Top shelf or no shelf, life is far too short for cheap or well liquor. Top shelf is for savoring, letting that nectar roll around your mouth and tongue and relishing the aftertaste that lingers, the best part to me. A fine red wine has that same effect on the mouth.
I have had to give up all colored liquor and I do miss bourbon, rye and scotch and the last bourbon I drank was the best of all the ones I tried and affordable, Elijah Craig, the creator of bourbon. My favorite single malt is Aberlour 15 or The Balvenie 18. For blends, Johnnie Walker Black and Chivas Regal.
Gin is a favorite as well but it all depends on the drink. Hendrick's is great in a gin and tonic but not a martini, too many botanicals. Just Bombay, not the Sapphire, is so clean and crisp in a martini as you sip on it, you immediately think 'this taste like another'. My favorite thing about a gin martini is the first sip, I get an involuntary rigor from my shoulders to my butt, it's great.
Tequila, it's Patron Silver in a scratch margarita with Cointreau and a whisper of Grand Marnier floated on top. Mix Red Diamond Kosher Salt with Maldon Salt flakes for the rim, little bit of magic right there.
Which brings me to vodka and the biggest myth is that vodka does not have taste, it most certainly does but you have to taste it in a martini not a Bloody Mary. Tito's is a great mixing vodka but for the martini, you need to experiment. I have tried them all, Grey Goose, Belvedere, Stoly Gold and Cristal, Ketel One and finally settled in on my martini vodkas, Crystal Head or Chopin, a Polish potato vodka which is what the first vodkas were made from. If you are looking for smooth, look no further than Crystal Head but sometimes I want a little bite and a reminder I am drinking alcohol. Crystal Head goes down too easy.
Three things are requirements for me. The proper glassware for the proper cocktail as that completes the experience and I always measure, I never free pour. I have had a lot of friends with problems with alcohol and they all shared one trait, free pouring. I keep count and know exactly how much I can have over a certain period of time because I hate the feeling of having had too much. I like the effects of alcohol when it gets me just buzzy but do not like to go further than that. I haven't done shots in 30 years. And clear ice for cocktails, cloudy ice ruins the ambience the perfect cocktail creates and for margaritas, mojitos and mules, nothing but Sonic Ice will do.