Today's bunkerable bourbon

[Meruck]

I think there was a use of the advanced reply function. Thanks for paying attention.

[MauiSon]

I'd venture that this is probably the worst time to be "buying in" to whiskey as a long term hobby. There is a bit of a crisis right now with age statements dropping and stocks depleting, but producers are reacting by increasing their volume and putting away more product to age. Even PVW has announced that they will be making more.

I believe that whiskey as a worldwide trend is peaking now, so I only buy what I need unless it's something I know I will never see again. It will be a long time (maybe never) before we enter into another glut period, but I'm not going to panic buy and hoard standard products in reaction to the popularity increase.

I couldn't disagree more. When China encouraged their masses to start buying gold, the prices shot up. It won't be long before they start encouraging 'em to buy liquid gold, i.e., bourbon. So Ima buying all I can before it shoots up in price as everyone else realizes it ain't gettin' any cheaper.

I saw a number of standards go up almost 10% this year over last and I just despise paying more today for what I could buy cheaper yesterday. I buy electronics only as I need 'em because they do get cheaper and better all the time, but bourbon? No such luck. Stock up! A bottle of good bourbon is better than a bunch of dead president photos and harder to mass produce.

[Trey Manthey]

Bourbon ain't gold. For one, we're not really limited by how much can be produced; they can always make more whiskey. Also, gold is a universal commodity, whereas bourbon is a consumable good. Not reusable, and totally renewable. However, unlike other trendy collectible panic buys and hoarding patterns that happened with baseball cards, comic books, Beanie Babies, etc., you can always drink your bourbon.

I just believe that there will always be good, cheap whiskey as long as people keep buying it. Brands may come and go, trends will rise and fall, and i'm not going to spend my money and shelf space trying to predict which mid-shelfer is going the way of the dodo. If Buffalo Trace and Rittenhouse shoot up to $40 a bottle in the next few years I will eat my words, and wash it down my dwindling supply.

[Meruck]

The point to bunkering, at least for me is to have a supply of something I really enjoy in the event it goes the way of the dodo. It's not the price or the brand, it's having what I like to drink.

[Trey Manthey]

I get it, but unless there is some reliable indication something is going away...

Some noob will read something here about Weller 12 going away, think it's true or reliable info, and clean out the shelves at three stores. An old timer comes in to pick up a bottle of his favorite and panics when he sees the empty shelf and sends him on the hunt. This cycle will create panic buying and create an artificial demand. It doesn't really matter unless the producer drops quality or raises price to keep up, creating a self fulfilling prophecy.

I see the same thing happening with firearms and ammo right now.

[Restaurant man]

The point to bunkering, at least for me is to have a supply of something I really enjoy in the event it goes the way of the dodo. It's not the price or the brand, it's having what I like to drink.

I'm with you. this is the only point of bunkering for me. The goal for me is to have as much variety as possible. I'm also learning that like with wine, if i only hang buy and hang on to the really good bottles, thats all there is to open. i need to keep better stock of the everday-ers

[White Dog]

I don't think stocking up on Weller 12 is a panic move. Just look at the age statements on WellerSR and Antique. Oh wait...

Weller 12 is an obvious choice. When I saw the mention of Fighting Cock, it made me think that EC12 could be in danger. That could easily become EC Old#12.

And yeah, OGD114 is just too damn good for Beam to continue production. If they're gonna give us that much proof, they want us spending at least $40.

I grab Old Ezra 101 7yr whenever i see it. Same with ETL.

[squire]

Speaking as an old timer I've seen a number of brands change or disappear. If I walk into a store and my favorite is discontinued I'll just buy something else. I expect we will see increased costs and that alone is sufficient reason to stock up, but there will always be something available at a decent price.

[jeffrey r]

I don't think stocking up on Weller 12 is a panic move. Just look at the age statements on WellerSR and Antique. Oh wait...

Weller 12 is an obvious choice. When I saw the mention of Fighting Cock, it made me think that EC12 could be in danger. That could easily become EC Old#12.

And yeah, OGD114 is just too damn good for Beam to continue production. If they're gonna give us that much proof, they want us spending at least $40.

I grab Old Ezra 101 7yr whenever i see it. Same with ETL.

Agreed that stocking up on Weller 12 is an obvious choice. Due to its scarcity around me, and its possibility of losing an age statement, or becoming even more scarce, I am happy to have the multiple bottles of it that I have. And at its price point, it's not that much of a financial burden to stock up.

I always have backups of OGD 114 and ETL around, but I can't justify stockpiling those unless I hear anything concrete. The only other bottles that I have more than a couple of bottles of are Vintage 17 wheater (which has gone the way of the dodo), and FR1B when I found gift sets with 2 rocks glasses at $29.99 (and confirmed that the barrel in these bottlings was delicious).

Bunkering can be a daunting and expensive proposition, so I try to be [at least relatively] smart about it...

[squire]

The only problem I've ever had with bunkering is those cases take up a lot of room