Part of the Spirits Mastery school. Class 5 of 6.
The capability: you can taste a product against a reference and decide deliberately whether it belongs in your well.
Prerequisites: Modules 21, 22, 25.
The practice
Read every agave label on the back bar. Note which say one hundred percent agave. Five minutes.
Then taste your well tequila neat against a known additive-free reference at a similar price, per Module 21.
Then do the same with rum — check which of your rums disclose added sugar, and taste a known unsweetened one against a suspect one.
And check the house margarita spec against its history. Has the lime been increased? When, and why?
The reference
A known additive-free product at a similar price point. Without it there is nothing to compare against and the assessment is a guess.
What you are building
The ability to make a purchasing decision knowingly.
Some rooms want smooth and approachable in the well and that is a legitimate choice. What is not legitimate is making the choice by accident and then rewriting the house drink to conceal it — which is what happens when a bar adds lime to compensate for a sweeter base.
Verification and boundary
The neat comparison, and a written decision about the well.
Boundary: production and additive standards are set by the relevant national authorities; import and labeling by the the federal alcohol regulator. Nothing should be asserted about a specific product without checking.