A Slow Pour – The Empty Bottle
Hello, Sippers! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying some quality whiskey! I thought today I’d put in the second installment of my “A Slow Pour” series (today The Empty Bottle). This is where we kick back and just chat, so go pour yourself a favorite and relax with me! There’s certainly enough chaos to the start off our year, so perhaps a slow pour – a pause – is something we could all use.
Let me know what you’re sipping in the comments! Today I’ve got some Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B520 as I write.
As stated above, today’s slow pour consideration is that of the empty bottle. Maybe this is a product of your pour today. Maybe you’re staring at that nearly empty bottle in your bunker, vowing to save that last drop.
The empty bottle feeling is something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. I find myself staring at a few bottles in our own collection where I’m already dreading the eventual goodbye. Naturally, these bottles were rare or hard to find from their beginnings on the market. Some are dispersed throughout the United States (maybe you’ve been lucky in your country too), and others are private selects specifically for Idaho consumers.
Not too long ago, there was one bottle in particular that was staring me down, and I’d been avoiding it for months, not wanting to partake in the final pour. This particular whiskey, as I’m sure some of you could already guess, is a bourbon. An Idaho-selected batch, Knob Creek’s Single Barrel Idaho Select, Bourbon #1, is the greatest tasting bourbon I’ve had to date. (Note: there are over 120 whiskey reviews on my page alone on this site; however, I’ve likely had closer to 150 or more.)
I don’t expect many readers ever purchased this bottle, as I imagine many do not live in Idaho. Nevertheless, I hope that your place of residence provides opportunities for select bottlings, just as Idaho does.
Part of my consideration of the empty bottle leaves me with a question for readers: What makes a bottle special for you? Is it all about the taste? Is there another magical element in it that keeps you from finishing it off for good?
I had the opportunity to taste the Knob Creek at an event before even buying. (Bear in mind, this was pre-pandemic.) I can still remember the ambiance of the bar and what a good time it was! Then, when we brought the bottle home and sat down with it for a proper review, it was even better than I remembered!
Of course, there are other, more widely available bottles outside of Idaho that both my dad and I lamented finishing. For instance, we each were fond of certain Small Batch Barrel Proof releases of Elijah Craig (him Batch A118 and me C917).
I find that Single Barrel bottles are always a bitter parting also, even if I already know that Single Barrel offerings of a particular brand are regularly available on the shelf… But you know that there will never be another barrel like the one you enjoyed, and that just stings.
Sometimes, it’s not even about availability. Sometimes, there’s a nostalgic component added to the bottle itself and the juice inside. There are bottles I’ve enjoyed with friends and family, where we laughed, or even where we cried (over happy memories, I promise). So those bottles carry memories as opposed to the poetic message-in-a-bottle, I suppose. Throwing those bottles in the garbage is always a bitter pill to swallow.
Whatever the reason we feel saddened by tossing those bottles away, I still think about those pours, even after they are long gone. I know that for me and my pre-pandemic experience with my tasting, we were able to secure other single barrels from Knob Creek (both bourbons and ryes). So even with Batch #1 gone, there are still five others secure in a box that I can pour from and have a similar nostalgic experience with. Four of which I haven’t even opened yet because somewhere in me, I’m already dreading another far-off final pour perhaps…
But, as I’m sure many of you can relate with your favorites, it was just that bottle, wasn’t it? With its unique flavor profile plus the memories. Granted, it isn’t necessarily a rare occurrence when one enjoys many different bourbon brand offerings and has meaningful experiences with them. Yet, to me at least, as soon I find those bottles, they become something more precious in their own unique ways. Each bottle holds a memory, just as I give each bottle a unique setting. Even looking at the setting for Batch #1 below is a painful Kentucky Hug.
Photo by Алсу Ягудина on Unsplash
Here at the end of this slow pour, I turn the question back to you, readers. What makes a bottle special to you? How long does it take for you to muster the courage to make that final pour? Has it ever backfired and not proven as perfect and delicious as you remembered? Or has it ever been even better than you remembered, making the parting and pouring that much more difficult? I am very curious to know!
Stay healthy and happy, fellow sippers, and I hope you continue to find valuable pours to love and develop memories with! . . . Cheers!
A Slow Pour – The Empty Bottle
Written by Hannah Dawson
WhiskeyfortheAges.com editor
Featured image by Scott Van Hoy on Unsplash
Others in the Slow Pour Series:
A Slow Pour – Time to Relax
A Slow Pour – Time Capsules
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