The Curator's Notebook

We taste a lot. Most of it doesn’t make it. This is the thing people don’t understand about curation: the no’s matter more than the yes’s. Anyone can build a catalog. The harder, more interesting work is the editing — and at btrbuzz we’d rather carry fifty drinks worth your money than three hundred you have to sort through. Here’s what made the cut in May.

1. Joyus NA sparkling wine— Verdant Spritz A grassy, dry sparkling aperitif that drinks like Aperol’s cooler cousin. Bitter on the front, citrus on the back, real backbone. The kind of drink you pour into a wine glass and forget isn’t wine. Best at golden hour with something salty.

2. Almave Humo Non-Alcoholic Smoky Agave Spirit — Smoke & Sage Highball We’ve been waiting for a non-alcoholic drink to nail the texture of mezcal — that low, smoldering warmth — and this one comes the closest we’ve found. Big, slow, sippable. Built for the second half of a long dinner.

3. Grove 42 — Bitter Orange Reserve A new pour from a producer we already love. They sent us the early run; we tasted, we ordered, it’s now on the site. If you liked their first release, this is the grown-up version. More structure, less sweetness, longer finish.