Does the current value of a bottle prevent you from opening it?

[Clueby]

2 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Same.

They're meant to be enjoyed.

 

Disclaimer: that pic is not from my stash. They belong to a buddy of mine who feels the same way. His bunker is huge, the collection is valuable,  with a lot of expensive, rare, and hard to find bottles

He generously shares with his friends. Well, his friends who appreciate good bourbon.

 

I need better friends! 

[0895]

28 minutes ago, Clueby said:

I need better friends! 

Hey!!!

[bourbon-n00b]

I don't have a ton of rare and highly-sought after stuff but I am reticent to open the ones I do have.  I'm kinda planning on leaving the remains of my stash to my sons, either to remember dad with and/or to sell to help with college, housing down payment, honeymoon, or whatever.   I have plenty of options that I really enjoy, so leaving the more valuable ones aside for them is not really damaging me.  

[Clueby]

25 minutes ago, 0895 said:

Hey!!!

You might have done 10 recipes of Four Roses..but that guy has 10 years of Stagg!! 

[berto]

I mostly buy intending to drink but seeing the street price for something I've yet to open definitely gives me pause.  At a certain point I'm unlikely to enjoy the contents as much as I'll enjoy what selling the bottle can fetch.  Pappy or airfare for the wife and me to Europe or Hawaii or something is a tough argument for bourbon to win.  

[ccleve23]

I will go with a no on that one.  I open everything.  

[FatherOfPugs]

For me, no. Anything I have/purchase is fair game to be opened at any time, just like with my cigars. I have some very expensive cigars that I might smoke on a random Tuesday if the mood suites me. I go with the YOLO, you only live once. Cherish today, you may not have a tomorrow. The bourbon and cigars won't drink and smoke themselves when I'm gone!

[TwoFingers]

Can't say I have anything rare.  I will open most anything.  I buy to drink the stuff, not store on a shelf.  I can say that after I have had something hard to find that I like I might be a little more hesitant to open it the next time.  So, for me it is more the scarcity than the price.

[Old Hippie]

i get around to opening all my Bourbons/Ryes eventually. I try not to have more than 5 or 6 open bottles at any given time because without that discipline I could end up with a mess of partial bottles. I have some one time release Single Malts That have gained value by a factor of 5 to 10 times that I am hanging on to to give to my sons. 

[Bob_Loblaw]

15 hours ago, FatherOfPugs said:

For me, no. Anything I have/purchase is fair game to be opened at any time, just like with my cigars. I have some very expensive cigars that I might smoke on a random Tuesday if the mood suites me. I go with the YOLO, you only live once. Cherish today, you may not have a tomorrow. The bourbon and cigars won't drink and smoke themselves when I'm gone!

Funny you should mention this. I have a pretty nice stash of cigars aging.  Used to smoke a lot until Chicago went smoke free everywhere. Then basically stopped when my first child was born 3.5 years ago. Will probably return at some point down the road and have enough to never need to buy again.  They will all be very well aged by then!

[ThirstyinOhio]

The "value" of a bourbon never stops me from opening a bottle, but like others, scarcity sometimes does.  I enjoy cracking rare/special bottles with friends, but I prefer having backup before I do it.  I celebrated by 40th last month and we cracked open an AHH 16, 2007 GTS, and a Vintage 17....but I have at least one backup bottle of each so it was an easy choice to make. 

[AJ_Quinones]

What keeps me from opening some bottles is the practical impossibility of replacing.  I do have a few bottles that are in the 20 - 25 yrs but I'm just waiting for those special days (kids graduations, weedings, etc) [emoji846]

[Oli77]

I don't know. Don't have anything close to a unicorn, or a pappyesk to answer this question. I also limit my purchases to cheaper whiskeys so I guess, I will always be opening them. 

[graftonbc1]

I open everything I buy. I will drink the more scarce and expensive slower an extended time, but the secondary market never comes into play. 

[Bourserker]

If I'm being honest, yes.  I have a handful of bottles in my collection that have a significant street value.  I have told my story on here before of actually selling one to a broker, and getting that check for about 6 times what I originally paid was unbelievable.  Now I also mentioned in that story how it made me fell kinda dirty too as I'm not in this to flip bottles or make money.  However, I do like to invest in things, and the fact that I bought a lot of bottles years ago that have appreciated significantly in value does play a role in whether I decide to open any given one.  

 

So anyway, yes it is in the back of my mind and has affected me not opening a few bottles I have.  I will say at this point that I do intend to open and drink all of them though.

[Guss West]

I haven't landed any whales. 

I have a bunch of good stuff tucked away.

My intentionally small collection of open bottles is always in rotation. 

I savor opportunities to open rarities for the right occasion. 

Drink the stuff, I heard they're making more. 

[PaulO]

Overall, I would rather have labels that have been discontinued, still be in production (even if price had to be raised).  Secondary market rise in price doesn't do a lot for me.  I never purchased anything to resell.

Big secondary prices on some things will send me to the store to buy bottles I can open without thinking about.

[BigRich]

Drink the stuff, I heard they're making more. 

I love that! I’m totally stealing it.

[fosmith]

I have a couple of rare/valuable bottles that I haven't opened but only because I'm saving them for a special occasion.  I don't consider them daily or even monthly drinkers.  I have a few bottles of wine in my cellar that I bought for $33 that are now selling for $1,000.  Drank one for my last milestone birthday and it was an unforgettable experience that I would not trade for the $1K.  Gonna drink another one this year.  My plan is to drink the last bottle on my deathbed... 

[Charlutz]

I’ve never bought or sold on secondary, but I lurk on a group. It mostly (read below) doesn’t stop me from opening anything but watching the prices gives me an idea what is trending. RHF is my favorite BT2 bourbon and possibly my favorite commonly available bourbon, at least when it was available. It’s not on shelves anymore. Reason? The current secondary price is $150 plus shipping.  That KILLS me. I have a few bottles in the bunker, but now have to ask at some stores to get some from the back if I want another bottle. I’d have much rather used those store favors for something more limited but I’ll do it. 

 

Secondary has had caused me to not open some SAOS. I don’t really love it and have maybe a half dozen bottles of single barrel, some SAOS7 and one rye. The secondary prices on those bottles are stupid high. It tastes ok but not great to me. I don’t want to sell it so I’m stuck in a quandary. Maybe someday secondary will be legal instead of just weakly enforced and my mind will change. Or maybe my palate will and I’ll drink it. Or maybe I’ll get curious and open it. Until one of those things happens I shake my head at the secondary prices and the bottles gather dust in my basement. 

Edited April 20, 2019 by Charlutz

[Vosgar]

Bottles I have that go for 2-5x what I paid for them, no problem opening those. It's some of the others that have gone completely nuts that make me pause. 

 

An example: When the CEHT Warehouse C Tornado Surviving bourbon came out, I got to try it (thanks Dawn & Jon!), loved it, and bought a bunch of them. I've drank a few, but now that they're going for 15-20x what I paid for them, it makes it tough to open another one.

 

Someday I'll get over it, maybe.......

[CardsandBourbon]

The only thing that keeps me from opening a bottle is if it is hard to find and I only have one bottle.  My wife won't let me open that bottle of Old Ezra 15 y.o. that was distilled in 1966 and bottled in 1981.  It was her's when we met and doesn't get opened until she retires.

[DCFan]

13 hours ago, CardsandBourbon said:

It was her's when we met and doesn't get opened until she retires.

Which is in........?

[Kane]

Unicorns or not, there are so many good bottles to try out there that I'm actually looking forward to exhausting my stash... so that I can buy more! I don't think a GTS can replace a Baker's, for example. They all have their time and place. No point in delaying the pleasure, there's always more to be had.

[CardsandBourbon]

35 minutes ago, DCFan said:

Which is in........?

Just a shade under 3 years, unless I can talk her into retiring a little bit earlier.  Funny story about her and bourbon.  She didn't really drink it at all when I started a couple of years back.  Then she started sampling a sip of mine.  The other night she had a bit of a cold and thought maybe a little nip might help.  She grabbed a bottle of Fireball (hers not mine) and took a wee bit and thought "Wow I like the bourbon better than this".  So she is coming around and I might get her to weaken and open it early.