While Australia might be slow on the uptake when it comes to electric vehicle (EV) adoption, many of the world’s biggest automotive markets are becoming more and more electrified. EVs are mainstream now – in no small part due to the vision of Elon Musk’s pioneering company Tesla, which has transformed the global public’s perception of EVs from drab to desirable.The Tesla Model 3, Tesla’s smallest and cheapest vehicle, is officially the world’s best-selling electric car of all time with close to a million units sold and was the world’s top-selling plug-in electric car (PEV) for three years running, from 2018 to 2020.‘Was’ being the operative term. Now, a tiny EV rival out of China has unseated Tesla’s throne as the world’s most popular electric car – after only a year on the market and without even having to leave its home country.It’s called the Wuling Hongguang Mini – not quite as snappy as ‘Tesla Model 3’, but there you go. Manufactured by SAIC-GM-Wuling, a joint venture between two Chinese state-owned auto makers and America’s General Motors, the diminutive ‘mianbao che’ (面包车) or ‘bread box car’ has finally overtaken the Model 3 in global monthly sales, with Wuling selling over 1,000 a day, The Driven relates.While it’s currently only offered in mainland China (which makes those sales figures even more impressive), the brand has ambitions to take it overseas, and manufacturers in countries like Latvia and Pakistan are already penning deals to produce the pint-sized EV under license.

Less than 3m long and putting out an equivalent of 13kW from its single motor, it’s a truly titchy thing. But so is the asking price: around 5,700 AUD. That’s cheap by anyone’s standards. It only has an effective range of about 120-170km (depending on the battery) but seeing as this car’s natural environment would be the packed streets of a Chinese metropolis, that’s hardly a concern.A big factor in the Hongguang Mini’s success is its cute factor, too. It’s a demonstrably attractive little car with a somewhat retro aesthetic – taking a leaf out of MINI’s book – that Wuling have aimed squarely at the female market, which is generally more receptive to EV ownership, as this Al Jazeera article relates.Would the car work in Australia, however? It’s a good question. Even if the car was sold here for double its Chinese RRP, it would still be easily be the cheapest car in Australia – and the cheapest EV by a long shot (the cheapest EV available Down Under currently is the MG ZS EV, which starts at $40,990 before on-road costs).RELATED: Australia’s Best New Family SUV Comes From The Most Unlikely BrandThe biggest issue is safety. An unofficial crash test of the Hongguang Mini conducted in China suggests the car performs poorly in a crash, with one tester quipping “no one in the car can survive even in a low-speed frontal crash… Crushed like [a] soda can”, Tesmanian reports. It wouldn’t be allowed to be sold in most overseas markets as is.Guess you get what you pay for.

China has long been the world’s #1 producer of EVs as well as the world’s largest market for EVs: home to over half the world’s fleet, the Middle Kingdom has quickly and enthusiastically embraced EV technology in a way that makes other automotive giants like Japan and the United States look like real laggards.The ‘People’s Tesla’ is successful for a reason: it’s cheap, and it sacrifices safety and creature comforts in the pursuit of cheapness. But its success should be a wake-up call to Tesla, America and the rest of the world: unless others start innovating, China will undoubtedly overtake everyone else in the EV game.

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• MINI’s ‘Off Road’ Countryman Is Australia’s Most Stylish Plug-in Hybrid

The post China’s ‘People’s Tesla’ Overtakes Elon’s Model 3 As Best Selling Electric Car appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Salt Bae, the Internet’s sexiest butcher and man with an impossibly low body fat percentage, is known for one thing: meat. The carnivorous restauranteur and entrepreneur with a constant hunger for success and Instagram followers has secured himself several restaurant locations around the world – albeit ones that charge exorbitantly high prices for its meat dishes – and it has often remained somewhat a secret as to how he brings his mouth-watering cuts of flesh to plates.Until now. (Watch below)

Taking to Instagram, Salt Bae – real name Nusret Gökçe – posted a video, offering his 35 million+ Instagram following a closer look behind the doors of his highly impressive meat operation. With a soundtrack vegans everywhere would find a little too joyous considering the subject matter, Salt Bae takes us on a tour of the main factory in Turkey where much of his meat is processed and prepared, before it’s sent on to his restaurants.What is immediately apparent is how serious Salt Bae takes hygiene, even without the threat of Covid. Before anyone steps foot on the butchery floor, they have their shoes and hands fully sanitised to fend off any germs, although, the man himself goes without a white lab coat, instead favouring his signature style of crisp white t-shirt, dark chinos and exceptionally white sneakers.After personally inspecting the precision of the cuts of meat carried out by his butcher team, Salt Bae gets to work himself, engaging in a game of fruit ninja with tomatoes and lettuce, before finally showing off corridors upon corridors filled with meat drying racks which each individual cut labelled depending on its drying age. One can only guess how much all the meat is worth.Say what you will about his lack of consideration for plant-based diets, it’s a fully regimented process that goes some way to explaining how he has gained his global notoriety.

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• Salt Bae Destroys Extreme Carnivore Breakfast Like A Champion
• Salt Bae’s Mobility Exercises Will Either Make You Or Break You

The post Salt Bae Blows Meat Lover's Minds With Behind The Scenes 'Lab' Tour appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Mercedes-Benz are well-known for making capable commercial vehicles like vans and Unimogs as well as high-end luxury cars, but utes have been something sorely missing from their Australian offerings.

Of course, they did offer the X-Class for a few years between 2017 and 2020 – but that was just a glorified Nissan Navara, and it sold remarkably badly (not only in Australia but globally). Besides, it wasn’t a ute, it was more of a truck. For real automotive purists, a ute is a small, car-based vehicle, not some jacked-up brodozer.

Thankfully, one enterprising Northern Territorian has made every Aussie’s dream of a fair dinkum Mercedes ute come true. During a casual dig through Australia’s Facebook buy/sell/swap groups, we were delighted to come across this 1974 W114 for sale in Palmerston that’s been elaborately modified into a proper ute that wouldn’t look out of place in a lineup with old Holden One Tonners and Ford Falcons.

Forget shrimp: we’ll slip an extra bratwurst on the barbie for you.

The W114 was a front-engined, rear-wheel drive executive car produced from 1968 to 1976, preceding the legendary W123 and the ancestor of what would become known as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class line. The W114 (and its slightly less powerful but otherwise identical sibling, the W115) was an incredibly successful vehicle, with Daimler-Benz making almost 2 million of the things over those eight years of production.

While the car was available as both a coupe or a sedan, this example probably started life as the latter. Gone are the rear two seats and in place is a small but no doubt useful ute tray, complete with a roll-over bar and heavy-duty bed liner.

Under the bonnet is the original carburetted M110 straight-six engine with what appears to be an aftermarket air intake. Back in the day, these made around 107-118kW, but with this example’s extreme weight loss thanks to the ute conversion, it might be making a little more than that – assuming not too many horses have escaped that engine since the 70s…

RELATED: Million Dollar Ute Sale Suggests Bogan Car Mania Not Slowing Down Any Time Soon

The seller claims it’s “fully engineering and complianced” and “presents beautifully with cold factory aircon and mags” – although if it was up to us, we’d swap out those modern-looking mags for some classic steelies we could throw a Mercedes diamond dog-dish hubcap over.

They’re asking $16,500 for the thing, which all things considered is an absolute bargain. It would have cost thousands to turn this thing into a ute – money well spent in our opinion; the quality of the conversion is impressive – and you’d probably expect to pay that much for a nice W114/115 anyway.

Besides, can you really put a price on something as novel as a vintage Merc ute?

You can find this bad boy on Facebook if you’re interested.

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The post Crazy Australian Bastard Turns 70s Mercedes-Benz Sedan Into Fair Dinkum Ute appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

What’s worse: picking a cheap wine only for it to be terrible, or picking an expensive wine only for it to be average?According to Naked Wines Australia, you shouldn’t be doing either: you should be in the sweet spot range of approximately $15.As the online wine retailer wrote on Twitter on the 3rd of June, it’s important not to let the blinding lights of special offers (or expensive drops) blinker you to the middle ground of vintages.“Did you know there’s less than 80 cents worth of wine in a typical $7 wine from the bottle shop?” the Australian branch of Naked Wines wrote on Twitter.“But spend $15 and you get more than FOUR TIMES as much wine for your money.”“Find out the wine industry’s dirty little secret and win a $50 Naked Wines voucher to try for yourself,” the post continued, spruiking their own business offer.

Did you know there’s less than 80 cents worth of wine in a typical $7 wine from the bottle shop?

But spend $15 and you get more than FOUR TIMES as much wine for your money.Find out the wine industry’s dirty little secret and win a $50 Naked Wines voucher to try for yourself…— NakedWines Australia (@NakedWinesAus) June 3, 2021

Though there is a commercial incentive for them to point this out, the point remains. And when you click through to find out more about this “dirty little secret” more is revealed.“We’ve all seen those headlines, but don’t be blinded by bling,” Naked Wines Australia states.“Winning gold doesn’t always mean a wine bagged the top spot. In reality, hundreds (or even thousands!) of wines get awarded gold at the same time.”“And remember: in a $7 bottle, only about 80 cents actually goes towards the quality of the juice. The rest is lost on costs like tax and logistics – things you can’t taste!”“When you spend $25 or more on a bottle of wine, most of the time that money will end up going towards branding and big marketing campaigns.”“To get real value for money aim for bottles in the $10-$15 range – we call it the sweet spot… and once you try it you’ll see why!”Not everyone is convinced $15 is always the best value for money, however.RELATED: The ‘Naive’ Alcohol Myth Europeans Wish Australians Would Stop SpoutingNick Bhasin put it well for SBS, describing a $100 bottle of wine (which he tried in a blind test) as follows:“Every sip was an adventure. It had all that complexity, intensity and balance an expensive wine is supposed to have. It was fruity without being too sweet. It was incredibly easy to drink. It was dark. It was rich. It smelled amazing. Peppery? You better believe it. And so so smooth, with some kind of berry finish. And it tasted great with or without food.”

“I would brush my teeth with the stuff every day if it were acceptable. I want it in my mouth all the time, just let it set up camp and live in there. I don’t want to taste anything else for the rest of my days. This wine was haunting me, calling out to me in the night. I saved a glass for the next day and it was all I could think about. I felt lucky to have known this wine. I want the Democrats to run this wine in the 2020 Presidential race.”

He then compared that to a $10 wine, also tried in a blind test.“That’s not to say that the cheap wine was bad. It wasn’t. In fact, the first few sips were great. There were some strong flavours coming through and it was very enjoyable. And I think I smelled salami in there, which was a weird surprise.”

“But then it showed itself. It was dancing with me at the beginning like it knew all the moves. But then it got sloppy and started missing its cues, stumbling all over the place to the point where I was just holding it up all night. By the end, I was tired and I wanted to call it a taxi.”

“Complexity, intensity and balance? The hooch didn’t have any. It flamed out really early, crawling over the finish line,” (SBS).“By contrast,” Bhasin added, “the expensive wine maintained its level of quality – and it even got better as the night went on. It had the steady hands of a surgeon, saving my life and showing me how to love again. I will forever be in its debt.”The perennial “what’s the difference between a $8 and an $20 bottle of wine” and “what’s the difference between an $80 bottle of wine and an $800 bottle of wine” questoins have been debated long and hard over the years.As Alex Russell, a postdoctoral fellow at CQ University Australia who did his PhD in taste and smell perception with an emphasis on wine, has previously told DMARGE, though an $800 bottle rarely tastes 10 times better than an $80 bottle of wine, it’s price-tag is justified in other ways. 

“A wine won’t continue to retail for $800 every year if no one sees any value there.”

James Young, Sales Manager at Torbreck Vinters added to this, telling DMARGE that although you can’t always taste the most significant points of difference, an $800 bottle of wine is typically of a higher quality than an $80 bottle of wine because it comes from a lower yield crop, and receives greater attention to detail.

“If you’re buying a cheaper wine the yield’s probably six to eight tons on the acre. With $800 bottles it’s no more than one and a half tons on the acre. Also, everything is hand tended, so attention to detail creates a more expensive product.”

Another factor to take into account when it comes to weighing up how expensive to go with your vino is whether you are aiming to age it. As Russell told us: “All other things equal (region, grape, vintage, etc), a $50 wine may age for as long as, or almost as long as, a $200 wine, but it’s unlikely a $10 wine will age well.”RELATED: Australian Wine Snob Learns Important Lesson After Committing ‘Ultimate Barossa Valley Sin’Generally: the more expensive the wine, the more likely it is to age well. However, if you like the softer taste of a well-aged wine, you may get more value for money from a well-aged $80 bottle than a newly-released $800 bottle.

“Younger wines are more oaky and bigger.”

Alex Russell also said this decision will be influenced by who you are drinking the wine with.

“The experience of drinking a really expensive bottle, particularly with the right company, or for the right occasion, will stick with you for many years. I’ve shared some great bottles with friends and family over the years and you’d be surprised how often they come up in conversation. A bottle of Bollinger 2004 La Grande Année champers (about $300) that I opened one Christmas is a particularly fond memory for my father-in-law.”

Moving back to the $5-$50 price range, one Reddit user going by the name of HarbingerofRad shared an interesting take on the difference between an $8 bottle of wine and a $20 bottle of wine, which explains the difference, we think, quite well.“$8 wine is for when you’ve got your training wheels. It’s made from grapes in less desirable areas with boring vineyards that are harvested with machines and made in factory sized wineries. Inoffensive to the dozen people at your party? Yes. Life changing for anyone? No. Is the wine objectively good? Impossible to say.”

“$20 wine is when the training wheels come off and you’re ready to learn what Cabernet from Napa or Pinot from the Sonoma Coast tastes like. Half of your dozen party guests will hate it, 4 will like it, and 2 will love it. These wines are still produced at big volumes but they tell a better story of what they’re about. Some people don’t like the story and that’s okay because ‘good’ is subjective.”

“When you start drinking wines from around the world at $30+ you’re in trouble because those $8 bottles are now boring, muddled, out of balance swill that you can only muscle down with a big plate of lasagna on a Tuesday while watching Jeopardy. Then your sister tries some and exclaims “this is delicious” and you just sigh because you are a wine snob and she’s got her training wheels on.”Got it? Good. Now all you need to worry about is novinophobia.

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The post How Much You Should Spend On A Bottle Of Wine, According To Experts appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Australians romanticise the socks off Mexico’s Mojitos, blow the bitters off Europe’s Old Fashioneds, melt their minds off Morocco’s Mahia and slurp Bali’s Bintangs faster than an F1 racer drives up a straight.We also tend to see Australia as a big boring slab of Great Northern (or VB).Put another way: Australians romanticise overseas holidays.But as we recently reported, the sun isn’t always shinier.Though you may romanticise the carefree times you had in exotic destinations, guess what? The reason you had so much more fun wasn’t because of anything special in the sand – it was because you were on holiday.

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So although there always be an element of ‘the grass is greener’ in the travel industry (and that’s ok), it’s also good to know there are fun times to be had where you live too – you just have seek out people who are on a ‘let’s have fun’ wavelength rather than a ‘don’t talk to me I’m trying to sort out my life admin this weekend’ one.Likewise, when you make the decision to live overseas rather than stay briefly somewhere, you soon find many (if not all) of your dating woes from your home country have followed you.Though there are some advantages (a fresh start and potentially a sense of greater freedom to ‘be you’, for one) to dating overseas, there are also new challenges.

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As Canggu anthropologist/internet jester @thecanggupole recently revealed, if you choose to relocate to Bali then a whole host of new dating issues might crop up on your radar.Why? Well, judging by some of @thecanggupole’s recent posts, the entrepreneurial, insecure, ambitious, self-serving, creative, alluring spirit of Bali’s digital nomads doesn’t just apply to their business ventures.As a recent image posted to the account’s Instagram story suggests (reposted from pilates and yoga instructor @theomahafox), expats in Bali are growing tired of single guys who jump between dates quicker than they do ‘revolutionary’ business ideas, and who are misleading about it.

“Single guys in Bali,” the post reads.“Chick that thinks they are dating,” the next caption says, alongside a can of fizzy drink.“Another chick,” reads the next caption, alongside another drink.“Reserve chicks from Tinder, Instagram, Bumble, Old Man’s, gym, yoga, friendzone, that he is talking to,” the following caption reads, alongside four more unopened drinks.Then finally: “His ex, just in case.”DMARGE spoke to Alisa (@theomahafox), who is from Russia but has been living in Bali for a number of years, who explained why she shared the meme in the first place.“Well a certain dude sent me the same photo twice in several days: ‘I have just done this activity babe.’ I noticed it and I realized he saves the photos and sends them into numerous chats.”

“So I am on his bloody mailing list.”

“I even posted a poll on my close friends’ stories, watched by male poker players mostly, and asked, ‘Guys, how likely is it that I am getting the same content as a few other chicks?’ The guys said the probability of that is 100%.”“The professional gamblers are godlord fuckboys so they know.”“There was a song: ‘I got a girl in Paris, I got a girl in Rome,’ by Lou Bega. So the Bali version of it is ‘I got a girl in Ulu, I got a girl in Gu, I send them the same selfies whatever I do.'”

“I think the guys use that backup system because they are being allowed to get away with that.”

“I am not going to be someone’s backup because the moment I smell what’s up, the dude is fucking out.”Though it’s no evidence for this exact phenomenon, the Canggu Instagram geotag and hashtag pages give a sense for the ~chill~ lifestyle many dudes live and post about in Indonesia.

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The Canggu Pole has also skewered other aspects of expat culture like faux spirituality…

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… as well as helmet wearing…

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… and questionable Instagram captions.

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It’s also worth pointing out that Instagram accounts like @violetclair, which make fun of dating trends in other parts of the world like New York, show that this ‘back up’ phenomenon is not unique to Bali, but happens worldwide.

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Bali is also not the only place expats have dating woes. New residents everywhere from France to Iceland have thrown themselves at the internet for advice, seeking a framework to re-assess the tricky new worlds of romance they now find themselves in.For those looking for further information on the types of ‘expat dude’ you will likely meet in Bali, Coconuts breaks it down into the following six categories:

• The backpacker
• The sexy surfer
• The schoolie
• The exotic ‘cowboy’
• The smooth expat
• The new age raw organic hippe

You’ve been warned.

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The post Devastating Dating Insight Every Australian Expat In Bali Knows To Be True appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The Porsche 911 is one of the most iconic vehicles of all time. Famed around the globe for its impeccable looks, great handling and spirited performance, many would consider it the perfect sports car. So how can you improve on perfection?That’s the question Singer Vehicle Design has been answering with aplomb for the last twelve years. Founded in 2009 by Rob Dickinson, former frontman of the English rock band Catherine Wheel and noted Porsche tragic, the Los Angeles-based firm specialises in rebuilding, restoring and modifying classic 911s, and has quickly become recognised as perhaps the world’s best classic Porsche restorer.While Singer has long offered its services to both American and European 911 owners, Aussies have long been forced to wistfully look on, unable to receive their Midas touch. Until now, that is.In collaboration with Melbourne-based luxury car importer and dealer Zagame Automotive Group, the famed Californian restoration outfit’s brilliant products will now finally be available in Australia (as well as in New Zealand), with a new showroom – the location of which is yet to be announced – set to feature a customer service team, maintenance facilities, and a small number of display cars, CarAdvice reports.

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Singer’s bread and butter is taking 964 targas or coupes – the version of the classic 911 produced from 1989 to 1994 – and turning them into absolute works of art. All Porsches that get the Singer treatments are of course bespoke, but there are a few key Singer design choices that are consistent between their customisations.Much of a Singer job’s bodywork is replaced with carbon fibre and their classic air-cooled flat-six engines get reworked by noted tuners such as Cosworth and Williams to produce significantly more power. They substitute the long hood of the Porsche 911 classic for the 964’s stock short hood, and often relocate the fuel filler door to the bonnet, too – a nod to historic Porsche race cars. Famously, Singer tachometers go to 11, a Spın̈al Tap reference (even though engine redline is 7,900rpm).RELATED: Stunning Custom Porsche 911 Targa Leaves Australian Car Lovers Green With EnvyCustomers generally provide their own donor vehicle, but Singer and Zagame are planning to bring a small number of display models Down Under as well. There’s already one Singer custom job on the ground in New Zealand, and Singer has also shared on Instagram that “the first restoration for an owner in Australia will arrive later in 2021.”

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Don’t expect it to be a cheap process, however. Singer’s services usually cost upwards of 650,000 USD (~850,000 AUD), and 964s are already rather expensive cars to get your hands on here: the cheapest 964 on Carsales right now, a 1992 automatic coupe, is asking 124,000 AUD. One of our DMARGE correspondents has suggested that news of Singer’s arrival will push domestic 964 prices even higher, too.Better start saving, we suppose.Check out the DMARGE guide to buying a classic, vintage or used Porsche 911 if you want to get in on the action.

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The post World Famous Classic Porsche Restorer Finally Coming To Australia appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos is 35 and isn’t slowing down any time soon. Though he has endured knee and calf injuries this last season, he now appears to be well on the road back to full fitness with some scintillating summer workouts.He’s also rocking some scintillating activewear. As his latest Instagram video, posted to the platform on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Australia), shows, the iconic centre back has now joined the likes of Milo Ventimiglia and Conor McGregor in rocking Lots Of Legs.RELATED: Conor McGregor Shows You How To Wear Short Shorts In The Gym Without Offending The PublicIn fact, Ramos has arguably surpassed the efforts of the Irish MMA star and the Hollywood heartthrob, stripping down to his underwear in a move almost as controversial as Shia LeBeouf’s October 2020 activewear crime.

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Though we’re all here for it, the prudes might encourage him to at least put on some shorts.In the video, Ramos can be seen wearing white and red gloves, long white Nike socks, Nike trainers and the aforementioned Nike underwear (or glorified underwear, it’s hard to tell).The clutch player starts off ambling down a driveway or path of sorts, perhaps of his house or community, perhaps of the street, towards the camera. When he reaches the bottom he turns and sprints up the hill to the top. He then celebrates by raising his hands over his head.Commenters were quick to liken him to the similarly ripped and heavily tattooed aquaman, while others implored him to stay at Madrid (in a move that has proven futile, as reports emerged two hours ago from the time of writing that Ramos is now leaving Madrid after 16 years at the club).In news that will have flecks of tears in Los Blancos fans’ eyes all around the world, Ramos is set to announce his departure from the club on Thursday.As the SBS reports, “The La Liga giants confirmed there would be a farewell tribute to the 35-year-old, whose contract expires at the end of the month.”

“It will bring to an end the defender’s 16-year association with Los Blancos.”

This is not the first time Ramos has shown off his ripped figure and intense workouts. In recent months DMARGE has reported on him doing everything from gruelling rehabilitation workouts to unstoppable beast mode workouts. In order to succeed at his new club, he will need to get back to peak fitness and continue doing them.Ramos has transformed dramatically over the years. As DMARGE reported in May 2020, this could have a lot to do with his diet, as well as training.

So what exactly is Ramos’ secret? We asked Ben Lucas, founder of Flow Athletic, to give his professional opinion. Ben told us that while it’s clear he’s been exercising a lot, a lot of his transformation can be put down to a good nutritional diet.

“In order to achieve [this] look in such a short amount of time his diet would have also been a factor. I would assume he has been limiting alcohol and sugar given his body and an increase in protein. This could be in the form of eggs, meat and supplements.”

But of course, even though what happens in the kitchen is incredibly important, what you do in the gym is an equally prevalent factor. “Exercise wise it looks like the biggest changes have taken place in his chest and abs,” says Ben.And if you want to achieve a rig like Ramos, Ben has provided a few exercises to get you on your way.

• Bench Press – “Ensure you go up in weight to appropriately build the chest muscles. The bench press can also work your abs.”
• Push-ups – “While push-ups are great for working your chest, they are incredibly good for your posture, assuming they’re performed correctly.”
• Weighted Squats – “These are great for the legs, glutes and abs. While ab-specific workouts are great for getting results, compound exercises, such as squats with a heavy weight, are great for building abs as well.”
• Weighted Russian Twists – “These help work and build definition in the obliques.”

The ball’s in your court.

Watch Sergio Ramos destroy his biggest workouts below.

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The post Sergio Ramos Joins 2021’s Most Controversial Activewear Club appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

17Everyone envies the guy at the table who can order confidently from the wine menu, the guy that can talk with passion about his favourite vintage whisky and expertly sniffs out the latest craft beer trends. It might sound like a hobby for the wealthy and the pretentious, but these days you don’t need to splash the cash to be a master of liquor.

If you want to become that guy, the mate with the sharp ordering skills, killer IPA collection and impressive tasting palate, all you need are the proper resources. Nobody said you have to spend big, but for those looking to venture beyond a cheap pint of lager, the local newsagent might not be the place to start. To begin your journey as a connoisseur (or just to simplify the weekly booze run), you’ll need our carefully curated list of the biggest online booze stores with the best value around.

Think huge ranges of wines from vineyards across the globe, antique and unusual spirits and carefully-crafted boutique beers- it’s all here.

Online Australian Liquor Shops

Dan Murphy’s

A pioneering Australian staple, Dan Murphy’s brand has been providing an extensive range of bevvies at the lowest attainable prices since 1952. This is the staple delivery service for Australian residents wanting spirits, beer, cider, plus back vintage and hard-to-source wines, the website also offers suggestions for drinks to match with your favourite meal!

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Booze Bud

Booze Bud has a revolutionary marketing strategy: they don’t set prices, they simply match the lowest price going. For bargain prices, you’ll find Indian pale ales and sour beers in addition to Australia’s biggest collections of craft and boutique producers including Garage Project, Black Hops Lay Day and Moon Dog.

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BWS

BWS – or Beers, Wines, Spirits – is owned by Woolworths and is the largest liquor retailer in Australia with over 1,300 stores nationwide. It’s online presence, unsurprisingly then, is vast too, and they in tandem, so you can set your local store and see the stock levels of your favourite alcohol. There are frequent special deals to take advantage of, and you can collect rewards points to spend in both BWS and Woolworths.

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My Bottle Shop

Defining themselves as a ‘liquor technology company’ rather than a traditional liquor store, it’s safe to safe My Bottle Shop represents the next generation of liquor delivery service. Delivering throughout Australia, they specialise in spirits, beers and wines that are available only in bars, restaurants, cruise ships and clubs or internationally.

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First Choice Liquor

First Choice Liquor has a sparkling reputation for delivering top value wine bundles and beer packs throughout Australia. The premium selection of Australian wines from the Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills, Marlborough and the South East is complemented by a mean pack of bourbons and Scotch whiskies to delight every palate.

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Online International Liquor Shops

Wine Chateau

After over 40 years in the business, Wine Chateau is one of the most experienced wine retailers online. If size matters to you, you’ll be impressed with the huge range of 17,000 domestic and imported premium wines, delivering flavours from California, Italy, Argentina, France and Australia to palates throughout the United States.

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Drizly

Delivering beer, wine and liquor across the United States and Canada, Drizly was made famous by their mission to deliver booze in under 60 minutes. The beer selection is impressive, with a range of sour beers, Belgian-style ale and stout. Plus, if you’ve forgotten a colleague’s birthday, they can even send a gift-wrapped bottle of bubbly straight to the office!

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Master Of Malt

 

Shipping to a huge range of destinations across the globe, Master Of Malt is the go-to site for whisky worshippers. The range includes rare vintage casks over 50 years old and whiskies from Japan, America, Ireland, India, Sweden, The Netherlands, England, Wales, South Africa, Canada Australia and New Zealand.

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Wine On Sale

With over 500 high-quality wines at fabulous prices, the team at Wine On Sale are committed to delivering bargain bottles across the United States. In addition to white, red, sparkling and rosé selections from across the globe, you’ll find collectable tipples including a Game Of Thrones wine pack and a Juggernaut wine selection.

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Wine.com

The USA has been blessed with the world’s biggest wine store in the form of Wine.com. In addition to the classic selections from France, Italy and California, Those looking to broaden their palate can sample wines from lesser-known regions including Greece, Washington and Austria.

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The Whisky Exchange

Delivering to the UK, the USA and parts of West Asia, The Whisky Exchange are a family-run business with a mission to constantly source new products with genuine heritage and quality. They source whisky from Scotland, America, Taiwan, Canada, England, India, Israel, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and France.

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Waitrose Cellar

Grape fanatics from Great Britain rejoice! The Waitrose Cellar stocks a huge variety of vino including fine wine, dessert wine, vegan wine and low alcohol wine and delivers throughout the UK. Not to mention, an impressive selection of juniper, citrus, herbal and floral gins, plus a range Scottish and American whiskies.

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The Whisky Barrel

Founded in Edinburgh, The Whisky Barrel provides fine and rare single malt, single grain Scotch & Irish whiskey to households across the USA, Canada, Europe, China and Australia. In addition to independent and exclusive single cask whisky bottlings, you’ll a range of single cask golden rums from Trinidad, Jamaica and beyond.

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Craft56

Craft56 has meticulously traversed the small-batch distilleries of Scotland for the most ground-breaking creations on the Scottish craft gin scene. With international shipping to over 20 European countries, hoose from a masterfully curated range of London Dry Gin, Old Tom Gin, Cask Aged Gin and Navy Strength Gin, in addition to a killer selection of Scottish rums.

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Online Liquor Stores FAQ

The post Best Online Liquor Stores To Wet Your Whistle appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Here’s a statistic that’s rather confronting but perhaps isn’t that surprising: hair loss is something that affects up to 42% of men.You’d think that because it’s so common, men shouldn’t feel so insecure about it – but the reality is that many men dread going bald, and are willing to spend big on hair loss treatments in order to keep or grow back their luscious locks. Indeed, the value of the global hair restoration market is expected to reach over 13 billion USD by 2028, according to Grand View Research. That’s a lot of money.Naturally, there’s a myriad of products on the market that profit from men’s insecurities about hair loss, from caffeinated shampoos to multivitamins. Of course, hair loss clinics like Ashley and Martin are well-known, thanks to years of concerted advertising (and celebrity clients like Shane Warne). Subscription-based home hair loss treatments – such as Pilot and Keeps – are becoming increasingly popular too.None of these options are particularly cheap. A clinical hair loss program can set you back four or five figures, while home hair loss treatments also cost several hundred dollars a year… And you’re not always guaranteed the results you desire.But there’s another alternative that Australian men are taking advantage of that’s less hassle, just as effective, and most pertinently, far less expensive than virtually any other option on the market.

 

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First, let’s have a little background. DMARGE spoke with Dr Joseph Santos, registered GP and medical director at Rosemary Health, who explains that hair loss in men is commonly caused by male pattern baldness, otherwise known as androgenic alopecia.

“It can start to affect men as early as their 20s, and by age 50 more than 50% of men are affected. This happens because of a combination of your genetics and hormones. In particular, a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) impacts the hair follicles on your head. It causes them to shrink and eventually stop producing new hairs.”

“Other common causes of hair loss include stress, certain medical conditions like diabetes, thyroid disorders and lupus, some medications like oral retinoids, beta blockers and chemotherapy drugs, and the hair care products you’re using.”RELATED: Grooming Expert Weighs In On Floyd Mayweather’s Alleged Beard TransplantDr Santos goes on to explain that two of the most commonly prescribed hair loss treatments are finasteride (sold under brand names like Proscar and Propecia) and minoxidil (better known as Regaine or Rogaine), with finasteride working by slowing down the hair loss process while minoxidil assisting with the hair regrowth process. They’re the two most common active ingredients in most home hair loss treatments and any clinical hair loss program will undoubtedly hinge around one or both of these drugs, too.But here’s the kicker: there’s nothing stopping you from just talking to your GP and getting a prescription for finasteride and minoxidil. Indeed, many Australian men are doing this – ‘cutting out the middleman’ and saving themselves a boatload of money in the process. As one anonymous DMARGE correspondent puts it:

“I just had a conversation with my GP, he gave me the prescription, and now I just go to the pharmacy and buy the generic. It’s a fraction of the cost of going to a clinic or something, who just do the same thing: write you a prescription for finasteride.”

Hell, if your GP bulk bills, your only outlay might be the cost of the tablets… On top of this, speaking with your GP is likely a much less stressful experience than many other hair loss treatment alternatives, and they’re also more likely to better understand your medical background. Less awkward, less hip pocket pain? Sounds good to us.

 

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Dr Santos’ take?“When it comes to conditions like hair loss, GPs are a great starting point but now digital health services offer an alternative way for patients to seek treatment. Because treatments like finasteride and minoxidil have been clinically proven to help treat hair loss in men, digital health services can be an option for patients to connect with licensed doctors online to access treatment from the comfort of their homes.” (That at least covers the awkwardness factor.)“All forms of health services are relevant in their own right, and having the flexibility of choice is a positive benefit for patients in this day and age. The patient’s health and safety should always be the top priority regardless of what service they choose, and it’s important to build a relationship of trust between the healthcare provider and the patient.”

“[But] hair loss treatment isn’t just about prescribing finasteride or recommending minoxidil – it’s about understanding each individual patient’s medical history, symptoms and needs before providing a personalised treatment plan.”

“If there’s an underlying condition causing the hair loss, it should be addressed first. Whether the patient chooses a digital health service over a specialist or GP, it’s important that they choose a doctor they can trust to manage their treatment through thorough medical checks and follow-ups throughout the course of treatment.”

 

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RELATED: Lewis Hamilton’s Hair Remains The Greatest Miracle Since The ResurrectionOf course, the cheapest and easiest way to combat hair loss is just to accept it as a fact of life. Maybe the answer is that we as men need to be less hung up about hair loss.

“There’s a lot of stigma surrounding men’s health issues like hair loss, erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. But the reality is, they are all far more common than you might think,” Dr Santos relates.

“It would be good to think that men can embrace baldness as a part of life but unfortunately people sometimes associate self-esteem with appearance. Making men’s health a socially acceptable topic of conversation will help break the stigma surrounding sensitive topics such as hair loss, erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.”

That’s why opportunities like Men’s Health Week are so important – because we’ve still got a long way to go when it comes to normalising discussions about men’s physical (as well as mental) health in Australian society.

Read Next

• ‘Historic Moment’: Australian Man Shaves His Million Dollar Beard For Charity
• ‘Worst Haircut Ever’: British Men Facing Epidemic Of Rusty Barbers

The post Men Undergoing Hairloss 'Treatments' May Find Cheaper Alternative appeared first on DMARGE Australia.