Whisky collector or Label collector?

I started collecting comic books when I was about 9 years old. And even at that age I began keeping my comics in plastic cases and was very careful to keep them in the best condition I could with the possibility of selling them in the future... I think I'm a natural collector!

Whisky has been very much the same animal for me. I make many purchases with the intention of selling in the future so for that reason I certainly look for specific labels. However, I am also a whisky lover in the purest sense and take real pleasure in drinking and learning about as many whiskies as I can.

Some whiskies I buy for personal enjoyment... others I buy with the intent to sell... either way it is a thoroughly enjoyable hobby. I am both a collector and a lover... umm of whisky... ; )

I do collect whiskey with the sole purpose of drinking it. I've said whiskey is never cheaper than it is today so when I buy either off the shelf or participate in barrel purchases, the end state is to have a deep collection to dip into for years to come. Right now I can reach into my bunker and pull out a whiskey produced decades ago and I want that capability going forward.

Very interesting question, @Andrea, and one that came up a few months ago on the Malt Maniacs & Friends FaceBook Group, and which I subsequently posted about (dan-the-tax-man.livejournal.com/48983.html)

The issue is how do we differentiate between a collection (a focused attempt to gather whisky expressions with a coherent theme) and an accumulation (potentially of expressions that we want to keep for consumption later, as @BourbonDork noted, so that we can have a deep selection for when prices continue to rise...)

I am most certainly not a collector, what I have is an accumulation of different expressions that I'm working my way through...my cabinet is eclectic and I try not to have 'permanent' expressions on my shelf (the only exceptions being Aberlour 10 and The Spice Tree, but they haven't actually worked their way back in, they are just sitting there for later).

Like @BourbonDork, what I have is a selection that I can take from over time. I probably have more bottles in my unopened inventory than I could possible drink in the next five or six years, and I am running out of space for more.

@YakLord If I stopped drinking today, I calculate (loosely) about 38 years of drinking. Now, I share quite a bit so that would probably take it down but I estimate my average rate of consumption around 15 bottles a year yet I add 40-50 bottles a year. Storage room is an issue and becoming increasingly problematic. Yet, I can't stop buying new and exciting whiskey. I'm sure at some point I'll stop purchasing by my own volition or I'll be forced to stop. Either way, I hope to be set for good drinking till my dying day.

@Bourbondork - I think my annual consumption is around 6 to 7 bottles (I squeeze 25 to 30 drams out of each 750ml bottle), but I've purchased about 10 or so a year for the past couple years, which leaves me with probably a four year reserve if I stopped buying anything today...I'll likely slow down and eat away at the reserve and then start into a replacement type buying system (not replacing specific expressions, mind you, just keeping a general number of bottles open).

I would consider myself a drinking collector - as I buy more than I drink the cabinet gets bigger. I never had the intention to buy whisky as an financial investment - I see it in as an investment in my future enjoyment because I want to build some stock with older stuff which will be nearly impossible to get in years to come. Financial considerations play a role in deciding what to buy because budget is a topic and market prices are another so last year I purchased some good bottles from the 60's and 70's which have already more than doubled their price by now or are completely disappeared.

Much like the rest of you have mentioned, I buy to drink. I want to have an ample supply of things I like while I can afford them, and while the quality is good, so I do get a bit hoardish.

That said, there are a few bottles I buy from more of a collectible standpoint. These are display whiskies, mostly for the aesthetic appeal of the bottle / packaging. Glenmo Signet, Arran Devil's Punchbowl are good examples.

I consider myself a both a collector and a person who buys whisky to consume. In my cabinet, I have whisky that will remain unopen, since I bought them for the purpose of eventually putting them in auction.

The world of collectors is strange... I have a friend that collect bottles of whisky 12yo only! another friend tries to collect 1 bottle of every Scottish distillery at least... IN MY OPINION IN EVERY COLLECTOR THERE IS A PART OF MANIAC!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Andrea, totally agree! Myself included ; )

I consider myself a collector and my thought was to play it like an investment for financial reasons. Reality - I think enjoying all of my stash in the future will be more rewarding since I do not go beyond my budget . And what would I buy with my collectable return? Collectable whisky to drink.. How can one hold such gems, be passionate about the task of acquiring them , then sell them and never know first hand how they taste. To read how great they were from another's point of view ,knowing at one point,hey I owned that once, would probably make me try to re-acquirer them like (guilty of this also) buying star wars action figures twenty years later paying way to much for what was already there.

@Blinkadelic I wandered over to the member's area and had a look at your cabinent. It appears, that you have a soft spot for Bowmore. Good choice, hard to go wrong. Happy collecting.

@PeterG7 I do. First single malt that made an impression on me

I consider myself to be a drinker who happens to collect. My cabinet has reached over 100 bottles and approx 30 are open and being consumed. I do have a handful of collectable bottles that I don't intend on drinking anytime soon. They include special release Ardbeg's, discontinued bottles like Laphroaig 15, Glenmorangie 15, etc... It's tough for me to open bottles that can't ever be replaced. That being said, I don't buy a bottle of scotch twice (unless i'm buying doubles of a limited release). Too many new bottles to try to stay stuck on a few particular bottles.

Andrea, I am a hobbyist that is also a collector. I buy for the collection and to drink. If I am drinking it I normally add that to the collection. I am not sure that I will ever sell any: that would be like selling the kids. For me It all started with one bottle that I couldn't drink. Yes I later bought another so that I could. It grew from there. It is a personal reward thing. The bottles on display I love the look of: Not necessarily the bottle, although that could be the case. Being a diabetic I have to watch my intake, it certainly isn't a daily or weekly thing - after all, health comes first. Everything in moderation. There are quite a few in the collection from the same label/s. Like Johnnie Walker, The Explorer's Club, John Walker & Son's, The Dalmore (maybe some OCD had set in) Etc. but then I have singles like Bunnahbahain XXV, Glenmorangie Quarter Century etc. I find it easy to get it stuck in my head that I should just buy the lot from a single label. I have now put that out of my head. That I how I started though. Now I research more. The money doesn't worry me so much, I buy what I can afford, no more no less. It's fair to say I am both a Whisky collector and a label collector. After all, you can't buy one without the other.

Great question. It prompted me to think! Thanks.