What's Your Bunker Strategy?

[El Vino]

I'm relatively new to this hobby (2011) and my tasting experiences are growing quickly. As a result, I have tended to accumulate a couple of each of the expressions I particularly like but nothing in "significant" quantity. I consume, share or give away everything I buy. Occasionally, I will buy a bottle of something on reputation only (something I read on this board) and eventually get around to it. As a result my bunker is all over the place. It makes picking the next thing to open kind of challenging in a cool way, but I've got nothing to go back to over and over again and, at least in the mid and top shelf products, it keeps me looking for new things to try.

So I ask, what is your strategy? Do you buy in quantity of something that represents a sweet spot to your palate or do you just pick things off as I do?

[garbanzobean]

I'm all over the place. What I enjoy tends to be fairly inconsistent, though you can always count me in for having at least one bottle of Four Roses of some type or another open. On the malt end of things, I have mostly peated whisky put away, though I certainly have my share of unpeated stuff.

So basically, I will absolutely take a risk on something that I think I will like. It occasionally bites me in the ass (Connemara), but generally treats me well.

[Vadertime]

I live abroad so I have to jump on things when I have a chance. A chance is usually fleeting. Besides a few one off bottles I picked up here and there, my abroad bunker is primarily 11 bottles of 200ml 1993 WT, ~10 bottles of 350ml 1997 WT, 6 bottles of Liter WT 8YO, 3 bottles of Kirkland 7YO, and 7 bottles of 750ml EW BiB. HH will have a shipment in a few months, I don't know what it will contain but I have advised the importer on what I think would be popular. I plan to load up on more WT 8YO when I go to Japan next month.

My USA bunker has most of a case of VOB and Weller 12 among a few other bottles. I'd love to be able to order a case of HH6YO and Old Fitz BiB, but I have not been able to find such a vendor. I am considering a case of Mellow Corn. But in reality, my chances of havin regular access to my USA bunker are pretty slim (for at least 5-10 more years). The good news is that is long enough for a modest Old Bottle Effect, so the spirits should be even more enjoyable.

[flahute]

My bunker strategy is to stuff as many bottles in there as I can. When full, commence operations to find an auxiliary bunker, and when located, repeat the first step.

[Frodo]

For me, the only reason to bunker anything is if the supply is iffy - or you find a stash of something on offer.

Aged stuff is becoming harder to find for reasonable prices so I bunker this stuff when I find it (if I like it).

[bjbronwyn]

If you've been tasting alot off bourbon then you should have an idea of what suits your pallette. Bunker what you enjoy because these are the bottles you'll be drnking and replacing on a regular basis.

Ive found there's no point in bunkering bottles that are hard to find or cheap just for those reasons.

[AaronWF]

3 bottles of whatever I favor: one to drink now, one for later and one so I can drink the second one and not worry that it's my last. The only cheap stuff I would bunker would be HH6 BiB and OGD114 and I typically wouldn't go with more than 4-5 at a time. I have also gone long on discontinued expressions and particular vintages that I enjoy. One-off barrel finishes and single barrel bourbon can be found in relative abundance in my bunker.

But over time, the main thing I have learned is that I'm better off spending money on a variety of bottles than throwing it all at multiples of the same thing. 3 of any one thing should be my limit.

[TunnelTiger]

My bunker strategy is to stuff as many bottles in there as I can. When full, commence operations to find an auxiliary bunker, and when located, repeat the first step.

I agree and approve of this strategy as it works well for me.

[Thig]

I buy a lot of different bourbons and then when I find one I like I try to buy several to keep in the bunker when I find them at a good price. I don't think some of them are going to disappear from the shelves any time soon but I don't think they are going to go down in price either. For instance I tried Booker's and really like it so when I saw it on sale for $34.99 I bought 8.

I keep notes on what I like and what I don't like and whether or not I would buy it again.

I agree on limited editions this is a useless strategy because I am lucky to find one much less bunker any.

This is just a few of the readily available ones I have been impressed with:

Booker's

Baker's

Henry McKenna Single Barrel

Four Roses Single Barrel and Small Batch

Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Evan Williams Single Barrel

Elijah Craig 12 year

[KyleCBreese]

Right now, I am in a "try everything you see" phase, so the bunker is relatively small and usually only finds that are on sale or hard to come by.

Eventually, I would like to narrow it down to about 5-10 of my favorite brands and then buy mulitples of those, such as ETL, 4R PS, and HMK SB BIB.

[The Black Tot]

I only started going heavily into bourbon this year, so my strategy is still forming.

But it seems to be taking two distinct paths - the high road, and the low road.

The high road has me buying special limited edition stuff that I like, and getting multiples to save for special occasions.

The low road has me identifying "value whiskey" which will always work for me, and stocking up on those as daily drinkers.

I am starting to realize that I have fewer actual special occasions than I tend to imagine myself having, so I'm starting to lean toward the low road.

There are also a ton of bottles around from my "try everything" phase, which will take a few years to whittle out.

I've got a lot of bottles in there by now. I could stop at any time...really...

[Tony Santana]

My bunker strategy is to stuff as many bottles in there as I can. When full, commence operations to find an auxiliary bunker, and when located, repeat the first step.

This sums it up well.

I have about 100 unopened bottles of bourbon, plus assorted ryes, Irish, etc. I don't think I have more than 4 unopened bottles of any one choice. Reasons to bunker: a good price on something I know I like (example: 3 bottles of RHF that were $33). Grabbing an extra or two of a nice private barrel store pick that obviously won't be around forever (example: just bought another SAOS 8 year yesterday). Limited edition or other harder to find bottles that simply won't be available again if I don't snap them up at retail while I can (example: this fall I got two ORVW's, two 4RSmBLE's and two PHC's). If one knows one of your favorites is being discontinued or changed (going to NAS, for example), that's a reason.

The rest of my bunker is single bottles of stuff I just haven't gotten around to opening yet (since I have more than 50 bottles that are already open) or bottles I will undoubtedly open at some point but am reluctant to crack because I don't have a second one in reserve and I refuse to go to the flippers to restock (examples: AAA 10 year, CEHT Tornado, EC 18 year, Bourye, VG "The Fox"). I'm in no hurry with those because, well, I have a crapload of other fine bourbon to drink, much of it easier to find.

[Tony]

I do not think I have much of a strategy. If I get the chance to get multiples of a limited release I will put those in the bunker. FRSmB and FRSB are much cheaper in Kentucky than Michigan so I try to get a case or two of those when I am down to bunker.

Best regards, Tony

[suntour]

Because im not good at planning for the future I open everything I buy, hoping that I have amassed enough bottles I can just sip a little here and there until the bottom falls out on the bourbon collector racket and I can pick up allocated bottles down the road when the fairweathers move on. Also, ive copied another forumites method of squirreling away a 2oz sample of every bottle when I open it as an archive of sorts.

[Paul W]

I have three categories for the bunker.

1. Cheap stuff I am afraid will disappear.

2. Expensive stuff that would be wasted on me at this point in my tasting career.

3. Dusties

Category 1 is cheaper stuff that I am fearful will disappear, become effectively unavailable or lose age statements (HH6, W12, OGD114 and so on). But usually "bunkering" only means one spare bottle, though I have made an exception for HH6 since it can't be obtained in CA.

Category 2 is good stuff, more expensive, that would be wasted on my newbie palete now but that I plan on drinking when I get better at appreciating good bourbon by drinking the cheaper, normal stuff now. This is the category for 4R LEs, BTAC, PHC and so on. Again, bunkering in this category usually means one spare bottle, or maybe two.

Category 3 is dusty bourbon on the theory that the supply is fixed and availability is diminishing all the time and also because I enjoy the intangibles of having bourbon that was bottled long ago. I am also a big fan of ND-era bourbons in terms of taste. Hoarding mostly occurs in this category since there is no chance of more being available later.

However, I am also reaching the conclusion that at my present rate of consumption, I have 40 years worth of bourbon bunkered already. The "eventually you realize you have a whole liquor store in your house" phrase that someone posted has stuck with me a bit. Logic and personal economics would dictate that I stop acquiring. But obsessive thinking is powerful and so far is winning in the struggle with logic.

Further complicating things, now people know I am "into" bourbon and are giving it to me as gifts. First world problems, I know.

[jvd99]

My bunker consists only of LE's, discontinued bottles and a couple dusty bourbons. With Binnys and a bunch of independent stores around here, there's really nothing in the core range from any distillery that cannot be fairly easily found. My single malt bunker is kept the same way, but it has quite a few more dusties. I have about an equal amount of bourbons as I have single malts, stored separately of course.

[dcbt]

I used to bunker "everyday" bourbons just to buy something from stores to stay on their radars for LEs, ie "I don't really need a 9th bottle of Weller 12 but I'll drink it eventually and can't hurt to keep buying from this guy for when he gets in some LEs." Only it never did any good so I scratched that whole philosophy when I ran out of room and now only bunker LEs.

[TunnelTiger]

1. Cheap stuff I am afraid will disappear.

This is my greatest concern. I've convinced myself that any/all increased production capacity is going to be routed overseas and we will continually our great "cheap stuff" eliminated and replaced by bad "cheap stuff".

[tigerlam92]

My strategy and only strategy is bunker only what I like; no separate distinctions for LE.

If you don't have a chance to try then bunker based on someone you trust and have similar taste profile.

One that's hasn't been mentioned is that your taste preference may change over time. Something you like today may not be as good to you later on or vice versa. So have some caution.

[miller542]

I bunker 3 categories:

1. Stuff I find out is discontinued, if I like it I hustle out and grab one - I have 1 each of: WTRR101, VROHHBIB 10yr, age stated RR1792, round shoulder Beam Black (before the "double aged" label), AAA10yr, etc.

2. First release of a premium but ongoing release - Bernheim Original, ECBP

3. Limited Edition - EWSB, PHC, OFBB

The majority of my bunker is from 1. I do intend to consume everything in the bunker when the time to properly enjoy it presents itself.

[393foureyedfox]

only two quantifiers:

stuff I know I like, and am afraid of future supply issues

stuff I know I like, and is priced low enough that it's stupid not to load up

I dont waste any time looking for LE stuff. Even if I did like it, I likely wouldnt be able to find another anyway, so why bother? plus, the prices and the lines.....

[dSculptor]

Never really had a bunker, just open bottles,(I could never buy one and not open it) but then slowly I started to get a bunker of bottles that I may open in the future, limited stuff that will be very hard to replace, so I guess I had a collectible bunker (trophies). But the more I look at them the more I want to open them, which I do here and there. That's really about all that is in my bunker, but when something does come around and it's good, I'll get more of them, e.g.... I found some EC12 SB... the guy who picked this barrel was spot on for my buds, it was delicious, so I bought a case of it, few bottles of HH6 -only because a friend went down to the KBF, never had it before, but for the price and what I heard out here I bought 4 of them, it's ok stuff for the price. Some guys out here take the "bunker" thing a lot more serious than I do..just go and look at some of the - show us your stash pics...Holy bourbon!!!--

[barturtle]

My bunker strategy is simple:

"Buy Low, Sell High"

[Thig]

My bunker strategy is simple:

"Buy Low, Sell High"

[Phil T]

That sounds more like an investment strategy, are you a flipper only or do you also drink bourbon?