There is a joke about a glass of cheap red wine and a glass of expensive red wine. It’s about not being able to tell the difference because they’re both sour. Everyone loves the idea of good liquor, but not everyone is willing to pay for good liquor. That’s why there are cheap options for those who want to enjoy liquor but cannot afford the high-grade stuff.
However, there are those who can afford expensive liquor but are on the fence with the liquor-choosing process. While they enjoy the taste of good wine, expensive liquor can be difficult to navigate. You can spend a significant amount on a bottle of expensive liquor, and then feel like you’re getting just about the same quality in a cheaper bottle. However, the liquor bottles might look the same, but they are different from each other in nearly every possible way.
Let’s look into the differences between cheap and expensive liquor. Then, you can decide which of the two works better for you.
Instructions
The products:
When making expensive liquor, the producers naturally want the consumers to get the best experience and taste – nothing lesser. So, they usually go through the process of getting fresh fruits from the farm and finding fresh ingredients to make liquor. The quality and availability of ingredients lead to more expensive liquor. If an ingredient in a beverage is hard to get, it’s likely that the liquor will be more expensive.
However, this is not the case when it comes to cheap liquor. The producers of cheap liquor are very particular about quantity, instead of quality. Makers of cheap beer, wine, and liquor will not always use the freshest ingredients to make it. That doesn’t always mean that the product isn’t tasty; it all depends on your taste preferences.
The processing:
The process is usually a long and detailed one, all in a bid to make sure the liquor comes out just perfect. Now, all these ingredients and the time spent in making the liquor goes into the pricing, so naturally, liquor that is more carefully processed will likely be more expensive.
Another critical component is the distillation process. Some of the initially processed liquor never makes it to the bottle, as the distillation process does not always yield the exact product desired. So, just a small amount of liquor may make it to the bottle. Therefore, the higher the standards for distillation, the higher the price increase. The differences in the production processes can be noticed in both the taste and the look of the liquor. While one might have a rich color and a taste close to heaven or hell (depending on the drinker’s poison), the other might just be something close. Some people can tell the difference, some cannot.
The Target Audience
Advertisement:
When expensive liquor is being advertised, there is a target audience they are trying to reach, and it is not the general populace. That is why you may not see expensive liquor advertised on a channel where you do not have to pay for its subscription. Makers of expensive liquor also have something called tastings, where they have an event where you buy pricey tickets to get in. While you are there, you are entitled to the tasting of free liquor. What happens is that the tickets have already covered the price of the liquor. So they are not exactly giving out this liquor for free. The effect of this tasting event is that these same people who bought a ticket to taste this liquor end up paying for a bottle or two to take home. The advertisement for cheap liquor is not that hard.
They usually just put bills in the neighborhood and advertise over a channel that they know the general populace watches. The lower prices are often the only advertisement needed.
Market:
Expensive liquor will most certainly be found in highbrow restaurants, liquor shops, and bars as these are the only places where they can easily be sold to the right target audience. Cheap liquor, on the other hand, you will find just about anywhere. Supermarkets, local bars, roadside liquor stores, seedy and not-so-expensive hotels – all host cheap liquor. These locations have cheap liquor because they have to be made available to the general populace. While both cheap and expensive liquor can be sold at a supermarket on different counters, that is just about the only place where they are sold together.
Every other market is monopolized by either one of them. You cannot find an expensive liquor in an average bar, because it’s likely not stocked. Similarly, you can’t find cheap liquor in a highbrow bar, as it also would not be bought and could kill that bar’s reputation.
Although there are clear differences between cheap and expensive liquor, the truth of the matter is that most people can’t tell the difference.