The ebbs and flows of hobbies....is there a consistency among whiskey aficianados?

[WhiskeyProposition]

I've had various hobbies (there's probably a more fitting word, but I'll stick with hobbies for the sake of discussion)....watches, whiskey, etc. When I got into watches, I bought this, bought that, more than once got to points where I felt I knew exactly where the hobby was going, only to change course and stop buying, start selling, stop selling, start buying, etc.

 

For those of you who have been in the whiskey hobby for decades, what has your general experience been? Have you just steadily grown your collection until it needs its own room? Have you ever reached a point where you've made some definitive choice and stuck to it (ie: I'm only interested in keeping a dozen bottles that I love and maybe limit yourself to a dozen assorted ones that you just have to try as they're released)?

 

I know it's a super broad question with probably a slew of different answers, but just curious where your journey has taken you.

[0895]

Honestly, I hate the "collection / stash / hoard" or whatever you want to call it.

I was much happier 10 years ago, when I didn't add any bottles on the shelf until a bottle got emptied.  I kept around 15-20 bottles on the bar and would go buy whatever I wanted to try when I had space.

The "collection" started when I noticed things I like disappearing from shelves.

My fear of not being able to drink what I want someday down the road took over and the collection grew exponentially out of control from there.

 

This past holiday season, I inventoried everything and realized there was no reason to keep shopping on the regular anymore.

I still buy stuff on occasion, but I no longer make rounds or "hunt" and chase things down.

Like any addiction, its a hard habit to break (bottle hunting).  I'm slowly teaching myself that I don't need to try everything and I definitely don't need a full bottle of my own for things I'm just curious to taste.

Edited June 20, 2022 by 0895

[WhiskeyProposition]

1 hour ago, 0895 said:

Honestly, I hate the "collection / stash / hoard" or whatever you want to call it.

I was much happier 10 years ago, when I didn't add any bottles on the shelf until a bottle got emptied.  I kept around 15-20 bottles on the bar and would go buy whatever I wanted to try when I had space.

The "collection" started when I noticed things I like disappearing from shelves.

My fear of not being able to drink what I want someday down the road took over and the collection grew exponentially out of control from there.

 

This past holiday season, I inventoried everything and realized there was no reason to keep shopping on the regular anymore.

I still buy stuff on occasion, but I no longer make rounds or "hunt" and chase things down.

Like any addiction, its a hard habit to break (bottle hunting).  I'm slowly teaching myself that I don't need to try everything and I definitely don't need a full bottle of my own for things I'm just curious to taste.

 

I can completely relate. I don't hate my collection but there are a number of bottles both open and closed that I wish I didn't have or will give away. Not because they're bad, I would just rather drink something wise. 

[Skinsfan1311]

10 hours ago, 0895 said:

Honestly, I hate the "collection / stash / hoard" or whatever you want to call it.

I was much happier 10 years ago, when I didn't add any bottles on the shelf until a bottle got emptied.  I kept around 15-20 bottles on the bar and would go buy whatever I wanted to try when I had space.

The "collection" started when I noticed things I like disappearing from shelves.

My fear of not being able to drink what I want someday down the road took over and the collection grew exponentially out of control from there.

 

This past holiday season, I inventoried everything and realized there was no reason to keep shopping on the regular anymore.

I still buy stuff on occasion, but I no longer make rounds or "hunt" and chase things down.

Like any addiction, its a hard habit to break (bottle hunting).  I'm slowly teaching myself that I don't need to try everything and I definitely don't need a full bottle of my own for things I'm just curious to taste.

I never hunted, but have built a sizeable collection over the years and probably have enough whiskey to last in this lifetime.   Other than replenishing a few staples, I rarely buy whiskey anymore.   The exceptions are the occasional "special" bottle, and/or a pick from a local LS,(and from a couple of friends picks), whose palates align with my own.     Earlier in the year, I went through everything.   Our youngest benefited greatly, as I "thinned the herd" and gave him several bottles.    We're also making a concerted effort to cull open bottles.    I've never really had the fear of running out of something that I enjoy drinking, as there are a ton of great whiskeys out there.    

[PhantomLamb]

Cool to see another watch nerd on the forum. I’m only 5 years in and I’ve been at zen for the last year, only going out of my way for odds and ends.

[Kepler]

On 6/19/2022 at 9:06 PM, 0895 said:

Honestly, I hate the "collection / stash / hoard" or whatever you want to call it.

I was much happier 10 years ago, when I didn't add any bottles on the shelf until a bottle got emptied.  I kept around 15-20 bottles on the bar and would go buy whatever I wanted to try when I had space.

The "collection" started when I noticed things I like disappearing from shelves.

My fear of not being able to drink what I want someday down the road took over and the collection grew exponentially out of control from there.

 

This past holiday season, I inventoried everything and realized there was no reason to keep shopping on the regular anymore.

I still buy stuff on occasion, but I no longer make rounds or "hunt" and chase things down.

Like any addiction, its a hard habit to break (bottle hunting).  I'm slowly teaching myself that I don't need to try everything and I definitely don't need a full bottle of my own for things I'm just curious to taste.

 

I can relate too.  For me "bottle acquisition" definitely became an addiction. That's the word for it.  Ironically I never wanted a "collection," ... I just wanted to find my way through different bottles.  Somewhere along the line I got sidetracked.

 

[JakeySnakes]

I too would count watches as one of many hobbies. With watches, the cost of the hobby is much higher to be active in than bourbon. In the early days of my watch hobby/interest, I bought and sold a few (a couple I wish I kept) while I figured out what I wanted/liked. I've settled into a 3 watch collection that I know I can maintain...but no doubt I'm still on the watch blogs/sites. I'm just way, way more discerning with purchases. With bourbon, it becomes much less of an investment, at least for me, and the stuff I like to drink daily is on the cheap side. And it won't ding the savings to grab a nice bottle or two here and there.

[Old Hippie]

Like most of you I do not look at the bottles of opened or unopened bottles as a hobby. I have what I have for various reasons but have yet to pay more than normal retails for anything, and I do not chase unicorns.

I do however, collect antique cooper's tools and branded water pitchers. My wife and I enjoy going into antique stores wherever we go and I focus on those two areas. Neither of these pursuits are very expensive and neither are in great supply so it becomes a fun hunt. I have about 20 cooper's tools and about 30 water pitchers. Most of the water pitchers are of the scotch variety. 

[B.B. Babington]

ebbs and flows?  I'd say just increase.  That's small fib as lately slowed down on both drink and purchase.  Still doing both but been a while since neighbors found me passed out on their front porch.

[yobber76]

Early on my goal was to taste as many different bourbons as I could.

As you would expect, some were "one and done", some became regular restocks, and some of them are FOMO buys, where I have plenty

of a bourbon, but can't turn down buying it if I see it anywhere near MSRP. Occassionally, I'll even buy a bottle at a high price, like Blanton's or Weller 12 yr

just because it's there, and it's "reasonable", like $100 a bottle. FOMO says if you don't buy it at that price, next time you see it the price will be higher. 

Recently, I have tried to stop buying completely, and just work off inventory. And while I am shopping and buying less, I can't completely

stop making the occassional rounds to stores where I have had success. And inevitably, I buy something.

 

All this being said, my collection of bottles continues to creep up, not down. Hard habit to break.

[fishnbowljoe]

Lord, I could make this a really long post, but………

 

MM was my gateway bourbon umpteen years ago. What goes around comes around. I’m once again enjoying it immensely. When I first started out, I had a pretty good idea of what I liked, but I didn’t listen to my inner voice. I had to try anything and everything. I bought a helluva lot of bottles over the years just ‘cause, or for FOMO. Thankfully, and for the most part, I eventually came to my senses. Nowadays, I try to limit myself to buying mostly my favorite bourbons, but like many others, there are times I just can’t resist temptation. My favorite bourbons are BIB’s, Old Forester bourbons, BT bourbons, and of course, wheaters. One of the reasons I joined Straightbourbon was to try and find the “perfect” bourbon. The good news is that I found the “perfect” bourbon. Many times.  

 

Wheeeeeeeeeew!

 

 

Biba! Joe

[berto]

My acquisitions far surpassed my consumption leading to me having more than I can possibly drink over the second half of my life.  I went from “hey, that’s new I should try it” to making a conscious decision to buy less.  With the market only getting sillier every year and more new stuff flooding it every month it was a prudent choice.  I’ve skipped the line extensions for seemingly everything under the sun.  I generally ignore the hot new NDP stuff.  Group picks are fun but there are so many so I pick and choose.  Hunting was never my thing.  It’s not that I don’t want that stuff it’s that it’s too much work for an uncertain reward.  They keep making whisky.  I can’t make time. I had a spot or two where I got what I wanted within reason for years.  They closed or changed policy or pricing model so I quit worrying about it.  If I stumble onto something great.  If I miss the latest iteration so be it.  There are times when I look back and think I would have been just fine going no deeper than the Maker’s and Wild Turkey of my youth.  What makes me happy I went deeper is the memories.  Amazing pours for sure but much more the good times sharing all manner of things with the friends I’ve made along the way.  They’re a welcoming generous lot and the real reason I’m still involved.

[Shizzy]

22 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

My favorite bourbons are BIB’s, Old Forester bourbons, BT bourbons, and of course, wheaters. 

 

 

Biba! Joe

So to kill two birds with one stone...have ya tried McKenzie Wheated BiB out of Finger Lakes Distilling?  I know when I drink this product, I forget all about the Weller I used to be able to get. 

[fishnbowljoe]

28 minutes ago, Shizzy said:

So to kill two birds with one stone...have ya tried McKenzie Wheated BiB out of Finger Lakes Distilling?  I know when I drink this product, I forget all about the Weller I used to be able to get. 

I’ll keep my eyes open. Thanks @Shizzy.

 

Biba! Joe

[fosmith]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:17 PM, Shizzy said:

So to kill two birds with one stone...have ya tried McKenzie Wheated BiB out of Finger Lakes Distilling?  I know when I drink this product, I forget all about the Weller I used to be able to get. 

Shizzy, Are you talking about the 2019 batch?  I loved that release.  It was amazing and definitely a Weller killer.  When the new batch came out in 2021 I bought two bottles and what a disappointment it was, undrinkable with a musty, dirty funkiness.  I complained to K&L and they took back the bottles and refunded me.  The spirits buyer later told me that they had had a number of similar complaints and that he had also found it flawed.  He said they returned all their remaining stock to the distributor.  So, buyer beware...

[fosmith]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:47 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

I’ll keep my eyes open. Thanks @Shizzy.

 

Biba! Joe

Joe, see my above reply to Shizzy and proceed with caution.

Edited June 30, 2022 by fosmith

[Clueby]

Most other "hobbies" I've dabbled in have ebbed and flowed quite a bit.  I used to collect drinking glasses from travels as well as all the "series" of glasses that were popular in the 70's (DC comics from Pizza Hut I think, Muppets, etc.)  However those started taking up a LOT of space.  Got rid of most of them but still have a few sets stashed of certain things.  My wife got really into stuff like carnival glass which also starts to take up a LOT of space.  I play drums and wouldn't call myself a collector but I have a fair amount and of course drums are big.  I haven't added anything major in quite a while..just consumables like heads and sticks.  We've started collecting pins from our travels as they are small but surprisingly hard to display effectively. Started BBQ'ing more but that's more lifestyle than collecting anything.  The guns and ammo scarcity scare caused me to increase my "bunker" a bit in 2020-21 but not actively adding much to it now.

 

Bourbon started out around the 2012-2014 mark when I started noticing that things I was buying regularly like OWA and the occasional W12 seemed to suddenly start disappearing from shelves.  I never knew there was this huge world of bourbon beyond the few things that I liked.  My buying probably peaked in the 2016-17 timeframe and has ebbed quite a bit from then.  I seem to stay in that 125-150 bottle range.  A bottle or 3 get finished and replaced by another 2 or 3.  I might go several months without buying anything and then buy a few bottles at once.

 

Not sure what my point is here...other than I need cheaper hobbies!!

[flahute]

8 hours ago, fosmith said:

Shizzy, Are you talking about the 2019 batch?  I loved that release.  It was amazing and definitely a Weller killer.  When the new batch came out in 2021 I bought two bottles and what a disappointment it was, undrinkable with a musty, dirty funkiness.  I complained to K&L and they took back the bottles and refunded me.  The spirits buyer later told me that they had had a number of similar complaints and that he had also found it flawed.  He said they returned all their remaining stock to the distributor.  So, buyer beware...

Oh yes I do remember your experience. It's at TW currently and I keep passing it up because of your advice. 

[Shizzy]

17 hours ago, fosmith said:

Shizzy, Are you talking about the 2019 batch?  I loved that release.  It was amazing and definitely a Weller killer.  When the new batch came out in 2021 I bought two bottles and what a disappointment it was, undrinkable with a musty, dirty funkiness.  I complained to K&L and they took back the bottles and refunded me.  The spirits buyer later told me that they had had a number of similar complaints and that he had also found it flawed.  He said they returned all their remaining stock to the distributor.  So, buyer beware...

I've not known K&L to have the bottled in bond wheated.  Only single barrels.  I've had at least three different bottles of their BiB and all have been outstanding.  The last one I purchased was from TW about 3 weeks ago.  Just about worked halfway through it now.

[fosmith]

5 hours ago, Shizzy said:

I've not known K&L to have the bottled in bond wheated.  Only single barrels.  I've had at least three different bottles of their BiB and all have been outstanding.  The last one I purchased was from TW about 3 weeks ago.  Just about worked halfway through it now.

Well, my experience was a little over a year ago so current stock may be a different batch.  Hopefully, it was a one time occurrence.  If it's back to its 2019 form, it's a worthy buy.  BTW, I did get both the 2019 and the 2021 wheated BiB at K&L.  I haven't seen it there since then though. 

[Harry in WashDC]

On 6/30/2022 at 5:31 PM, fosmith said:

Shizzy, Are you talking about the 2019 batch?  I loved that release.  It was amazing and definitely a Weller killer.  When the new batch came out in 2021 I bought two bottles and what a disappointment it was, undrinkable with a musty, dirty funkiness.  I complained to K&L and they took back the bottles and refunded me.  The spirits buyer later told me that they had had a number of similar complaints and that he had also found it flawed.  He said they returned all their remaining stock to the distributor.  So, buyer beware...

Reminds me of the much anticipated arrival of Smooth Ambler's Big Level.  Those of us who liked SA's Yearling at 1 plus then 2 plus years thought it'd be a smash at 4 or 5.  Boy, howdy, did WE miss the mark.  To build on fishbowljoe's remarks, though, my wheated allegiances have moved almost exclusively to store picks of MM releases.  Even the average releases taste better than average to me.

[mbroo5880i]

My favorite hobby used to be soccer.  Now it is farting in unsuspecting co-worker's offices and blaming it on someone else.  After that, bourbon is my second hobby.  My wife wants gardening to be my hobby but that is work.  It is almost like I have two jobs.  Farting in co-workers offices and gardening.  

[flahute]

[fishnbowljoe]

2 hours ago, mbroo5880i said:

My favorite hobby used to be soccer.  Now it is farting in unsuspecting co-worker's offices and blaming it on someone else.  After that, bourbon is my second hobby.  My wife wants gardening to be my hobby but that is work.  It is almost like I have two jobs.  Farting in co-workers offices and gardening.  

 

1 hour ago, flahute said:

 

LOLOLOLOL………! 
 

Post of the year consideration @flahute?

Biba! Joe

[flahute]

1 hour ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

 

LOLOLOLOL………! 
 

Post of the year consideration @flahute?

Biba! Joe

It's up there for sure!