Threshold for Cracking Open A Special Bottle

Of course whiskey is for drinking, but there is nothing wrong with saving your most treasured bottles for a particularly special occassion. I don't have a set threshold and tend to grab a special bottle when the occassion calls for it. For instance, I have a trip to the mountains planned with some friends over New Years and plan to take a couple of bottles I've been waiting to open. Others, I think, save bottles for designated events (birth of children, etc.). I'm sure I will open half my bunker if UGA ever wins a national championship in football . . . sigh. It makes it fun to look forward to . . . not that there's anything wrong with breaking into a Macallan 25 on a random Tuesday night. :grin:

I recently had a "special" event which was certainly deserving of a special bottle. However, while drinking the special bottle, we weren't even really focused on it, so the booze got a bit forgotten.

I tend to enjoy the really good stuff more when I'm not trying to enjoy some life event.

I'm not saying that the quality of the whiskey should be inversely proportional to the importance of setting in which it's enjoyed, but rather that they shouldn't be linked. As Jason Pyle used to say when he did video reviews, "Drink your whiskey." Not "Drink your good whiskey when you are doing something important."

My vote is for the ORVW 23. Great bourbon in a sexy decanter with matching glasses. After the bourbon runs dry it can be filled with any favorite spirit. As you pour out of it in the future, you will always be reminded of the special occasion that sparked the uncorking. Just hide from your friends until its refilled. tim

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Originally Posted by Trey Manthey

I recently had a "special" event which was certainly deserving of a special bottle. However, while drinking the special bottle, we weren't even really focused on it, so the booze got a bit forgotten.

I tend to enjoy the really good stuff more when I'm not trying to enjoy some life event.

I'm not saying that the quality of the whiskey should be inversely proportional to the importance of setting in which it's enjoyed, but rather that they shouldn't be linked. As Jason Pyle used to say when he did video reviews, "Drink your whiskey." Not "Drink your good whiskey when you are doing something important."

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I don't know. I tend to think bourbon tastes better when I am happy and enjoying good company. I don't think you have to focus solely on what you are drinking in order to enjoy it.

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Originally Posted by DaveOfAtl

I don't know. I tend to think bourbon tastes better when I am happy and enjoying good company. I don't think you have to focus solely on what you are drinking in order to enjoy it.

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Ack. Well, I agree with you. I just didn't explain my reasoning very well. The gist was that I don't need a special occasion to open a special bottle.

My threshold is getting home if I can wait that long. But I carry a collapsible shot glass with me always just in case I can't.

Simply having any special bottle in my possession is enough reason for me to open it. I don't really look for any particularly special event to do so. In fact, I tend to avoid bringing special bottles out for family and friends unless I know for a fact that they can appreciate said bottle(s). Over the past few years I've been lucky enough to go through several bottles of PVW, BTAC and others. While part of me regrets that I don't have those bottles now to drink I am glad that I not only drank them but thoroughly enjoyed them in the process. There is enough good to great bourbon out there available every day that keeps me content. And I know that in the future I'll likely acquire other special bottles to enjoy. So drink up! That's what the stuff was made for! :cool:

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Originally Posted by Rockefeller

Stumbled on this article recently and it got me thinking: With my end-of-the-year bonus coming up, should I crack open one of the special bottles that I've been saving for my unborn son (who will probably sell it as soon as I'm dead)?

Depending on the size of my check, I'm thinking of popping ONE of the following:
ORVW23
Hirsch16
Macallan 18 - 1985 (the vintage that won whiskey of the year)
Macallan 25
Lagavulin 21


What's the deflowering threshold for your most valued bottle ... if there is one?

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As the father of three daughters, I bought wines from the vintages of their births that could be expected to age well. The wines were served at the head table at their wedding receptions.
When it comes to bourbon, I am always amused by posters who say "I can't wait to open it!" Perhaps I'm too literal minded, but my response is always, "Well, yes you can. What you can't wait to do is post on SB that you scored a special bottle." When I score a great bottle, I drink first and post later.

Waking up in an emergency room will concentrate your thoughts wonderfully . . . the fact I woke up in my own bed this morning is special occasion enough to open any bottle on hand.

To elaborate on my short answer from before... I certainly understand the desire to collect, and to have nice bottles in the collection. I exaggerated a bit when I said that every special bottle I own is open; some are duplicates, a couple are just waiting for some other bottles to be emptied because I have way too many open.

But I wouldn't buy so much whiskey if I didn't like drinking it. Every special bottle I buy, I buy because I want to drink it. Rockefeller - you obviously intend to drink those bottles and I'm certainly not advocating drinking them all immediately or anything rash like that. I also appreciate the enjoyment you get from waiting and anticipating. I just think it's possible to go so far the other way that you rob yourself of something else, the chance to KNOW what those things taste like, to be able to compare other things to them, to be able to discuss them from the perspective of someone who has drunk them. Most importantly, to enjoy drinking and sharing them.

I hope your bonus turns out to be such that you can open whichever of those bottles you want and replace it with something better. But if not, I say a new year's still worth celebrating. Open one anyway and enjoy it in good health with good friends. There's wisdom in what squire said, you never know what the future will bring.