Upgrading Your Spirit Showcase Part II

I recently wrote about how to handle upgrading your collection of nicer liquors. Getting a new bar cart and losing the bottom shelf liquors were some of my first suggestions to really take it up a notch and show you’re serious about your collection. But since then, I’ve come up with a few more that will polish off your collection so that no one mistakes you as the true spirit aficionado you are.

First off, though, make sure your liquors aren’t too cluttered together. I’ve seen pictures of people showing off their lineups and the bottles are almost touching or hugging one another. Whether this is in a straight line or there are multiple bottles behind the first line, I find this to look rather congested, trashy, and unsophisticated. If you’re going to show off a lot of bottles like that, dedicate more space, furniture, or compartments for them to space them out and let each shine.

Decide on a dedicated spot.

Don’t scatter multiple liquor bottles throughout your home, even if you are a huge collector or afficionado of one spirit or another. This will just make you look like a showoff alcoholic. Like I mentioned above, make sure you have a specific cabinet, shelf, desk, or wall compartment for your collection. The whole display should look as if that area is dedicated to your liquor lineup and not like you just plopped them down randomly somewhere.

Keep it to two types of spirits or less.

We know that you may be a huge fan of bourbon, a long time drinker of vodka, and a budding enthusiast in tequila, but if you can keep your liquor bottles to two spirits or less, that’s probably better. Otherwise, things can look crowded, not uniform, and not very calculated. In fact, I’d suggest trying to whittle it down to one spirit if you can, but if you’re proud of your palate in both vodka and bourbon, by all means show both off. I’d simply recommend keeping the two collections opposite one another or separate entirely if you can manage.

Clean up the empties.

I know that your first bottle of Don Julio is a prized possession of yours, but really, if you loved it so much, you’d already have another waiting to replace it. The only time I think it’s appropriate to still have an empty bottle on display is if you’re currently unable to find another bottle in your area (for rarer breeds). If that’s the case, I can’t blame you for wanting to keep it up there if only as a reminder to yourself to seek out that rare spirit.

Upgrading Your Spirit Showcase

I’ve always considered myself a beer guy, enjoying pretty much anything from cheap domestic light beer (for those hot summer days with my family back home) to limited release sours. No matter what type of beer it is, I’ll always give it a taste if it’s new to me, and more often than not I enjoy it enough to buy a four or six pack.

But recently, I’ve stepped up my game and started trying out tequilas and mezcals. And let me tell you what, it’s been a heck of an experience. I’ve already begun dipping into some better middle shelf choices and collecting a few bottles for a new collection. I never thought I’d be the type of person to buy more than one bottle at once (until it was gone and I drank it all), but it’s happening faster than I realize and I’m loving it.

The thing is, I’m wanting to make sure my “setup” is pretty classy without being too trashy. That’s a hard line to straddle if you’re not aware of the brands of liquor you’re buying, how much you’re collecting, and where you’re putting it all. So check out my few tips on how to pull it off right.

Get a bar cart.

If you’re especially a wine lover or a self-proclaimed mixologist and enjoy experimenting with new cocktails, a bar cart goes perfectly with whatever other furniture you’re going to use to display your collection. The cool thing is that having a bar cart isn’t just for fun and looking fancy; it’s actually useable and has some utility. Most won’t cost you more than a nicer bottle of liquor as is, so don’t write it off as too expensive and make the plunge for your collection.

Get rid of the bottom shelf liquors.

Unless you’re absolutely sure that you enjoy Jose Cuervo’s cheap stuff (which I highly doubt if you consider yourself a tequila connoisseur), don’t put anything on display that’s cheap or considered bottom shelf. It doesn’t make your collection look any more impressive by adding another useless bottle to the mix; rather, it makes you seem like you’re game to put any and all alcohols you drink up there, which looks rather bad. Stick to your middle shelf and top shelf spirits if you’re seriously considering going all out with a display of your collection. Otherwise, just keep the cheap stuff in the upper cabinets above your fridge like everyone else.