Classifier models Willett exact-cask photo creates as standalone bottle instead of bottling

Summary

Photo add-bottle classification can create non-SMWS single-barrel / exact-cask whiskies as standalone bottles instead of creating a stable parent bottle plus a child bottling/release.

Observed example:

• Willett Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbon
• Barrel No. 4769
• 5 years old
• 64.2% ABV / 128.4 proof

In a clean DB, the classifier preserved the important label facts but returned create_bottle with identityScope: "exact_cask" instead of a bottling-oriented result such as create_bottle_and_release.

Why This Matters

The resulting data is factually useful, but likely not the intended Peated model for recurring single-barrel programs. For Willett Family Estate, Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbon looks like the reusable parent identity, while Barrel No. 4769, age, ABV, cask-strength, and single-cask traits are bottling/release identity.

This means the current eval can pass while the persisted catalog shape is still wrong.

Current Behavior

The checked-in Willett fixture expects the standalone bottle shape:

• action: "create_bottle"
• identityScope: "exact_cask"
• proposedRelease: null
• proposed bottle name includes Family Estate, Single Barrel, and 4769

Relevant fixture:

• packages/bottle-classifier/src/eval-fixtures/decision-cases/new_bottles/image-backed-photo-creates-willett-family-estate-barrel-4769.json

The eval therefore proves "do not match the wrong existing row and preserve 4769", but it does not prove "model this as parent plus bottling."

RCA / Hypothesis

The release is not being dropped by the add-bottle create plumbing.

Server create plumbing supports create_bottle_and_release:

• apps/server/src/lib/classifierDecisionCreateInputs.ts maps create_bottle_and_release to both bottle input and release input.
• apps/server/src/lib/bottleReferenceResolution.ts persists both the bottle and release for create_bottle_and_release.
• apps/server/src/orpc/routes/tastings/photo-identification-create.ts accepts create-bottle, create-release, and create-bottle-and-release decisions.

The likely root cause is classifier semantics:

• packages/bottle-classifier/src/classifierTypes.ts rejects identityScope: "exact_cask" with create_release, create_bottle_and_release, or repair_parent_and_create_release.
• packages/bottle-classifier/src/instructions.ts says "Exact-cask identity does not create child releases/bottlings."
• packages/bottle-classifier/src/reviewPolicy.ts has a post-model rewrite that downgrades create_bottle_and_release to create_bottle when exact-cask scope is inferred, merging release traits back into the bottle.
• packages/bottle-classifier/src/classifier.eval.test.ts treats exact-cask normalization as requiring no child release identity.

Hypothesis: the exact-cask rule was originally intended to prevent SMWS-style exact cask identities from being split into weak parents and child releases, but it now applies too broadly to non-SMWS recurring single-barrel programs like Willett Family Estate.

Expected Direction

For Willett Family Estate barrel 4769, we likely want:

• action: "create_bottle_and_release" in a clean DB, or create_release if a clean parent exists.
• Parent bottle:
  • brand: Willett
  • name: Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbon or equivalent stable family name
  • category: bourbon
• Release / bottling:
  • edition: Barrel No. 4769
  • statedAge: 5
  • abv: 64.2
  • singleCask: true
  • caskStrength: true

We may need to split the concepts:

• exact-cask as a precision/evidence property
• standalone exact-cask bottle as a storage decision

SMWS exact cask rows may remain standalone bottles, while non-SMWS exact barrels can become releases when a stable parent family is supported.

Suggested Acceptance Criteria

• Update classifier policy/schema so non-SMWS exact-cask identity is allowed to create or match a child release when a stable parent family is supported.
• Preserve the current SMWS behavior unless intentionally changed.
• Update the Willett barrel 4769 fixture to assert bottling-oriented storage shape instead of standalone exact-cask bottle shape.
• Add or update a regression case proving a clean DB creates parent plus bottling for Willett Family Estate barrel 4769.
• Ensure photo-identification create still signs a create token and persists both bottle and release for the corrected decision.

Useful Search Terms

• Exact-cask identity cannot create a child release beneath the bottle
• Exact-cask identity does not create child releases/bottlings
• image-backed-photo-creates-willett-family-estate-barrel-4769
• maybeSplitMisScopedExactCaskBottleCreation

Start with the Willett fixture at packages/bottle-classifier/src/eval-fixtures/decision-cases/new_bottles/image-backed-photo-creates-willett-family-estate-barrel-4769.json and the exact-cask rules in classifierTypes.ts, instructions.ts, and reviewPolicy.ts. Run the related classifier eval, then inspect classifierDecisionCreateInputs.ts, bottleReferenceResolution.ts, and photo-identification-create.ts to verify the existing persistence path. Done means non-SMWS Willett barrel 4769 produces a parent plus release, preserves the current SMWS behavior, and has regression coverage for the decision and creation flow.