Five bottles on our shelf sound like "elite" and run from $29.99 to $129.99. Stolichnaya is the base vodka, Stoli is the same brand's short name, and Elit is its top shelf - while Russian Elite and Royal Elite are different companies entirely. What each one is, what the price buys, and which to pick.

Cherry liqueur is really two different drinks sharing a name - the sweet dark red kind you sip, and clear dry maraschino that is distilled and belongs in a Last Word. Why maraschino comes out colourless, where vishniak fits, and the three bottles on our shelf at $16.99, $31.99 and $36.99.

Pet nat is short for petillant naturel. The wine is bottled before it has finished fermenting, so the bubbles come from the wine itself rather than a second fermentation. Why it is cloudy, why it wears a beer cap, how it differs from champagne and prosecco, and the two kosher bottles Dalton makes at $31.99.

Potato vodka is distilled from potatoes instead of grain, which makes it rounder and fuller in the mouth, more expensive to make, and the traditional bottle for Pesach. What the difference actually tastes like, why seven pounds of potatoes go into one bottle, and the two we carry at $32.99 and $17.99.

Grand Vin is French for great wine, and on a label it means the estate's flagship bottling - not a legal classification, and not the same thing as Grand Cru. Where the idea comes from in Bordeaux, what it does not tell you, and the Domaine du Castel ladder from $29.99 to $112.99 as a worked example.

Amaretto is the sweet almond-flavoured Italian liqueur, and Disaronno is the bottle almost everybody means. What the name means, why there may be no almonds in it at all, what ours costs at $39.99, and the five things worth doing with an open bottle.

Lychee turns up on our shelf in four completely different bottles - an Italian sparkling moscato in a can at $16.99, a Japanese sake at $15.99, a sweet Israeli fruit wine at $24.99, and an aniseed arak at $26.99. What each one tastes like, how sweet it really is, and which one belongs on your table.

Smirnoff Green Apple is $14.99 for the 750ml and $19.99 for the litre, and it tastes like an actual Granny Smith - tart first, sweet second, which is the opposite order to most flavoured vodka. The two bottles on our shelf, the drinks worth making, and who should buy something else.

There is no grape, region or style called Jewish wine. What people usually mean is kosher wine - or the sweet purple Concord bottle from the seder table. Where the sweet stuff came from, what actually makes a wine kosher, and what to drink whether you want dry or sweet.

Templeton Rye Aged 4 Years is $34.99, comes out of a town of 350 people in western Iowa, and is the approachable end of the rye category on purpose. What four years in new oak buys you, the Manhattan to build with it, and where it sits against High West, Redemption, James E. Pepper and Dad's Hat.

Six botanicals foraged along the gray whale migration route - Big Sur juniper, Mendocino kelp, Baja limes, Sonoma fir, Santa Cruz mint and Central Valley almonds. What that tastes like, what to mix it with, and why $32.99 is the interesting number.

100% blue Weber agave from Jalisco, three expressions, and a Silver that costs exactly what Patron Silver costs. What is in each bottle, which one to buy for which job, and what the price actually gets you against Espolon, Don Julio and Casamigos.