The Best Pours of 2023 | Year-End Recap | The Liquor Connoisseur
- connoisseurofliquo
- Apr 26
- 2 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
The best pours of 2023 — Crystal and Roger look back at a full year of Swirl, Sniff, Sip, and Savor to identify the bottles that left the deepest impressions. This year-end recap is a master class in how thoughtful drinking accumulates into genuine expertise.
Year in Review
Format: Year-end best-of recap — Crystal & Roger's top pours of 2023
Criteria: Bottles that stood out for quality, value, surprise, or significance
Categories: Bourbon, Irish, Scotch, Tequila, Rum, Brandy, and specialty
Value picks: Bottles that punched above their price
Significance picks: Bottles that changed how they think about a category
How Crystal & Roger Evaluated the Year
The 2023 recap isn't just a ranked list — it's an evaluation framework that reflects a full year of intentional drinking. Crystal and Roger sort their best pours into categories: the bottles that surprised them (exceeded expectations for the price or category), the bottles that changed their thinking (revealed something new about a spirit type), and the bottles they'd buy again first.
The Standouts
Across the year, several clear themes emerged: additive-free tequila confirmed itself as the most exciting category for new discovery; Irish whiskey — particularly single pot still and small batch — kept delivering above its price; and the brandy category (Cognac, Armagnac, Brandy de Jerez) proved consistently undervalued for the complexity it delivers at every price point.
What a Year of Intentional Drinking Teaches
Crystal and Roger use this episode to reflect on what consistent, intentional tasting actually produces: a reference library of flavor memories that makes every subsequent pour more meaningful. Year two builds on year one; year three builds on year two. The accumulation of experience is the point. Drink to Remember, Not To Forget — the tagline lives in this episode.
🥃 Crystal & Roger's LC Recommendations
Watch this episode if you're building your palate: Crystal and Roger's year-in-review is the shortcut to their best discoveries of 2023. Start with the top picks and work backward.
For gift ideas: The best-of episode is the most reliable gift guide. Every bottle on Crystal and Roger's list has been lived with, not just tasted once.
To build your own year-in-review practice: Start keeping tasting notes. After 12 months, look back. The bottles that stay with you are the ones worth chasing.
LC Verdict
A retrospective that rewards the audience's loyalty with genuine curation. Crystal and Roger's best pours of 2023 are a year's worth of expertise in one episode.
Drink To Remember, Not To Forget. 🥃
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