All this Bourbon that I can't drink

[RedVette]

Ok, maybe can't is the wrong word, but I don't drink it for different reasons.

Reason #1; Out of production, my last unopened bottle. RR101, ER10, WT Freedom, ORVW15/107, If I drink it it will be gone, forever.

Reason #2; Out of production, opened. Once it is gone, I will have one less bottle in my collection, somehow diminishing it's coolness.

Reason #3: I paid how much for that? The Pappy's, the Distillers Masterpiece. That must be saved for "special" times.

Reason #4; One bottle left and it isn't good enough to replace. EW 1783, Old Charter Bonded, Makers Mark, If I drink them my collection will be smaller.

Reason #5; Still in production but real hard to get; Blantons barrel strength, Buffalo Trace, WT Heritage. I may not get another Blantons for a long time, so I better not drink it.

Reason #6 Yuckkk. Beam White, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam Small Batch.

That means that most nights it is OGD BIB, Beam Black, EC 12, ETL, EWSB (current edition), Wellers 12, or Corner Creek. A nice mix, but only a fraction of what is in the bar.

[clayton]

This is funny and so true. I've felt some of this creeping into my head, too. I fight it. It's dumb. If I'm not drinking it, what's the point? I find myself hoarding it anyway. At some point the greedy desire to simply *have* the stuff encroaches on the joy of drinking and sharing it. That's what I struggle against.

My solution has been, like many others on this forum, to buy multiple bottles to reduce the I'm-running-out-of-that-one fear factor.

[barturtle]

I agree, though my reasons for saving things are a little different. I have no doubt that my collection will one day be gone, as I intend to drink them all before I die.

My main reasons for holding onto bottles:

Working on a "vertical" Sazerac, EWSB (90-95)-These will at some point all be opened as a group(Wedding, college graduation, etc.)

Out of production and waiting for it to be long gone from the shelves(If I find some I grab it). I figure it will be nice to drink some extinct bottlings (much like opening up the pre-pro bottles that are sold at auction). Something about drinking stuff that is one of damn few...

Waiting for other bottlings to compare it to. Sometimes you just have a bottle that doesn't sem to fit into a tasting and you need to push it aside until such time as you have enough odd-balls to try as a group.

Now as I intend to drink it all, I need to figure out which one will be the last one left...but that will take much longer to decide...

[CrispyCritter]

Awwwwww...

It's always a good idea to have some bang-for-the-buck pours on hand - it'll make the special stuff last longer.

Still, it's easy to get carried away - my ORVW 15/107 only lasted about a month or so.

[gr8erdane]

Rob,

You've simply got to put everything in perspective. You have bottles of bourbon that many people will never have had in the future. Even after they are gone you will still have the memories. They won't. Enjoy it now. And always remember that you never really buy beer and spirits, you just rent it...

[ratcheer]

I agree 100%. Enjoying it is the point. But, I am not a collector.

Tim

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

If a doctor told me that I had six months to live and I tried to drink up all my whiskey before time ran out it would probably kill me long before the six months were up.

My heirs are likely to have to deal with a whole lot of bourbon. Not because I will have been hording it, denying myself the pleasure of drinking it, but because I won't have had time to drink all that I buy.

Ed

[kbuzbee]

I intend to drink them all before I die.

Me too, but figuring out that timing may take some work.

I expect to always acquire something I don't drink right away. When I get a shot at something I expect to be good, I buy two. I drink one fairly soon, to see if I indeed feel the way I expected to about it. If I do, I sock the other one away. If I don't, the second one often goes into a daily pour status until it's gone (or if I REALLY don't like it, it moves to the back row until I remember to try it again, funny, sometimes that time seems to improve it! Or maybe it's just me.)

Consumption oportunities always seem to present themselve on their own, but I seem to find new things to try pretty regularly. This way (like many here) my aquisitions are exceeding my consumption. It's a great place to be. I really thing this would be a harder process for me if Kentucky Spirit became to costly or not available. It gives me lots of flexibility (Like many here think about ETL, I would guess).

I honestly never worry about things being the last ever available, just about having something nice for occasions I want to celebrate.

Ken

[OneCubeOnly]

Reason #1; Out of production, my last unopened bottle. RR101, ER10, WT Freedom, ORVW15/107, If I drink it it will be gone, forever.

This is my biggest deterrent to drinking much of my stash. Not so much that I'm into collecting, but it's nice to know that particular bottle is there to go back to for resampling.

Reason #2; Out of production, opened. Once it is gone, I will have one less bottle in my collection, somehow diminishing it's coolness.

Not a motivation for me, but again I'm not a collector. To me an open bottle is the same as a closed one, it's just shelf space.

Reason #3: I paid how much for that? The Pappy's, the Distillers Masterpiece. That must be saved for "special" times.

This hits home for me too! Although the big-ticket items also seem to have the hard-or-impossible-to-replace factor to them (your Reason #5).

Reason #4; One bottle left and it isn't good enough to replace. EW 1783, Old Charter Bonded, Makers Mark, If I drink them my collection will be smaller.

I'm exactly the opposite. If it's a dud, drown it in ginger ale and thin out the herd. That bottle goes in the recycle bin ASAP.

Reason #5; Still in production but real hard to get; Blantons barrel strength, Buffalo Trace, WT Heritage. I may not get another Blantons for a long time, so I better not drink it.

Hard to replace but I love it? These are the ones that take all my storage space.

Reason #6 Yuckkk. Beam White, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam Small Batch.

Drown 'em in ginger ale. I just plain don't have the collector's mindset.

That means that most nights it is OGD BIB, Beam Black, EC 12, ETL, EWSB (current edition), Wellers 12, or Corner Creek. A nice mix, but only a fraction of what is in the bar.

Like others have said, nothing wrong with good standby easy-to-get bargain bourbons. Sometimes it's great to have a faithful friend that you don't have to concentrate on.

[Ghoste]

I laughed at reason number 6. All the reasons are true, but that one made me laugh.

[TNbourbon]

Rob, I've collected something or other -- coins/stamps, wines, decorative eggs, books, bourbons/whiskeys -- almost all of my life. So, I understand.

The coins/stamps went when I had obtained everything I could afford to buy, and my options were to lock 'em up in bank vault where nobody could enjoy them or let someone else enjoy them (AND turn them into some cash for other purposes ).

The wines have (mostly) disappeared gradually over the years, of course, with meals I've prepared, Gazebos/gatherings I've shared, or as gifts.

The eggs went via eBay when they were taking up too much space.

The books do get reread occasionally and can be organized, in a sense, in bookcases, etc., but even some of those get traded or given away.

As for the whiskeys -- well, I've opened some Wild Turkey 12yo and the Pappy 23s (and a few others) to share with some of the fine folks here, and while I regret their passing, I would regret even more not having enjoyed the whiskey or the company.

My most prized bottle at present, Rob, is a W.L. Weller 8yo BIB distilled in 1940. I don't sit around wondering what it's worth as part of my estate. I sit around wondering when will be the appropriate time to open it.

Don't cheat yourself. The only question about opening and drinking 'em is 'when'.

[Ghoste]

TN, you bring up a good point. The pleasant pour with a good friend should be a much more important memory than the fact we once owned such and such bottle of whiskey.

[RedVette]

Someday I want a room that has a wall like this.

That is one of the reasons I have a hard time with irreplaceable bottles. Yeah, I'm turning into a collector.

[barturtle]

Ah, Maker's lounge! Yeah, first time I went in there I was filled with envy. I got over it when I realized that if I stored all my bottles like that I'd have to dust them all

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Another factor to be taken into account is how swift a product can disappear off the shelves.

One year ago it seemed like every specialist shop in Europe that I know of, carried AAA 10yo. Some month ago when I started looking for a replacement to my soon-to-be-finished bottle I suddenly realized that it was all gone.

In an almost funeral-like state of mind I finished off the last drops yesterday.

With its dry dark chocolate base with elusive fruitiness dancing atop, this is a Bourbon that will be sorely missed.

[doubleblank]

Tim, I guess I have a two part collection. The "bunker" contains bourbons that I really enjoy and try to acquire as much as possible. This includes some hard to find/out of production bourbons (SW bourbon, WT Tribute, etc) and the single barrel purchases I've been apart of. Everyone of these is intended for consumption.....even that VW 17yo (Boone whiskey) I got at the auction. The other part is really more of a collection from a stricter definition. Most were not purchased because they're great whiskies. They are from long closed distilleries....brands that have disappeared....interesting bottles, etc. I sort of rotate these into a couple of display cabinets around the house. But if you see one you want to taste....then let's open it up. I just don't know if that Old Hickory 10yo (a decent sized brand from Penn)is any good.

BTW, I'm trying to "bunker" as many of Julian's older bottlings as I can for a TBA get together and taste-a-thon.

Randy

[dgonano]

I also am trying to save as many S-W distillates as possible...but only to have available for our future get-togethers. Randy gave me some good advice in a past thread as to "why keep in my inventory any item that your retailer regularly carries on his shelf?" . I stock up on the OFB, Stagg, and our personally selected BT purchases. Other items I collect are the Drew Kulsveen bottlings which I only find out of state and some e-bay purchases.

Now Rye whiskey is another matter!

[barturtle]

why keep in my inventory any item that your retailer regularly carries on his shelf?

I have a similar rule: Don't keep anything at home that you drink regularly at bars.

Keeps me from saying:"Man, that seems like it's the only thing I ever drink!"

This pretty much applies to WT 101 (and if they don't have that I fall back on JD) Mostly for pool night.

[Ken Weber]

Come visit us in Kentucky, there is plenty Ancient Ancient Age on the shelves!

Ken

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Come visit us in Kentucky, there is plenty Ancient Ancient Age on the shelves!

Ken

Or come see me, I still see it on the shelves here in Japan.

I have a few bottles bunkered, but feel it is too precious to drink since it has be discontinued. My loss. I will have to crack one of those bottles!

Ed

[camduncan]

Or come see me, I still see it on the shelves here in Japan.

Damm, I missed so many opportunities when I was in Tokyo this time last year

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Come visit us in Kentucky, there is plenty Ancient Ancient Age on the shelves!

I would be delighted to pay BT a visit, Ken. Problem is : all of my acquintances that take an interest in whisk(e)y are only into Scotch. (Confession time : I even have a close friend who is a teetotaller ).

Alas, it will be quite a feat to trick any of them to go all the way to Kentucky. Sad but true.

Ed, If you have several bottles of AAA stocked away then I definitely think you should treat yourself to one. Increases your life quality!

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Hi Hedmans,

I did open a bottle of AAA last night. Wonderful, balanced bourbon. Not quite as over the top spicy as many of my preferred pours. The cinnamon is there and the menthol too, but they are background notes rather than the primary flavor. Drinking it last night just makes me want to bunker some more while it is still available.

Ed