A friend of mine asked recently how many bottles of whiskey I have open right now. I guessed a little low it turns out. The question, though, gave me an idea: a whiskey cabinet snapshot. Here we'll look at what I have open and why. This could be, yet again, something fun to review in the future.
Before we get there, let's touch briefly on how I drink the whiskey I have. Different whiskey lovers operate in different ways. I have one friend who I know has a larger collection than I do. He keeps everything nicely displayed, and accessible, in his basement and has, in my mind, a tremendous number of bottles open all the time. I get it, when you get something exciting you don't want to wait a long time to open it. But I can't do it that way. For one I don't have the setup, at the house here in Minnesota we don't even have an actual bar area. For now my open stuff is generally in the small, inconvenient cabinet above the fridge and everything else is in a box in a closet downstairs. Eventually I'll find something better but it's tolerable for now. The other reason is I just don't like having a ton of bottles open. I want certain roles filled by certain types of whiskey and I'm generally fine waiting to finish one bottle before opening another.
Most of this reasoning is simply my preferences. But a little, admittedly, is oxidation concerns, and those are worth mentioning too. As long as a bottle is sealed, unopened, the whiskey inside does not change. It does not age further (that comes only from interaction with the wood in the barrels) and will otherwise stay as it was when bottled. After opening a bottle, the more air interacts with a whiskey the more it'll change. When a bottle is almost full there's very little air inside. When a bottle is almost empty there's quite a bit more air inside and this air is refreshed every time the bottle is opened and poured. Oxidation changes, of course, happen very slowly and the changes are slight. Still, I usually draw a line at half full. If a bottle is more than half full I don't worry about oxidation even if it's been open for more than a year. Once it's under half full I try to finish it within about six months. All this is probably much ado about nothing, but I think about it nonetheless.
All this is to say that while I'm in the double digits for open whiskey bottles, there's always something of a plan. I want to have a good variety of the styles I like, I want to be trying a few things that are new (often to write about) and I don't want much open for too long. That's how I operate.
Another thing, all my commentary aside, I do usually have a few bottles that've been open for multiple years. But with the move last year most open stuff got finished or, in at least one case, given away. So that's why it looks like I've really adhered to my stated strategy when, typically, it's not executed to this extent.
As for the following notes, I'm trying my best to keep it simple. For each I'm including the name of the whiskey, obviously, and a link if I've reviewed it or another from the same brand. Then the proof and price. Last it's role, or why I purchased, how long it's been open and how full it is.
Let's take a look. They're grouped by type.
Bourbon (+Tennessee) whiskey -> 4 bottles
1. Knob Creek 9y (in starting whiskey recs, reviewed single barrel version)
- 100 proof, ~$30
- Current do-it-all Bourbon, newly purchased, mostly full
2. Jack Daniels Single Barrel Select, Total Wine pick (review)
- 94 proof, ~$55
- A foray into Tennessee whiskey, mostly full, might be around a while
3. Blanton's Original Single Barrel, dated 3-5-20 (review, was older bottle)
- 93 proof, $80+ if you can find one
- Premium easy drinker, usually for guests, opened about a year, about half full
4. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, C919 (review, was older batch)
- 136.8 proof, ~$80
- Favorite full proof, highest I've seen in any whiskey, open about a year, over half full
American Rye whiskey -> 3 bottles
5. Willett 'Family Estate' 4y Rye
- 107.6 proof, ~$60
- Don't love so been tucked away, opened late last year, over half full
6. WhistlePig Single Barrel Rye, Liquor Boy pick
- 117.5 proof, ~$100
- Great high proof rye, opened early this year, almost gone
7. Angel's Envy Finished Rye (reviewed AE Bourbon)
- 100 proof, ~$85
- Winter treat, tastes like Christmas, opened last December and won't last another
Scotch whisky (all single malts) -> 5 bottles
8. Glenkinchie 12y (review)
- 86 proof, ~$75
- Lowland, light and floral, opened early this year, about half full
9. Balvenie 15y Single Barrel Sherry Cask
- 95.6 proof, ~$130
- Speyside, high sherry influence, opened summer this year, about half full
10. Kilkerran 8y Cask Strength (review)
- 113 proof, ~$90
- Campbeltown, maritime flavors and light peat, opened early this year, mostly gone
11. Laphroaig 10y (review, was older bottle)
- 86 proof, ~$45
- Islay, my wife's favorite bottle, opened late last year, over half full
12. Port Charlotte 10y (in mid-range whiskey recs)
- 100 proof, ~$65
- Islay, my favorite peaty one, opened early this year, almost gone
Irish whiskey -> 4 bottles
13. Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye
- 86 proof, ~$30
- Was intrigued by an Irish Rye, opened early this year, about half full
14. Knappogue Castle 12y Single Malt
- 86 proof, ~$45
- Wanted to try an Irish single malt, forgot I had this, opened last year, mostly full
15. Redbreast 12y Single Pot Still (in mid-range whiskey recs, reviewed cask strength version)
- 80 proof, ~$60
- My favorite single pot still brand, opened early this year, mostly full
16. Yellow Spot 12y Single Pot Still (review)
- 92 proof, ~$100
- Premium single pot still, opened more than 2 years ago, about half full
That's what I have. It's 16 bottles open, and a pretty good group. To some this is a huge number. To others it's next to nothing. For me, it's just right.
Before I open anything else I'll probably finish off at least a couple of these. But in looking at this, and noticing a few bottles have dwindled, I've started to think what's next. Some potentials from the unopened bottles tucked away:
Bourbon - Old Ezra 7 (high proof, full flavor)
Rye - might need to buy something
Scotch - Aberlour 16y distillery exclusive (sherry cask)
Scotch - Lagavulin 'Offerman Edition' (Guinness finished, peaty)
Hopefully this was something you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.
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