday beverages, it may be best to avoid pouring these mini liquors into your cup and explore better liquors to add to your eggnog. At the surface level, customers have spoken out on social media forums such as Reddit expressing that the design of this product is simultaneously gimmicky and low quality. Some of these customers are dissatisfied with the quality of the brandy itself, while others aren't fully pleased with the packaging and aesthetics of this product.

The glass figures themselves seem to be the greatest pull of this liquor pack. The twelve represent animals linked to the signs of the Chinese zodiac, which are typically used to decorate homes or perhaps bring in the new year with some luck (the Lunar New Year typically falls somewhere between late January and late February, if you're not familiar). Due to their delicate nature, some have found that the individual bottles may already be chipped or even allegedly empty upon opening the package. Still, not everyone is unhappy. And if you end up in possession of this liquor pack one of the benefits is that the empty glassware can be repurposed for things like propagating plants or decoration.

If you were drawn to this pack for the liquor within, you may be better off with Costco's premium liquor for cognac lovers, even though cognac and brandy are not the same thing.