Best way to discover premium whisky without buying full bottles every time?

Lately I have been trying to get into better whiskies like Scotch or Japanese stuff and Irish ones too. Full bottles add up fast though and you end up with ones you might not even like that much.

These tasting subscriptions or curated boxes have been showing up more and they seem like a way to try single malts without spending a ton at once. I think that could help find decent ones from different places. Some of it feels hit or miss though and I am not totally sure how the value works out for most people.

Going to bars now and then or just buying small tasting sets might be simpler. Researching on your own and picking bottles also comes up a lot. It is hard to say which actually helps build a better sense of what you like without wasting money.

The part that matters is avoiding bottles that just sit there and still getting a range of regions to try.