Products, Not Price Tags: The Real Cocktail Upgrade

​Have you ever hit that sweet spot? You’re behind the stick, you shake up a new riff—maybe a whiskey sour that bangs—with your custom tincture, house syrup, and killer spirit fusion. You taste it and think, "Damn, that’s so good."​But then a little voice creeps in: It could be better. It needs that umph. And your mind immediately jumps to the top shelf. Yeah, that’s it! A splash of Michter's Single Barrel will take it to the next level!​Nah, it probably won't. And I'm here to tell you why you’re wasting your money and killing a good product.​

Focus on Flavour, Not Wallet Size

​I get it. I was that hungry bartender, too, always trying to level up my cocktail game. And for years, I thought the only way to improve was to use more premium products.​What I eventually realized is that I was looking at products, not flavours.​Every spirit category is diverse and full of various flavour profiles. They’re there regardless of your wallet size, so you need to utilize them to your needs, not your ego.​Take that simple Whiskey Sour. Do you really think a Michter's Single Barrel is going to up your game? Or are you just going to kill a great, nuanced product with a heavy-handed dose of sweet and sour?​I'm telling you: the citrus and sugar will mask any quality of that whiskey, regardless of how well you sell the name to the guest. You've just poured 17 bucks of flavour into a drink that only needed a 5 buck structural spirit.

​Ditch the Biased Choices​

The key to a great cocktail is simple: don't be biased towards other products. Close your eyes and just taste.​If a spirit with a perceived lower-end reputation—like Gordon's Gin or a specific well rum—makes the most sense in your drink, use it. Own it. Don't be afraid of it.​We chase perfection all the time, but I believe one of our biggest restrictions in taking a cocktail from good to great is simply our biased opinion on which products can and can’t be used.​Your customer isn't tasting your reputation; they're tasting the drink. Use the product that gives you the right flavour structure for the cocktail you're building. The best bartenders know when to shine a spotlight on a rare product and when to let an affordable workhorse do the heavy lifting.​What's a "low-shelf" product you absolutely swear by for a specific cocktail on your menu? Let's hear it in the comments.