I'm a bartender - here are 7 brands you're spending way too much money on, and what you should be ordering instead

Customers' obsession with Grey Goose has always stumped me.

My best guess is that peoples' partiality to Grey Goose comes primarily from name recognition, and a desire to have "the best," based on the assumption that the price will correlate to quality.

But for all the times I've blind-tasted Grey Goose versus the cheaper house spirit where I work, I can never distinguish a difference — and sometimes prefer the house spirit.

The last time I ran this experiment, I vastly preferred Reyka vodka. I had no preference when it came to Grey Goose versus Luksusowa.

This is a particularly pertinent test for vodka, as opposed to other spirits, for whom distinguishing traits between brands are intentional — meant to appeal to different palettes.

But a good vodka's aim is to taste like little at all. In my book, Grey Goose fails to accomplish that above the mid-tier.

Following Grey Goose, I'm calling out Tanqueray and Bombay gins, since a similar thread follows: Brand loyalty and name recognition mean bars can charge big bucks for these bottles, despite their more affordable prices at the liquor store.

If the price behind the bar of these two London dry gins were comparable to Hendricks gin, a Scottish gin known for its cucumber and rose notes, I'd opt for that instead.

Ah. The ol' celebrity-endorsement price bump. George Clooney founded Casamigos tequila in 2013, and it quickly became one of the fastest-growing tequila brands in the world.

Although the company was sold for $1 billion in 2017, the association to Clooney remains, and bars continue to charge top dollar for the spirit, even if the taste doesn't quite merit it.

But there are of course exceptions to every rule. I love both the charcoal flavors and the price point of Wild Turkey Longbranch bourbon, made from a collaboration with Matthew McConaughey.

And in Casamigos' defense, I find its mezcal offering exceptional for the price. And the bottle is gorgeous as well.

The Crystal Head Vodka origin story might be the most surprising of the celebrity-associated brands I've encountered yet. The brand was launched by Dan Aykroyd alongside artist John Alexander in 2007.

But unless you're a Ghostbusters or Blues Brothers superfan, or dearly want a skull-shaped liquid receptacle in your possession, save your money on this wildly overpriced spirit.

Bourbon drinkers are highly particular, so I imagine some will disagree with me on this one.

But while the liquor's scarcity is part of the reason for its high price point, I'm starting to think that hardcore fans of Blanton's Single Barrel bourbon are also paying top-shelf price for — in my book — a mid-shelf taste, in large part for aesthetic reasons.

Namely, the chic globe bottle and collectible B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S lettered horse-race caps.

One thing a bartender strolling through a package store would almost never shell out for is flavored spirits. Think orange or peach vodkas or honey bourbons.

You're essentially paying more for less percentage spirit, and for very simply conceived, easily achievable flavor profiles. That's unlike, say, other low-ABV liqueurs like Cynar or Fernet-Branca, whose complex recipes comprise a secret mix of dozens of herbs and botanicals — those we will gladly shell out for.

If you're looking to spice up the flavors of the home bar bottles, opt for infused spirits instead, like Kettle One's Botanical line.

You get the additional punch of flavor, while maintaining the same percentage of alcohol by volume.

Again, there are exceptions. I can't seem to make my own RumChata no matter what different horchata and rum combination I try. And I hate to miss out on indulging my favorite two-ingredient summer tiki drink, the SnoMageddon.