Is super expensive alcohol ever worth it? this 750ml bottle is $200. It's just a status symbol, right?

Expensive vodka is a meme. You can make stuff superior to the top shelf vodka for a buck a bottle at home if you know what you're doing.

Become an alcoholic, then you too can taste something when you're drinking nearly 50% alcohol.

It's like hot sauces, until you've raised your tolerance it's all just heat at the higher levels.

>LARPing
I feel like you're using that word incorrectly. The most expensive wine I've had was $595

I buy $13.99 Austrian potato vodka and $14.99 Polish potato vodka that is far superior to any $50+ vodka I've ever had.

There are multiple studies that show that the "superior" taste from higher price is purely psychological. If you swapped the prices between cheap and expensive bottles the opinions switch as well.

In reality the returns are lograthmitic. Yes, there is a difference from 10 dollar to 30 dollar vodka. But you have to spend exponentially more to get the same magnitude of return going past 30 dollars

I can tell you that Pappy 23 is not worth it. After 23 years in oak, it's all you can taste.

Something like Bruchladdich The Black Art or Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist on the other hand is really fsking tasty and I would say totally worth the high asking price.

I am both an alcoholic and a hot sauce fiend.

no

anyone paying more than $30 for an alcohol as simple as vodka is dumb

Sometimes yes sometimes no, depends on the spirit and the bottling and your particular tastes. In general the law of diminishing returns kicks in at some point, though. A $50,000 bottle of Balvenie 50 is definitely not worth it.

The only spirit I can say 100% that tastes any diffrent in price is congac, for various reasons such as:
>It derives from champange grapes and the quality of grapes can be determined due to the soil conditions and various other factors which effect the end product.
>the scents and flavours of congac change with age as other notes are given off due to the natural aging proceces and are catergroised based upon age which also effects price.
>congac only comes from a select region of france and is regulated in quality based upon guidelines that relate to growing conditons thus the greater quality the more you will pay due to supply and demand.
>The barrels they use also play a major part in the quality, as older ones which are rarer will give off a greater end product compared to newer barrels which are more common.

However if you were the typical normie who cared about nothing other than getting drunk then there is minor diffrence in price, on the other hand if your a conniseur and know how to drink congac properly then you will definetly see there is a major diffrence.

>I can tell you that Pappy 23 is not worth it. After 23 years in oak, it's all you can taste.
Yeah, there's generally a point after 10 to 15 years were things just start to become barrel flavour with little of the original spirit remaining.

Look into the Chivas Regal effect

>is super expensive alcohol ever worth it? this 750ml bottle is $200. It's just a status symbol, right?
Platinum unaged alcohols should not be expensive. That is correct. You are buying a bottle to display, and funding the coffers of a hair stylist to the stars factory owner, which is a well marketed but, alas, just average brand of tequila.
Vodka has some differences in distillation and flavor and can still be clear unaged alcohol, but, it should never be worth that amount either.

Depends, havnt noticed a difference in rums or vodkas. Whiskey/bourbon ive found is best around 50~ bucks. But no, theres no point in spending over 60-70 for a bottle of anything.

I got to drink some Macallan 25 YO when I was working at a ski lodge one winter and a few of the guests thought I was a pretty cool guy to hang out with.

Is it really worth $1200 a bottle? I don't know. Was it the best scotch I've ever had? Absolutely.

>I'm literally 16 and the idea of 300 dollars is a lot of money to me

>I've tasted £150 a bottle whiskey... tasted identical to £15 whiskey.
You probably don't have the palate to appreciate it. I can pick 2 bottom shelf whiskies at random and they won't taste anything alike.

Yeah you either buy the bottom shelf liquid smoke or you pay through the nose and develop your palette over decades to be able to tell it apart from liquid smoke with a hint of oak.

It is priced that way because of its rarity or the work put into it. It will taste better, but don't expect it to taste PROPORTIONATELY better. If you have a shitload of expendable money then it's there and it's something you can buy, but you can get perfectly good and even great liquor at decent prices too.

Did a bunch of taste tests between cheapo vodka (Korski/so on and Grey Goose/so on--based on the idea of doing straight shots. The only difference seems to be smoothness. But not by much. Not by the price point for top shelf stuff; you can't justify it other than the brand name. Making a mixed drink? Then literally who gives a fuck? Moscow Mule? Korski will do just fine...

taste is such a wonky thing to begin with so to think that a spirit will taste better because the price tag is higher OR because monks blessed it before, during and after it went into the barrel is lunacy.

i reckon SOME spirits that are expensive will taste really good just as some that are dirt cheap will also taste just as good.

also, the price tag probably has a big psychological effect on people that scratch together the money needed to buy the bottle which may make them bias to hailing the drink as pure ambrosia instead of going, "this tasted sort of like jack daniels but a bit more bitter".

It's never worth it if you have to think about it.

It's a bit nicer than cheaper stuff but it's never worth it if the money is not a throwaway amount for you.

The mix of English and Spanish doesn't give off a sense of class.

Since we're talking about alcohol and prices, does a decent cheapo Sambuca substitute exist? I love the stuff, but I'm a poorfag.

Fuck no. It's like super expensive weed, after a certain threshold it doesn't matter

gran patron is different and I would say worth it.
After going through the normal patron processes it is run across the tits of a supermodel and across the labia of her gently washed vagina as it funnels into each bottle. This is platinum silver. Platinum gold, on the other hand, cost about $50 less and they just run it up her asshole.

With vodka in particular, paying a lot becomes status very quickly, because it's supposed to not really have a taste. With other liquors (scotch and Cognac come to mind), there is a high-price culture just like you have with wine, although that might just be snobbery at a certain point (then again, that also applies for wine). Usually the upper middle-lower high price range is where I'd estimate diminishing returns. I haven't even been able to find a real tequila (100% blue agave) where I live, and I hear expensive añejos are really good (buying 200$ Blanco is retarded though, it's literally not aged at all; production qualitiy is a factor, but can be had for less). Generally, aged liquours seem to warrant high prices more due to the inconvenience of storage and production of suitable containers.

It's so annoying how people try to convince themselves that nice things can't really exist, that all prices exist solely to separate social classes and for no other reason.

I bought a bottle of extra anejo last year that was amazing and cost me $45. I've tried a few more expensive ones since then, and while they've all been good, some were worse than the $45 one and the quality of those that were better definitely weren't proportionate to their price.

>super expensive weed
>not living in colorado

Liquorfag reporting in. Been in the biz for over ten years.

It's usually never worth it. If you're rich and don't care then by all means. Tequila is one of the rarities in that paying for 100% blue agave is a noticeable difference. Don't be fooled by "100% agave". Make sure it's 100% blue(azul). But don't spend too much.
>Wine
70% is sourced from juice, not even vineyards. The rest may or may not be made traditionally.
>Bourbon
Has become hip. Most of it comes from a few factories in Illinois. But gets bottled in Kentucky. They add a ton of sugar, and colorings. $55. lmao

I straight up ONLY buy cheap shit. Not a big difference between the top, and bottom. Especially for anything clear.

There's good shit out there. It's not all scam. But build your palette up.

I think the difference between a $30 bottle of scotch and a $70 bottle is very noticeable. Even a scotch noob could tell the difference. After that it's memeing.

>is super expensive alcohol ever worth it?
no

You're talking out of your ass with the bourbon at least.

Is your cat okay?

yes it has autism

Not at all my man. Bourbon is the new scam. Not to say all but, most for sure. So much of is tastes the same, and it's a shame. Sugar bombs, with carmel color added. We got people paying over 100$ for Weller 12. Which is an average bourbon at best. Please eloborate how IM out my ass. I will try to explain as hard as I can.

i think

Well you could start by pointing at some of the offenders. Which bourbons have added sugar and caramel color? I get a good selection of bourbon where I live and we have consumer laws that state these things have to be plainly visible on the label, and I've never seen either of them. I know Bulleit Rye and several other ryes come from MGP in Indiana but anything labelled "kentucky straight bourbon" is required to have been distilled in Kentucky.

Basically, just throw some evidence at me, senpai.

Scotch is one of those things that's hard to fudge. The industry and its consumer base is small enough that unlike vodka or tequila it's hard pass off cheap stuff as fancy just with a label.

That being said, I'm sure there's still diminishing returns with expensive Scotch, but I feel the quality difference between bottom and mid shelf is a lot more noticable.

Scotch is one where there's a vast gulf between bottom and middle shelf, but middle shelf to top shelf is a very blurred line. Almost everything with an age statement above 18 is pure paying for prestige because the benefits of ageing whisky tail off dramatically after the 12 year mark, and it gets even more tricky when you factor in blends/single malt. Top shelf blends like Johnnie Walker Gold/Platinum/Blue are nowhere near worth their price and are even beaten out by some of the best middle shelf single malts.

Yeah, I mentioned earlier in the thread I got to try some Macallan 25, and I don't think I'd spend $1200 for a bottle but if someone offered it to me again I wouldn't turn my nose up. Cause that was some really good scotch.

There was another time I was working at a different lodge and at the employee Christmas party they gave us two free drink tokens for the bar, both of which I used on Glenfiddich 18.

Anise liqueur and Ouzo can serve in a pinch. Ouzo isn't nearly as sweet, but it is decent.

A bourbon legally cannot have color or flavoring added my dude.

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yeah you're full of shit m8

i love premier sake and my favourite champagne i Krug

>been in the biz for over ten years
Someone needs to fire you.

I'd say there's a clear, distinct quality jump from Johnny Walker Black to Plat. Black is still highly drinkable though, imo. I get plat when I see it on sale for super cheap.

Not all bourbon is MGP. A lot is but there's lists online so you can avoid any pitfalls. And I think the best thing to do if you can is buy local. Go to a small winery/distillery you can trust, get a tour, I've been to places where they've let me straight up walk into the stills and look into them and see the spirits they're working on. But I think the most important thing is just buy whatever tastes good to you.

I've never tried Ouzo before, so I'll have to give that a try. I can't remember the name of the one anise liquor that I've tried, but it was about as good at being Sambuca as American cheese is at being cheese.

>But I think the most important thing is just buy whatever tastes good to you.
This. I've had MGP product that I'm not ashamed to admit I've liked. I don't get the fuss, good tasting whiskey is good tasting whiskey.

MGP whiskey is actually better than most micro distilleries tbqh. Going out of your way to not drink MGP is stupid.

As a rule of thumb I take the price of the cheapest swill I consider worth drinking and multiply it by three to get the highest price that's still worth it.
I am willing to multiply by five to get something special on occassion.
This works well for sipping drinks at least (IE whisky, brandy, rum), I don't know shit about anything else.

> where is that extra taste for your money?
If you want vodka with a unique taste then try to find 750ml for 8 bucks / euros. Believe me it will be as unique as the hangover it causes.

Eristoff is always my to go vodka. Never do i have a bad time with that stuff, not too cheap and not too expensive either.

there's a difference between bottom shelf wine, cider, beer, and spirits and the mid shelf version, but no real noticable differece the mid shelf and top shelf versions of these

case in point my favourite wine is like 11 dollars, whereas the bottom shelf is around 7

all the mid shelf vodkas are essentially the same, the bottom shelves taste more chemically

there's definietly a difference between the cheap as fuck beer and the middle beers, but the extra money for the expensive beers isn't worth it like 10 bucks a bottle get rekt nigger

>Was it the best scotch I've ever had? Absolutely.

I sincerely doubt that if it was poured from a bottom shelf bottle you would have the same opinion on it's quality

only girls 16-25 should be interested in alcohol that cost more than $50 a liter.

>if she is interested in this. you better wrap it before you tap it.

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