Open Bottle Problem

[Enoch]

I have no self control. Maybe it is because I just started drinking Bourbon again about a year and a half ago after a 35 year hiatus (cheap stuff during college days) but I can't wait to open and try every new bottle I find. As a result I have over 90 bottles open right now. I do enjoy comparison tasting every night but I am running out of space to put the open bottles.How do the rest of you control yourselves?

[tmckenzie]

I never have more than about 2 open at the time, so, I guess I am not the one to ask about control.

[Rughi]

I agonize over every bottle I open with so many already open, but as I tell my wife - better 3/4 full on the sideboard than empty in the recycling.

Better to have a bottle lose its complexity every now and then than work out your liver with more whiskey than you really want.

The best answer, of course, is to share it with friends, family and like minded bourbanistas!

[DeanSheen]

I don't like having a lot open. My max is about 8 - 10 and when I get to that point I stop opening new ones and drink down the open stock.

I like to drink it and my quest continues to be identifying what I like. I have a few bottles open here that have been that way for over a year each. That's because I don't like them.

I prefer to spend my money on duplicates of bottles that I enjoy for the bunker and that's how I avoid the open bottle problem.

[sku]

The best answer, of course, is to share it with friends, family and like minded bourbanistas!

That's pretty much my remedy. Hold tastings, trade samples, etc.

[barturtle]

I did that once, I had about 80 open. I made myself not open anything else until they were all gone. Took nearly 4 years, even throwing parties and telling people I've got it, don't bring anything. Go 4 years without trying anything new and you'll learn some self control.

[dean_martin]

Wow! That's a lot of open bottles. My open bottle problem is on a much smaller scale. I use the tried and true Justification Method. I moved four open bottles from my bar to the kitchen. Those are now used for cooking, mixing, and flask-filling but I no longer count them as "open" bottles. They are "re-purposed" bottles. I'm determined to finish off the remaining 8 bottles of bourbon on my bar before opening a new round. Of those, my least favorites will go to the kitchen (unless my wife starts complaining) so I can open more. I've implemented a "buying freeze" on new-to-me bottles (does not apply to favorites, of course) which helps too. Good luck, throw a big party and look up some recipes calling for bourbon. You may be surprised how fast you can go through one of your least favorite bottles by using it in a bread pudding or bbq sauce/marinade or experimenting with a new drink recipe.

[Rughi]

...Go 4 years without trying anything new and you'll learn...

:22: :22: :22: :22:

Eh, what was that?

I dozed off.

[OscarV]

I've got 4 open right now.

I don't like to have them open for long because to much air gets to them.

So that seems to be how I do it, it's like I'm afaid they will spoil.

[CorvallisCracker]

...it's like I'm afaid they will spoil.

I expect the only thing worse than spoiled children is spoiled bourbon.

[sku]

I did that once, I had about 80 open. I made myself not open anything else until they were all gone. Took nearly 4 years, even throwing parties and telling people I've got it, don't bring anything. Go 4 years without trying anything new and you'll learn some self control.

Yikes. I have around 65 open now, but I don't worry too much about the ones that are still pretty full.

[T Comp]

Current American Whiskies Open:

Three - 1.75 ML

Thirty four - 750 ML or 4/5 quart

One - Liter

Four - 3.75 ML or pint

Most have been open a year or less with a few stretching the year and a half mark. The only time I have noticed some degradation was a PVW 20 at about a year and a half with the last two ounces or so. I've never gone over two years open at least in the last decade. Once had a 1/2 gallon Crown Royal that was open for at least 10 years starting in 1980.

[dbk]

I'm with Rughi and sku—I make sure to share 'em with friends. I "repurpose," too, but more often I'll give away bottles that no longer make me swoon. I just get so tired of looking at those open bottles and feeling obliged to drink them down before I can open a new—hopefully better—one. Now my friends get to benefit from my fickle tastes.

[tehbeardman]

I have no self control. Maybe it is because I just started drinking Bourbon again about a year and a half ago after a 35 year hiatus (cheap stuff during college days) but I can't wait to open and try every new bottle I find. As a result I have over 90 bottles open right now. I do enjoy comparison tasting every night but I am running out of space to put the open bottles.How do the rest of you control yourselves?

I kind of have that issue too. When I buy a bottle and bring it home, the first thing I want to do is open it up and enjoy my bounty. I got up to 14 open when I decided to have a self imposed 8 bottle policy. Although the 8 bottles only counts towards regular rotation bottles. I don't mind having a couple other bottles open that I use for drinking at parties or mixing etc.

One thing I would suggest is getting some of the 2, 4, and 8oz bottles that have been discussed recently on another thread and go through your bottles and rebottle the bourbon you would hate to have spoil, and just leave the ones you don't care as much about.

Heck, I'm sure with that many open bottles you'd run across a few that you may have forgotten you had. Just my $.02.

[lrochau]

I ended up trying to cut down on how many bottles open too but I decided to refrain from finishing some odd ball bottles that guests may not have ever had a chance to sample (Bern, VOB, Old Pogue, Weller 7, BT).

[callmeox]

I've got 40 open and I'm trying to drink them down. I've opened two new ones in the last few months (Makers 46 and KCSB) and I've pitched maybe 6 or 7 empties, so I'm making progress.

FWIW, the bottle that took the extended opening the worst was a slope shouldered OCPR but I'm mucking through it.

[Guest wripvanwrinkle]

Yikes. I was concerned about my 25 open bottles...but reading this thread I feel much better.

Initially I opened most of them under the guise of comparison. Later, I was compelled by greedy christmas morning impatience. For what it is worth, my current impression is that I "learn" more about a whiskey drinking through a few bottles at a time rather than experiencing the variety of many different drams.

[SMOWK]

My family, friends and I are drinkers. Open bottles don't last very long at all...

[Jwilly019]

I currently have 13 opened, I'm trying to get that number down to the single digits (a couple bottles are fairly low actually). My problem is whenever I head up to MI I get a few bottles that are hard to come by/unavailable here in OH and I almost always will open one to drink while I'm there. I suppose I need to start bringing a bottle with me...

[birdman1099]

Don't worry..... Its not a problem at all. I have about 75 open and I too am out of room.... so I have to styash bottles throughout the house....

Kitchen, bedroom, closet, garage.... if there is a spot, there is a bottle....:grin:

[chefnash51]

Not sure how many, but if I had to guess, maybe 60 to 70 open?

I use wine preserver, and once it starts to get about 3/4 empty I focus on finishing it. Last 4 oz usually end up in a 4 oz glass bottle that I smack a label on.

[ebo]

I have 19 open bottles including Scotch and Irish. The longest open bottle is a Lagavulin 16 that has been open for almost a year. I don't worry about it because most open bottles don't last more than a few months after opening. :grin:

[flintlock]

I have about 12 open and I want to limit it to that so I actually learn the whiskies. I want to know them intimately, and I don't think I could do that if I had 30 or 40 open bottles.

[squire]

I just keep consumption ahead of acquisition.

[ebo]

I'm not sure about knowing the whisk(e)y intimately. I know the ones I like, well enough. I drink whisk(e)y because I like it. Sometimes, I think there is too much emphasis on "getting to know" a whisk(e)y rather than just enjoying it for what it is.

I'm not a "fancy" whisk(e)y drinker. I can't give numerous descriptions full of wing dings and fangle f**ks about what I think I smell and taste. I just know I like it... so, I drink it. :grin: