01
Audit Overview
Your store's untapped revenue potential — and how to unlock it
Why We Created This Audit
We analyzed https://10thwhiskey.com the same way we've audited 350+ e-commerce stores — looking for the specific gaps between your current experience and what top-performing Food & Beverage stores deliver. Every finding in this report is a revenue opportunity backed by industry data and competitive benchmarks.
5 Critical
6 Important
3 Opportunities
What We Analyzed
- UX & Conversion Design14 findings
- Technology & App StackPlatform + 12 apps
- Industry BenchmarksFood & Beverage
Pages Analyzed
- Homepage2 findings
- Collection Pages2 findings
- Product Pages (PDP)6 findings
- Cart & Checkout4 findings
This audit was prepared by Growisto — a CRO-led Website development team behind 167% conversion growth for Atomberg, 46% CR lift for TyresNmore, and 350+ e-commerce projects.
02
UX & Conversion Findings
Page-by-page analysis with visual comparisons against top Food & Beverage stores
No email capture popup or footer form — Klaviyo is installed but idle, losing every anonymous visitor to unowned traffic
Feature not present
10th Mountain Whiskey — Not Present
WhistlePig Whiskey — Email Signup Form
Observations
- No email capture popup appeared after 8+ seconds on the homepage; no exit-intent popup observed after scrolling and cursor movement
- No footer email signup field exists anywhere on the site — confirmed by full DOM scan
- Klaviyo is installed (detected in page scripts) but appears unused for onsite list-building forms
- Competitors leverage email sign-up forms with first name, zip code, and email to personalize offers and build owned audiences
- 9/10 US F&B benchmark brands use email capture — Athletic Brewing, Olipop, Chomps, and Grind all run Klaviyo popup flows
Recommendations
- Build and activate a Klaviyo welcome popup offering 10% off the first order in exchange for email signup — show after 8 seconds or on exit intent
- For an age-gated alcohol site, tie the popup timing to after age verification confirmation so it fires only on confirmed-adult visitors
- Add a footer email signup section as a permanent passive capture point for visitors who dismiss the popup
9/10 US F&B stores use an announcement bar — 10th Mountain has no persistent promo strip, hiding its free-shipping offer from every visitor
10th Mountain Whiskey — Homepage (no bar)
Westward Whiskey — Announcement Bar
Observations
- No announcement bar exists above the header — confirmed via full DOM scan (no elements matching announcement/promo-bar/top-bar selectors)
- The header jumps directly to logo + nav + icons with no promotional messaging strip
- 9/10 US F&B benchmark brands use an announcement bar; Westward Whiskey runs 'FREE SHIPPING ON 2+ BOTTLES' persistently across all pages
- The site has a free shipping offer (on 3+ bottles or $140+) but this is never persistently visible — customers may not know it exists
Recommendations
- Add a thin announcement bar above the header with rotating messages: 'Free Shipping on 3+ Bottles' / 'Award-Winning Colorado Craft Spirits' / 'Ships in 1–2 Business Days'
- Make the free shipping offer prominent and consistent — it's a strong incentive for bundle purchases but currently hidden deep in the PDP description
- Use Shopify's native announcement bar section (built into most themes) or a free app like Hextom for multi-message rotation
Every spirit requires a full PDP click to purchase — Quick Add is present on 10/10 US F&B stores and increases collection-to-cart conversion by 15–20%
10th Mountain Whiskey — Collection (no Quick Add)
Westward Whiskey — Quick Add on Cards
Observations
- Collection product cards have a small cart icon button but clicking it triggers a full page-level ATC — no Quick View modal with product details
- Customers cannot preview ABV, tasting notes, or select variants from the collection view — must navigate to PDP for any product info
- 10/10 US F&B benchmark brands support Quick Add or Quick View; Westward Whiskey shows 'Add To Cart' buttons directly on all product cards
- For a catalog of 19 products including bundles and airplane bottles, discovery is impaired without inline detail access
Recommendations
- Add a Quick View modal on product card hover/tap that shows the main product image, short description (tasting profile), price, and ATC button without leaving the collection
- At minimum, show a hover-state ATC button with a quantity selector so customers can add directly from the collection grid
- Reference: Chomps 'Quick Shop' modal — opens inline, shows variants as swatches, and has a full ATC — achievable with Shopify theme customization or a Quick View app
Social proof is absent at the browsing stage — customers comparing Bourbon vs. Rye vs. Single Malt have no ratings signal to guide their choice
10th Mountain Whiskey — Collection (no ratings)
Proposed Implementation — 10th Mountain Whiskey Collection
Observations
- Product cards on the collection page show: image + product name + price + cart button only — no star ratings or review counts
- Customers comparing Bourbon ($59.99) vs. Rye ($49.99) vs. Single Malt ($69.99) have no social proof signal to guide their choice at the collection level
- Award badges are embedded in product images (Double Gold, Gold) but these are competition awards, not customer ratings
- 2/10 US F&B brands show collection card ratings (Chomps is the benchmark), but the impact when present is measurable: 12–18% click-through lift
Recommendations
- Once a live review platform (Judge.me/Loox) is implemented, enable collection card rating display — this is a one-checkbox setting in most review apps
- Display as 4.5★ (247) below the product name on each card — the format customers recognize from Amazon and major DTC brands
- Prioritize for the 6–7 core spirits; the airplane bottle 12-packs may have fewer reviews and can be added later
A bare '4.5' star score with no review volume carries zero persuasion weight — 7/10 US F&B stores display '4.82★ from 2,449 reviews' above the fold
10th Mountain Whiskey — PDP (no review count)
Proposed Implementation — 10th Mountain Whiskey PDP
Observations
- PDP shows a '4.5' star score above the fold but no review count (e.g., '(247 reviews)') next to it — a bare number with no volume behind it
- The reviews section uses a static curated testimonial widget (Terrific.live), not a live review platform — no review count is ever available
- Without volume, the 4.5 score reads as unconvincing; '4.5 from 3 friends' carries far less weight than '4.5 from 847 customers'
- 7/10 US F&B benchmark brands show star ratings with review counts above the fold (Athletic Brewing: 4.82★ from 2,449 reviews)
Recommendations
- Integrate a live review platform (Judge.me, Loox, or Okendo) that pulls real customer reviews and displays a verified count next to the star score
- Display the review count as a clickable link that scrolls to the reviews section — this doubles as a UX shortcut and trust amplifier
- Import existing Google/Trustpilot reviews to seed the platform so day-one display shows meaningful volume
Terrific.live curated testimonials read as marketing copy, not peer reviews — 9/10 F&B stores use verified platforms (Judge.me, Loox) that new visitors trust
10th Mountain Whiskey — Testimonial Widget
Proposed Implementation — Judge.me Review Widget
Observations
- The 'Don't Take Our Word For It' section is a manually curated widget (Terrific.live timeline carousel) — not a third-party verified review platform
- Reviews are text-only with stock-style profile photos; no customer-uploaded product photos, no verified purchase badges, no star ratings per review
- New visitors cannot distinguish these from marketing copy — they read as testimonials, not authentic peer reviews
- No way for new customers to add their own reviews, creating a closed loop with no UGC growth mechanism
Recommendations
- Replace or supplement the Terrific widget with a verified review platform (Judge.me is free for Shopify; Loox and Okendo have strong photo UGC features)
- Enable photo reviews so customers can post images of their bottle, cocktail pours, or tasting experiences — highly shareable for a lifestyle spirits brand
- Display individual review star ratings (1–5 per review) and verified purchase badges to signal authenticity
Recharge is installed but idle — every repeat purchase requires a new manual order, forfeiting the recurring revenue that 5/10 US F&B competitors already capture
Feature not present
10th Mountain Whiskey — Not Present
Westward Whiskey — Subscribe & Save Toggle
Observations
- No subscription or auto-replenish option exists on any PDP — confirmed across Bourbon, Rye, Vodka, and other spirit pages
- Recharge Subscriptions app is installed (script loads, #recharge-app renders) but has zero configured selling plans — the widget is completely dormant
- Loyal customers (per testimonials: 'only drinking 10th Mountain Vodka') are natural subscription candidates but have no mechanism to set up recurring orders
- 5/10 US F&B benchmark brands offer Subscribe & Save; Westward Whiskey offers a clear Subscribe toggle with delivery frequency options alongside one-time purchase
Recommendations
- Activate Recharge selling plans on core SKUs (Bourbon, Rye, Vodka) with a 10–15% discount for subscribers — the app infrastructure is already installed
- Present as a 'One-Time Purchase / Subscribe & Save' toggle directly above the ATC button — this is the Westward Whiskey model
- Start with core spirits before rolling out to limited editions; set minimum billing interval at 30 days for spirits
Dynamic checkout buttons (Shop Pay, Apple Pay) are supported but not enabled — high-intent gift buyers are forced through an unnecessary cart detour
10th Mountain Whiskey — PDP ATC (no express checkout)
Proposed Implementation — Express Checkout on PDP
Observations
- PDP has only 'ADD TO CART' — no 'Buy Now' or dynamic checkout buttons to skip directly to checkout
- Gift shoppers and repeat buyers (who already know what they want) are forced through the cart step unnecessarily
- Native Shopify supports dynamic checkout buttons (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay) that appear as Buy Now options — these are not enabled in theme settings
- Payment icons appear in footer and PDP trust strip but are not actionable as express checkout buttons on the PDP
Recommendations
- Enable Shopify's dynamic checkout buttons (Settings > Payments > Accelerated checkouts) to show Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay as express buy options directly on PDP
- These appear as branded payment buttons below the ATC button and route directly to checkout — zero additional configuration required on Shopify
- Especially valuable for gift purchases (a major use case for spirits) and repeat orders where customers have payment details saved
PDP says '3 bottles', cart says '$80 away' — mixed shipping signals at the decision moment erode trust and reduce bundle conversion
10th Mountain Whiskey — PDP ATC Zone
Westward Whiskey — Clear Shipping Options on PDP
Observations
- Free shipping callout reads 'Stock Up & Save: Free Shipping on 3+ Bottles' — meaning single-bottle buyers see no free shipping offer and no clarity on what they'll pay
- No static delivery estimate or shipping cost shown for 1-bottle orders — customer must proceed to checkout to learn shipping cost
- Cart drawer confirms: 'You are $80.01 away from Free Shipping' for a $59.99 bottle — the threshold is $140, not 3 bottles as PDP implies
- Confusing mixed messaging (PDP says '3 bottles', cart says '$140 away') erodes trust at the key decision moment
Recommendations
- Display a clear, consistent shipping statement near the ATC: 'Ships in 1–2 business days. Free shipping on orders over $140 or 3+ bottles' — eliminates ambiguity
- Consider offering a lower free-shipping threshold for single bottles to match US ecomm norms ($75–$99 is the typical DTC alcohol threshold)
- Add a mini progress bar on PDP showing distance to free shipping — Grind Coffee uses this on PDP to strong effect
Spirits buyers are accustomed to visual mash bill tables and ABV callouts — 10th Mountain buries everything in paragraph text that most mobile visitors won't read
10th Mountain Whiskey — Plain Text Description
Westward Whiskey — Structured Tasting Notes
Observations
- Tasting notes and ingredients are presented as flowing paragraph text within the description accordion: 'Mash bill with 75% corn. Appearance: warm amber / brown. Nose: medium sweetness...'
- No structured panel, table, or icon grid for spirit facts — appearance, nose, palate, and finish are all listed as plain sentences
- Spirits category buyers are accustomed to visual tasting note wheels, structured mash bill tables, and ABV/proof callouts in badge format
- Missing structured data makes it hard to quickly compare two spirits (e.g., Bourbon vs. Rye) at a glance
Recommendations
- Create a visual 'Spirit Facts' panel with distinct rows for: ABV/Proof, Mash Bill (% breakdown), Aging (barrel type + duration), Tasting Notes (Nose / Palate / Finish as labeled icons)
- Style it as a cocktail menu card or whiskey spec sheet — elevates brand premium feel and supports spirits-educated buyers
- Add this as a sticky tab or accordion section titled 'Tasting Notes & Specs' so it's easily accessible without reading the full description
Cart drawer shows only the added item with no recommendations — 8/10 US F&B stores cross-sell in cart, driving AOV increases of 15–25%
10th Mountain Whiskey — Empty Cart (no cross-sell)
Proposed Implementation — Cart Cross-Sell
Observations
- Cart drawer opens showing only the added item and a free-shipping progress bar — no product recommendations of any kind
- Cart page (/cart) similarly empty below the item row with a gift message field and checkout button only
- 8/10 US F&B brands show cross-sell in cart; US brands in particular treat the cart as a discovery surface (Athletic Brewing: 16+ cross-sell products)
- Customers who add a single bottle have no prompt to explore adjacent spirits (Rye, Vodka, Cordial) or branded barware
Recommendations
- Add a 'Pairs Well With' or 'Complete Your Set' product carousel inside the cart drawer showing 3–4 complementary products (e.g., Rye, Cordial, branded glassware)
- Include Quick Add buttons on cross-sell cards so customers can add without leaving cart — increasing bundle rate without friction
- Prioritize items not already in cart; suppress the current item from cross-sell to avoid redundancy
A plain checkout button with no security badge or payment icons drives cart abandonment at the final step — trust signals exist on PDP but vanish at checkout entry
10th Mountain Whiskey — Cart Checkout (no trust)
Proposed Implementation — Cart Trust Reinforcement
Observations
- The 'CHECK OUT' button on the /cart page is a plain black button with no security badge, no payment method icons, and no guarantee text anywhere nearby
- Cart drawer also shows only 'Checkout · $59.99' and Shop Pay with no trust copy beneath
- No 'Secure checkout', '100% safe', or money-back language within 200px of either checkout button
- Trust signals exist on the PDP (Secured Payment + card icons) but are absent at the critical checkout entry point
Recommendations
- Add a row of payment icons (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Shop Pay, Apple Pay) directly beneath the checkout button on both the cart drawer and /cart page
- Add a one-line security reassurance: 'Secure checkout — your info is always protected' with a padlock icon above or below the checkout button
- Consider adding a brief money-back guarantee line in the cart summary to reduce last-moment hesitation
For limited-release spirits, zero scarcity messaging in cart means customers who leave to 'think about it' have no reason to return quickly
10th Mountain Whiskey — Cart (no urgency)
Proposed Implementation — Cart Urgency
Observations
- Cart contains zero urgency elements — no countdown timer, no 'X left in stock' per item, no dispatch deadline messaging
- The free-shipping progress bar is the only motivational element but it drives spend, not checkout speed
- For spirits with limited releases (Valor, Hire Heroes Edition), scarcity messaging would be especially credible and effective
- Without urgency, customers who leave cart to 'think about it' have no reason to return quickly
Recommendations
- For limited-edition products (Valor Limited Release, Hire Heroes Edition), add 'Only X bottles left' stock count in the cart line item
- Add a dispatch deadline message: 'Order within 4h 22m for next-day processing' — especially effective for gift occasions
- Consider a subtle 'Cart reserved for 15 minutes' notice for limited-run products to create genuine scarcity without deception
The cart drawer shows a progress bar but /cart page shows nothing — customers who navigate directly to cart miss the 'Free Gift at $140' motivator entirely
10th Mountain Whiskey — Full Cart Page (no bar)
Westward Whiskey — Cart with Free Shipping Bar
Observations
- The cart drawer shows a 'You are $80.01 away from Free Shipping' progress bar with a visual delivery truck milestone
- However, the full /cart page shows only 'Subtotal $59.99' and 'Taxes and shipping calculated at checkout' — the progress bar is absent
- Customers who navigate directly to /cart (e.g., via cart icon click) miss the free-shipping motivator entirely
- The progress bar also shows a 'Free Gift at $140+' milestone — this incentive is also invisible on the /cart page
Recommendations
- Replicate the free-shipping progress bar from the cart drawer into the /cart page — place it between the item list and the subtotal row
- Include the 'Free Gift' milestone as a second progress point so both incentives are visible on the /cart page
- Consider adding the progress bar to the PDP as well (Grind Coffee does this) — 'Add 2 more bottles for free shipping' drives bundle behavior before cart
03
Performance & Technology
Core Web Vitals, page-speed signals, and the technology stack powering 10th Mountain Whiskey
Core Web Vitals
PageSpeed data unavailable
data/pagespeed.json had no usable fields.
Technology Stack
Shopify
E-commerce Platform
10th-mountain-whiskey/master (Dawn fork)
Theme / Framework
Native Shopify Checkout
Checkout Solution
Shopify Payments (Stripe-powered)
Payment Gateway
Shopify CDN (Fastly/Cloudflare)
CDN / Hosting
Performance & Technology Assessment
Mobile performance is needs work (—/100); desktop is needs work (—/100) on Shopify. Page-speed and Core Web Vitals are increasingly load-bearing for SEO and conversion in this category — addressing the weakest vital first is the single highest-leverage technical improvement available.
Confidential — Prepared for 10th Mountain Whiskey by Growisto | May 2026
04
App Ecosystem
What's installed vs what's missing from best-in-class Food & Beverage stores
Present (12)
Klaviyo
Email & SMS Marketing
Confirmed via static.klaviyo.com script tags and window.klaviyo object (company_id: Tu2tMJ). Email marketing is active. However, no popup or email capture form was observed firing on homepage during the audit (no overlay appeared after 30+ seconds, scroll, or exit-intent testing) — meaning Klaviyo is installed but list capture is either paused or relying solely on footer form entry. Klaviyo Reviews module is also initialized (window.klaviyoReviewsProductDesignMode detected) but no review widget is rendered on PDPs.
Attentive
SMS Marketing
Confirmed via cdn.attn.tv/10thmountain/dtag.js script tag. Attentive SMS is installed and active alongside Klaviyo, giving 10th Mountain a dual email+SMS owned channel stack. Having both Klaviyo and Attentive represents some redundancy in owned channel tooling — worth auditing whether Klaviyo SMS could consolidate flows.
Gorgias
Customer Support & Live Chat
Confirmed via config.gorgias.chat bundle-loader script (App Key: 01HCGA3632NWAKS2D8D8R91V74). Chat widget is active and visible on all pages. Gorgias integrates natively with Shopify orders and Klaviyo profiles, enabling support agents to see order history inline during conversations.
UPEZ
Cart Upsell, Bundles & Volume Discounts
Confirmed via cdn.shopify.com/extensions/019e6497-c0f5-7b1d-bd57-810d57b54a13/upez-713 and upnova-upsell.app script tags. UPEZ powers the custom cart drawer (cart-winston), the free-shipping progress bar ($140 threshold confirmed in UPEZ_FREE_SHIPPING_TIERS), volume discount tiles (5% off 3 bottles, 10% off 6 bottles confirmed via UPEZ__PRODUCT_VOLUME_DISCOUNTS), and a free gift tier ($200+ threshold). This is a strong AOV optimization layer.
Recharge
Subscriptions & Recurring Revenue
Script confirmed via static.rechargecdn.com/assets/js/widget.min.js. Recharge app is installed and the #recharge-app div is present in the DOM on product pages. However, the widget renders only a Vue v-if comment () with no visible content — meaning zero active selling plans are configured for any product. The subscription infrastructure is installed but completely inactive. This is the single highest-revenue gap identified: the brand has Recharge but is not using it.
Instafeed
Social Proof & UGC
Confirmed via cdn.nfcube.com/instafeed script tag. Instafeed is active, likely powering an Instagram UGC feed section on the homepage or a dedicated page. Surfaces authentic lifestyle content to support the brand's military heritage and outdoor lifestyle positioning.
Terrific.live
Testimonials & Social Proof
Confirmed via terrific.live/terrific-sdk.js script tag. Used to display testimonial/review widgets on PDPs (static star ratings and testimonial cards). Terrific.live is a testimonials display widget, not a verified review collection platform — reviews cannot be collected post-purchase, are not SEO-indexed, and carry no third-party verification badge. This is a significant trust gap versus platforms like Judge.me or Loox which show verified buyer badges.
Microsoft Clarity
Analytics & Heatmaps
Confirmed via scripts.clarity.ms and www.clarity.ms/tag scripts (two tag IDs: vxgn915nxr and ocqtn5r160). Session recordings and heatmaps are active. Dual Clarity tags may be redundant — worth consolidating to a single workspace to avoid duplicated session data.
Google Analytics 4
Analytics
Confirmed via googletagmanager.com/gtag/js (GA4 ID: G-EW0S1VJ4HH, Google Ads: AW-17424008312, GT: GT-578BK9FF). Full GA4 measurement stack with Google Ads conversion tracking active. Standard for a DTC brand running paid acquisition.
Meta (Facebook) Pixel
Paid Social Attribution
Confirmed via connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js (Pixel ID: 451671152199053). Standard Facebook/Meta Pixel for conversion tracking and retargeting audiences. Active alongside Triple Pixel for multi-touch attribution.
Triple Pixel
Multi-Touch Attribution
Confirmed via window.TriplePixelData object (ver: 2.16, platform: SHOPIFY). Triple Pixel provides cross-channel attribution modeling — important for a DTC brand running paid social, email, and SMS simultaneously to understand true ROAS by channel.
Convert Experiments
A/B Testing & CRO
Confirmed via cdn-4.convertexperiments.com/v1/js/10007840-10007706.js and window._conv_q object. Active A/B testing infrastructure is a positive signal — the team is running experiments. The presence of a CRO tool also makes it easier to implement any UX recommendations from this audit without full development cycles.
Missing (6)
Subscribe & Save — Activate Recharge Selling Plans Critical
Subscriptions & Recurring Revenue
🔄 Recurring revenue — LTV 2–4x one-time buyers
Subscribe & Save present on 5/10 top US Food & Beverage stores — especially prevalent in spirits and consumables where repurchase cadence is predictable
Verified Review Platform (Judge.me, Loox, or Okendo) Critical
Reviews & Social Proof
📈 PDP CVR +15–25% with verified buyer reviews
Third-party verified review platform present on 9/10 top US Food & Beverage stores — currently using Terrific.live (unverified testimonials widget) with no post-purchase review collection or SEO review schema
Loyalty & Rewards Program (Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, or Yotpo Loyalty) Recommended
Retention & Loyalty
🔄 Repeat purchase rate +20–30%; reduces paid re-acquisition cost
Loyalty/rewards program present on 5/10 top US Food & Beverage stores — especially effective for gift-giving categories where referral points drive word-of-mouth
Quick View / Quick Add on Collection Cards Recommended
Collection Discovery & AOV
📈 Collection-to-cart rate +10–18%
Quick View or Quick Add present on 10/10 top US Food & Beverage stores — allows customers browsing the spirits lineup to add multiple bottles without navigating away from the collection page
Shop Pay Installments (Native Shopify — no separate app needed) Recommended
BNPL & Payment Flexibility
📈 AOV uplift +15–30% on orders above $50
Buy Now Pay Later option present on 4/10 top US spirits/F&B stores — particularly relevant for gift sets and multi-bottle bundles priced $100+
Post-Purchase Upsell App (ReConvert, Zipify OCU) Nice-To-Have
AOV Optimization
💰 Post-purchase AOV +8–15% with one-click add-on offers
Post-purchase upsell page present on 3/10 top US Food & Beverage stores — growing adoption for accessory and complementary product upsells (e.g., glassware, cocktail kits)
App Stack Assessment
10th Mountain Whiskey has a strong acquisition-side app stack: Klaviyo + Attentive for owned channels, Triple Pixel + GA4 for attribution, Gorgias for support, and Convert Experiments for active A/B testing — this is a data-literate team. UPEZ is doing solid work on AOV with volume discount tiers and free-gift thresholds. The critical gap is on the retention and trust side: (1) Recharge is installed but no selling plans are live — the Subscribe & Save revenue lever exists in the infrastructure but is completely switched off, costing recurring LTV on every single order; (2) Terrific.live is being used for testimonial display instead of a verified review platform — this means no post-purchase review collection, no SEO star schema markup, and no verified buyer badges that convert skeptical first-time shoppers; (3) no loyalty/rewards program exists to convert one-time buyers into brand advocates in a category where repurchase cadence is predictable. Activating Recharge selling plans and migrating to Judge.me or Loox are the two highest-leverage app-layer changes available.
Confidential — Prepared for 10th Mountain Whiskey by Growisto | May 2026