How many bottles....is too many....

[Whiskey Lullaby]

To have open at one time? I’m a newby here and am curious what you all think. 

 

I know it depends on how much you drink, as to how many is too many. I probably have about 3-4 Glencarin pours a week of my good stash and I have about 20 or so bottles open right now. Is that too many? 

 

What’s your number?

 

 

[Paddy]

^^^^^I make it a point not to count my opens. 

 

If you keep corked, out of direct sunlight, and in a controlled environment (no major temperature swings), it won't go bad... so enjoy! 

 

To answer your question, fear not... 20 is not too many. 
 

[Whiskey Lullaby]

23 minutes ago, Paddy said:

^^^^^I make it a point not to count my opens. 

 

If you keep corked, out of direct sunlight, and in a controlled environment (no major temperature swings), it won't go bad... so enjoy! 

 

To answer your question, fear not... 20 is not too many. 
 

Good to know. Thanks!

Edited January 30, 2018 by Whiskey Lullaby

[EarthQuake]

My friend gave me a bottle of Old Overholt from the 60-70s that her aunt had owned, it had been opened for a number of decades. I thought that it might taste off or stale or something of that nature, but it's great. So yeah, if the concern is it going bad, just keep it in a cool (or at least consistent), dark place.

 

For the stuff I have open but don't plan to finish off, I keep it in a bar or kitchen cabinets. For the stuff I drink frequently I had it out where it gets a bit of indirect sunlight, but it's typically drank before the light would be a problem.

 

For me often the most enjoyable aspect of this hobby is trying new things, and that means opening bottles!

Edited January 30, 2018 by EarthQuake

[Whiskey Lullaby]

2 minutes ago, EarthQuake said:

My friend gave me a bottle of Old Overholt from the 60-70s that her aunt had owned, it had been opened for a number of decades. I thought that it might taste off or stale or something of that nature, but it's great. So yeah, if the concern is it going bad, just keep it in a cool (or at least consistent), dark place.

Holy crap that’s amazing! Very cool. I will no longer worry about an open bottle. 

[DCFan]

5 minutes ago, EarthQuake said:

For me often the most enjoyable aspect of this hobby is trying new things, and that means opening bottles!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Nothing like walking out of the ABC with a bottle of something I've never tried before.

[EarthQuake]

1 minute ago, Whiskey Lullaby said:

Holy crap that’s amazing! Very cool. I will no longer worry about an open bottle. 

Yeah, the general theory is that whiskey can theoretically go off after a while, and that the more air in the bottle, the more rapid the oxidization and more likely it is to taste bad. So, if you have any bottles that have only a pour or two left, you should probably finish them off sooner rather than later. You can also move the whiskey to a smaller bottle if it's something special you want to store for a very long time. There are things like gas you can insert to remove the oxygen, but how necessary that is is up for debate.

 

For what it's worth, the Old Overholt was a little over half filled when my friend found it.

[Whiskey Lullaby]

I haven’t had anything open for much more than a year and a half or so. It’s good to know I don’t have anything to worry about so I can keep buying and opening. Cause I totally agree it is a great feeling walking out of the liquor store with something I’ve been looking for! 

[Zero Cool]

Another tip is to put a couple sprays of argon gas (usually marketed as wine preserver) in the bottle.  Its heavier than oxygen, so it creates a protective barrier that prevents oxidation.  Its readily available at most liquor stores or amazon for about $10 a bottle (good for about 100 uses).

[TheNovaMan]

As long as you don't find yourself stumbling over bottles in the hallway, you don't have bottles falling out of cabinets when you open them, and you're not stashing bottles in the oven because you're out of more suitable storage spaces, you're probably doing OK.

[Vosgar]

3 hours ago, Whiskey Lullaby said:

I have about 20 or so bottles open right now. Is that too many? 

 

Too many? Nah, you're off to a good start though  

[flahute]

There is no such thing as too many opens.

[NDN98]

My opens are dependent on space, but I generally have 15-20 open at any one time.   That number includes both bourbon and Scotch.

[ondarocks]

11 hours ago, TheNovaMan said:

As long as you don't find yourself stumbling over bottles in the hallway, you don't have bottles falling out of cabinets when you open them, and you're not stashing bottles in the oven because you're out of more suitable storage spaces, you're probably doing OK.

So, is there a story here? :-)

 

[Dabbings]

Outside of more than 2 bottles of the exact same single barrel open at the same time, there is no wrong amount

[CUfan99]

1 minute ago, Dabbings said:

Outside of more than 2 bottles of the exact same single barrel open at the same time, there is no wrong amount

It would drive me nuts to have 2 of the same batched bottles open at the same time too, like 4RSB or ECSB, but that's probably just me.

[Dabbings]

You would just have to "prioritize" drinking one down, worse things could happen!

[Littlericky]

8 minutes ago, CUfan99 said:

It would drive me nuts to have 2 of the same batched bottles open at the same time too, like 4RSB or ECSB, but that's probably just me.

Agree, never two of the same batched bottles.

[Littlericky]

Nothing wrong with a good collection of 25+ bottles. Variety is the spice of life.

[kevinbrink]

Well I have over 100 open bottles of American Whiskey and if you add in other hooch (Rum, Scotch, Gin, Brandy, etc..) probably over 200. So far I haven't had one that deteriorated noticeably with the exception of an ECBP (136 proof) with a loose cork that was only 1/3 full. I have some bottles that have been open for 5 years or so. I have a can of Private Preserve that I bought to gas some of my better bottles but have yet to actually use it after two years.

[lcpfratn]

Well I have over 100 open bottles of American Whiskey and if you add in other hooch (Rum, Scotch, Gin, Brandy, etc..) probably over 200. So far I haven't had one that deteriorated noticeably with the exception of an ECBP (136 proof) with a loose cork that was only 1/3 full. I have some bottles that have been open for 5 years or so. I have a can of Private Preserve that I bought to gas some of my better bottles but have yet to actually use it after two years.

Kevin, I think you have me beat, but I am probably close to your combined total of open bottles. Most of them have been opened within the last three or four years. The only deterioration I can recall over the last decade is with a few bottles of liqueur with bad corks and low proof and a less than 1/4 full bottle of Hennessy VSOP Cognac with a loose cork, but all of them were also open at least 10 years. Of course I'm guessing that the champions of open bottles are probably tanstaafl2 or Marekv8 based on their postings in SB.

[kevinbrink]

9 minutes ago, lcpfratn said:

Kevin, I think you have me beat, but I am probably close to your combined total of open bottles. Most of them have been opened within the last three or four years. The only deterioration I can recall over the last decade is with a few bottles of liqueur with bad corks and low proof and a less than 1/4 full bottle of Hennessy VSOP Cognac with a loose cork, but all of them were also open at least 10 years. Of course I'm guessing that the champions of open bottles are probably tanstaafl2 or Marekv8 based on their postings in SB.

Agreed, from pictures alone my bunker pales in comparison, for context well over half of my bottles are open.

[lcpfratn]

Agreed, from pictures alone my bunker pales in comparison, for context well over half of my bottles are open.

I probably only have 1/5 to 1/4 of my bottles open. Much of the bunker is made up of backups of favorites sometimes purchased at bargain prices; hard to find LE and allocated bottles; multiples of various honey barrel PS selections and older bottles that have age statements or are better than the newer stuff.


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[fishnbowljoe]

The correct answer is "E". None of the above.   

 

Biba! Joe

[JoeTerp]

I have 55 open currently and don{t really worry about it.