How do you handle your handles?

[rjg1701]

Just curious as I broke into one of my 1.75L of Eagle Rare a few days ago.  I find myself doing one of 2 different things when I crack open a handle.  Either I immediately decant the entirety, or I decant a 750ml worth and apply preserver to the larger bottle.  How does the rest of the community deal with large bottles?

[Richnimrod]

6 minutes ago, rjg1701 said:

Just curious as I broke into one of my 1.75L of Eagle Rare a few days ago.  I find myself doing one of 2 different things when I crack open a handle.  Either I immediately decant the entirety, or I decant a 750ml worth and apply preserver to the larger bottle.  How does the rest of the community deal with large bottles?

I generally pour from 'em 'til they get down about a third.    If I have yet to pour into a couple 750s by then I usually get that done soon.

[PaulO]

If it's something I want to ration, I pour most of it directly into 375ml Eagle Rare bottles.

[Postal Grunt]

The only handle around Casa de PG these days is some WT101. It has a plastic widget that makes pouring from the bottle quite easy even when the bottle has been just opened. It can't cost very much and makes me wonder if any other distillers are using that same or similar devices.

[dcbt]

Generally speaking, I don't buy them, volume discount be damned.

[GeeTen]

7 hours ago, Postal Grunt said:

The only handle around Casa de PG these days is some WT101. It has a plastic widget that makes pouring from the bottle quite easy even when the bottle has been just opened. It can't cost very much and makes me wonder if any other distillers are using that same or similar devices.

 

Ha, ha - does that make my bunker Chez du GT???   

 

 

[Clueby]

My only current open handle is Old Fitz BIB. It just stays in the handle bottle till it's eventually all gone. It actually has a handle.

I have an unopened 1.75 of Baby Saz..no handle on that one.

[Mako254]

17 hours ago, rjg1701 said:

Just curious as I broke into one of my 1.75L of Eagle Rare a few days ago.  I find myself doing one of 2 different things when I crack open a handle.  Either I immediately decant the entirety, or I decant a 750ml worth and apply preserver to the larger bottle.  How does the rest of the community deal with large bottles?

 

Preserver??

[JoeTerp]

I prefer to avoid handles as they take up a lot of space on the bar and I don't think they look as good.  

[The Black Tot]

Drink faster.

[rjg1701]

8 hours ago, Mako254 said:

 

Preserver??

Non-reactive gas that is heavier than oxygen, thus keeping it away from the spirit.  Marketed more for wine, some also use it for whiskey.

[mikeydk]

15 hours ago, dcbt said:

Generally speaking, I don't buy them, volume discount be damned.

I can't stand the look of the oversized bottles, even Eagle.  Not to mention the space they take up.  

 

I do however purchase the handles of Bulleit Rye at Costco, and fill two 750's with it and refill as the girlfriend makes a dent.  That's her rye, don't dare touch it.  

[GaryT]

I also generally don't buy them - only have 2 at the moment (Larceny from years ago when you got a rebate that made a handle about what you'd pay for a 750, and an OWA store-pick).  With the OWA, it hasn't quite got down to where I can decant it to a 750, but when it does - I'll do that.  

[fishnbowljoe]

I occasionally used to buy handles. An odd bottle here and  there, but most were ps bottles that I knew were good. Then I shied away from them for a while, mainly because they just didn’t fit too well in my (at that time new) cabinet.  When I started doing my Weller Blends, I began saving some of my empty bottles. Well..... I ended up keeping more than enough for my Weller Blends, samples, the occasional broken cork  and for decanting handles.  It’s a good thing too I guess. In the last few months a number of handles have found their way into my cabinet.  Decanted and safely tucked away, finished, or used in my Weller Blends have been:

 

Weller 12-new bottle/label

Weller 12-old bottle/label

Weller SR-old bottle/label

Buffalo Trace X2

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

[NDN98]

If I get a handle of something, it is usually a daily drinker, such as Eagle Rare, and they don't last very long.   Especially if I have friends come over.

[fishnbowljoe]

I figured I'd post a few pics. 

 

Pic #1. Three of my last five handles. FWIW, I decided to use the new label/bottle 1.75 of Weller 12 for my 2018 Weller Blend.

Pic #2. Where the decanted ones normally reside.

Pic $3. Left side, BT.

Pic #4. Right side, Weller 12.

Pic #5. My open Weller 12 along with my other open bottles.

 

Biba! Joe

[Vosgar]

I'm generally not a buyer of family size bottles, but sometimes the deals were too good to pass up. A great example was the Larceny rebate GaryT mentioned earlier. A local store had handles for $29.98, so by the time you added tax and then got the rebate, you were in for about $13. Or a few years ago when I found a couple handles of W12 for $39.99. How do you not buy them? 

 

To address the original question......I treat a handle like any other bottle, leave it alone and just keep drinking from it. If there's ever been any degradation in flavor, my palate has never noticed it

Edited February 11, 2018 by Vosgar

[0895]

hmmm....  this thread just got me thinking.

They make 1.75's of ER.

 

....dreaming of a 1.75 GTS or WLW  

HA! 

[Hop]

I'm a buyer of handles most of the time - in fact if it's a store pick and I like it I almost always go for the 1.75 as in some cases lately they've been limiting the quantity so with the handle I get 2 1/3 bottles of something I like.  

 

As far as pouring from them, I pour directly from the handle - when it's full it's a two handed operation and as the fill level goes down it gets easier.  On occasion I do pour some to a decanter depending on how many of those I have available.  

 

One thing I find odd is that from the same distillery some have pour regulators and others don't for example OWA has a regulator and BT doesn't...