🥃The 3-Question Test Every Whiskey Buyer Needs

💥 Opening Pour

Price does not equal value.

Tuesday I told you I’d show you how to spot when price adds value… and when it just adds pressure.

A few years ago, my buddy Chuck poured me a $300 bourbon beside a $60 one. I chose the cheap one. And that’s when I learned the lesson. 🥃

📖 The Story

Chuck didn’t say a word when he set the glasses down.

No labels. No hints. Just, “Tell me which one you like.”

Glass one was deep. Dark cherry. Big oak. Long finish.

Glass two was bright. Caramel. Spice. Easy warmth.

I chose glass two.

Chuck smiled.

“That’s the sixty-dollar bottle,” he said.

The $300 bottle wasn’t bad. It was good.

But it wasn’t five times better.

And that’s where we get fooled.

We assume:

• More age = more flavor

• More money = more depth

• More hype = more quality

Sometimes that’s true.

Often it’s not.

And that’s when price stops adding value… and starts adding pressure.

🧠 The Truth About Expensive Whiskey

Price usually climbs for three reasons:

• 🕰 Age

• 📦 Scarcity

• 📣 Hype

Age can add depth. Or dry it out.

Scarcity can mean special barrels. Or fancy packaging.

Hype can mean quality. Or just marketing.

So here’s my simple test.

Before you buy the expensive bottle, ask:

1️⃣ Is the flavor clearly deeper?
2️⃣ Is it rare in the barrel… or just rare on social media?
3️⃣ Would I still love this if no one saw the label?

If the answer is yes, yes, and yes…

That’s value.

If not…

That’s ego in a glass.

🥇 The Weekly Pour

Bottle: Four Roses Distillery OESK Single Barrel

Price: ~$60

Proof: 100

Age: 7–9 years (varies by barrel)

Nose: Dark cherry, ripe plum, toasted oak, soft vanilla

Palate: Caramel, baking spice, red fruit, light cocoa

Finish: Medium-long, warm, balanced spice with a clean fade

✅ Single barrel character — no two are exactly alike
✅ Drinks far above its $55 price tag
✅ Balanced enough to sip neat or mix without guilt

🛒 Buy it now → $54.99 at CraftSpiritShop

🍹The Art of Mixing

High-Roller Old Fashioned

Ingredients

• 2 oz Four Roses OESK

• 1 sugar cube

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• Orange peel

• Large ice cube

Instructions

• Muddle sugar and bitters.

• Add bourbon and ice. Stir slow.

• Express orange peel over the top.

Tip: Make it once with a $50 bottle. Then once with a $200 bottle. If you can’t taste the difference… you just saved $150. 😉

🍖 Flavor Pairing Picks

Pair it with:

🍗 Ribeye steak — The char loves the spice and oak

🍑 Dark chocolate 70% — Brings out the cherry notes

💨 Medium-bodied cigar — Lets the caramel shine without overpowering it

🧠 Big Lesson of the Week

Price can add depth.

But only if the flavor grows with it.

Your palate is the real luxury. Not the label.

🥂 Final Toast

Here’s to bottles that earn their price, shelves built on taste, and the courage to skip the hype.

🥃 Repeatable Proverb

Buy the whiskey. Not the status.

📖 The Whiskey Journal Is Here

For those of us who believe every bottle tells a story worth writing down.

I finally released The Art of the Pour Official Whiskey Tasting Journal—the same one I use to jot down:

🖋️ Tasting notes, barrel picks, and “finally cracked it open” moments
🗓️ First pours with friends
🧠 Thoughts that hit halfway through a good pour

🎁 And because I love a good surprise, I’m throwing in a free printable Whiskey Tasting Wheel—yep, the one folks keep asking about from past newsletters.

Already a subscriber? You’re first in line.
👉 Get the Journal + Free Whiskey Wheel

Now Its Your Turn

What’s the most overpriced bottle you ever bought?

Reply and tell me. Or save this for the next time you’re staring at a three-digit price tag. Or share it with a buddy who needs permission to skip the hype. 🥃

Here’s to honest pours and shelves built on taste, not ego.

Ethan “Neat” Whitmore

P.S. Next week, I’ll show you the one word on a whiskey label that quietly tells you it may explode in value… before the crowd catches on.