The Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Bottle You've Never Tried

1. What did I like about the last thing I enjoyed?

Not the name of it. The quality of it. Was it sweet? Smoky? Sharp? Smooth to the point of being easy? Did you like it neat or in a drink?

That answer is worth more than any brand name, because it can be translated across categories. Someone who liked a wheated bourbon for its softness will probably like an aged rum for the same reason.

2. When am I actually going to drink this?

A bottle for slow Sunday sipping and a bottle for mixing on a Friday with eight people are different purchases. Buying one and using it for the other is how good bottles get wasted and cheap ones disappoint.

3. Am I paying for the liquid or the marketing?

Some price reflects genuine cost: time in barrel, small production, difficult sourcing. Some price reflects an advertising budget and a heavy bottle.

You cannot always tell from the outside. But a specific claim, a stated age, a named mash bill, a single barrel, is generally a better signal than a vague one about heritage and craftsmanship.

4. If this is a gift, what do I actually know about them?

The most common gift mistake is buying what impresses you rather than what suits them. If they drink one thing consistently, buy near it rather than far from it. Adventure is a great gift for someone who wants adventure and a burden for someone who wanted their usual.

If you know nothing at all, say so out loud at the counter. That is a solvable problem and we solve it several times a week.

5. Have I tasted it?

This is the one that resolves the other four.

Everything above is a way of making a better guess. Tasting it removes the guess. Four dollars gets you a real pour of nearly anything on our floor, which means the difference between hoping and knowing costs about the same as a coffee.

The uncomfortable truth about bottle regret

Nobody talks about the bottles they got wrong. They just quietly stop opening them.

That is what the tasting counter exists to prevent. Not to sell you more, but to make sure the thing you carry out is one you will finish.