Hear me out.
There’s something of a cultish following around Van Gogh espresso vodka in Charleston, and especially at Cutty’s, a most perfect bar. Charleston is a beautiful town with a beautiful food and booze culture that everyone should enjoy. Come see me. I bought Zach a few of these things a couple weeks back, and he’s sold on the efficacy and splendid taste that is this particular liqueur. That’s what it is: a liqueur.
A liqueur stands beside and apposite of liquor. A liqueur prides itself on taste. Liquor, in the trashy, college sense, is just straight-up liquor.