Who here has given up on buying every bottle you come across?

[MM818]

I have to think I’m getting a good value on something I buy. It doesn’t have to be srp, but I’m not going to get ripped off by a greedy liquor store owner.

 

I was on Ventura Blvd the other day and I came across a store that had the highest prices I’ve ever seen.  Great selection, terrible prices. 

 

I dont think the developing world is going to take to American whiskey in the next few years. I’ve read enough about the coming glut to be satisfied living off my bunker until the tables turn. 

[PaulO]

It came across me during my first visit to Liquor Barn in Louisville years ago.  Among other things, they had shelves of NAS 80 proof brands I had never seen before.  I had to ask myself, do you want to collect labels or drink whiskey that tastes good?

I won't buy something new to me unless several other people here (whose opinions I value) like it, or if I myself trust the source and feel it should be well within my wheel house.  Higher price items had better have extra age and or proof to justify the premium.

[flahute]

1 hour ago, PaulO said:

or drink whiskey that tastes good?

Yes to this. This is Zen.

[Shizzy]

I could be a happy man living on WT101 and ECBP.  I don't.....but I could.  I don't chase everything anymore.  I've dialed in what I like and dislike.  Forget the allocated annual release unicorns.  That's for the birds.  The real unicorns are the store picks that you share with your friends and wish you'd had enough money to buy the entire barrel yourself.

 

I also may have an acute case of Whiskirexia nervosa.  Always fear that things like JBDC will actually be a limited edition or that the latest bottle change of WT101 will actually cause a price spike.  For these reasons, I pack rat.  But at least these are known quality spirits that I enjoy in my life on the daily.  I only have so many sips left in this lifetime.  No sense having any of those sips be awful or underwhelming.

[fosmith]

7 hours ago, Shizzy said:

I could be a happy man living on WT101 and ECBP. 

That's not a bad end of life scenario... 

[Chefjohn]

When I first began to really get into bourbon I fell into the “trap” I think many newbies do of buying  every single bourbon they see or hear any talk about and if I’ve learned anything from this forum it’s that a good bourbon doesn’t have to be expensive and an expensive bourbon isn’t necessarily going to be good. I’ve given up looking for the elusive unicorns and now just stay with seeking out good bourbon that won’t require a second mortgage. I’ve learned quite a bit from the veterans here that has helped me choose the good path on my bourbon journey. 

[Jazzhead]

I may be in the minority, but I don't pine for what once was.   I think the quality and variety of American bourbon is higher and better today than it has ever been.    These days,  I buy what I like and what strikes my fancy, usually no more than one bottle at a time.    I haven't had many duds lately.     

[Cornmuse]

On 2/26/2020 at 12:40 PM, Jazzhead said:

I may be in the minority, but I don't pine for what once was.   I think the quality and variety of American bourbon is higher and better today than it has ever been.    These days,  I buy what I like and what strikes my fancy, usually no more than one bottle at a time.    I haven't had many duds lately.     

This is a perfect summation, imho.  I try to stay either at MSRP or maybe at a prevailing regional price if its reasonable and I want the contents.  I've never flipped a bottle in my life.  It I'm buying it, I'm drinking it.

 

Despite repeated attempts, overpriced bottles of "the best... blows away everything else" whiskies (and wines, cognacs, craft beers, vacuum tube audio amplifiers, or sports cars by extension) haven't changed my life.  I've had enough unicorns to know that I'm going to be the same guy when I wake up the next day.