To open or not to open?

[dSculptor]

Hey you guys - here's a ? for all of you, or more of an individual thing I guess.... Went down to Ky. this yr. and got some bottles signed .. eg.. 21 ec, (craig beam). rare breed ,and forgiven by Jimmy Russell. I keep thinking I should save them for investment reasons, but my taste buds keep saying open open .. the bottles are nothing you still can't get but the signature part has me wondering? What do you think? My favs are already the ec12,and more so the 18 when it was avail. I still have 1,-18,1-20.. unopen,but that's because I have a 20 open already. I know the 18's will be out again in the near future.. I hope.

[smknjoe]

Squirism # 47 - Bourbon is an investment...in your future drinking pleasure.

[dSculptor]

I'll toast to that!!! works for me..

[DrBob]

I would drink it if your inclined then save the empty.

Not sure of bourbon as an investment....

[Phil T]

The popular opinion on this board is that bourbon is sharing and drinking, enjoying...not for selling.

That being said, its your bottle, who am I to tell you what to do with it?? If you want to save them for resale at some point, do it !! I also dont think the autographs add any value, very cool to have, of course... just MHO

[tanstaafl2]

I'm with Squire on this one! Whiskey is for drinking, whether it is now or some point in the future. To think of bourbon as a financial investment in any long term sense seems at best a crap shoot despite the price trends in the current environment. I have signed bottles that I have opened without hesitation.

Not sure Forgiven would have much more value no matter who signs it!

[dcbt]

Open. There's no guarantee that this bourbon craze will last. 5 years ago there was no craze, and 5 years from now we might be back to where we were 5 years ago. Also, by the time you get around to selling, you will have been becoming better off anyway so that the return is unlikely to make a difference in your quality of life. But drinking good bourbon now? Enhanced quality of life!

[jwacky]

Even if I were to place value on scarce bottles (which I do, I suppose, I'm just not willing to pay for it), an autograph would mean very little to me. IF I were to pay a premium because of a signature I'd want some sort of guarantee of authenticity. I do like the collectible nature of signed bottles but only for more of a personal display, and since I'd use one as such I'd stick to the lower shelf bottles for those.

As for bourbon as an investment... ask everyone who collected baseball cards in the 90s how their 'investment' is doing. Sure, you might be able to flip bottles (for now... who knows how long that will last) but it's not for any significant, life changing amount of money.

[squire]

That and it ain't quite legal to dabble in booze futures.

[portwood]

Even if I were to place value on scarce bottles (which I do, I suppose, I'm just not willing to pay for it), an autograph would mean very little to me. IF I were to pay a premium because of a signature I'd want some sort of guarantee of authenticity. I do like the collectible nature of signed bottles but only for more of a personal display, and since I'd use one as such I'd stick to the lower shelf bottles for those.

Agree

I know next to nothing about the world of collecting bottles of alcohol, but my guess is that anything that defaces the bottle (a signature is not part of the original packaging) also devalues it from an "investment" perspective.

[fishnbowljoe]

I agree with everyone else. Open and enjoy. FWIW, I've had some signed bottles that I was thinking of just keeping. I hadn't planned to drink or sell them. My taste buds got the better of me. They were opened and consumed. However, I did save a couple of the empties for sentimental reasons.

[squire]

That's what I was going to say, if you value the signature keep the empty.

[portwood]

That's what I was going to say, if you value the signature keep the empty.

... and the bottle filled with tea.

[jonhalter]

... and the bottle filled with tea.

[Flyfish]

As for bourbon as an investment... ask everyone who collected baseball cards in the 90s how their 'investment' is doing. Sure, you might be able to flip bottles (for now... who knows how long that will last) but it's not for any significant, life changing amount of money.

Some of us collected baseball cards in the '50s and had our mothers throw them away in the '60s. Those cards would be worth gazillions now. So, you should start collecting bourbon when you are 8 and sell it when you are 58. The market could go up and down and up and down a dozen times before you sell. Besides, if you have the equivalent of a half dozen Roger Maris rookie cards, you could drink a few and still be rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

[Bourbon Boiler]

If you would have said "for display in my collection" instead of investment, I'd be more inclined to tell you to keep them closed. However, you bought it, it's yours.

[TunnelTiger]

Some of us collected baseball cards in the '50s and had our mothers throw them away in the '60s. Those cards would be worth gazillions now. So, you should start collecting bourbon when you are 8 and sell it when you are 58. The market could go up and down and up and down a dozen times before you sell. Besides, if you have the equivalent of a half dozen Roger Maris rookie cards, you could drink a few and still be rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

Actually I have a few of those but most are from the 60's. Back on point I buy to drink and enjoy.

[dSculptor]

You guys are all right - I think one way I get around buying some of these higher end bottles are telling my better half about the investment part, but in all actuallity... I knew they wouldn't go anywhere but down my throat.HMMMMM maybe I should pop my pvw23 right now......

[jwacky]

Some of us collected baseball cards in the '50s and had our mothers throw them away in the '60s. Those cards would be worth gazillions now. So, you should start collecting bourbon when you are 8 and sell it when you are 58. The market could go up and down and up and down a dozen times before you sell. Besides, if you have the equivalent of a half dozen Roger Maris rookie cards, you could drink a few and still be rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

[White Dog]

I have a few bottles that are signed by owners/distillers, and I won't open them. I never thought about selling, I simply think, these are really cool, and they'll stay on the shelf as conversation pieces.

If you only see them as investment items, I would recommend opening and drinking immediately. While drinking, ask yourself about your priorities in life.

[Young Blacksmith]

My signed bottles are opened, consumed, and then filled with whatever I want. Usually 4RYL from a handle, or Tom Moore BIB from a handle. I use them like decanters so I can enjoy the signatures daily. I put a small label on them so I know what is in them.

I also do that with my 4RSmbLE's. Love the roses on the bottles!

[portwood]

They're not worth as much now as you'd think, unless you never put them in your bicycle spokes or taped them to notebook paper and instead somehow had the foresight to lock them up and never let them see the light of day.

You had more fun flipping them (literally) and pretending your bike was a motorcycle.

You'd have more fun drinking the bourbon.

No wrong way to collect cards OR bourbon, though. Do what makes you happiest!

Excellent post.

When it comes to baseball cards (and all other "collectibles") people tend to speak only of the big winners - after the fact. However, for each big winner there are hundreds of thousands that are virtually worthless. In other words, if these card "investors" were to take the whole portfolio into account, the return is not that impressive (if there is a positive return at all).

Same will be the case with Bourbon. In 10/20/30/40 years' time there will be a very small number of currently available bottles that will be worth 100x more than today's price. In order to have those bottles in one's collection one will also have to have hundreds (thousands) of others which will have appreciated less than inflation. Overall, though, the collection may lose money. Sooooooo, best to enjoy it now and invest in things that truly appreciate over time: real estate, quality stocks, etc.

[gooneygoogoo]

I have a few signed bottles. I drank them, then I put them aside until I buy another bottle of the respective juice and then refill the bottle with what it say on the label. I know some of you put whatever you want back in it, good for you but I just think it would be weird to pour SB blend out of a signed FR1b bottle haha

[Old Dusty]

Only have one signed bottle and had Jim Rutledge sign an already empty 09 Mariage bottle that I had saved just so I didn't face this conundrum. This was just a couple of months ago but he thought it was funny so he dated his sig '09 as well!

[nd2005]

Only have one signed bottle and had Jim Rutledge sign an already empty 09 Mariage bottle that I had saved just so I didn't face this conundrum. This was just a couple of months ago but he thought it was funny so he dated his sig '09 as well!

Yeah I only have one signed bottle and it's by Rutledge. It's a 4R gift shop barrel strength bottle. So I keep it displayed on the bar because I think it's neat. I'm sure at some point my taste buds will get the better of me.