Ep 19: The 5 Psychological Traps Dominating Your Liquor Cupboard

Lulie and Felicity put out a plea on social media — “Tell us what’s in your drinks cabinet” — and discovered a whole world of crimes against taste. 

Sweet, creamy liqueurs dominated the offerings (Baileys, Advocat, and even a banana liqueur with holiday PTSD), alongside objects of pride like single malt and bourbon that get opened but never finished. There was plenty of Sherry, Muscat and half-dead whites lurking in the name of “cooking” while the global curios proved that even the most discerning consumer can get suckered by duty free. 

Researcher Lulie revealed the five drivers of the drinks cabinets, from the endowment effect and sunk-cost fallacy to identity signalling, magical thinking about future selves and sacralisation. Along the way we got into the Baileys origin story, why Advocat is basically alcoholic custard with 140g sugar/litre, and a simple cocktail framework that rescues strays without requiring a degree in bartending. It’s confession, anthropology, and behavioural science in one tidy purge.

You’ll never look at crème de menthe the same way again.

Meet Your Hosts:

Lulie Halstead founded and led international consumer research and strategy consultancy Wine Intelligence, and led it to a successful PE exit. Today she is a renowned global beverage alcohol and wine sector specialist, focused on consumer behaviour, strategy, retail and hospitality. An accomplished keynote speaker, she has spoken at more than 70 international events over the past 20 years.

Felicity Carter is an award-winning wine and drinks journalist, editor and content strategist. She led Meininger’s Wine Business International to become the world’s most must-read wine trade magazine, and was founding Executive Editor of The Drop/Pix, which the Wall Street Journal named one of the most trusted sources of wine information. A regular keynote speaker, she was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.