If you were to walk into my house right now, you would not find much bourbon at all.

I’m not kidding. My liquor shelf has one bottle of bourbon on it at the moment. It’s a bottle of Old Forester 100. And that’s it. There are a few bottles back in my closet for my kid 18 years from now, but I’m down to my last bottle of bourbon at the house.

As the “bourbon master,” you might be wondering why I have such a small collection of bourbon….

It’s simple really. I like to drink it and share it. Having a shelf full of full bottles is just not something I’m interested in having.

Let me explain.

The Reason I Dislike Collecting Bourbon

If you look in my house, the only thing I collect is dust and a drawer full of t-shirts. I’m no crazy Kondo lady, but I just don’t have a strong tie to things (except that junk drawer that all midwest households have).

I could care less about the things in my life. I enjoy the experiences.

I guess this goes back to hearing all of the old people talk over the years. I have never heard a single old man (or woman) talk about the really nice bourbon collection they had when they were younger. I rarely hear anyone talking about the high end shirt or pants they had when they are reminiscing with friends.

What you hear about are the experiences. The crazy, the stupid, and the fun experiences. No one cares about the “things” in the end, what they care about are the people they were able to share them with.

Bourbon is the same way. No one cares if you have a collection of Pappy that has never been open. No one cares if you have the best collection in the world. Because at the end of the day, it’s just that. It’s a collection. And at some point, you will either consume, gift, or sell the collection away.

Don’t get me wrong. There could be some serious money made by bourbon collectors. And I can’t blame people for doing that. As a business professor, I encourage the pursuit of a profit, but I value things a bit differently.

Let’s Go Deeper

There are a few things you need to know about me that will make my stance of collecting bourbon a little clearer:

1. I don’t go hunting for bourbon. I have stumbled onto a few allocated products by accident, but I don’t go hopping from liquor store to liquor store. Nothing against it, but it’s just not for me. I would rather pick up a few store picks and enjoy a bottle of something I will never have again.
2. I’m friends with a handful of bourbon drinkers that I see multiple times per week. I’m lucky in the fact that I have people to share my bourbon with, but it does disappear quicker when you have multiple people drinking it. But it’s nice to head to their place and have a great bottle waiting on me at their house as well.
3. I have a family history of a few close medical calls with strokes – I have taken all of the preventive steps, but I can’t control my health. I believe tomorrow is never promised and I take that to heart. Why keep something that you might never get to drink?
4. I like to go out and find new places. This leads me to having a few drinks out more frequently than having a bottle at my house. I would rather try something I’ve never had then just buy a full bottle of it. How do I know if I like it or not? I’ll take my chances with one pour instead of one bottle.
5. I like bourbon. So I love to drink it. Saving it just makes me have to buy something else to drink. I would like to eat my cake instead of have it too.

None of this makes my stance right, but it at least gives you a background on why I am the way I am. In academics, it’s called researching positionally and it’s the process of explaining the person behind the work and their view and influences on the subject on which they are writing. This gives you the perspective in which to view my comments through my lens and understand why I say the things I say.

It doesn’t make me right or wrong. It makes me. And now you understand why I’m me.

A Quote To Leave You With

If you haven’t watched the bourbon puff piece Neat on Netflix, you might want to go and watch it some evening. It’s filled with a lot of marketing shots and pieces, but it does tell a decent story. And there is one scene that has stuck with me more than anything I have watched in a very long time.

Here’s the scene and quote:

Freddie Johnson tells the story of when Julian Van Winkle Jr. gave him a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old. That night, after pouring his dad and his brother a glass, Freddie went to put the cork back in the bottle and his dad stopped him. His dad said:

“Never save bourbon when sharing with friends and family.” “There will always be more bourbon. We are the fragile part of this equation.” Freddie went on to say, “It’s not about the whiskey, it’s about the lives you touch and the people you meet and the whiskey is a by-product of a good relationship.”

Not soon after that, Freddie Johnson’s father passed away. It was one of the last chances Freddie had to share a drink with his dad.

If that doesn’t make you want to call your friends over and open your best bottle, I’m not sure what would.

So don’t wait. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so enjoy the bourbon now and make memories that will last forever.

Cheers.

CW