I don't understand the fuss. When you don't care what liquor is in your drink, often because you can't taste the difference, you order "house" or "well" or just order the drink by generic name such as "whiskey sour". If you do care-- because you are ordering a drink for which you can taste the difference between mediocre and fine ingredients-- then you order by brand, such as, "Macallan 12, neat, double."