The Stages of this Hobby

[KyleCBreese]

Being fairly new to bourbon (I'm only 25, haven't legally had a lot of time), I find myself in what I feel is the second stage of this bourbon hobby. The first is your original tastes and kick-starter (for me, it was Bulleit). Now, the second stage, I am tasting everything I can. I have found myself buying bottle after bottle (2-3 per week) and trying everything I can. Now that I have slowed down my buying, and settled in at about 25 open bottles, what are my next stages? I think the next stage would be focusing in on a brand or style of something I like and trying everything from that brand/style.

What do you think?

[Yeti]

What do I think? I think having 25 bottles open at 25 years old is pretty awesome. Hell of a start! There's no set map for where to progress, but analyzing your preferences makes a lot of sense. Maybe try some blind tasting, if possible. That will really open your eyes about what you like and why.

[squire]

Kyle I would go with a theme such as high rye or low rye Bourbons, then wheat Bourbons, then Ryes. Of course if you find you like the high rye Bourbons right off the bat then go straight to the Ryes next.

And, yes, taste them blind.

[DrBob]

I think the next stage is bunkering things you like I am in a similar boat to you,but add about 22 years of age, wish I had started at 25! I am currently thinning the herd of open bottles and buying repeats of the ones I like that may be harder to get later on for bunkering.

Edited April 1, 2014 by DrBob

[hn4bourbon]

I think I'm going to be in the phase of wanting to try everything for quite a while still. There are still a lot of bottles that I've bought that I have not had the chance to try.

However, when I try something I like, I do bunker some. I do so with the understanding that my preferences may change over time. So, what I like earlier on may not be liked as much later on as I progress in this hobby. I have already experienced that several times.

[KyleCBreese]

Definitely need to thin out things I don't think I will buy again, or have an interest in accumulating. Then start trying more of what I like. I would love to have one of each Four Roses Single Barrel recipes.

[DBM]

The next stage will be to start purchasing wine and ditch the bourbon. An alternate would be to move into scotch and ditch the bourbon. One way or another, you will likely ditch the bourbon.

[AaronWF]

Now, as your bunker expands, you start explaining to people how you don't have a drinking problem, just a bit of a buying issue.

[Vietish]

There is a key stage you are all missing.

Get your partner to start enjoying bourbon as well. Once they are hooked..well its twice the fun and it saves arguments about cost

[tigerlam92]

There is a key stage you are all missing.

Get your partner to start enjoying bourbon as well. Once they are hooked..well its twice the fun and it saves arguments about cost

Good luck with that!! I think it's easier at his age to find someone who likes it instead from the start.

I would suggest reading more and start honing into what you like so you can limit on some purchases that you may not like unless you are doing well where all 25 were good buys for you.

Start to know what you like may be a good next step.

[Paddy]

Good luck with that!! I think it's easier at his age to find someone who likes it instead from the start.

I would suggest reading more and start honing into what you like so you can limit on some purchases that you may not like unless you are doing well where all 25 were good buys for you.

Start to know what you like may be a good next step.

And that can be problematic as well, as I'm still trying to find something that I do not like.

[tigerlam92]

And that can be problematic as well, as I'm still trying to find something that I do not like.

[Vietish]

Hey, I managed to get my gf who loved scotch into bourbon, even if she does prefer the more expensive ones

I think I am bout at the stage where I have 20 opened. I now wont go out and buy a random bottle to try, but I do have a list of 5 I want to either try next or purchase next. I feel it helps with the impulse buying. But that is not to say I wont grab a random bottle if I know its a steal with the price or hard to find here in Oz.

[corpse_welder]

Well after the "stage" you're at, I had around 25 open bottles as well. Then I began to think "no I won't buy this bourbon again, most likely" and began to organize my collection that way. I have about 10 I keep on hand at all times then a few like Blanton's that are more special buys. Most of all, through extensive blind tastings and side by sides, I learned what I like best and it's the $20-$30 range (although FRSB is a fantastic bourbon too)

[Vadertime]

Count yourself lucky. I wish I had 25 different option to open, I think over the past few years I have only had 17 or so available (excluding 3 Beam Small Batch which I will not purchase due to cork and price issues). Of course, I have an almost unlimited number of malts I could purchase, but I would rather not

I think the more you try, the more refined you pallete becomes. And if you do comparison tastings, you will find you like certain things even more.

[Guest]

Your next move might be to start dabbling with the top shelf premium stuff, and if you are already there then its quite likely that the next stage could be rediscovering the joy of the bottom-mid shelf stuff, thats what Im doing atm, I feel like I am gonna stay here a while (for bourbon at least)

[GaryT]

I think the challenge is that the stages are different for everyone. I know some folks whose collection swells to 30+ bottles, and ultimately they focus in on a dozen or so they really like. I know others whose collection never stops growing, as they love exploring different whiskies and appreciating them for their differences. There isn't a right or wrong approach. I'm somewhere in between personally. I know what I really like, and based on that if something new comes out that I think I'll enjoy - I pick it up. As long as you're having fun, remember that the journey is what it is all about!

[squire]

Getting the SO involved with our hobby is a double edge sword, I prefer she stick with shoes.

[MyOldKyDram]

I think I'm somewhere between depression and acceptance.

[squire]

I'm wallowing in acceptance.

[jvd99]

Be wary of bunkering too early in your journey. Your palate and preferences may change as you start sampling mid shelf and premium bourbons and you may be stuck with multiples that you may not covet in the future. Most of the bottles you're sampling now will likely always be on the retail shelf and available when needed. Also watch out for the collecting bug of limited releases like FR, BTAC and Pappy (good luck!). It can be really maddening and damaging to your bottom line, but also very enjoyable if you like hunting for the elusive LE's or have established a good relationship with your local whiskey monger. At some point, you may want to try scotch. I found that after several years of drinking bourbon exclusively, I had an all new appreciation for single malts. Have fun! BTW - you can get every FR recipe at Binny's in Chicago, not sure if they ship though.

[sailor22]

The problem with narrowing your buying to a certain style or mash bill that you like now is that your palate will evolve and change over time and what you like now might not be so wonderful to you in a few years. Keeping an open mind, and a lot of open bottles is the best way to learn about and appreciate the scope of what's on offer.

jvd99 makes a good point about not bunkering too deep too early, it's almost guaranteed your preferences will change.

[kjbeggs]

I'd follow Squire's advice in his post on page 1 of this thread, then follow it with DrBob's advice in the very next post.

While true, you may not want to bunker too much, too soon, these days you can't always be sure you will be able to find what used to be "always available" bourbons on the shelf (See Elmer T Lee, OWA107, etc.).

Chances are, you'll find one or two that will always be your favorites, and you'll keep a few of those on hand at all times, but that doesn't mean you can't try new or different bottles. Just because Tuesday feels like a wheater day, doesn't mean Wednesday won't feel like a straight rye day.

[Tony Santana]

For me . . .

Stage 1 - about two decades of drinking almost exclusively Jack on the rocks, when I wasn't drinking beer, or margaritas, or gin and tonics, or . . . .

Stage 2 - JD still as my main whiskey pour, but I keep MM and KC, some Scotch and perhaps one other on hand, more as special occasion/I'm going to treat myself pours. Still drinking either beer or JD rocks more often than not.

Stage 3 - This is a hobby worth exploring. I'm going to learn more about it, and start expanding my palate. When I walk into a liquor store I'll probably head right to the bourbon aisle and at least check out what they've got. Beer consumption starts going down, I start drastically reducting the amount of ice I drink my bourbon with.

Stage 4 - Full blown immersion. Buy and try practically everything I can get my hands on, travel to Kentucky for distillery tours, spend time on websites reading about bourbon, buy and try practically everything I can get my hands on, storage space becomes an issue, almost exclusively consumed neat or with just one cube, vatting experiments begin, buy and try almost everything I can get my hands on, I might go a couple of weeks without having a beer, stop at every liquor store I pass if I have the time, my family and friends know me as "that bourbon guy".

Stage 5 - Wish list of bourbons to try becomes much shorter, even as the bunker expands to include multiple bottles of those I know I like. Begin to cull bottles with a "well, I tried that, but I'll never buy it again" mentality, stop spending more than $30 on a bottle that I might want just because I haven't tried it before and it might look nice on my shelf. Embrace the ability to try whatever strikes my fancy on that particular evening, be it a wheater, a straight rye, a premium pour of a hard to find bottle or a lower to mid-shelf ol' reliable. Realize the few affordable, easy to find brands I'll go back to time and again, while starting to seriously contemplate the concept of bourbon Zen.

Stage 6 - ????

[Harry in WashDC]

Stage 6 is repeat stage 5 a lot.