Editor’s note, May 2026: We first published this article in August 2021 during COVID-19 lockdowns. Underberg’s Tops & More loyalty program is still active in the US, with members able to collect bottle tops and redeem them for limited Underberg rewards.
Legend has it that drinking a bottle of Underberg a day makes COVID-19 lockdown pass by that little bit faster. It also happens to come with one of the most charming loyalty program mechanics still in-market.
A lockdown loyalty program with a difference
I first encountered Underberg on a holiday in Germany. Holidays to Germany aren’t something that is done these days, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a little taste of Rheinberg after breakfast.
Underberg is a herbal digestive. It contains only water, alcohol, and herbal extracts. The aromatic herbs are sourced from 43 countries.
Members of the Underberg family have held and guarded the recipe and processing methods since 1846. The experience and knowledge of how to extract the valuable herbal essences from 43 countries and turn them into an aromatic drink has been safeguarded by the SEMPER IDEM secret procedure. This is followed by several-month-long maturation periods in casks made of Slovenian oak.
The taste is bitter, intensely herbaceous and slightly licoricey. It heats the throat nicely as it washes down. It comes in tiny 20ml bottles wrapped in paper, crowned with a distinctive green bottle top.
How Underberg’s loyalty program works
Underberg’s Tops & More loyalty program injects some cool fun into the drinking experience. Customers collect the green bottle tops, select a reward, then send the tops and order to Underberg to receive limited rewards. Current US rewards include items such as an Underberg umbrella, weekender and pocket watch.
It is a nostalgic experience collecting bottle tops and sending them off, then wondering when the reward will arrive. There are very few loyalty programs in the world that operate in that way anymore, despite that being the original design of the first-ever loyalty program started by B.T. Babbitt in the 1850s.
When the reward finally arrives, the feeling of opening the package is akin to Christmas morning.
It is a delightful experience to drink Underberg straight or over a cube of ice. My favourite way to consume it is in an original cocktail I designed recently, The Deutsch Moose.
The Deutsch Moose
Here’s the recipe for The Deutsch Moose if you’d like to try it:
20ml bottle Underberg
90ml Maidenii White Vermouth
90ml lemon juice
60 ml maple syrup
Combine the Maidenii White Vermouth, lemon juice and maple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Pour into a glass. Open the bottle of Underberg and pour on top. Partner with döppekooche, rheinisches apfelkraut and a selection of cured meats.
Enjoy!
Do Loyalty Programs Work?
Looking for examples of best-practice loyalty programs from around the world that have delivered outstanding results? Check out our ‘Do Loyalty Programs Work?’ series.
