Ever feel the need to "purge"?

[garbanzobean]

I just did a bottle count, and while I imagine my bunker looks pretty pitiful compared to many on this forum since I have only been bunkering for about a year, I will share numbers: I currently have 48 unopened bottles of various types of whisk(e)y, 10 open bottles of non-mixing whiskies, and 3 open bottles for mixing or sipping. What I have discovered in my short 3 years of marriage thus far is that having a "daily pour" is a good way to get nagged at by my better half, so I only tend to drink 2-3 days out of a week (excepting holidays, special occasions, and visits from my in-laws, in which case the wife has given me special dispensation to self-medicate). Of those days, I drink more than two pours maybe once a week.

Bottom line: I need to find more friends to come over and drink my whiskey or my hoard is going to get out of control. I do try to cap my open non-mixing bottles at 10, though. I got up to 13 or 14 at one point, but an extended in-law visit took care of that problem.

[WsmataU]

Below are a couple of pictures of my BT bottle glorifier. The first pic is from when I first got it.

Glorious indeed Joe!

[jonhalter]

Do I feel the need to purge. NO. I stop buying when I have no more space to put it. When I finish a bottle or two, I replace with something else or more of the same. About 30 bottles total.

[GaryT]

I've purged bottles before by gifting to friends who I might like them (or at a minimum don't care what it is and will mix it). I've even dumped some bottles that I just could never imagine reaching for again (examples are WTR81, OO, etc).

[WAINWRIGHT]

I have the restraint of a 3 year old I usually have between 25-40 open bottles.I will get anxious and drop my open count down to around a dozen or so.......then I get bored with what I have open and the count goes right back up,so the purge is not for me.I thought maybe this thread was about Thai food at first before I started really reading it.:grin:

[Paddy]

I try to limit my opens to 12 or less. I drink on the open bottles and don't open anything new until something is emptied.

Once opened, nothing seems to hang around here very long (so I don't have any issues with bottles going flat, etc), as friends are always willing to help a brother out and all.

This also motivates me to work through blah bottles pretty quickly, so I can move something else to into the lineup.

[mbroo5880i]

First, I need to say that the OP ending up going a different direction than I thought.

I believe I have too many open bottles. Much like others, I am intrigued by new offerings and everything I buy is to drink (taste) so I often open a bottle realizing it may be a while before I empty it. The higher end, higher quality bourbons/ryes, I save to share with others. If it is a unique bottle, I tend to only drink it when I can share the experience with others who otherwise might not enjoy it. Everything else is fair game to consume in smaller settings. As bottles become emptier, I tend to work toward emptying those first just to open up space and reduce the stash. However, there are newer bottles that I buy knowing they will be emptied before some I have now.

Space doesn't limit me as much as selection. Someone mentioned the other day when they used to go into a store they had to decide what to buy because the options were so great but now they pass on a lot because the shelves are filled with so many unknown products. I am not of unlimited means so I tend to stay in a specific price range. I may add a higher end bottle occasionally but more often than not I opt for mid shelf favorites. Someone else mentioned how this site helps to minimize purchasing overpriced or poor tasting options. I rarely buy a bottle that I don't enjoy.

[miller542]

Funny this topic should come up, I was just looking at the cabinet today trying to figure out which ones I can polish off. I don't have the 50+ open like some here, but between the 7 or so open bourbons, 3-4 scotches, and the obligitory rum, tequila, gin, vodka, etc, the cabinet is overflowing. I think the EC12 and ECBP is about to get vatted and consumed.

[DrBob]

I have reducing my non-repeat bottles slowly. I'll have a pour of something I am trying to finish and follow with a better pour. I am fortunate to have a weekly bourbon get together with a few friends so can easily finish unwanted bottles that way, but I do like to give a bottle at fair shot before deciding, so often wait to the last 3d to share it at the weekly. I have about 30 bottles open and will keep it that way until i work through my backlog of bottles to try. Currently I am pretty choosy about my buys, getting things i know i am more certain i will like, or bottles for the bunker to stock up on the ones i like.

I am patient and hope to be down to 15-20 open bottles by the end of the year, which is enough variety of high quality pours to keep me happy.

Just don't concentrate on emptying a less desirable bottle to the point where it impacts your enjoyment of our hobby!

[bourbonfoot]

Funny I seem to have the opposite feeling a lot. I have a few I love, a bunch I like, and some that are "eh." But every time I come close to finishing a bottle I don't particularly care for, or don't think I'll buy again, I'll think "if I'm not gonna buy this again, just keep it around in case a friend comes over who loves it." Weird I guess, but most of mine are open too unless it's a back up bottle.

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[BFerguson]

I've been feeling this way recently, but i don't need to purge the open bottles, maybe have 8-10 open at any one time.

What I have been dipping into is the bunker. I look at it, and realize I need to start drinking some of it. Can't keep accumulating it forever.

That and the space issue is creeping into play. 200+ takes up a lot of space. Not much by some, but it's a space eater!

B

[T Comp]

I have the restraint of a 3 year old I usually have between 25-40 open bottles.I will get anxious and drop my open count down to around a dozen or so.......then I get bored with what I have open and the count goes right back up,so the purge is not for me.I thought maybe this thread was about Thai food at first before I started really reading it.:grin:

[Max Power]

Absolutely. I need to purge a TON of bottles. By the nature of my blog, I've ended up with hundreds of open bottles that I would love to be able to empty, but at this point I'd need an aircraft carrier full of sailors to take care of this. Thankfully, there's trading/sampling partners out there who love their tequila and are willing to swap whisk(e)y and that helps some and makes everyone happy. But there's not much of a dent at this point. At least if the zombie apocalypse comes, I'll have plenty of Molotov cocktails!

[393foureyedfox]

At least if the zombie apocalypse comes

sometimes i find myself daydreaming about that!

[Oboe Cadobro]

Have a party and invite your friends to drink up the bottles you don't want around anymore...quite simple!

[Guest]

I am fairly adverse to clutter and dont like having too many possessions, i like to purge my booze collection every year over the christmas holidays.Start the new year fresh with a liqour shopping spree.

[393foureyedfox]

I am fairly adverse to clutter and dont like having too many possessions, i like to purge my booze collection every year over the christmas holidays.Start the new year fresh with a liqour shopping spree.

thats an enticingly refreshing cycle! sounds fun too, a New-Years spree.

[Red One]

I'm feeling the need. Just counted and have 26 bottles open. Need to do some mixing and some tasting get togethers soon. Luckily, I have some friends coming over next weekend and we should be able to get that number down a bit.

[Max Power]

Have a party and invite your friends to drink up the bottles you don't want around anymore...quite simple!

Already did that and allowed them to buy open bottles at half price relative to what was in there. Got rid of 35 bottles, still have 300+.

[dcbt]

I'm purging right now too. Instead of bouncing from bottle to bottle on different nights, I'm focusing on draining one, then another, etc. It will probably be a year long process. The goal is to keep fewer open but still have bottles available to open if guests want to try them, or for me to go to a different bourbon after finishing a bottle.

[mosugoji64]

sometimes i find myself daydreaming about that!

During my first week of nursing school, I was having lunch with one of the few other males in the program who asked why I enrolled. I said, "I want to be on the front lines of the zombie apocalypse." He laughed at first, but then asked, "You're kidding, right?" I just grinned at first, then put his fears to rest.

On topic - I purged all of my bottles that were less than half full before we moved in October so I wouldn't have to pack them. The open numbers have stayed a little lower since then but I can't guarantee it will stay that way.

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[393foureyedfox]

During my first week of nursing school, I was having lunch with one of the few other males in the program who asked why I enrolled. I said, "I want to be on the front lines of the zombie apocalypse." He laughed at first, but then asked, "You're kidding, right?" I just grinned at first, then put his fears to rest.

On topic - I purged all of my bottles that were less than half full before we moved in October so I wouldn't have to pack them. The open numbers have stayed a little lower since then but I can't guarantee it will stay that way.

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One of the few guys in my nursing class said the same thing a few semesters back. Not many guys in the program when it started, and really few now that we're in the final semester.

[corpse_welder]

I try to rush things I don't enjoy much out the door. The reason being I don't have much space so I like to keep room for my Wellers, WT, OGD, Elijah Craig, Four Roses and a few others plus whatever higher priced bourbons I have at the time

[Merrymash Monk]

During my first week of nursing school, I was having lunch with one of the few other males in the program who asked why I enrolled. I said, "I want to be on the front lines of the zombie apocalypse." He laughed at first, but then asked, "You're kidding, right?" I just grinned at first, then put his fears to rest.

Nice to know that there's another male nurse on the board. I've been at it for over 20years now. People do tend to ask us why we chose the profession. That gets tedious sometimes so its nice to spring a silly answer on them to see the reaction. Thanks for the zombie reference. I'll have to use that one next time someone asks. "So what made you decide to become a nurse."?

AZ is a wonderful state. Just got back to NH (and 18 inches of snow) after a week's vacation in the Tucson area. Went biking in the Tucson Mountains, hiking in the desert got to Saguaro National Park, drove up Mount Lemmon saw some other sites. Hope you get a good amount of much needed rain out there this year.

Back to the topic: I've got 9 bottles open right now and for me that's a lot- plus there's 7-8 bunkered. Trying to work through the open ones now. Lots of the open ones are from the BT distillery- ETL Stagg Jr, ORVW, WLW...Can't help but notice a certain sameness like a house style after awhile...lots of char and spice coming from the wood. Nice complexity but sometimes it drowns out the basic brown sugar, vanilla and caramel notes. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this in BT whiskey.

I've got a half bottle of Woodford which is a welcome change up. Its also handy that WR comes in half bottles now. I wish more was available in 375ml or smaller bottles. That would make this purging process a whole lot easier. :grin:

Edited February 15, 2014 by Merrymash Monk