Special bottle you can't bring yourself to open?

[dSculptor]

A few, but above all my EC20 which is from Barrel # 1, I had 2 of them and although it was my Fav of the bunch it's going to be hard for me to pop that one.

[Renegator]

I have a couple. 1 bottle of Jeffersons 18, 2 bottles of ER 17 (2012 & 2013) and maybe my 2014 bottle of GTS. I've always said that I would wait for a special occasion to open them.

As it turns out - I just opened an ER 17 (2013) to celebrate the birth of my daughter last week. She is our first and most likely only child so I figured it doesn't get any bigger than that.

I like the idea of buying a bottle this year to commemorate her birth year to give to her at a later date. I just need to figure out what that will be - maybe Four Roses LE SmB.

[Jazz Nut]

I have a few bottles of Springbank Scotch that are from the Wood Expressions series a few years back, and I have several backups, but once I am down to the last individual bottles, it will be hard to open them. I am also collecting the 12 Year Cask Strength versions for a vertical tasting, so once those backups are gone it will be hard to open them. I have a few Highland Park dusties that will be difficult to open as well (but am planning on it sometime).

As far as bourbon, I think the only bottle that will be hard to open is PHC Promise of Hope, I have several bottles left, but since my grandmother passed from ALS in 2010 it will be hard to open the last bottle.

For all that I listed, if I notice any evaporation occurring, I will open them and drink them.

[DPPSmoker]

I left out the couple of bottles I've dipped myself at Makers Mark. Nothing special about what's inside them - it's more the sentimental value as a reminder of my trip(s).

I also have my personally dipped Makers Mark bottle prominently displayed at home. That Makers Mark visit was my first distillery visit.

I have some Four Roses bottles that I can't bring myself to open because Mr. Rutledge signed them for me. I'll get around to them sooner or later because the whiskey inside is exceptional but I can't do it just yet. I also have a PHC Golden Anniversary that I'm saving for a very special occasion. I just don't know what that occasion is yet. I'm 33 years away from my 50th wedding anniversary and I'm not waiting that long to open it.

[Mardbrown]

I haven't been in the game long enough to have really acquired anything special. I have some LEs where I have purchased two but I immediately opened the first to say I have at least experienced it.

[upStomp]

2014 GTS. Luckily I just acquired a couple batch 3 JR'S at close to MSRP to keep the urges at bay.

[Tucker]

As it turns out - I just opened an ER 17 (2013) to celebrate the birth of my daughter last week. She is our first and most likely only child so I figured it doesn't get any bigger than that. I like the idea of buying a bottle this year to commemorate her birth year to give to her at a later date. I just need to figure out what that will be - maybe Four Roses LE SmB.

Congrats! I saw a couple of pictures...she's a real cutie.

If there's a bottle I probably will never open, it's the one remaining Univ. of Kentucky 1996 National Champions Maker's Mark bottle I have. That was a very special season and a pretty cool bottle.

[jackthedog]

Nothing terribly special. I have a few ECBPs and Stagg Jr. held back - don't really know why. I'd love to get my hands on an actual GTS but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

[Vosgar]

I have some Four Roses bottles that I can't bring myself to open because Mr. Rutledge signed them for me. I'll get around to them sooner or later because the whiskey inside is exceptional but I can't do it just yet.

Right there with ya

[jcg9779]

Right there with ya

I have a bottle of Binny's Weller 12 that I got from you back in 2011 that I haven't brought myself to open yet. Not that there is any particular meaning to the bottle, it's just really good bourbon and this will probably be the last one of this selection that I'll ever have. And I fear that, once opened, it won't hang around too long!

[tanstaafl2]

Like some others I too have a signed Four Roses that I am in no hurry to open (a 2013 LE SmB. I have several different signed 4 Roses bottles but that is the only one on display and several of the others are already open I think) as well as the first edition of the Angel's Envy Cask Strength signed by Lincoln Henderson. There are probably a few others I am in no hurry to open but I don't think anything is sacrosanct as it were.

[garbanzobean]

Like some others I too have a signed Four Roses that I am in no hurry to open (a 2013 LE SmB. I have several different signed 4 Roses bottles but that is the only one on display and several of the others are already open I think) as well as the first edition of the Angel's Envy Cask Strength signed by Lincoln Henderson. There are probably a few others I am in no hurry to open but I don't think anything is sacrosanct as it were.

I had a Four Roses OESO from Hi Time Wines that Jim Rutledge signed. I didn't ask for it; they just shipped it that way. The signature was neat, but I drank the sh!t out of that bottle anyway.

If anyone on this thread is really having trouble opening a particular bottle, I would be happy to offer my services at a nominal fee. Not even the good stuff. Slaughtering sacred cows is reward enough.

[Paddy]

I had a Four Roses OESO from Hi Time Wines that Jim Rutledge signed. I didn't ask for it; they just shipped it that way. The signature was neat, but I drank the sh!t out of that bottle anyway.

If anyone on this thread is really having trouble opening a particular bottle, I would be happy to offer my services at a nominal fee. Not even the good stuff. Slaughtering sacred cows is reward enough.

I'm with you here. I'll keep a signed bottle (but only after I drink the sh!t out of it)!:grin:

[Mardbrown]

I had a Four Roses OESO from Hi Time Wines that Jim Rutledge signed. I didn't ask for it; they just shipped it that way. The signature was neat, but I drank the sh!t out of that bottle anyway.

If anyone on this thread is really having trouble opening a particular bottle, I would be happy to offer my services at a nominal fee. Not even the good stuff. Slaughtering sacred cows is reward enough.

I nominate for post of the year for the brute honesty and how much I agree with its sentiment.

[suntour]

It is weird when you think about it...we buy it to drink it. But we know when we open it, it will one day be gone. But by not opening it, we are not experiencing it. It could get dropped on the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

For those of you with "special" unopened bottles, is it that you're afraid you're going to drink it too quickly, or that you'll let it go too long since you've got a million other bottles and it'll lose some of its luster? Part of what brought me to bourbon from craft beer was that you could have your cake and eat it too in that sense - cellar a bottle of beer and its one and done whenever you decide to drink it. I can (and do) sip off bottles of bourbon for years simply because I've got a decent backlog.

[TheNovaMan]

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of a fellow member, I have a (and by a, I mean one) bottle of Ten High Ten that I might never open. If I ever find another, I won't know which to open first, so I'll probably never open either one. When I get to my last bottle of 1972(ish) "regular" Ten High, that's going to be hard to open too.

It's nice to have first world problems like these.

[DBM]

PVW23.

It's good. 20 is much better. 15 is different and much better. People with more money than brains are paying stupid prices for it, so I will hold on to it until 1) I trade it for a new car, or 2) the bottom drops out on overhyped bourbon and I drink it.

[Tony Santana]

I have a lot of unopened bottles, but mostly because I have a lot of bottles. They're all meant to be drank eventually. I have at least one of all the BTAC expressions open, same with the VW bottlings I have (10, 12, 15 & 20). But there are still a few I'm reluctant to crack open - my lone CEHT Tornado, my last EC18, etc. I'm not too afraid to do so, though. I'm trying to set up a tasting at my house with some of my bourbon loving buddies, and if any of them want to crack open any bottle, I'll do it.

[GaryT]

I'd like to be right there with folks on the Jim Rutledge signed bottles, but I only had one 2013 SmBLE - so while I'll keep the bottle since he personalized it, I had to open it! If I had multiples, I would have held out though.

Only bottle right now I'm going to wait a while to open is a BMH 18yr Rye. I just finished one tonight, and have exactly one left in the bunker. Not sure what the appropriate moment will be, and I've sorta been converted to the concept of "don't wait - tomorrow isn't a guarantee!", but as long as I have enough great whiskey - I'm not in a hurry to crack it.

[Richnimrod]

Ya know, I've been thinking about this for a while now... and, I have had a few that I saved up, awaiting some occasion 'special' enough to warrant one of 'em. I eventually did open 'em.

A couple were rather underwhelming, so I thought; "Why the hell was I reluctant to open this?"

Then there were several that were 'All that ... AND a bag of chips!"... So, I thought; 'What a shame, or even a crime, if I hadn't gotten around to this wonderful pour, waiting endlessly for that special day."

Soooooo, now, I open and pour 'em! Now, I may still reserve some for special times, but only after I've opened 'em up and confirmed that they were worth the wait. ...And, I don't wait too long on the really good ones.

[The Black Tot]

I don't so much see it as that I have anything sacred that can't be opened...

...I see it more as I have a buildup of things I tried and thought were average, and those have to be cleared before getting to opening the legends.

I've been thinking about a good strategy for managing that balance. Maybe open a top bottle for Christmas and the birthday?

Tough to say. Like Rich, I open one of the good ones right away to learn what a special bottle tastes like. At present, these opened bottles keep me so busy it's hard to get to clearing out the mediocre stuff, especially with getting less than half the year to drink due to the offshore thing.

So right now I guess you could say my special bottles are just sitting sheltered from the storm until I can get my duds and testers under control. Nothing is safe, sacred, or too precious to crack by any stretch of the imagination.

I do keep one 70's Michter's Sour Mash bottle as a sort of museum piece. Even it, though, had better not get too comfortable if the right nerds come around...

[flahute]

I generally open them all and like Rich, determine which ones to set aside and drink sloooooooow based on knowing for sure they are worth the wait. My current bottle that meets this definition is VWFRR. Was lucky to get it, may never see another. I do have a bottle of PVW15 that I'm saving for Christmas or something similar. I finished my first bottle of this last football playoff season so I know what it tastes like. The only exception to the above general rule is a bottle of WT101 8yr age stated from the 1980's. I know I'll never see another one of those so I'm waiting for some special moment. Of course, if that moment doesn't come soon enough, I'll just open it because I'm the curious sort.

[Old Dusty]

At home I certainly have a hierarchy for myself. The "last ten" or so of the stash to get opened-if I ever get that deep into the bunker. But in general nothing is off limits and, for example, I opened a couple of limiteds at Sampler. I get a much bigger kick out of sharing hard to source stuff with people who appreciate it rather than sitting on a pile of gold Smaug style and never tasting any of it. As I often say, my empty bottle tasted a hell of a lot better than your unopened one:grin:

[glassjapan]

Right now I'm down to two bottles that I've been saving for the right occasion. Both of which aren't really my most favorite pours, but due to the craziness that we're in now, are on hold due to their worth. A Pappy 20yr from ten years ago that I'm saving for when my daughter marries. The other i'm on the fence about is a gold foil A.H. Hirsch. While I've enjoy every bottle of Hirsch that I've been lucky to have, it's to the point now where I'd almost rather trade it for bottles that I enjoy more.

Who knows. It's all just one strong urge from being enjoyed.

[t44tq]

Really nothing that I won't open. However, I won't really open many more bottles at the moment because I have nearly 30 bottles open as it stands right now. I don't want to have everything open. My problem is that I drink whisky at home at a glacial pace, so realistically, it could take months if not over a year before I open another bottle.