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Anyone Else Keep "Archive Samples"?


GaryT
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A couple of years ago when I got my first "dusty" bottles, I thought to myself "When this is gone - I'll never be able to compare anything else to it.  I wish I had a whiskey time capsule . . . "  And I took some 2oz sample bottles, filled them with stuff I'll never get my hands on again, and tucked them away.  For why?  Honestly - I hadn't worked that part out yet :)  My initial thoughts were maybe when I retire (which is likely 20+ yrs out), I could open some up and remember yesteryear - and compare to the present.  Who knows - maybe I'll think to myself "Damn, we've gotten pretty good at this!" and be unimpressed with the older stuff.  

 

I was curious if I was the only one with this inexplicable obsession to hold onto small samples of really special stuff.

 

Well, over the years, the samples have grown to not just dusty bottles, but private picks I participated in, limited editions (which I guess are dusty now), and others.  And over the holiday break, they got more organized - moving from a box in a hutch to a card-file cabinet.  I had been labeling them (example below) as I went, but I guess didn't realize how many I had filled.  

 

IMG_20170104_151433.jpg

 

After organizing them (and adding the numbers on the top so I could identify them more quickly, because of course if you're this neurotic about organizing samples, there is a spreadsheet to reconcile to!), I realized I almost filled the small cabinet, with 58 samples (2 empties are there to keep them from moving).  I have room for 72 in total, so another 14 more could be added.  I'm thinking my new strategy will be to limit them to 72, and if I find something really special I want to keep - I've got to pick something else off to make the space.

 

IMG_20170104_154153.jpg  IMG_20170105_194702.jpg

IMG_20170105_194716.jpg

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Jeeeeeeez!    Don't be such a pansy!    Buy at least one more card file cabinet!

You have a lot of years left to collect such stuff.    Limiting yourself to a mere 72 bottles seems unnecessarily constricting.... like a tight hat.    'I hate a tight hat!'    Just sayin'.......

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^^^^LOL, I agree with the 'old man'! 

 

P. S. The level of OCD you've attained is most inspiring!  :lol:

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You're not the only one Gary. I'm with you, right down to the spreadsheet. Hell, I even kept a sample of Fishnbowljoe's Weller Blend II from the Sampler a few years ago.

 

I sometimes worry about how geeky I've become with my whiskey obsession, but then I have a nice pour and no longer give a shit.

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I've recently started doing this with bottles that I've liked (although not nearly as organizes).  And I'm talking about normal 4RPS's that I've enjoyed and may want to revisit at a future date.

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12 hours ago, Vosgar said:

I sometimes worry about how geeky I've become with my whiskey obsession, but then I have a nice pour and no longer give a shit.

   :D  HA!  HE-HEEEE!  :D   ^^^  This! ^^^    Me, too.     Good one, Gary!   :lol:

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I've posted this pic before ,but since it has it's own thread now, guess I can post it again. Been taking a sample of every new bottle that I buy and try. I think there's like 135 or so in there now, but have room for more! It would be fun to start opening them again down the road. I went as far as creating the small labels, and also the cost of each sample. Also have every empty large bottle up in the attic displayed on the wall.(running out of room up there)

minis2.jpg

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3 hours ago, dSculptor said:

I've posted this pic before ,but since it has it's own thread now, guess I can post it again. Been taking a sample of every new bottle that I buy and try. I think there's like 135 or so in there now, but have room for more! It would be fun to start opening them again down the road. I went as far as creating the small labels, and also the cost of each sample. Also have every empty large bottle up in the attic displayed on the wall.(running out of room up there)

 

Wow, we really have to get you and Gary together..... Then Egon says; "I think that would be extraordinarily dangerous!"

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  • 2 weeks later...
12 minutes ago, MDBourbon said:

I just started doing this. I think it's a great idea. 

I love this idea, too.  I just wish  I had the foresight to start this years ago.  As it is, I now have a plan for a lot of old low fill bottles.  Thanks, Country!  

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4 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

I love this idea, too.  I just wish  I had the foresight to start this years ago.  As it is, I now have a plan for a lot of old low fill bottles.  Thanks, Country!  

If you are into recycling, then old Booker's boxes work perfectly for 2oz Boston rounds. 

IMG_6026.JPG

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I'll need to start drinking a lot of Booker's, then...:lol:

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3 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

I'll need to start drinking a lot of Booker's, then...:lol:

Depending on how ambitious you are in archiving. I only keep the last 2oz of things I'll never see again. Unfortunately I don't always remember to archive especially when that last pour is just tempting me. HHSS#2 will be joining the group shortly as I'm down to the last of may last. 

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1 hour ago, Old Dusty said:

If you are into recycling, then old Booker's boxes work perfectly for 2oz Boston rounds. 

IMG_6026.JPG

I really like the idea.  I was thinking that I'd use the Booker's for bitters and such but this is a great idea too.

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I've never thought about doing this but this is a fantastic idea. Just archived up my first three, '13 samples of WLW, GTS, and ER17. Thx for posting this GaryT. 

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I sample out two 2oz bottles of everything I open.  I don't keep track of them, they just go back into the box they came in.  Plan to drink them years down the road.  I agree it's hard to know whether a bottle has been sampled so I've started to write an "S" on the bottle in silver sharpie so I can see right away if I've poured the sample.

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I still have a few bottles that I intend to archive, but just haven't.  If I had multiples of something, I figured I would wait until I got to the last bottle.  I may need to label the empty sample bottles just to save space.  Those on deck currently include SB HHSS (1 & 2 - don't have either variety open at the moment), 1990's Lot 40, and a NCF Jeff 10 Rye.   

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As I was printing out a tiny label for my sample of "CEHT SW" I realized that I hope I never get dementia, or if I do, that the internet never goes away so I can look up what the heck this meant.

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You're gonna have lots worse things to worry about if you get Dementia.  It's probably one of the very worst things a family has to suffer.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks for the idea, I've started doing this as well! I bought a bunch of 2oz Boston rounds on Amazon and started taking samples from some of my favorites.

 

My registrar wife (she is sort of an art librarian if you're not familiar with the term) helped create accession numbers for them as well, which correspond to entries in a spreadsheet.

 

I also put together a little sample selection for a birthday present for one of my whiskey nerd friends.

 

 

20170331_204349.jpg

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I do too. I use the 4oz Boston rounds. I take samples just add much to kill of the last of the bottle. The 4oz bottles take up a bunch less room. I do it with stuff I don't always have on hand, or stuff I might want to use in a sbs sometime later. Like a batch of bookers vs another, or WTRB. Or comparing different single barrels. Etc.

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The difference for me is that I drink mine down, so they aren't really archives more like medium-term storage

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12 hours ago, EarthQuake said:

Thanks for the idea, I've started doing this as well! I bought a bunch of 2oz Boston rounds on Amazon and started taking samples from some of my favorites.

 

My registrar wife (she is sort of an art librarian if you're not familiar with the term) helped create accession numbers for them as well, which correspond to entries in a spreadsheet.

 

I also put together a little sample selection for a birthday present for one of my whiskey nerd friends.

 

 

20170331_204349.jpg

Hey EQ, I would also recommend finding some parafilm and sealing them if you are planning on saving them for awhile, I also read here that someone used Teflon tape as well.

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On 4/3/2017 at 9:43 PM, EarthQuake said:

Thanks for the idea, I've started doing this as well! I bought a bunch of 2oz Boston rounds on Amazon and started taking samples from some of my favorites.

 

My registrar wife (she is sort of an art librarian if you're not familiar with the term) helped create accession numbers for them as well, which correspond to entries in a spreadsheet.

 

I also put together a little sample selection for a birthday present for one of my whiskey nerd friends.

 

 

20170331_204349.jpg

Looks like the whiskey equivalent to the Dewey Decimal system

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