Wellington home delivery company Quenched took down their website after facing criticism from doctors.

A new Wellington alcohol delivery service has shut down its website "for now", after criticisms that it was providing an easy way for drunk people to "refuel".

Quenched, founded by friends David Loveridge, Tom Brown and Anika Rani, officially launched last week.

The service was advertising with slogans including "Delivering happiness". "Need booze quick? We'll have it to your door in 45 minutes. Don't stop the party at your place early, we are here to help."

SUPPLIED David Loveridge, left, Anika Rani and Tom Brown, launched Quenched in Wellington last week, with the aim of delivering alcohol to customers' doorsteps in under 45 minutes.

It allowed people to buy wine, beer, cider, spirits and snacks online and get it delivered to an address in central Wellington with a delivery fee of just $5. If the order is more than $50, delivery is free.

On Thursday, its website said: "Hi, unfortunately we've decided to close the shop for now."

However, it appears people can still log in if they have a password.

The service was promising to cover Wellington between Rongotai, Owhiro Bay, Karori and Kaiwharawhara.

The business has also changed its slogans on Twitter and Facebook. The summaries now read: "Quenched is an innovative company powering convenient delivery of alcohol, snacks and other beverages".

Loveridge, who talked freely about the business on Wednesday, could not be reached for comment.

Dunedin School of Medicine professor Jennie Connor said it was very responsible of Quenched to shut down the website.

Quenched was advertising with the phrase: Don’t stop the party at your place early, we are here to help.

"Maybe they are rethinking if this whole thing is a good idea. Or maybe they are getting away from the public eye.

"I think they were just a bit naive."

On Wednesday, Connor said the service was a very bad idea.

"This allows for intoxicated people at a party to make a decision, while intoxicated, to drink some more, and this is very unhealthy behaviour. It's making refuelling easier, and they are asking for trouble."

New Zealand Medical Association chairman Stephen Child said he deplored any move that made it easier to access alcohol in a way that could lead to abuse.

"When you have slogans like 'Need liquor quicker?', it's hardly encouraging responsible consumption."

He said the site had been marketing its service as an "emergency response", which was completely inappropriate.

"Controls on [selling alcohol] are there for a purpose: to try and reduce alcohol-related harm. Making it easier to access works against this."

Loveridge said on Wednesday that Quenched aimed to provide a convenient and fast service, not to encourage irresponsible drinking.

"Everything is legal, and we definitely don't want to encourage bad drinking."

The delivery team checked buyers' identities on arrival, and would only hand over the order to the person who made it, he said.

If the clients were underage or intoxicated, the order would not be delivered. Instead, the customers would receive a full refund.That fee would be taken off the transaction value before the refund was provided.

The service was being trialled in central Wellington, between Rongotai, Owhiro Bay, Karori and Kaiwharawhara. If successful, the partners wanted to branch out to other Wellington suburbs and had not ruled out setting up in other regions.

Loveridge would not say how many staff they employed, the number of vehicles they used, or where their supplier was based. However, he said suppliers and customers had been very supportive.

"It's been quite good. We've been run off our feet, which is fantastic."