3 Kirkland Signature Alcohol Products That Vanished From Costco Shelves

If you're a Costco shopper, you probably have plenty of favorite products you return to time and time again. If you shop Costco's alcohol section, then you may even have some purchases on repeat. Costco is one of our favorite places to stock up our bar carts, whether we're snagging liquor, popular Costco wines, or even the store brand's hard seltzers (which are an obvious High Noon copycat). But, someday, those favorites may disappear off store shelves with no warning. That's happened to a few of Costco's Kirkland Signature alcohol offerings, and we're not sure we'll ever see these products again.

We're taking a closer look at the discontinued Kirkland Signature alcohol products that have left Costco shelves entirely, and digging deeper into exactly why they were taken off the Costco alcohol lineup. Perhaps these were some of your favorite products, or maybe they're items you're actually happy to see go — now that other, better products have taken their place. One thing's for sure: If these products were discontinued, your favorite Costco alcohol product could potentially be next. On the bright side? You never know when these discontinued items could potentially come back. Let's dive in.

Although the Kirkland Signature line offers a lot of amazing products, that doesn't mean it's never come out with items that have completely flopped. Costco's light beer is one such product. The membership club decided to stop selling its Kirkland Signature Light Beer in August of 2018 because it was so incredibly unpopular that it just didn't make sense to keep it on shelves anymore.

For those motivated by competitive prices, that may come as a surprise; this light beer was extremely cheap compared to other light beer brands out there. Before the product was discontinued, a 48-pack was selling for just $22 at Costco, making it one of the brand's best alcohol deals. There are actually lots of incredible affordable beers out there, but Kirkland Signature's light beer wasn't one of them — at least in the eyes of many consumers. Some compared the flavor of the beer to urine, which isn't a good sign if you're looking for a cold adult beverage that's remotely drinkable. Of course, there are ways to make cheap beer taste better, but it sounds like this light beer at Costco just couldn't be salvaged.

You know those popsicles that come in a plastic tube? You freeze them, then push the popsicle out of its plastic sleeve to take a bite. They're a nostalgic summertime treat for a lot of people, and Costco apparently wanted to cash in on that nostalgia by creating an adult version of those frozen popsicles. Kirkland Signature's frozen cocktails worked the same way: You snip off one of the plastic popsicle ends, then snack on the frozen cocktail until you got a nice buzz. Plus, they were only 100 calories, ostensibly making them competitive against other lighter alcohol options (such as many hard seltzers) for the calorie conscious. But you can't find these alcohol popsicles at Costco anymore, and we think it's safe to say the product was a total failure.

The problem was they just didn't taste that good. Customers complained that the pops were way too sweet, and some even said they had to mix the cocktails with other drinks just to finish the pack. Considering these pops came in pretty accessible flavors, such as watermelon hibiscus and lime drop, it seems like Costco really missed the mark on the flavor front. Apparently, the texture wasn't great either, with some complaining that the pops were too icy. Costco didn't announce when they decided to drop the product, but they were off store shelves by sometime in 2023.

While browsing your local Costco, you might have noticed some product signs with an asterisk on them. If you see that, there's a good chance the product is about to be discontinued (although it doesn't always mean what you think it does). Some Costco shoppers call it the "death star," and it's always a bummer when you see it pop up on a product you like and buy regularly. At the end of 2022, some shoppers noticed the death star had appeared on signs for Kirkland Signature Strawberry Margarita, an indication it was slated to be dropped from the grocery chain's alcohol lineup in the upcoming year. Soon, Costco fans shared that it had, in fact, been discontinued.

The beverage was made with lime juice, sugar, and agave, and it was priced quite affordably at under $10 for a whole bottle. While some said it was quite sweet (perhaps too sweet), there were fans as well. Unfortunately, you can't try it for yourself unless Costco brings it back at some point, which is totally a possibility. For now, Costco sells a similar ready-to-drink margarita, just without the strawberry flavor. This margarita is also available at a great price point, so it's worth checking out if you're interested in some budget-friendly, low-effort sips — or if you just miss the Kirkland Signature strawberry marg.