This article was first published on Broadsheet Sydney on April 30, 2012. Image courtesy of Jimmy Brings.

Meet Jimmy Brings, potentially your new best mate. While it’s fair to say that most of us appreciate the convenience of services that deliver, it moves up a notch when the goods in question are alcohol and cigarettes (and the hours of operation are evenings). It’s the simple but inspired premise behind Jimmy Brings, an alcohol delivery service created and operated by Sydneysiders David Berger and Nathan Besser.

“We love drinking, who doesn’t? And after many frustrating nights where we ran out of liquor or cigarettes and couldn’t drive, we came up with the idea,” explains Berger. “We also run a food delivery business called Suppertime, so it was a natural progression.”

Operating from a warehouse/HQ in Bellevue Hill, Jimmy Brings delivers a selection of spirits, beer, red, white and sparkling wines and mixers, as well as other late night essentials like food, cigarettes and condoms to your door. Berger adds: “We also offer our very romantic ‘Dom & Dom’ special, which includes a packet of condoms, Lindt Chocolates and a bottle of Dom Perignon for $300.”

Jimmy Brings operates seven days a week, from 6pm until midnight from Monday to Saturday and 6pm until 10pm on Sunday. Orders can be placed online or phoned in and are delivered within 30–45 minutes. While prices are around 10 per cent more expensive than the local bottle shop, it’s a small price to pay for home delivery.

Established six months ago, Jimmy Brings have managed to create a niche service that focuses on two areas (booze and cigarettes) notorious for their high regulation. And as you would expect, founding the business wasn’t without some initial hurdles. “Getting a license isn’t easy and we don’t recommend it unless you have lawyers and a budget for psychotherapy,” says Berger.

“Our first promotion made the mistake of mentioning the word ‘tobacco’. This was a big no-no. We were contacted by the Department of Health who pointed out that this constituted tobacco advertising. When I asked the prosecutor how they found out about our advertising campaign, she mentioned that we had made the mistake of putting our fridge magnet in the health commissioner’s mailbox! Oops! This was an expensive mistake and we learnt our lesson from that.”

While Jimmy Brings currently only services Sydney’s CBD and eastern suburbs, there are plans to expand its delivery radius by year’s end. The duo has also marked Victoria and Queensland as its next markets, following the registration of the business in both states.

In the meantime, their Sydney customers help keep things more than a little interesting, from Valentine’s Day lovers requesting Sinatra renditions and, on one particular occasion “a completely nude man who behaved completely clothed”. Now that’s service.