Half size bottles - good or bad ?

[Jan]

I’m fairly new to this hobby and am currently in the exploring fase – curious and wanting to taste the many whiskies I read and hear about.

On the other hand I can’t just indulge – work, girlfriend and all the other day to day activities that fills a life impose some constraints, (which is probably quite good for my health ) and most weeks I have just a few drams in the weekends – 2-5 on average, I think.

So, keeping in mind that one should’nt have to many bottles open at a time due to detoriation, it is slow going and I often find myself impatiently looking at the bottles in my modest collection, waiting for the time that I finally can finish a bottle and thus open the next one.

I find myself whishing that there were more halfbottles (35 cl) on the shelfes of the shops I frequent. It would obviously make it possible to buy and taste more different distilleries & expressions and help a lot to finish a bottle in due time.

And therefore this poll. I’m simply curious to hear your thoughts on this – do you find smaller bottlings desirable or do you think that the standard 70 cl bottle is the optimal size ?

[hpulley]

About the only bottler selling half sizes around here is Signatory and the ones in half bottles have not tended to be great and they're priced like some cheaper full bottles so one wonders why to buy them? And they have bad screw caps that don't even last the number of openings provided by 35cL of liquor.

A few others have 20cL bottles which is also a decent size.

I'd like smaller bottles to be available but only if its good whisky with a decent closure.

Harry

[Paul A Jellis]

I don't have many half bottles, but I do like the Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 20cl bottles.

There are a great way to sample some wonderful whiskies without paying out on a full size bottle. You can always get a full size bottle later if you really like the whisky.

Cheers

Paul

[Frodo]

I don't like 350-375ml size. Those bottles usually cost more per unit than the large bottles, and there's too much left if you don't like the stuff. I'm much more interested in the 200ml sizes where although you pay a premium in price/unit, not much gets wasted if it doesn't agree with you.

Mini's (50ml) don't give me enough of a chance to sample the dram IMHO.

[Deactivated Member]

I have halves of G&M Cask, a Bruichladdich and a Port Ellen, which I bought at Elgin. I could not have afforded to buy or carry both if they had been full size. The OMC 20's are great, too. Either is groovy with me, and I'd love to see more, especially when I'm in Scotland and weight and customs are considerations. I bought the Balvenie 3 x 20cl set, mainly for the one bottle of 25. I agree a 5cl mini is not really enough to form a judgment on. The Glenrothes minis are 10cl, which is about the minimum for a fair sample.

[corbuso]

I haven't bough any 35 cl bottles so far, but I have bought the bowmore set (different age set) and the classic malt set in 20 cl (200ml). I find it very convenient to try different whiskies before going for a full size bottle. Therefore I would be very happy to see more small size bottles.

[ikendal]

The only reason I have not purchased half sized bottles if the value for money issue.
I pefer to get more whisky for my money, even if this means having a duff bottle sitting on my shelf e.g. ledaig. (at least I have something for my father-in-law to drink!)
As someone said earier Bruichladdich bottle is available in half sizes, not sure on the value for money.

[lambda]

I do like the half size (or 20cl) bottles as they require only a little bit extra money for value around here, especially compared to miniatures. Sometimes they can be quite special too, such as the Signatory Caol Ila 1993 (10yo), which is probably the most medicinal caol ila I ever had. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find a full bottle of it (nor another half bottle). So it can be frustrating.

Oh, and I second the screwcap issue; they are indeed terrible..

[Lawrence]

We only have a three smaller size bottles here, JW Red, Glenlivet and Glenfiddich so it's not really and issue. However I generally prefer the larger size bottles and have little use for the smaller ones.

[karlejnar]

Half size bottles is a good idea provided that they get cork instead of screwcap.
But I also like the 20cl bottles, you can get from some distillers and bottlers. I have seen some set's of 3 from Bruichladdich, Balvenie, Glenfiddich which is a nice idea as well, as you can try 3 different expressions. The OMC "samples" is another great way of tasting a malt before deciding to buy a full size.

So far I have only had Bladnoch "Sheep" in a halfbottle using cork instead of cap. And this can only be purchased in their distillery shop afaik. It's a nice slim and high bottle. They got them for their first trial of handbottling straight from the cask on site. Since it went well they continued with bottling full size bottles for the shop. But that's another story.

BTW Jan - have you seen the best danish whisky-site: http://www.whiskynyt.dk/

[Jan]

Hi Karlejnar

Yes, thank you, I check it almost daily, but have not posted there yet. I'm not much of a poster and this forum is more lively.

Have you seen the news about Scotspain ?

Do you know if any DK stores carry the OMC samples ?

/Jan

[Jan]

Hi all

Thanks for your feedback. I had not thought about the 20cl size, but you're right, that is also a good size for trying out new malts.

I agree, that price/unit value is a concern, but considering the alternative: Buying a 2 cl dram at a pub at a much higher price/unit it is not much of a concern for me.

I have not seen many 20/35 cl bottle sizes locally. Do any of you know an (international) online retailer, that carries a selection ?

/Jan

[Aidan]

I think there should be more of these, although miniatures are also a good way to go if you want to try before you buy.

[patrick dicaprio]

i am in the habit of buying bottles just to taste a whisky, as i am sure most of us here are, and it would be great if i didnt have to waste a whole bottle on bad whiskies, which unfortunately i have run into in my last few purchases.

Pat

[Doug1937]

There must be 1000+ expressions of Scotch whisky available, and of those, there probably are about 100 that I'd buy repeatedly. Thus, I'd much prefer it if I could buy the majority of them in 375ml bottles instead of the traditional 750ml bottle. It'd save me a lot of money, but it'd cost the distilleries quite a lot, which I imagine is the reason why they aren't much available in smaller sizes.

Meh.

[Deactivated Member]

When I see a half bottle, I just can't help focusing on the half bottle that's not there.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I tend to drink a half bottle much quick in ratio to a full bottle....

... I don't know if that is a good or bad thing

[Newbie]

I think 20cl bottles are a great idea. Not only can you get a chance to try the whisky but it would allow me to buy whiskies I would never afford had they been in a full size bottle.

By only concern is the cost per unit ratio as these 20cl bottles would be more costly.

[hilliamash]

I have to admit that it would be nice to have more of the 1/2 sizes when trying something new. Less of a gamble than otherwise!

[Gov]

I want to see more single malts in 1.75L bottles. I want to swim in it!

[hilliamash]

Laughing!! Perfect, Gov!

[OKDiver1]

When I see a half bottle, I just can't help focusing on the half bottle that's not there.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Nick. I buy quite a few bottles from Europe, and am always sort of bothered by the missing 5cl -- compared to the 75cl bottles we have here in the US .
It is like throwing one perfectly sized dram away just for crossing the pond. Of course the opposite must be true as well.

[Muskrat Portage]

I used to carry a Glenlivet mickey (aka half sized bottle) around in my briefcase when I travelled out of town for the justice branch. It was the right size to fit and if I got stranded overnight, had a tipple for the evening.

At one point it was cheaper to buy two of the mickey's than the larger 26er of Glenlivet at the local LCBO. The only time I don't like smaller bottles is when they charge a 750 ml price for a 500 ml bottle, (Artisan cask Glenmo leaps to mind).

Generally the 1/2 size bottles are a good cost effective option if they are available in your market area. They allow you to enjoy something without paying the premium price for the larger bottles: 700ml, 750ml, 1 L.

Muskrat Portage

[vengey]

The price factor isn't too important to me and I wouldn't usually buy the smaller bottles for myself. I tend to look at them and feel there is half a bottle missing

However, They do make nice gifts. If I enjoy a bottle, I will sometimes buy a half bottle of it and gave it to relatives on their birthdays. That way I know what I'm giving them, knowing a whole bottle isn't wasted if they don't like and well, since it isn't for me, the cost I guess

[Doug1937]

When I see a half bottle, I just can't help focusing on the half bottle that's not there.

Can someone explain this to me? I can't see that it makes any sense.

[bamber]

It's a reference to the idea that some people see the glass half empty whilst others see it half full.

Nick is indicating that he has a pessimistic outlook.

[Klas]

I have recently starting to appreciate the smaller bottles. I find the 70 or 100 cl size perfect when I know that I like the content. But when I want to sample new things the smaller bottles are really good idea. The 5 cl bottles are a bit small so 20 or 35 cl seem better. I wish that there were 10 cl bottles for sale, which would be a really good sampling size for me.