My first festive post to give you some present ideas and a use for your used whisky advent calendar box and empty sample bottles.
Like many whiskey fans, I have a large collection of empty 30ml sample bottles. Samples are the best way to experience whisky of which I might not buy a full bottle. I have developed several uses for these which I thought might be useful to share.
The most obvious first use was to exchange with friends our best samples. Although I couldn’t reseal these with wax, they generally seem fairly robust in the post.
My next use was to create sets of 5 in their original postage box for personal and imaginative presents. In the past year, I have given sets to my Dad for his birthday, fathers day and Christmas. I write a short note with images and a description of each and guidance to my mum for how little water to add. He enjoys these as my mother tends to water down his whisky and minimise the amount of spirit. By ensuring he gets 30ml with a minimum of water, he gets a more enjoyable dram.
I have gifted them to friends tailored to their personal preferences. They love them.
My latest scheme is the further use of my advent calendar packs. I intend this year to keep a sample of every notable whisky I buy. I am doing this for a variety of reasons;
To enable me to compare one year with another in future
To let me review the whisky again to see how my palate and opinions have changed
To let me review as a part of blog posts, comparing these against other whiskeys.
I can also see the opportunity to create a whisky bank using several advent boxes.
One sample for long-term storage ( 5-10 years perhaps)
One for short-term storage for future reviews
One to swop or share
Yes, I just watched the Angles Share!
I see a major project developing here. Storing an advent calendar box or 4 takes up less space than 100 bottles of whisky. Knowing I have a sample might also stop me feeling I must continuously own a bottle of every whisky on the market. I already regret not keeping samples of at least 20 whiskies I have previously owned. I think 24 whisky a year is about the correct number. I will see over the next year and let you know.
