Not a bourbon saver!

[Eric B]

I'm a bourbon drinker not a bourbon saver. If someone gave me bottle of Pappy 23 I would most likely drink it within a week or sell it and buy a case of some private barreled un-chill filtered bourbon! Life is too short to watch good bourbon (meant to drink) sit on a shelf!

[Harry in WashDC]

My liver says, "Don't rush and drink a few. Take your time and drink them all." My head says, "Remember all those bad mornings when you were younger? Listen to your liver." As we all determined on a recent thread re: rates of consumption, guidelines on what's safe allows up to 60 750ML a yr (not accounting for drinks "out" or beer or wine or cider). IOW, those bottles on the shelf are not for show; they're just resting.:yum:

[Flyfish]

I'm not quite clear on what a "bourbon saver" is. What if the bourbon you once loved is no longer available? Are you a "saver" if you keep some AAA 10YO for a special occasion because there will never be any more? How about bourbon that is not readily available so you ration yourself hoping there will be more on the shelves at some unknown date? How about buying several bottles of stuff you love when it is on sale because the regular price seems excessive? By definition, is a "saver" anyone who owns more than one bottle at a time because if you ain't drinking it right now you must be "saving" it? Some of us intentionally bunker bourbon. Some of us just gradually filled our cabinets and store the overflow in the basement. Some of us could star in an episode of Hoarders.

[Eric B]

Life is too short to watch good bourbon (meant to drink) sit on a shelf!

See above quote.

I'm just saying for me, I don't think it's important to show off sealed bottles of great bourbon. I would rather share them with friends or all by myself. I think it's a waist of good bourbon. I'm not here telling people how to enjoy their bourbon, just what I would do.

[HighInTheMtns]

I buy bourbon faster than I (and my friends) drink it. Do you propose I increase my intake? Do you propose I start passing on hard to find bottles if I already have one open? Do you propose that I drink the 09 Mariage that I'm saving to share with my daughter because it's bad that I have it sitting on a shelf?

[jmj_203]

I get the belief you're trying to get across, I don't think there is anybody on this board that hoards just to "collect" and doesn't indulge. We all do a bit of hoarding just to ensure we have that favorite, or value pour, as available to us for AS LONG as possible. If that means I have to buy six bottles and empty the shelf of a bottle I think is going to be gone, so be it.

Now I also am very new to bourbon (2 months), and being that this is the WORST time to start in bourbon with the surging popularity, I can get the other side of the argument that sometimes frustrates you. Such as, I would love to be able to try tons of things, and I would have like 3 bottles of ECBP, and 3 bottles of ETL, and on and on, and it gets to frustrate you that the reason you can't get it is one because its limited and two you start to realize you can't get any because a few guys went into the store and bought it all, and are just hoarding it at their house. So I can see how frustrated I get sometimes, but what can you do. I probably also would buy ALL the ECBP if I found it at a store, so I can't blame them. That being said, sometimes if we all took a second to think "Maybe I should just buy 3 bottles, and leave the last 1 or 2 on the shelf for the next bourbon lover to be elated to find" maybe we would have more luck finding things. But what can you do.

[Eric B]

I buy bourbon faster than I (and my friends) drink it. Do you propose I increase my intake? Do you propose I start passing on hard to find bottles if I already have one open? Do you propose that I drink the 09 Mariage that I'm saving to share with my daughter because it's bad that I have it sitting on a shelf?

I'm not proposing anything, do your thing!

[smknjoe]

I thought you were just making a statement about your personal consumption, Eric. I'm glad you did. Now I know to hide the good stuff when you come over. :grin:

[Eric B]

I thought you were just making a statement about your personal consumption, Eric. I'm glad you did. Now I know to hide the good stuff when you come over. :grin:

I usually bring my own "Everyday Bourbon" Old Forester on the rare occasion I drink outside of my own home. I am lucky to taste very nice and rare bourbons at work so my curiosity is pretty much quelled. The best bourbon is the one you're drinking with friends...

[squire]

The best Bourbon is the one friends bring over and you drink for free.

[Harry in WashDC]

I'm holding the best one in my left hand as I type this with my right. Whatever it is, it's the best one right now.

[squire]

I understand fully Harry, I call it Bonded breakfast.

[DogfaceSoldier]

I understand fully Harry, I call it Bonded breakfast.

[The Black Tot]

This thread title made me think of a bottle of bourbon tied to a railroad track with someone standing off to the side with his arms crossed, refusing to do anything about it.

tbt

[RWBadley]

This thread title made me think of a bottle of bourbon tied to a railroad track with someone standing off to the side with his arms crossed, refusing to do anything about it.

tbt

and not just the title either. chugalug chugalug... wait, Nooo! save that bottle!

Any way we choose to drink our preciousss, it's all good.

[The Black Tot]

and not just the title either. chugalug chugalug... wait, Nooo! save that bottle!

Any way we choose to drink our preciousss, it's all good.

hahaha like it. I'm picturing you with a handlebar mustache and a top hat, a la Snidely Whiplash.

tbt

[flahute]

I'll go on record as saying that I AM a bourbon saver. We don't get the selection in Washington State that many of you get and we don't get as much distribution of the limited stuff. So, when you find something you really like, you better stock up when you get the chance because when it's gone, there's no telling how long it will be until it's back.

Other things just don't make it out here, so the internet is our friend and buying multiples at a time is the way to go to save on shipping. So there you have it. I'm a saver, but I will drink all of it.

[Dannabis]

and being that this is the WORST time to start in bourbon with the surging popularity

excuse my disagreement but I feel the opposite. I feel we are in an amazingly fortunate time to enjoy bourbon with so many affordable options in such wide an array of ages, styles, qualities, flavor profiles, price points, strengths... So many "bottom shelf" options are remarkably drinkable.

I'm a bourbon savour. Erm, a bourbon savorer.

It savours in my mouth and nose. I wouldn't be "saving" much if I drank faster, but I try to constrain myself to a glacial consumption for health and other purposes, work and such.

[Dannabis]

it's a waist of good bourbon.

^^This is what I will tell my family if I get fat.

[jmj_203]

excuse my disagreement but I feel the opposite. I feel we are in an amazingly fortunate time to enjoy bourbon with so many affordable options in such wide an array of ages, styles, qualities, flavor profiles, price points, strengths... So many "bottom shelf" options are remarkably drinkable.

I'm a bourbon savour. Erm, a bourbon savorer.

It savours in my mouth and nose. I wouldn't be "saving" much if I drank faster, but I try to constrain myself to a glacial consumption for health and other purposes, work and such.

Ill clarify, I have been told its a rennaisance period I just meant being new I hear of all the bourbons of the past and how amazing and affordable they were. I have so much to choose from I'm not complaining, just get the early impression this hobby im in love with may be entering an explosive bubble phase with cost to get up to scotch levels. Maybe I'm just a hoarder who needs an excuse to explain why I need 5 bottles of this and that in a full cabinet.

[393foureyedfox]

Ill clarify, I have been told its a rennaisance period I just meant being new I hear of all the bourbons of the past and how amazing and affordable they were. I have so much to choose from I'm not complaining, just get the early impression this hobby im in love with may be entering an explosive bubble phase with cost to get up to scotch levels. Maybe I'm just a hoarder who needs an excuse to explain why I need 5 bottles of this and that in a full cabinet.

every generation looks back at the past and thinks the things 'were better back when'. Some things may be true in that regard, but I feel it is just as often nostalgia speaking. There's plenty of good stuff out there....some may think the older stuff is better, some may think the new stuff is better. Those who think the new stuff is better will, in 10 years or so, think that the then-new stuff is not as good as it was '10 years ago'.

I look back at my main hobby, cars, and think of how much better they were back then. Then, I realize that they didnt have airbags, some didnt have seatbelts, most of them had 4 wheel drum brakes that veered left or right when you drove them in the rain, 3 speed transmissions, no intermittent wipers, carbuerators (big ick!), headlights powered by 16 gauge wires, single master cylinders, crappy seats....the list goes on and on. It's the nostalgia that makes me love the old cars, but even I dont want to drive a stock 1965 car every day.

The 'older is better' mentality often goes along with the older crowd who were coming of age when said product was new in itself. Other things truly were better in the older days....my primary example is pretty much any wood furniture.

this topic of debate could go on forever, in both directions.

[Frodo]

I tend to overbuy when discounted or LEs I like are available. In this environment of exploding demand, choppy supply has become the new norm.

[HighInTheMtns]

every generation looks back at the past and thinks the things 'were better back when'. Some things may be true in that regard, but I feel it is just as often nostalgia speaking. There's plenty of good stuff out there....some may think the older stuff is better, some may think the new stuff is better. Those who think the new stuff is better will, in 10 years or so, think that the then-new stuff is not as good as it was '10 years ago'.

I look back at my main hobby, cars, and think of how much better they were back then. Then, I realize that they didnt have airbags, some didnt have seatbelts, most of them had 4 wheel drum brakes that veered left or right when you drove them in the rain, 3 speed transmissions, no intermittent wipers, carbuerators (big ick!), headlights powered by 16 gauge wires, single master cylinders, crappy seats....the list goes on and on. It's the nostalgia that makes me love the old cars, but even I dont want to drive a stock 1965 car every day.

The 'older is better' mentality often goes along with the older crowd who were coming of age when said product was new in itself. Other things truly were better in the older days....my primary example is pretty much any wood furniture.

this topic of debate could go on forever, in both directions.

[Renegator]

I constantly find myself on the fence on this issue. Don't get me wrong - I intend to drink every single drop (that I don't share) that I have purchased. Most bottles I will quickly open and start drinking. However, there are certain bottles that I find myself saving because it either isn't produced anymore (JPS18) or I might not ever see again (BTAC).

[The Black Tot]

On board vessels we have problems sometimes with crew members hoarding food items.

But there's a very clear reason for it - the chief steward isn't ordering enough to keep stable supplies on our shelves.

Hoarding is an ugly word for saving, but it is always done for one reason only - to add control to a situation of unstable availability.

In a short time the bourbon world has taught me lots of things, but one of them is that availability of many quality bourbons is EXTREMELY unstable.

If you could get the BTAC or pappy every day of the week at your local liquor store, there would never be a need to have a bunker.

I have zero shame or regret about bunkering what I like today, that may not be available tomorrow. So what if there's a good bottle on my shelf - one of it's brothers is open on the bar.

I couldn't help but be a bourbon saver anyway - I buy it far faster than I could drink it. But there will be a phase where I say "yup, I'm good" and I'll enjoy coasting on reserves. People say "yeah, right" but I have reached this point before in other hobbies, so I have experience with this expectation.

tbt