Methodology
How the Inebrious Beverage Program Score works
One number, out of 100, describing how well a venue runs its drinks program relative to what it sets out to do.
How reviews are researched
Inebrious reviews current beverage menus, official venue materials and other reliable, recent public evidence. The review date is the date the research was completed; it is not a claim that an Inebrious reviewer visited the venue. If a review includes firsthand experience, it will say so explicitly.
We do not invent taste, balance, execution, service, staff knowledge, availability or intent. A menu can establish what a venue offers and how the list is built, but it cannot by itself prove what a drink tastes like or how consistently it is served. When the evidence cannot support a category or claim, we leave it out rather than filling the gap.
What we score
- Program identity
- Does the list have a coherent point of view that fits the venue?
- Curation
- Does the selection show judgment, or is it simply a catalogue?
- Originality
- Is there a point of view, without novelty for its own sake?
- Breadth appropriate to the concept
- A twelve-seat bar and a hotel lobby are held to different scope.
- Menu clarity
- Do names, ingredients, formats and prices help a guest order confidently?
- Pricing and value
- When prices are available, are they defensible for the selection and format?
- Category depth
- Does the venue show meaningful strength in the beverage categories it chooses to offer?
- Nonalcoholic inclusion
- When attempted, is the nonalcoholic program treated as a real part of the list?
- Connection to food and concept
- When evidenced, does the program belong to this venue specifically?
Weighting
Criteria are weighted by venue concept — a brewery taproom is not judged on the depth of its cocktail list, and a wine bar is not penalized for a short beer selection. Missing evidence does not become a low score, and a category the venue does not meaningfully attempt is left unscored. The overall score reflects the program's demonstrated strengths and weaknesses in the context of what that venue sets out to do; it is not a simple average of category scores.
The 50–100 scale
- 95–100
- Classic
- A benchmark program with exceptional depth, coherence and evidence.
- 90–94
- Outstanding
- A destination-level program with clear, sustained strengths.
- 85–89
- Very good
- A notably strong program with a persuasive identity.
- 80–84
- Good
- A solid, competent program that succeeds on its own terms.
- 75–79
- Mediocre
- Some strengths, but important weaknesses limit the program.
- 50–74
- Not recommended
- The available evidence shows substantial beverage-program problems.
What we don't score
- — Food, kitchens, or the restaurant overall
- — Categories a venue deliberately doesn't offer
- — Service or staff knowledge inferred from a menu or isolated comment
- — Unsupported taste, execution or consistency claims
- — Anything unrelated to the beverage experience
Independence
Venues do not pay for an Inebrious review or score. Advertising, claimed-profile status, membership and Premium Beverage Partner status have no effect on the score or best-of placement, and subscription status is not used in the editorial assessment.
Community ratings are displayed separately and never averaged into the editorial score. A venue may request correction of a factual error, but Inebrious retains control of its opinions, scores and editorial wording. Reviews may be updated or unpublished when menus change or the supporting evidence no longer meets our standard.