How does your cabinet break down?

For me:

•Campbeltown: 35% (6/17)

•Islay: 29% (5/17)

•The rest of Scotland: 18% (3/17)

•Ireland: 12% (2/17)

•America: 6% (1/17)

Or, this:

•Peated to any degree: 88% (15/17)

•Unpeated: 12% (2/17)

For me: - Japanese: 4,5% - Irish: 4,5% - Canadian: 7% - International: 11% - American: 18% - Islay: 20% - The rest of Scotland: 35%

Or this: - Over 50% ABV: 27% (16% CS; 7/45) - Under 50% ABV: 73%

I've always arranged mine by region it being mainly Scottish single malt, but I've not worked out the percentages before, here's the breakdown: Speyside 36%, Highland 18%, Islay 17%, Island 11%, Campbeltown 5%, Lowland 3% with 6% Irish, 4% other single malts and 1% blended scotch.

Wow, what a question! It took some extensive calculating and figuring, but I suspect that's the fun part (maybe even more than drinking...)

I reviewed my inventory, just of unopened bottles, and did not include the rare gems gifted to me by the person who inspired my journey, nor any minis (

Oh MY! my super long post was cut off near the beginning. I'll have to try again... maybe split it into 2 posts and save it first...

First, by region:

Scotch: 68.5% of my collection

Canadian: 20% - including 3 single malts

US (Bourbon): 6%

Indian: 6%

Other useless but potentially interesting facts:

20% of my portfolio is in Aberlour bottles (16% are A'Bunadh)

14% are bottles from closed distilleries (Bladnoch counts, right?)

15% are Forty Creek Special releases

70% of my bottles are single malts

46% are bottled at cask strength

25% are peated

at least 33% could be classified as Sherry Monsters.

Thanks @OlJas for spurring me to take inventory. I have a better idea what I need to do now to increase my breadth, and I had a lot of fun doing it.

@Nozinan, wow, that's a lot of Aberlour. Would you have guessed it was 20% of your collection? I'm wondering if you had a surpirse there.

When I did my tally, I was surprised how heavily slanted toward peat I had become. I was also surpised to see Cambeltown out in the lead over Islay—I'd've put $10 on Islay to take top honors, for sure.

@OlJas

I have long felt that Aberlour was far too represented in my collection. After buying one each of 10, ,12,16 and 2 of the 18 (1 left now) but not getting around to drinking, and being busy buying as many different batches of A'Bunadh as possible ( now that the batches are higher than my age I buy ahead...) I knew I had a lopsided collection. So a couple of years ago Aberlour might have been 40-45% of my "active" collection.

Since meeting @paddockjudge I've developed a greater appreciation for Canadian whisky ( and Macallan CS) and @victor has been very encouraging of my discovery of bourbon. So I've started to broaden the rest of my collection, more quickly than my collection of A'Bunadhs has grown.

Truth be told, I would be happy to be rid of the other Aberlours which I bought all at once 3 and a half years ago. I had a sample of the 10 at a store, wasn't too impressed with the 18, and would have been satisfied with samples of the 16 and 12.

I've become more aware of my tastes and my purchasing has become more effective over the years. Although I still can't get through what I buy quickly enough and it accumulates, I have a better idea of what I will like, though for limited releases I will still rely on trusted word of mouth.

To bring it back to the topic....breaking down the cabinet, before my cabinet breaks down from the weight of too many bottles I would love help in emptying some of my open bottles, and would be very happy to find better homes for a number of my earlier purchases (and bottles received as cast-offs), including a Ballantine's finest, Benriach Curiositas 40% (though I would not mind a single taste) Glenlivet 18, and the non-A'Bunadh Aberlours.

I wish I could reply with "it breaks down under the weight of all my bottles", but I currently have very few bottles at all. So, a serious answer would be:

Irish - 25% American - 25%

Scotland - 50%

Peated 25% Unpeated 75%

For my regular cabinet rotation bottles (bottles I keep in stock) - 23% Peated, 20% Sherried, 5% Finished, 14% Spicy, 16% Honey, 17% Bourbon or Rye, 5% Blended / Mild. I generally classify by flavor profiles.

Islay - 5%

Islands (Talisker - HP - Scapa) - 20%

Highlands - 30%

Lowlands - 0%

Speyside - 45%

@FMichael

looks like you have a severe lowland deficiency...you need some vitamin B12....Bladnoch 12 YO

I kinda like stating our zero-percenters. Here's some stuff that I have NONE of:

•Bourbon—Just too sweet and always tastes like it belongs in a glass of Coke to me. I might get a cheapie for rocks and mixed drinking this summer.

•Canadian—Just no interest, I guess, though I'm sure a few guys here on Connosr would think that's a big mistake. The 40% thing is a big drawback.

•Sherried single malt—Just too sweet and not my style. It's too late now, but maybe I'll get one for Christmastime next year. ("Too late" not because of the date, but because whisky money is tightly controlled in my house and I didn't plan ahead!) I'd probably get a Glendronach or a Mortlach IB.

•Lowlands—No interest, though I wouldn't mind a dose of B12.

•Japanese—I went through a bottle of Hakushu this summer and I was pretty underwhelmed. It seems like Japanese whisky has more to offer the sherry fans than the peat fans.

•Indian or other "world" whisky: I rocked an Amrut Fusion last winter and liked it well enough, but it didn't get me too excited to go exploring the range or anything. Plus, I gotta admit that I felt rather skeptical of its quality just because it came from India.

And I'm THIS close to being able to put "40% whisky" on that list too, but I have one bottle of Writers Tears that I scored in Northern Ireland this summer.

@Nozinan You might be onto to something...Maybe I need a script, or directions on where to find the elusive Bladnoch 12 yr?

Haven't seen any in stores nearby me.

@FMichael

Come to Ontario...I'm not licensed to write scripts anywhere else. But if you come, I'll dispense some without a prescription...

@OlJas

I used to be as you were... then I was awaked by Booker's and Forty Creek. I still prefer Single Malts as a class, but have an appreciation for some bourbons and Canadian whiskies. I agree the Canadia ABV problem is a real issue.

I bought Writer's Tears for a friend (it was the highest quality Irish I could find at the time) and I enjoyed drinking some with him. Even at 40% quite drinkable.

As for Amrut, Thalidomide came from Germany, Asbestos from Quebec, and MCDonald's from the US. Every country has quality issues for some things. Amrut, however, is a leader in quality in the single malt business. If you ever venture far North, I'd be happy to let you sample a few of the expressions I've come to enjoy.

@FMichael and @Nozinan What is very interesting is your deficiency to mention Campbelton! I need a second opinion... Doctor! Doctor!

@Robert99

My apologies. I lumped all my Scotch by "region" - Scotland

For anyone interested in any more trivia:

In terms of Campbeltown, I have only Springbank expressions, and they make up 6 2/3% of my collection. All are single malts at cask strength and include 4 of the now largely unavailable Claret Wood. I intend to open one in the company of Connosr members should they choose to make the trek...

In terms of pure Islay, I have representation from 6 distilleries ( 7 if you count a mini of Bunna) plus 2 blended malts (Big Peat regular and CS) and these bottles make up 13% of my collection. 5 of the bottles are CS. If you count the Caol Ila minis waiting for me in the UK (I need a mule...) they add up to another bottle.

I have no other Island bottles in my active collection, though I do have an old bottle of Highland Park that is part of the gift collection I received before I began my journey. I believe it is CS as well.

My highest ABV scotch is currently 65.3% (Mortlach) , and it's my highest ABV whisky, though I believe the recent TH Handy may be higher, if I am able to track down the bottle my friend won.

Enough already, I'm putting myself to sleep...

@Nozinan, I'm enjoying your trivia. This is the kind of thing we resort to when we want to DO SOMETHING with our whisky but not just drink it all down. I've been known to pull out all the bottles in my (not huge) stash and line them up according to ABV, or peat levels, or the order I bought them, or the order I'm going to open them, or whatever occurs to me.

Then again, when I was a kid, my younger brother and I would line up all the family gifts under the tree in the days just before Christmas to see whether it would stretch all the way to the kitchen. (Once, it did!) So, I might just be weird.

As for Cambeltown, it's hard to NOT be dominated by Springbank. At least the Longrow and Hazelburn labels help it feel more diverse that it really is. But unless you're following the Kilkerran WIPs, partying with the Glen Scotia OB disco cows, or taking your chances on Glen Scotia IBs, it's pretty much Springbank town.

This became more interesting for me than I thought, after cataloguing and analyzing my own. It came out to 7 categories of equal size: (1) Glenmorangies, (2) "Light", (3) Peated, (4) CS-Peated, (5) Sherried, (6) CS-Sherried, and (7) non-Scottish. It helped me see my own increasing trend towards CS.

@vanPelt

Taking stock does indeed allow one to take stock....

@OlJas as a mild OCD person who has cataloged every movie, tv season, restaurant, theatre, sports event and book they have read in the last ten years, this question is right up my alley, Cheers to OIJas

QnD Analysis (n=83) and note that duplicates were not counted.

Bourbons - 22.9% Speyside - 20.2% Islay - 13.3% Canadian - 9.6% Highland - 8.3% Islands - 7.2% American - Other 4.8% Campbelltown - 2.4% Blends - 2.4% Irish - 2.4% Japanese - 2.4% Lowlands - 1.2% Korean - 1.2% Swedish 1.2%

There are about ten bottles that are not included as I use to throw out the empties but I recall a Snow Phoenix (gift - my first bottle), a Nikka and a couple of others...

If not so tired f work, would really go to town on this question

Yes, @JayRain—this is a question for the OCDers. Sorry and you're welcome. I can see you imagining pie graphs as we speak.

So what's the one bottle of Korean whisky you have?

@JayRain

Korean whisky? Or soju?

Am I correct that Jinro brand soju is the highest selling spirit (by fluid volume) in the world? Beating even JW?

@Nozinan @OlJas

Kavalan Concertmaster

50% Speyside 15% Islands/ other Highlands 15% Islay 10% Blends 5% Bourbon 5% Irish

Repost uncluttered

50% Speyside

15% Islands/ other Highlands

15% Islay

10% Blends

5% Bourbon

5% Irish

@JayRain

Kavalan isn't Korean, it's Taiwanese....

Darn, I was hoping to start a quest for a Korean whisky.... All I have found were a couple of blends imported and sold by Hite (better known for beer) and Jinro.

@Nozinan This 'list' seem to confirm what you say. Officers Choice Indian whisky is the third most sold spirit in the world, behind Jinro soju and Smirnoff vodka.

thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/07/…

@Nozinan that would be a faux pas on my part - thanks for the clarification

Great topic. I have never worked out the proportions of my cabinet (full size bottles) before. I have broken it down as a number and a % for Scotland separately and the world.

Total collection - 64 bottles (Scotland 46 - 71.8%) Islay 15 - 23.4% Speyside 14 - 21.8% Highlands 10 - 15.6% Islands 4 - 8.7% Wales 4 - 6.2% USA 3 - 4.7% Taiwan 3 - 4.7% Lowland - 2 3.1% Sweden 2 - 3.1% Campbeltown 1 - 1.5% England 1 - 1.5% Australia 1 - 1.5% India 1 - 1.5% Netherlands 1 - 1.5% Ireland 1 - 1.5% N.Ireland 1 - 1.5%

Scotland - 46 bottles % of my Scottish whiskies Islay 15 - 32.6% Speyside 14 - 30.4% Highlands 10 - 21.7% Islands 4 - 8.7% Lowland 2 - 4.3% Campbeltown 1 - 2.2%