Mathman,
"What's a reasonable price constraint for a "middle shelf" everyday spirit?"
Subjective to the individual.
"How do you consume your everyday drink?"
Subjective to the individual.
"Remember I've tuned my palate to whisk(e)y sipped straight which definitely reveals flaws. But since the flavor is concentrated and intense I don't drink a whole bunch of it. Since I drink less I can afford to drink better. I'm nowhere close to wealthy."
This is good, it's the how & why of your choices.
Some background on my situation.
I was a City "yuppie" in Australia. Really high disposable income. One of my favourite things was playing sommelier, even studied some subjects part time & consumed vast amounts of courses reading material.
Over the period, "sans children", or often referred to as B.C., I built up an exquisite wine cellar.
Jumping forward to 2005, when we emigrated to Canada, had to sell the entire collection. Was going to be taxed beyond my comprehension to bring it here, was going to cost me upwards of $3K a year to store it in a climate controlled environment. So off it went to either good friends, who knew what they were buying, & the balance to an auction house, were I basically received less than 50 cents on the dollar.
My tastes have not changed, I still long to be able to walk downstairs, pull a $50+ bottle of Australian Shiraz or Cabernet, a delicate vintage port, mouth filling Muscat or Tokay, whenever I wanted to.
But I can't.
Here in a small NW Ontario town, my choices are very limited. Not to mention that the entire liquor industry is govt run !!
Also betting that, because of same, I would be paying upwards of 50% more than you are.
Now I can only buy "anything exotic" when I travel. Duty free where possible.
Paul.
