How many bottles do you have open at a time?

Open and try them all. You can't take it with you. My late father had over 2000 bottles and I'm so glad that he opened and tried them all.

@bUIGEman Great sentiment.. yes you truly cannot take it with you, no use having it sit on your shelf untried! But in terms of simultaneous bottles open at one time, is that practical? I would assume that it may take a number of years to finish a bottle if one were to have hundreds open. For myself I know that the effect of having a bottle open for one year or longer really has a detrimental impact on the quality of the whisky in the bottle (by oxidisation), unless the whisky is religiously decanted into successively smaller bottles to keep out excessive air (or via the use of inert gas or vacuum pumping etc).

I'd love to have more than a few bottles open at a time, but for me, as the only whisky drinker of the household, and without many whisky mates, I find it quite impractical for aforementioned reasons. I live in sub-tropical Australia, with consistently high temperatures and humidity. I wonder if that also plays a part in the fast degradation of whisky in an opened bottle? But anyway.

My answer would be - four or five, at most. Usually about three.

All of them. Whisky is for drinking. I enjoy choosing something different depending on my mood, and the friends I have over to share with.

Yes I agree you should open those you wish to try. However I try to minimize my open bottles to 4 or 6 at any one time and then try to reduce these and try another style or something new. Competing styles on occasions don't compliment one another all of the time. Over to you!

I keep open exactly 15 bottles at every time. Like that I have always a good choice but do not keep the bottles open too long. Decanting is too much work for me, I prefer to drink faster...

I seem to have a compulsion to open every bottle within a week or two of acquisition. While I fully agree with @bUIGEman's and @T1429's sentiments (i.e. my whisky bottles are for consumption, not collection), I am getting a little nervous with having over 20 bottles open at a given time, since I have only 3-4 drams a week, on average. My focus should probably be on emptying some bottles in the next month or so! :)

I have about 12 bottles open right now and two that aren't. It is more than usual, but I just got some great ones for Christmas and couldn't not open some of them. Oh well. hahaha

@systemdown maybe you should just drink more? :)

Usually no more than 4 at a time and since I drink relatively few drams a week, it takes a few months just to finish those. My experience with Cognac says not to leave them more than a year especially with a low level so keep that in mind also.

@OCeallaigh Yes! I should definitely drink more. It's top of my New Year's Resolutions list!

Somewhere between 3 and 5 of bottles that I'm serious about, though at any time I could have Whisky in my 3 large and 1 medium (about 400ml.) decanters where they come to life beautifully but I do have quite a few small bottles from 50ml. to 200ml. all more or less full - sentimental favoutites, particularly fine Whiskies etc. with plain hand applied labels and lots of crossing out.

The star of the show about 3oz. of Macallan Millenium very graciously donated by Andrew who gave a series of tastings in or about 2001 for what I think was Highland Distillers (?) I could be wrong as it was about the time of the hand over. He also had some gorgeous samples of H/P cask strength 18yo. and older all in distillery sample bottles with UK. customs clearance stickers on every bottle. He was very generous with tastes; we could have the contents but a big fat no to parting with any of the declared bottles - I would have liked one of the bottles and suggested 'breakages', still NO! My wife was given about 4oz. of Millenium by virtue of the fact that she added a little water to her sample and it fell apart - The best tasting I am ever likely to attend and the most generous of hosts.

Right now six or so. I try to keep myself from opening a new bottle before finishing off one that's already open.

Well, let's not count my 60 closed bottles in the Toshan collection as that is 'hors concours' as they say. Other than that, I currently have 80 open bottles at this time and one of my New Year's resolutions is to not buy another bottle before I empty one (but that is very hard indeed). Luckily, more than 20 bottles contain only one or two drams at this time, so I'm thinking about pouring those in sample bottles, moving them to the study and creating room that way in the cabinet - and the missus will be none the wiser (unless she reads this - then I'm really in trouble). :-)

@markjedi1 Instead of a spice race, you could have a whisky rack.

I'm fairly new to drinking whisky having ''converted' 12 months ago. When I first started buying bottles I opened them as soon as I got home. I had planned to buy a bottle a month over the year in order to taste a variety of whiskies. I always met, and often exceeded my target and now have 21 bottles on the shelf, and I haven't decided upon my January 2012 bottle yet. I have 14 of these opened at present and trying to finish some before opening something new. I'm planning on drinking them all, and have at least one dram a day.

I have 6 bottles of single malt Scotch, and 1 bottle of blended Scotch open right now. A Dalmore 15 old, Jura Superstition, Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask, Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12, Laphroaig Quarter Cask, and a bottle of the limited release of Johnny Walker Double Black.

I also have two bottles of American whiskey open for my Bourbon drinking friends, a bottle of Buffalo Trace and a bottle of Maker's Mark.

Having read the replies I think I may have a few too many open. While I can't say I have anywhere near as many as Mark, I'm somewhere in the double digits and don't have any decanters to transfer to as they get more empty. I think I'm going to have to pick a couple, buckle down and just finish them. That way I can make room for some new ones...

I don't know how I'll ever get through it...

@chuck51 What a terrible problem to have mate, I'm sure you'll find a way through it! Slainte!

um. all of them? I have a strict policy of buying scotch simply for the joy of drinking it.
Oh, i am mistaken. I do have one unopened bottle of Bowmore Tempest. This is simply because it's one of the last few bottles in Manitoba. AJ has at least one unopened as well.

So, whatever else i've got in the house is open and is in the process of being consumed.

@lilyrose but i must clarify.....the max number of bottles i have on hand is usually less than 5!

I keep anywhere from 10 to 15 bottles open at anytime ( I also have discontinued bottles in the collection that are saved for special occasions ),I enjoy having choice in the matter .whenever I buy a new bottle I can hardly wait to get home and embibe . Scotch is for drinking , not looking through , (outlaw Josey Wales pun for those who have seen the film )and meant to be enjoyed . I still find it hard to belive that scotch can be so smoooooth, flavorful and complex drank neat. It really does represent a little piece of heaven on earth.

Approx 20

We keep just about everything in the cabinet open, so that would be about 16 open bottles currently. I don't believe in waiting for anything. We have a few unopened because we already know them, and we're currently drinking something similar. With new bottles I can't wait to crack them open and give them a taste! I love the variety we have on hand, and it's been fun to do little comparison tastings when the mood strikes.

If it's in the cabinet it's meant to be opened and drank and shared. So for me 17 of the 18 I have currently. As Evarees said I like the variety that scotch has to offer and every night I can change up what I'm drinking if I want to.

I must say 19,but not for long , tonight im going to open the 20th bottle of my cabinet which is Glenmorangie Lasanta,which i have many expectation for.to be continued...

10 at most, otherwise I wouldn't have room for them all.

Based on the comments, maybe I'm doing it wrong. I have 26 bottles of Scotch in my cabinet, three bottles of bourbon, and one each of gin, vodka, rum, and tequila. The vodka, rum, and tequila are mainly for guests and are the only unopened bottles. (They're for my "just in case" guests. Most of my friends drink Scotch...or beer.)

I guess I just like a variety at the ready. Some nights I'll focus on sherried whisky, sometimes heavily peated stuff, sometimes all-rounders, and sometimes I'll mix it up with at least one of each. Only two or three bottles on my shelf are more than a year old. I suppose it would make sense to start decanting if I want to continue in this manner.

Back in january I had 6 bottles of single malt and 1 bottle of blended Scotch open. Eight months later the names have changed, but the count is the same!

I now have 5 bottles of single malt Scotch, and 1 bottle of Irish single pot still whiskey, and 1 bottle of blended Scotch open. An Aberfeldy 12 old, a Duncan Taylor Rare Auld bottling of a cask strength Dalmore 20, Glenlivet 16 Nadurra, Kilchoman Machir Bay, Laphroaig 18, and a bottle of the Isle of Skye 12 blend.

I left out the 1 bottle of Irish whiskey currently open, Midleton's Redbreast 12.

I've got 5 open right now two versatile liqueurs, Pyrat X.O., and Woodford Reserve and my current favorite J.W. Black (still new at the scotch adventure) so Im still on the hunt for better things.