is more absurd.

To me, the wines are at least theoretically worth it. I absolutely refuse to believe there is significant nuance worth paying for in a bottle of 100 proof spirits. It's 50%+ ethanol ... what delicate nuances are you really finding? Not only that, but it's a recipe, so any scarcity is entirely manufactured.

On the flip side, vineyards are only as large as they are, and at least in places like Burgundy where the wines go for the most money, they've been that way for centuries -- you can't just add an adjacent plot and label it the same way (and nor would it taste the same if you did). So the scarcity is real.

But ... a bottle of bourbon, for instance, can be enjoyed over a long period of time. You could enjoy it once a year on your birthday for a couple decades. A bottle of wine is good for a couple days (and realistically starts to change pretty dramatically as soon as it's exposed to oxygen). That's a big factor that favors spirits.