How many open bottles do you normally have?

[pavv]

I am in the "are you crazy?" category..... I always have thirty-someting bottles open....

And that is a little too much as I only finish about one (1) bottle a month. So if I stop opening bottles right now, I'll have till around the end of 2009 before I run out of open bottles

The good news is that I seem to have this problem under control because the number of open bottles has been around this number for about a year now.

Now I only have to find a way to cut down on my purchases....

[woodhill]

My open Bottle list as of 26/10/07

1 Ardbeg 10yr SMSW
2 Asda Single Malt SMSW
3 Balvenie Portwood 1991 SMSW
4 Blair Athol RM 27yr SMSW
5 Bowmore 12yr SMSW
6 Bowmore Dewer Rattray 14yr SMSW
7 Bunnahabhain 12yr SMSW
8 Cameron Brig Grain
9 Cardhu Pure Malt 12yr SMSW
10 Chivas Regal 18yr Blend
11 Crown Royal Canadian
12 Dalwhinnie 15yr SMSW
13 Drumguish 12yr SMSW
14 Finlaggen Old Reserve SMSW
15 Glen Deveron 1991 15yr SMSW
16 Glen Farclas Heritage SMSW
17 Glen Moray Chardonnay SMSW
18 Glenburgie G&M 10yr SMSW
19 Glenfiddich 1991 SMSW
20 Glenlivet 18yr SMSW
21 Glenlivet Nadurra 16yr SMSW
22 Glenlivet French Oak Reserve 15yr SMSW
23 Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban SMSW
24 Glenmorangie Sherry Wood SMSW
25 Glenmorangie Golden Rum 12yr SMSW
26 Highland Park 12y SMSW
27 Inchgower Dewer Rattray 25yr SMSW
28 J&B 15yr Blend
29 Knockando 1988 18yr SMSW
30 Laphroaig Feis Isle 1989 17yo SMSW
31 Laphroaig 15 Yo SMSW
32 Laphroaig Cask Strength 10yr SMSW
33 Macleods Islay 8yr SMSW
34 Oban 14yr SMSW
35 Rosebank RM 1981 20yr SMSW
36 Scapa 14yr SMSW
37 Speyburn 10yr SMSW
38 Strathclyde Dewer Rattray 37yo Grain
39 The Six Isles Blend

[pmullin]

I'm probably hovering around 20 open bottles, including a mix of single malts, a couple blends, as well as a few Irish whiskeys and Bourbons.

Lately, I have tried to check my impulse to open any new purchase to try it right away. I have been somewhat successful, but my bottle of George T. Stagg has started whispering "open me, open me,..." and my Glengoyne Scottish Oak is chiming in as well.

[meni]

I currently have about 39 bottles. I find it to difficult not after all its not going to go bad if its open so why not?

Meni. I notice from you picture you have the Kirkland 19yo Macallan whats this like?
I've been toying with the idea of buying one?

Dear Woodhill
I don't think that the 19 years is available anymore. it was a very good value, can not be compared to the 18 years so much because the 18 is more intense and powerful , both in nose and pellet . the 19 is extremely smooth with chocolate notes and light on the cherry .

[S_tan_De_mon]

Hello all:

Being a compulsive/obsessive drammer and collector, I hesitated to post a comment lest I sound rather crazy. Since I do pour drams occasionally for my customers at my business as well as host PLOWED gatherings from time to time, I keep a rather large number of open bottles at my store (which has nothing to do with the spirits business). Suffice to say the number of open bottles is very comfortably over 50. Since February, I've soaked off approx. 60 labels from empty bottles FWIW.

Slainte!

S'tan

[matthew2512]

i usually have about 10 bottles open because i like to have variety to choose from, but i do notice some negative effects on the whisky if the bottle has been open for more than a few months once the level drops below half way. so im now trying to cut down to having about 3 or 4 bottles open at a time.

[K-Mile]

i usually have about 10 bottles open because i like to have variety to choose from, but i do notice some negative effects on the whisky if the bottle has been open for more than a few months once the level drops below half way. so im now trying to cut down to having about 3 or 4 bottles open at a time.

Or drink faster

[Deactivated Member]

Personally, at home hardly ever more than 3, usually 0-1. Although this evening I will be sampling 8 different drams!

At my pub, that is a different matter, almost 60.
MT

[IainB]

I reckon I've 25-30 open. There's one or two with only 1 drink taken that I didn't like so they may remain like that for some time. What do other people do with bottles they don't like?

I'm not going to count them in case it's more than that and I feel compelled to go on a binge to get the number down. On the other hand.......

If I don't post for a few days you'll know what's happened.

[Thesh]

If I have a bottle, it's open. I like trying new things... That leaves me with 70+ bottles, all open.

[pkt77242]

I have 18 open with about six of those under 1/3. Of course I have 11 unopened ready to take their place when their done and Christmas is just around the bend I am sure that I will be adding a few more.

Sean

[I_SPEY]

I haven now seven open bottles:

The Claymore - a very nice blended whisky
Hankey Bannister - a very, very nice blended whisky
Johnny Walker Black Label - well known
Millstone - a good Dutch whisky!
Talisker 18 yo - one of my favourites!
Glenmorangie ten years old - good too
Highland Park 18 yo. - top of the bill!

Normally, I haven ten to twelve open bottles and 4 - 8 new ones.

As a nice ending of this, read my signature.....

[K-Mile]

At the moment, I have 25 bottles, of which 12 are open. This is increasing, and I expect it to continue to do so, since there is just too much good stuff to taste. Especially with the online tastings, I get a couple of bottles which I open right away. So that adds up...

But most of the 'special' bottles (Port Ellens, Laga 21, HP30) stay closed, at least for now.

[Knolly]

Thank god - after reading this thread, I don't feel like a total moron for having too many bottles open.

i've starting buying two bottles if I can afford it of certain whiskies, so that I have one that I can open and one for later. however, when the bottle is expensive, this is hard to do i.e. - I just picked up one of these:

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/produc ... 0000029543

and there is no way that I could have afforded to purchase two of them (and this one WON'T be opened for a LONG TIME)!

I have about 35 - 40 open bottles, but I'm also a Tequila lover too, so it's almost like having a whole second hobby: because tequila has so many different flavours just like whisky, it's kind of difficult to only have a few bottles of each Tequila and Whisky open. Recently I just started getting into Grappa as well - the good ones are stunning, but very hard to find. i can now see me having a few of those open as well!

also, my drinking frequency is hugely variable: some weeks I'll have whisky every night; sometimes I'll go a couple of weeks without touching it.

Maybe I should look into getting a can of compressed Argon and just flood the bottles - it's cheap and would be easy to do.

The other thing, is that we probably all have a bunch of youngish whiskies open that are readily available at stores: Ardbeg 12, Macallan 12, Abunad'h, Talisker 10, Longmorn 15, lappy 10 / CS / QC, Laga 16, Balvennie Doublewood etc... To me, having an open bottle of one of these cheaper staples is not as big a deal as having an open bottle of Laphroaig 30 because of the massive difference in cost and availability. Some of them are early bottles that I bought as well, when I didn't really know my tastes and what I like, so they're open but I don't really care for them: Old Pulteny, one of those awful perfumey Bowmore Darkests, Highland Park 18 (ya, i know - sacrilege - but I'm just not a fan!), Craggenmore 12 which is OK, but again, not my fav...

AND, sometimes it's HARD not to open a bottle. When I picked up a Talisker DE last month, i just HAD to open it and compare it to my other two DEs (Oban and Lagavulin).

Cheers!

[Deactivated Member]

I try to keep to 15 or under.

[vlodko]

Let's see - I've got...

Caol Ila 12 year
Highland Park 12 year
Glenrothes 1987
Balvenie 21 year
Eagle Rare 10 year

...that makes 5.

I was going to ask whether anyone thought there was a problem keeping a bunch of half full bottles open (contact with air changing the nose and palate), but seeing that many of you have a lot more open tells me that it must not be a problem - right?

[jazz lover]

around 6 open
around 600 unopen

[Ganga]

It's not surprising that you are taking your time to finish the Garioch 8 yo. I found it to be a very one dimensional beverage and if that one thing isn't something you care for well.... The 10 yo also seems to be very single in its nature.

[mattbuty]

I have a few open, and a few more will get opened on my birthday, and of course at Christmas. but I don't open them for their own sake.

Firstly is the space issue, and also I believe some whiskies go a bit flat towards the last quarter of the bottle, and I want to drink them and really think about them when I do so.

I find at first I can really like something, and then go off it a bit, like the new quinta rubana, or conversely in the case of the Edradour, not like it, and then really warm to its oily palate.

Too many open whisky bottles would over complicate this for me, and if I want something different, I have an excellent pub just up the road.

[hook55]

1. like to finish one before I open another.

[Willie JJ]

so, to sort of highjack the thread, anyway I can filter it or should I not bother with a half filled glen garioch 8? do you think it's food (doesn't look like it and would have deteriorated by now) or pieces of cork?

Whatever it is LSD a coffee filter paper will remove it and restore your confidence in the dram.

I currently have about 39 bottles. I find it to difficult not after all its not going to go bad if its open so why not?

Meni. I notice from you picture you have the Kirkland 19yo Macallan whats this like?
I've been toying with the idea of buying one?

Dear Woodhill
I don't think that the 19 years is available anymore. it was a very good value, can not be compared to the 18 years so much because the 18 is more intense and powerful , both in nose and pellet . the 19 is extremely smooth with chocolate notes and light on the cherry .

Its still available in UK Costco and after that review I may just try one.

I reckon I've 25-30 open. There's one or two with only 1 drink taken that I didn't like so they may remain like that for some time. What do other people do with bottles they don't like?

Iain if I don't like a dram I instantly doubt my judgement and try another. Then, if my opinion is unchanged, I brood on it for a few days and always decide that I'm just not giving it a fair chance. Then I will sit down of an evening and drink only that dram, exploring to see if I can find any merit in it whatsoever. Usually I do find something. I don't know if it is just getting used to some unusual element of taste that then allows enjoyment to commence or if I just stupidly refuse to accept that a dram can be all bad, but I have occasionally found myself surprised at how much I ended up liking something I initially thought was rubbish.

On the other hand some things are just rubbish . Still find it hard to accept though.

On the topic in hand, I usually have 25-40 bottles open.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

.

I reckon I've 25-30 open. There's one or two with only 1 drink taken that I didn't like so they may remain like that for some time. What do other people do with bottles they don't like?

Iain if I don't like a dram I instantly doubt my judgement and try another. Then, if my opinion is unchanged, I brood on it for a few days and always decide that I'm just not giving it a fair chance. Then I will sit down of an evening and drink only that dram, exploring to see if I can find any merit in it whatsoever. Usually I do find something. I don't know if it is just getting used to some unusual element of taste that then allows enjoyment to commence or if I just stupidly refuse to accept that a dram can be all bad, but I have occasionally found myself surprised at how much I ended up liking something I initially thought was rubbish.

On the other hand some things are just rubbish . Still find it hard to accept though.

On the topic in hand, I usually have 25-40 bottles open.

With you there ... will always give the bottle as much a chance as possible and I've only come across about 3 that I've hated and others that I'm just okay with I slip into a evening after I've had 4 or 5 and see if it's improved and of course by that time it has

I notice also that nobody has any will power just to have one bottle open at a time

[randall fairbrook]

i have 28 bottles open now

[lohssanami]

Here is a list of my "opened", "unopened but previously tasted", and "unopened and never tasted" bottles. A total of 12 opened and 14 unopened.

Opened:

Aberlour 12
Ardbeg 10
Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon
Finlaggan Old Reserve
Glenlivet 12
HP 18
Lagavulin 16
Laphroaig QC
Redbreast 12
Scapa 14
Tobermory 10
Yamazaki 12

Unopened (previously tasted):

Caol Ila 12
Glenfiddich 12 Special Reserve
JW Black
Laphroaig 10
St. George Single Malt

Unopened (never tasted):

Aberlour A'bunadh B15
Aberlour A'bunadh B21
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist
Glenfiddich 18 Ancient Reserve
Old Pulteney 12
PC5 x2
Talisker 1992 DE
Talisker 18

I want to finish a few before I open anymore.

[I_SPEY]

And I also find if I'm constantly switching between a large selection I don't get the feel of them, but if you stay with a few over a couple of weeks they start to sink in and leave a lasting memory.

How absolutely true

[Gov]

Right now, as far as scotch, I have about 13 open, irish 2 open and one boubon. I feel that this is a bit much, and only plan on having maybe 5 or 6 from now on.
BTW, I have about 15 unopen bottles at the moment

[CousinLarry]

I have 5 bottles open at the moment. That number works well for me. I don't think I will be picking anything else up until I finish another bottle. As others have said once you get to the last 1/4th of the bottle the quality really starts to drop fast. I feel like it would be a waste to open any more.

[mikeymad]

Well, I have to say if I could re-vote I would change my number to higher. I have been keeping about 40+ open now. I think that I would like it a little lower, but it is pretty fun to have that many open. you can play with regions, ages, IB vs OB.....

Play with your beverage and it will reward you.... (hick..!!)

Cheers,

[shoganai]

Right now I have about 15 scotch and 10 other (various whisky & brandy) which is way more than I like to have open. I'm actually down from where I was at the beginning of the year, but it's still too many for my current living situation. I'd like to get it down to about 10 total and keep it around there.

The problem for me is that when I have too many open, it can take forever to get through a single bottle. I might drink a bottle's worth of whisky over a three week period, but if it's spread over 15 malts I've hardly made a dent in any of them. Then I get to a certain point and I'm like "gee it's been 3 weeks since I opened anything new. Time to open another!". It's the death spiral of too many open bottles.

My current M.O. is to pick a bottle or two to focus on until they're gone. A more focused attack should clear the shelves a little quicker. Of course taking a break from whisky doesn't help the cause, but

[Klas]

I am now down to approximately 10 opened bottles.

I realised a few years ago that I as opening bottles quicker than they were consumed. I had at that stage (in my opinion) too many opened bottles.

I have actually not opened many bottles at all during the last two years. But I am now in a position to start opening new ones again, which will be fun!

[I_SPEY]

Only five

[TheTross]

Too many. Did a stock list a couple of weeks back and, including smaller bottles (apart from miniatures), I found out that I had 69 bottles open! Came as a bit of a shock I can tell you! I've even got a bottle each of St. Magdalene 1965, Lag 21, Lag 21 IB and Lag 25 that I really want to open but just don't have the room for. I seem to have a habit of impulse buying and opening bottles much, much quicker than I empty them.

For a normal number I'd ideally like to get the figure down to 10-15 or so, but that's going to take a while methinks...

[bamber]

Around 60. Quite potty really. I still go in the cupboard sometime and rue not having a particular style of whisky on hand.

[sampaiocaleia]

Around 10:

- 3/4 : Islay
- 2/3 : Speyside
- 1/2 : Highland
- 2 : blended (Monkey Shoulder and Black Bottle)
- 1/2 : Cask Strength

This is usually my WhiskyScape!

[arkle]

I did a stock take and discovered I had 22 open bottles; I vow to finish some up before I open any more as some of them have only 3 or 4 drams in