How many bottles do you have open at a time?

@Pudge72 If you have HP12, and have never tried it, you are wasting precious time! Get that thing open and start enjoying it!

@chuck51 That is the very same question my wife asks - lol.

I'm not sure which gets under her skin more...The dozen open bottles of scotch whisky in the cupboard, or the 2 forty count cigar humidors that are full of stogies?

@chuck51 I have 90% (23) of my bottles open now as I can't hold back from trying the new ones. It all depends on the mood for me - mine & my friends. But actually I'm trying to get the almost empty ones out first, as they say the taste changes faster with time. Whatever you do just enjoy it!!!

I have 6 out of 7 bottles that are open right. I am trying to purchase one bottle every week, until I reach about 20 bottles. Who's knows I may buy more.. As of now the open bottles are as follows : Ardbeg 10, Yamazaki 12, Glendronach 15 Revival, Elijah Craig 12, Buffalo Trace, and Diplomatic Reserva Exclusiva Rum. But I like to have about 3-4 bottles open at any given time.

@NVGeo...no worries, the HP12 in question was on its last pour at the time of my original posting. It was a great bottle from a good friend.

My open bottle collection now sits at 71.7% of my total cabinet (33 of 46 bottles, with three of the closed ones being 200 mL bottles) in my fruitless quest to get below 30 open bottles. However, three bottles (Bushmills Black Bush, Te Bheag, and my full size Lagavulin 16 bottle will not likely make it to the end of spring...30, here I come! :)

I always try to have no more than 5-6 bottles of whisky open at any one time (malt, bourbon and blends included). Right now I'm above that with around 10, but I always go over with Christmas gifts and opening bottles for guests, etc. If any bottle gets below 1/3 level, I'll decant it in a 200ml bottle if it warrants keeping (rare, pricey), or I'll just invite friends over to finish the bottle. I've had horrible whisky from long opened bottles at my grandfather's often enough to know that oxidation is bad.

Another reason I try to keep the open bottles count low is that I have a fully stocked bar and I also enjoy other spirits, mainly rum and gin, so I have to keep it to a manageable level. I'm also the only scotch drinker in the house, since my spouse is almost strictly a wine drinker, and I make around 50 gallons of beer a year on top of that.

Hey @Pudge72 do you need help on that Lagavulin 16 yo. ?

When I buy a new bottle, it's because I've read about it and want to try it. After purchasing it, I call up my friend and schedule a scotch night. That usually happens within the week and I usually don't even have the patience to wait, so I open it ahead for a taste. So you can imagine that between the two of us, we have right now somewhere around 20 to 25 bottles open. I like it because it provides a lot of options. Each bottle fits a mood, so I always have access to what I am craving. And I encourage everyone to do the same.

I have 5 open and 3 unopened. I am fairly new to collecting and have 2 young kids who take all my money so have to be fairly conservative.

In a perfect world I'd have around 10 at a time to try and share with friends. With a rotation of around 1 every 2 weeks.

I have aprox 15 whiskies open at the moment, which is a high number for me. I have a pretty large collection, approaching 100 bottles, but tend to only keep one or two of each style open at a time. I have a few friends with 50+, and even 75, open bottles!! Makes for a good tastings!

I have 6 bottles of single malt and 1 blend open right now. I don't normally open more than this at one time and have about the same number of others waiting to be opened.

Whiskies, around 25 bottles. Probably around 25 bottles of other spirits, too

@bourbondrinker...if you're ever in Southern Ontario, drop me a line and we'll work on some of my open bottles (can't guarantee Lagavulin 16 will be there, but it is one of my favourites so odds are good!).

Currently 51 bottles open. I won't pop the cork on a full bottle until the replacement is in stock and sitting pretty on the shelf.

I have 7 bottles of single malt currently and a couple bourbons and blends. Not a single bottle of any type of liquor in my cabinet remains unopened - generally I want to crack newly purchased bottles the night I pick them up! I can't stand to wait.

I have a self-imposed limit of 20 bottles of single malt to prevent turnover from slowing down too much. I go through less than a bottle a month. I want the average bottle to last a year or two, with the cheap ones going faster and the expensive ones lasting the longest.

@ chuck51 - A topic worthy of more than one thread. @canadianbacon - I have 57 open bottles in my cabinet.

I am comfortable with this amount as I sometimes decant and/or employ inert gas in an attempt to protect some whisky from change. I say comfortable, but not pleased, as I was trying to get from 40 open bottles to 20 and instead eventually arrived at 60+. This amount is coincidentally about of my cabinet selection. I monitor the bottles carefully and have seriously considered ordering a medical grade regulator to be used with a cylinder of gas. This will allow for the use of generous portions of gas, when protecting less than full bottles, as well as helping to mitigate outrageous delivery costs and inflated retail prices.

I enjoy being able to sample from a larger selection. The benefits include ease of sampling, sharing, and trading - and besides it is just a lot more fun, especially when someone with an adventurous appetite drops by for a visit.

With numerous bottles at the ready, I find that whisky enjoyment is greatly increased.

Great whisky can be enjoyed by anyone. Good whisky shared with friends becomes legend. Unopened bottles don't pour easily, or often.

Open bottles currently account for about half of my cabinet...the bunker, that is a different story.

@paddockjudge I had a sinking feeling this topic had come up in the past 8^). Seems like I'm on the conservative side of things and could probably risk a few more. (I suppose at one drink a night I'd get through the lot in 1-2 years anyway, so the solution is right in front of me).