Given the fact that I am not much of a sportsman, I have work colleagues surprised that I could use a sports analogy occasionally to describe the importance of every bottle that sits on the shelf of your favorite liquor store. This usually occurs when someone asks, “is this a good bottle?” Which is sort of waving a red flag at a bull.

In my much earlier life, there was a book store that I frequented often and knew the owner pretty well. One time I walked in enthusiastically and said ‘hello!’ He met my enthusiasm with his greeting and then carried on telling me about a book he was currently reading. I shot back and asked, “Is it good?” He replied quite plainly, “It depends”.

Its a moment that has stuck with me as it was the first time I was really confronted with the subjectivity of this often used word without considering the context of our question. “Is it good?” Well, compared to what though? It can be good if you like tequila, but not good if you’re allergic to agave. When someone comes in and says, “that’s a bad bottle”. Well to you maybe, but someone is buying it.

In the world of spirits, I have come to think that there are no bad bottles. There may be a bottle or two you don’t like, but that doesn’t make it bad. So yes, I am in a way saying that all - yep - everyone is good and here is how I use my sports analogy

In high school sports you had the ‘A’ squad and the ‘B’ squad. Each bottle can be divided into the same groupings. Bottles that will sit on the A team, and bottles that will sit on the B team. And at that, it’s pretty easy to figure out which one goes where. Now that we’ve got our teams, let’s think about the players and each bottle becomes a player on the team. Just like how each player on the football or basketball team has a specific roll to play, so does every bottle, not just some of them, but they are all important. Some of them are of lesser quality, but they give us a benchmark and to appreciate the better quality spirits that are on offer. Some of them will be keys that unlock a door and usher us deeper into their world. So just because you don’t like it, it is still important.

So instead of asking if something’s good, you could ask what is the flavor profile like? How does this bottle compare with X? Where does this bottle sit within the category? You get my drift. Be creative and show some respect for the bottles you don’t buy. Because if you come in and ask me if a bottle is good, I’ll probably just look at you wryly and say, “it depends”.