Achieving Bourbon Zen - A Mini Manifesto

[WsmataU]

It was to lead with generosity, openness and inclusion; to enjoy a common experience while sharing past unique experiences. The table would fill up each night with myriad bottles from every distillery, style, price range, and era.

Although I haven't gotten to attend a festival/gazebo gathering yet, the "Grey Beards" of this board have taught me this lesson well. Their generosity with both material and knowledge is immeasurable. What particularly irks me about flippers is that they are focused on monetary gain rather than the history and spirit of the hobby.

[Dannabis]

Thank you. Actually this is a refreshing post and attitude to read.

Myself I find this to be sort of where I hope to be.

Simply content and blissful with the whiskey options available,

I have no interest of fighting for collectible releases or buying above my palate.

What good is a $$$ bottle to my $$ tastes?

I am happy with the quality of whiskeys I have had the luck to taste.

I think this is a great mindset.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Dannabis

[Dannabis]

Right now my every time I drink a fantastic pour I think, "This is fantastic. I want to be able to drink this forever and ever without worrying about it." I believe I will reach total zen when I can take it one step further.

I like this a lot. Letting go of the future and living in the moment. So simple and difficult.

I'd like to get to the zen of "I am grateful to have this moment. I am grateful to enjoy this sip. The future does not concern me, for I am in the now, and it is good."

[bmajazz]

This is great! I've managed to avoid this insanity by focusing my purchases on everything dusty. I just bought a bottle of WT101 for a party and it was the first "new" bottle I've bought besides OGD 114 in years.

For me, the excitement is in the hunt, and the finding of something old and unwanted. Plus, I just hate to spend on a bottle. I think that it's pretty easy to throw a lot of cash at a problem. No need to buy Pappy when I have S-W in my bunker, right?

Yes, it's pure snobbery!

[emr454]

Luckily for me, my budget usually keeps me in bourbon zen, so I guess I don't have to work hard to achieve it.

I know there's a good chance I'll never try a Pappy or BTAC, but for now I am content with what I can find in the $20-30 range. Very rarely do I venture into the $40+price range, and I'm ok with that.

Eric

[393foureyedfox]

Luckily for me, my budget usually keeps me in bourbon zen, so I guess I don't have to work hard to achieve it.

I know there's a good chance I'll never try a Pappy or BTAC, but for now I am content with what I can find in the $20-30 range. Very rarely do I venture into the $40+price range, and I'm ok with that.

Eric

i agree. isnt the basic principle of zen just being happily content with what you have?

[flaminiom]

I just try to ignore the special releases. Not only are they hard to get in an ABC state, but then I don't have to struggle with the conflict between never having it again or outlaying money for bunkering. Meanwhile, the next big thing is coming around the corner...

[emr454]

i agree. isnt the basic principle of zen just being happily content with what you have?

Exactly!

I really wouldn't want to find out that my favorite whiskey is a hard to find limited release. Heck, some of my favorite regular offerings can be hard to find around here.

Eric

[393foureyedfox]

I really wouldn't want to find out that my favorite whiskey is ............

a limited edition

allocated

hard to find

over $50

that guides my selections on what to try/buy

[emr454]

a limited edition

allocated

hard to find

over $50

^ This more than anything else!

On a related note, I am envious of those out there that regularly pick up dusties since none exist in my neck of the woods. But then I always remember that I don't want my favorite whisky to be no longer made, so it all comes full circle.

Eric

[393foureyedfox]

^ This more than anything else!

On a related note, I am envious of those out there that regularly pick up dusties since none exist in my neck of the woods. But then I always remember that I don't want my favorite whisky to be no longer made, so it all comes full circle.

Eric

yip. For example, people talk about how all WT products used to be better. I recently rediscovered that I rather like current WT, so why would I want to even try to track down a dusty WT of yesteryear? For the sake of argument, lets say the 20 year old bottle is actually better. Great..... now I will no longer enjoy the WT stuff that I actually can get. So, to me, what's the point? Now lots of other guys with different perceptions and viewpoints will jump in and tell me why I am wrong...and that is fine. If they can have both and continue to enjoy both, without the obsolete ruining the enjoyment of the easily available, good for them. That's just not how my mind works.

[HighInTheMtns]

Now lots of other guys with different perceptions and viewpoints will jump in and tell me why I am wrong...and that is fine.

[dSculptor]

This thread just confirmed what I had already come to realize. I have been drinking whisky for quite a while now, I’m soon to be 52, and was quite content with drinking what basically came down to what matched my wallet at the time. I remember not too long ago seeing all those high ends..PVW’s BTAC’s sitting on the shelves thinking ..man those people that are buying these what kind of money are they making to be able to afford these?

THEN…. It happened, I ventured out of my Bourbon zen, and bought something from the middle shelf…EC12,it was all over for me at that point. I had to go further, further, and further, soon becoming an obsession. I would tell myself, I work hard for my money and I deserve this,and besides I’m too old to drink cheap whisky,soon became my motto.

Now I am trying to get back to my bourbon zen, I don’t need all those fancy bottles, but it is a hard habit to break, once gotten into.Is it nice to look at 60 different bottles in front of you and being able to have that big of a choice when it comes time for a pour…Hell yes! The biggest problem with me is that I enjoy every one of them!(ok.. maybe not the Wathen's & Jeremiah weed that was gifted)

I collect old stoneware and just about anything old that I would consider a good buy, so for me it was the hunt and still is. My dad and I would hit any antique malls auctions or rummage sales that we would come across, now you rarely can find anything decent at any of them. Now I have added liquor stores to the list, and same goes for those now also.

I was in Bourbon zen , and now am finding my way back home, I have some regulars that I will always have on hand, rarely will I consider a bottle over $40 unless it was a handle of say BT or EC12 which not too long ago was still under that. I believe that bourbon zen and “what’s in your wallet” go hand in hand.

Well at least I tried up until yesterday when I happened across 2 bottles of bookers 25th,I actually walked out, and called my buddy to see if he wanted one,(to which I already knew the answer)So..back in I went and ended up with both of them 1 for him and 1 for me, after all, I can’t let him have one and not me…. right?

Edited March 12, 2014 by dSculptor

[393foureyedfox]

If you make it to the gazebo, Doug, Ima make sure you have some dusty Turkey before you leave :toast:

[HighInTheMtns]

and if i can get away from the nursing studies for long enough to make it, I'll toss some Dickel 9 year down your neck!

Sounds like a good deal to me. Hopefully I'll have had some by then... It got added to the Utah list

[Vadertime]

Enjoying some WT distilled in the 80s, I'm pretty sure this is bourbon Zen I am experiencing.

[Yeti]

Enjoying some WT distilled in the 80s, I'm pretty sure this is bourbon Zen I am experiencing.

It's time! IT'S TIME! IT'S. VADER. TIME!

[corpse_welder]

I have my bourbon hall of fame in my house of the bottles we serve and that I try to keep stocked. That is, WT101, OGDBiB, George Dickel #12, any Weller, and Four Roses Small Batch. That is my bourbon zen.

[393foureyedfox]

I have my bourbon hall of fame in my house of the bottles we serve and that I try to keep stocked. That is, WT101, OGDBiB, George Dickel #12, any Weller, and Four Roses Small Batch. That is my bourbon zen.

$15-$30 bottles of readily available stuff that you actually enjoy? now that is zen!

[Vadertime]

It's time! IT'S TIME! IT'S. VADER. TIME!

Well it darn sure ain't Miller Time!:puke:

[jwvoytus]

I think it's all about achieving a happy medium between the enjoyable search for worthy premiums and the equally enjoyable (but very different) search for cheap, everyday enjoyable pours.

I hope I am getting closer to balance when I get as excited about finding a $17 Fighting Cock 6 year as I do a $40 RHF.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[humchan2k]

Enjoying some WT distilled in the 80s, I'm pretty sure this is bourbon Zen I am experiencing.

I think 80' WT is just about the finest bourbon one can drinks......I LOVE 8 year 101. Bourbon Zen for sure. Quality, not flashy, perfect.

[R-Savage]

I enjoy Bourbon. With that being said. There is no chance where I am that I will be able to obtain a stagg, stagg jr, pappy, single oak project, etc etc etc. so with that said. I am trying a lot of the low to mid shelf bourbons, perhaps I will try a Michters 10. I have heard a lot of great things. they are obtainable. Heck Im happy with a woodford reserve and a evan Williams, and a four roses. I am not a snob by anymeans. I like what I like. I don't drink for the stature, I DRINK for the mere pleasure of tasting something wonderful, whethere it is 30 a bottle, or 130 a bottle. anymore than that and my wife would kill me.

[fishnbowljoe]

On November 16, 2013 at 3:45 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

I've been reading this thread with some thought, and a little amusement. A few of you have already touched a bit on what my thoughts are on Bourbon Zen, but I figured I'd go ahead and put in my two cents, or maybe even a nickels worth anyway. :grin:

The video below is one example.

 

 

Most of y'all know how I am when it comes to analogies. You new folks, well, you'll learn. So, here's one for you. Zen in regards to clothes in place of bourbon.

Zen isn't drooling over that fancy set of suit clothes that you see in a store display (that's usually way overpriced). It's also not coveting your neighbors or fiends walk-in closet full of nice clothes and shoes. Bourbon Zen is being comfortable in wearing your own clothes. It's being happy with what you like, and what you're comfortable with, and not worrying about what other folks think or say.

Shortly after I first joined this site, I jumped right in. Even though I already had a pretty good idea of what I liked, I ignored my feelings. I had to buy anything and everything just because. I started out with only three bottles. OMG! I had to have a bunker. You gotta keep up the other folks you know. So I bought, bought, bought, just because I had to have a bunker. Gotta have the newest releases. Gotta have the special releases. Gotta go hunting for dusties, etc... Before long, I had a nice collection of about 250 bottles or so. Ahhhh, much better. Wait a minute. I sure do have a lot of bottles now. Hmmmmmm. I'm not even sure I'll like some of them. And how on earth am I gonna drink that much whiskey? Oh well. Who cares? I now had a bunker. It maybe wasn't as huge as some, but it was pretty darn good. Suited me just fine. Or did it?

It started dawning on me more and more that I had a strong preference for wheaters. I also took a liking to BIB's. What was I doing with a cabinet full of other stuff too? Maybe I shouldn't have ignored my feelings in the first place. What was I thinking? Fast forward. I have now pared my bunker down, in one way or another, to a much more manageable 135 bottles or so. Of those 135 bottles, 103 are either wheaters and/or BIB's. I also have a few "special" bottles, and dusties. Have I achieved Bourbon Zen? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I think I'm probably as close as a person can get. Yes, I still have the urges to go out and buy something just because. Yes, the thoughts of Pappy and BTAC are still in the back of my mind, but I've been there and done that. I can live without the hassles, and the strain on my wallet. All in all, I can say that I'm pretty much happy for the most part.

So, that's what I think about Bourbon Zen. To put it in all in a nutshell, try and find your one thing, and above all, get comfortable.

:Clever::soapbox::thankyousign:

Cheers! Joe

I figured I'd quote a 4 year old post of mine and bump up this thread since the topic of Bourbon Zen has come up recently. 

 

Not much has changed for me in the last 4 years. I have managed to pare my bunker down even further though.   If my most recent inventory is correct, I'm now down to 101 bottles. I have 11 bottles open, and 90 bunkered. The breakdown is: 56 wheaters, 23 BIB's, and 22 "others". Of those not 750 mls, 10 are liters or 1.75's and 12 are 200 ml's and 350 ml's. I still have a few "special" bottles and dusties.

 

Am I any closer to Bourbon Zen? Well, I probably achieved it some time ago and failed to realize it. I'm a part of SB, IMHO, the best bourbon website around. I have a pretty good bunker. I get to meet and share bourbon and bs with members here at the Sampler or KBF. I have family, friends and members where I live, who I get to have a pour with from time to time, and that includes our local bourbon/cigar group. My wife puts up with my hobby, and even supports it......sometimes.  My bourbon life is pretty good, and all in all, I can't complain too much. If only I could resist temptation a little more.  I still stop at liquors stores, and I still buy stuff. Sometimes the devil on my left shoulder wins out over the angel on my right one.  I have more than enough bourbon to last me the rest of my life, but the bourbon boom is still somewhat in the back of my mind. If I find something I like but don't really need, should I buy it because there's a chance I might not see it again any time soon?  That's when the devil and angel on my shoulders get in an argument. 

  

Cheers and enjoy y'all. It's all good.  

Joe

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LCWoody]

^^^^ Nice ^^^^^^