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Achieving Bourbon Zen - A Mini Manifesto

humchan2k

By humchan2k
in General Bourbon Discussion

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dmarkle Enthusiast

dmarkle

Posted
Posted

Hmmm... I keep thinking about your comments about embracing the middle shelf. Certainly I've done that. ETL. ER10. Weller 12 ("any day of the week?!" I can't find any around here! Bah!)

But doesn't the term Zen some also imply sort of condition of contentment? I think I may have skipped over that part and started to become a little paranoid that the releases I'm enjoying now on the middle shelf are going to be tomorrow's DSP-16 Old Fitzgerald... I've started to, in my paranoia, buy bottles of ETL that I like, ten at a time. I've embraced the middle shelf so hard that I'm scared that one day someone will take it from me. Making Weller SR and 107 NAS has only fueled my paranoia.

This is a cry for help.

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PaulO Deity

PaulO

Posted
Posted (edited)

Bourbon Zen for me is not feeling regret. I never got the chance to get some items. Other bottles I left because I didn't know how tasty they were. It's all good because there is plenty of excellent whiskey I can get now. They never quit making bourbon. As a matter of fact, there's more and more quality bourbon coming out all the time. I don't feel resentful. Some folks have incredible collections, or have the right connections to get any of the hard to find releases. I enjoy looking at the photos of collections. I also enjoy reading tasting notes of bottles I could probably not find, or stuff I consider a bit above my comfort zone for price. I knew I had reached Bourbon Zen several years ago. I happened upon three bottles of ETL 90th birthday bourbon. I bought two, one to drink, and one for the collection. I left the last one on the shelf for an unknown fellow enthusiast. :toast:

Edited by PaulO
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fishnbowljoe Deity

fishnbowljoe

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Posted

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

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HighHorse Enthusiast

HighHorse

Posted
Posted

Don't fear a bit of strange, just know there may be a price to pay.

Lordy, Sailor ... that gives me flashbacks. A bit of strange may be what drove me to bourbon!:hot:

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Old Lamplighter Virtuoso

Old Lamplighter

Posted
Posted (edited)
I've embraced the middle shelf so hard that I'm scared that one day someone will take it from me. Making Weller SR and 107 NAS has only fueled my paranoia.

This is a cry for help.

I've been there. I have no cure or anecdote to offer. I just try to drink away the paranoia....and with each passing birthday, I think about how I don't want to leave any behind for family, friends, & enemies when the day arrives.

Edited by Old Lamplighter
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shoshani Connoisseur

shoshani

Posted
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I turned 21 in 1986. I've been enjoying whiskey for 27 years. As of November 7th, I've been on straightbourbon.com for 14 of those 27 years. My SB years are just slightly more than half my drinking years.

After nearly three decades of enjoyment, my zen, as it were, is that every glass of whiskey is a snapshot. A freezing of a combination of moments in time, and one colorful shard out of a much larger kaleidoscope. It could be high end, it could be middle shelf, it could be cats and dogs. The important thing is not whether a writer enjoys what's in your glass, but whether you do.

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mhatzung Apprentice

mhatzung

Posted
Posted

This thread came at a perfect time for me. I have been spending more than I should on bourbons trying to find my niche, even though I have a self imposed limit of $40 dollars for a 750 ml bottle. I had just 2 days before read a post about the "special" Four Roses bottles available at the Visitor Center and was chastising myself for not breaking my $40 dollar rule and buying a bottle while I was there a few weeks prior.

This thread readjusted my thoughts and made me realize that someday I will break my $40 dollar limit (there are some great bourbons for just under $50), but for now I am enjoying the bourbons available to me at under $40 way too much.

I know my "Bourbon Zen" will morph over time, most of it controlled by price. I also know that at this time I am in an equilibrium of contentment at my self imposed price point. There are some great bourbons out there that I am enjoying and really have no need at this time to go beyond.

I also know my contentment is not someone else's contentment and will likely not be mine a couple of years from now. I just know I am happy now with that $25 dollar Craig or that $36 dollar Rare Breed. Thanks for bringing me back.

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hn4bourbon Connoisseur

hn4bourbon

Posted
Posted

This is a really good thread and a deep thread. It's a tough and discovering thought.

I also have way more bottles opened and unopened than I need. We're not even through majority of the fall releases where i'm at.

I feel that a few in the previous posts have said it best. Bourbon zen is different for everyone at different stages of their bourbon journey. You'll have to have enjoyed the journey as many years as some of our senior members who've been there and tasted through the many years of their journey to truly be in the masters of zen group.

For me at my current stage of my journey, i'm just content and happy that I am blessed enough to enjoy everything that I can afford and am able to stash away any (lower, middle, or upper shelf) selections I really enjoy. I am also happy that I am able to enjoy majority of the selections for what they are, whether they are lower proof, higher proof, wheated, high rye, mystery, etc.

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boneuphtoner Enthusiast

boneuphtoner

Posted
Posted
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

Awesome post Joe, and my experience mirrors yours. I've gradually realized that with the exception of Pappy 15, I'm not much of wheater fan at all and prefer my bourbons in the 90-107 proof range. Now what to do with those two cases of Weller.....

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troyce Enthusiast

troyce

Posted
Posted

I've been working on reaching this 'level" for the past couple of years and felt I was about there until this week when a retailer called and offered the entire Pappy line at extremely reasonable prices. I turned into Gollum , seeing The Ring. I retained some sense of pride by only buying a few , and walking away from some. Human nature is hard to fight.

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jonhalter Enthusiast

jonhalter

Posted
Posted

My dad has been a bourbon drinker since before my birth. Im 32 now. Ill admit I occasionally get caught up in new releases and prestigious bottles, but bourbon zen for me is sharing a pour with my dad and brother. Life is too short to not enjoy the moments with the people you love. If only my wife and mom drank bourbon.....

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ATXWhiskey Taster

ATXWhiskey

Posted
Posted

A big thank you to SB for my recent experience. I dropped the $110 on a bottle of Lock, Stock and Barrel Rye at the store. But I was probably more excited over the fact that they had a bottle of Evan Williams White Label (it was the first time I had ever seen it on the shelf in Texas). I was excited about the LSB but I was probably more excited about the white label. Solid table whiskey. I love that this place has made me both interested in the special releases and also appreciative of the treasures that are on the shelf everyday.

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smokinjoe Deity

smokinjoe

Posted
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I love that this place has made me both interested in the special releases and also appreciative of the treasures that are on the shelf everyday.
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corpse_welder Taster

corpse_welder

Posted
Posted

I've never even tried a Pappy or any of the BTAC. I'm incredibly happy with my $10-$50 dollar bourbons I own, but if I ever walk into the store and see any of those bottles just sitting there, then of course. But I will never buy them from ebay/craigslist or wait in lines of 700 people. Pappy is up to 10x the price of Weller, but is it 10x better tasting? Then there's the hunting...I can surely wait. Bourbon is about taking your time after all.

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