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🥃What is a Whiskey "Tater" & Are You One?

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cute chibi style image of a cartoon potato holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a shot glass with ice and brown liquid in another

If you've been poking around on social media or whiskey forums, you may have noticed enthusiasts throwing around the term "tater", often with some negative connotation.

Meaning of "Tater"

The use of Tater as slang in the whiskey community seems to have taken off during the bourbon boom of the 2010s. It's meaning varies slightly from person to person, but can be summarized as follows:

Tater - noun. A person who chases hyped or rare bottles for social status rather than an appreciation of the spirit. Often a tater will have more money than expertise and may be motivated by a fear of missing out rather than their own tastes.

No one is sure what the actual origin of the term is, but the juicy rumor is that it came from a Facebook group for bourbon hunters at the beginning of the last boom. The story goes that some off the more experienced group members, the ones the rest of the group turned to for tips on the next drop, decided to play a prank on the legions of newbies joining their group. They planted tales of an upcoming super rare and highly collectable potato whiskey from Buffalo Trace (not wheatley) that would hit shelves later that week. The newbies took the bait and started asking reliable allocation stores if they had gotten the exclusive Buffalo Trace Potato Vodka release yet. After the fifth vodka seeker in one day, a store owner allegedly posts on social media complaining about all the "Taters" asking for a secret Sazerac Vodka. 

Is it true? I like to believe it just for the fun backstory. 

Are you a tater? Tater Behavior Test

If you think you might be a tater, we've put together this helpful scorecard of Tater behaviors. Add up your points and find out!

Mild Tater Behaviors (1pt each)

  • Nothing on your shelf costs less than $30
  • You let the cost of a bottle influence your ratings

Risky Tater Behaviors (3pts each)

  • You spent more than $100 on a bottle of whiskey but have made less than 5 whiskey purchases
  • Most of the bottles on your shelf are unopened
  • You only open a bottle if you have a backup bottle
  • You have 4 or more of the same allocated bottle
  • You've never had Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Evan Williams, or Wild Turkey

Certified Tater Behaviors (5 pts each)

  • Weller Special Reserve is your favorite whiskey
  • You only drink Buffalo Trace products
  • You often pay 1.5x or more than Suggested Retail Price
  • You ask every store if they have Blanton's in the back - and don't make a purchase when they don't
  • When you find allocated bottles you clean out the shelf with the intention of selling them or "trading up"
  • You post pictures of huge numbers of allocated bottles because you or your buddy owns a liquor store (not disclosed)
  • You refer to any whiskeys as the "holy trinity"

Redemption (-1 pt each)

Take off one point for each of the following whiskey bottles you have owned due to their widely available and high quality anti-tater properties. 

Scoring

  • 0-5 points - Corn fed - Not a Tater
  • 6-10 points -Tater Adjacent - Displaying Tater Tendencies
  • 11+ points - Couch King - Yep, You're a Tater

Is it okay to be a Tater?

Sure, as long as you admit and own it. Ultimately, whiskey is to be enjoyed and no one should tell you how to spend your money. The only behavior that I would  discourage is hording bottles to flip because it exacerbates scarcity and secondary market revenues don't support the retailers or producers who actually make and move the product. That being said, most tater behaviors stem from wanting to feel special instead of a love for whiskey. If you feel like that may be you, I would encourage you to branch out and try other brands and products. There are a huge number of fantastic bottles on the market that are easier to find, cost less, and actually drink better than Blanton's or Pappy. 

Listing of Common Tater Bottles

  • Blanton's (all) - The Ultimate Tater Bottle
  • Eagle Rare
  • EH Taylor (all)
  • Elmer T. Lee
  • Midwinter Nights Dram
  • Old Fitzgerald
  • Old Forester Birthday
  • Stagg
  • Van Winkle Family
  • 4 Roses Limited Editions
  • Weller (all)

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