Open Bottles

Placing a certain whisky directly against others reveals its true character in a way that you can't achieve by drinking it on its own. So for me, one of the interesting things about whisky is comparing!

@Alanjp I don't think there is any right or wrong answer by having one or more bottles opened at one time but I do think it confines oneself to enjoying the whisky experience from different dimensions.

It is generally practiced that we don't eat the same meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday of the week. That's because we have a desire for variety and require different food needs depending on our moods, the time of day, the season of the year, light or heavy meal desire, etc. This approach to food is no different with the approach to whisky intake.

For me, I like to have a few different bottles opened at any one time in order to satisfy the mood I'm in. I may have 5 or more bottles of an Islay style whisky in my cabinet but I might have only 2 opened which have slightly different flavor profiles (Laphroaig 10, Highland Park 18 or a Lagavulin 16 for example), but I may not always wanted a peated whisky. There may be times I want a lighter, more fruity expression or a sweet Bourbon whiskey and maybe a bottle that has more wheat or rye influences. Thus my need (and desire) to have choices available for a certain type/style dram.

So for me, it's about having a few choices available to suit my mood or occasion. I don't want to have just one or two bottles open when having friends or family over, particularly when wanting to share and compare expressions with novice or more experienced whisky drinkers. And I like having side-by-side tastings which help educate me and highlight the differences between distilleries / expressions.

And also, unlike wine, there is little if any degradation in the quality of the whisky once the bottle has been opened (although there are many opinions about this subject discussed in another thread).

So for me, I feel I'd be missing out and limiting my enjoyment if I did one bottle at a time. And actually, if I did the one bottle at a time method, I think I would find myself going thru the bottle(s) faster as I anxiously anticipate the next bottle I am looking forward to cracking. That's my $0.02 worth...for what it's worth. Either way, enjoy the journey.

I'm not too sure why i keep just one bottle open though, i guess it just stems from having one bottle, then slowly increasing the amount of bottles but having a sort of obligation to finish the one i am on before moving forwards.

I can see where you guys are coming from by having other bottles open, allowing the comparison between drams, and i agree i would probably get through the bottles slower. And to be honest thats why i started this topic, as i think i'm trying to convince myself to allow another opened bottle on my shelf!

I'm in the same boat as HP12 ... I can't limit myself to one bottle, all of my bottles in my cabinet are opened ! I just go with the flow with what I feel like having, but I do tend to keep the "top shelf" stuff for when I can share it with other whiskey fans... Nothing like sharing a great dram among friends.

I'm like the others, I usually have at least 5 bottles open at once. I really like Islay malts but sometimes they just are too much for my palate so I like a lighter highland malt. One benefit that I noticed to having my bottle of Macallan 12 open for a while is that the extra air in the bottle seemed to calm the whisky a little and get rid of the alcohol bite. It taste became more floral too.

I think I have become a bit more conservative with my opening of bottles. I used open every one as soon as I got it home. A broad spectrum at all times. Nowadays I’m trying to keep it down to between 5 and 10 open at any one time. Presently I have 13 but a few of those are just about spent. I think I can agree to a certain extent with every contribution on this thread so far. I like doing head to head comparisons with similar whisky’s, however, I try to do it when one bottle is near the end and I can as @Alanjp says, build my anticipation toward the grand opening of the next in line. Just as I can enjoy noising a whisky for 10 or 15 minutes before sipping, I can also spend days or even weeks just holding a bottle in my hand, just looking at it, contemplating if it will be the one. In fact generally just being a nerd.

I open and taste each bottle as I buy it; every bottle I have is open, around 35. The bigger question for me is whether to replace each one as it gets close to empty, another excellent opportunity to do comparison-dramming, IMO. In my case, it definitely makes bottles last longer; for example I only drink my Laphroaig 15 (which is out of production now) on special occasions, or when I have company over that I want to impress, ditto the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist.

@Alanjp hi there, i also have a few bottels opened up, just to get to taste more different flavors, my collector items remain closed ;)

@Alanjp , I have to say that I think as HP12 does . I have 10 bottles open currently in various states of "disrepair" , and would never limit myself to just one . It is as they say" when the mood strikes me" which is quite Often , It's all about mood , your frame of mind , and what kind of day you have had , I like to have choice in the matter . Sometimes you need a good smack in the mouth from a big Islay , whereas sometimes you need the gentle caress of a good Glenmorangie. Also as joerieke wrote , I also have my collector bottles which remain closed , well not really I have 5 bottles of Bowmore Tempest closed and 1 "on the go . When I am down the last 2 they will stay for posterity .( I really like Tempest).