Upselling is a sales technique you see across industries.
At a car dealership, the salesperson might try to "upsell" you flashy add-ons like leather seats, window tinting, or chrome-plated wheels.
And at corporate chain restaurants, upselling is so essential that it's often codified in the script to upsell when you greet the guest.
Regardless of whether you're at a chain restaurant or a local mom-and-pop, you'll be upsold on your choice of spirit by any experienced bartender or server.
I'm rather horrible at doing this, so I tend to default to popular spirits I'm most likely to get the nod of approval for. I've found that Tito's vodka is a reliable upsell, even if it's not as lucrative as higher-tier spirits like Ketel One or Grey Goose.
And I keep the script simple. "Tito's OK?"
If you want to avoid falling victim to an upsell, the best thing to do is specify when you order that you want whatever is in the "well," i.e. the cheapest spirit of choice.