Wade Cooper

Bourbon and Scotch buying advice: cheap bottles that beat famous brands

US whiskey buyers who shop at Costco, Total Wine, Walmart and state liquor stores and want better bottles for less, from beginners to people with a few bottles at home (inferred from titles, descriptions and the about text).

• Realistic avatar
• A photorealistic older man with a full white beard and a bald or thinning head, in a blue chambray shirt and a dark apron with brown leather straps, holding or pointing at bottles. The avatar shows the same character as a smiling, painterly portrait with a tasting glass.

Opens on a shelf-price story (a famous bottle next to a cheaper one), states the promise and a 34-year credential, then counts down bottles or tips with proof, recipe and label facts. Ends with homework, a comment prompt for state and shelf price, and a next-video teaser.

• Cheap bourbons that beat famous brands
• Costco and big-box whiskey picks
• Scotch brand rankings and label reading
• One-brand guides (Wild Turkey, Johnnie Walker)
• Old distiller tricks for drinking whiskey

• Distiller Reveals [N] [CHEAP/BUDGET] [Bourbons] That Are WAY Better Than [Famous Brand]
• NEVER [Buy/Pour X] Again — Try This Old Distiller Trick
• NEVER Buy the Wrong [Brand] Again (A Distiller's Guide)
• Veteran Distiller: My Secret to Picking the Best [Whiskey] at Costco
• The [N] Greatest [US Bourbon/Scotch] Brands Ever Made (And Why You've Never Heard of Half of Them)

The bearded presenter in an apron holds or stands behind bottles, in a barrel room, patio or Costco front, with a red arrow and a bold caption ('BUY THIS INSTEAD', 'THE HOLY GRAIL') or a price; product-only ones show bottle lineups, 'WORST to BEST' or a blind-tasting score.

• The top video names a famous brand: '...Better Than Maker's Mark' has 53,774 views; the next two name Johnnie Walker (18,115 and 15,704)
• 19 of 20 descriptions since Sep 10 open on a concrete shelf-price story (e.g. a $39.99 bottle next to a $27.99 one at higher proof)
• A named credential recurs: '34 years' in the about text, in the video openings, and in 8 of 20 descriptions since Sep 10
• 7 of the 10 most viewed videos use one of 4 repeated title formulas; so do 17 of 20 uploads since Sep 10, at about 4 uploads a week
• Thumbnails pair a bottle with a price promise: 3 of 10 show a dollar figure, including the top video's '($21.99) BUY THIS INSTEAD'