Like you, Sebastian Sachs watches everything teed up in his very gay queue, from highbrow, Emmy-winning series and films to decadently sweet reality shows. His only requirement is that whatever he devotes time to is inclusive. In “The Moment,” Sebastian deep-dives on the scene, actor, person, place or thing that fans will never get over. She is the moment. He is the moment. They are the moment. You, dear reader, are the moment.

It only takes 54 seconds into the 10-episode journey of The Ultimatum for the cast to begin drinking. There’s nothing unusual about that; after all, it’s customary for reality dating stars to stress-chug alcohol on Too Hot to Handle, Love Island, Dating Around and other reality shows. We can understand why: Navigating relationships is difficult enough without cameras, so imagine being vulnerable (and potentially heartbroken) in front of millions of people. Yet, the liquor hits differently on The Ultimatum — and it’s not just because these couples sip from regal metallic wine glasses that are silver (rather than the gold featured on Love Is Blind).

The show’s complicated partnerships and uniquely stressful plot —six attractive couples swap partners to determine whether marriage is in the cards — fixated me during the first half of the series. It’s one thing to explore dating independently, but doing so with a long-term partner you’ll either marry or break up with is a recipe for emotional turmoil. And though Madlyn’s consistent stumbling (and mumbled remarks) proved the cast was at times, ahem, poured one too many, the substances they consumed aren’t exactly apparent until Episode 8, “Time to Answer the Ultimatum.”

In a nearly six-minute-long exchange between Shanique and Zay, my attention instantly veered away from their “what are we?” conversation to the two bottles of tequila displayed on their coffee table. No disrespect to the reality TV gods, but I always presumed producers served house spirits that’d make you desperate for a bagel and an aspirin the next morning. Nope. The Ultimatum taught me that when it comes to stocking the goods for a soon-to-be reality hit, mama (as in, production) has t-a-s-t-e. For their pleasure, Shanique and Zay take cute little sips of Código 1530 Tequila Rosa Blanco, an apparently luxe double barrel-aged selection.

I don’t know the first thing about extracting tequila from an agave plant. You serve it, I’ll drink it, regardless of where it came from and how long it’s been sitting out. But damn! According to Código’s marketing materials, 1530 Tequila Rosa Blanco is the world’s only pink-looking tequila, and that’s due to the fact that it marinates in wine barrels made of French white oak. What in the bougie hell? I’m here for it. In fact, country singer George Strait is such a fan of 1530 Tequila Rosa Blanco that he wrote a song about it. Though I had to zoom in to identify Shanique and Zay’s drink of choice, what really made me squeal louder than Jack McFarland in any episode of Will and Grace was the gorgeous white-and-blue bottle next to Mr. Código.

I easily clocked the Clase Azul Tequila Reposado, a delicious-tasting spirit that can run as much as $160, because I’m a gay man and its my duty to overspend. Suddenly, Shanique and Zay’s little tête-à-tête went from feeling like a basic moment to an artfully curated climactic scene. Like I said, taste! Did alcohol ultimately help The Ultimatum couples make rational decisions? That’s not for me to decide.

In Episode 8, Shanique kicks off her date with Zay with a confessional that made me cringe. “A lot has changed in the last 48 hours,” she says. “Zay is now single, and he has obviously been in a very vulnerable, emotional place. Now the door is a little bit more open in terms of maybe what Zay’s intentions are for the rest of this experience. So, yeah, I have that in the back of my mind.” At one point, she says, “This is a bad idea.” I couldn’t agree more.

So, they drink Código together to salve their anxiety. “I like it!” she says, adding in a little shoulder shimmy. While I initially thought these two would hit it off and decide they’d rather be with each other than with the partners they arrived with, their dynamic in Episode 8 tragically captured what The Ultimatum is all about: Compatibility is remarkably hard to find. I’m no relationship expert, but if it works it works, and if it doesn’t, good luck.

Zay begins their conversation by expressing frustration about feeling as if he needs to change to be Rae’s right match. But if Zay was expecting empathy from Shanique, it went out the window the second he inadvertently dismissed Rae’s feelings over him disappearing after a night of partying. “If I was to tell you my personal opinion, I think that there’s no fucking way that Randall can go from 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and not text me,” she says, referring to her boyfriend “I don’t give a fuck what we’re going through… as a woman, I would never be OK with that.”

The conversation quickly heats up, especially as Shanique begins defending Rae’s position, leading both to offer valid points about their exes and open the possibility of dating each other. After Zay repeatedly cuts Shanique off, their body language changes, their voices rise, and their potential relationship rapidly dissolves like alcohol in the bloodstream. “I’m done with this conversation,” Zay says as he walks off, with Shanique pleading, “Just have a fucking conversation.”

While entertaining, Shanique and Zay’s encounter was tough to watch because it revealed just how painful and real The Ultimatum’s experiment is — despite the happy engagements it led to. But to quote Nick Lachey, something I never thought I’d do, “Your journey is your journey, and it’s not for anybody else to judge; it’s all about the destination.” A sentiment worth drinking to! When The Ultimatum’s all-queer season premieres, I’ll sure as hell look out for the tequila on display amid the mess. If it’s not top-shelf, we’ll have a problem.