A dream of many whiskey lovers. have a whiskey collection… As a whiskey lover, I recently started a small collection. But when I got involved, I realized that collecting whiskey is not an easy task.

Which whiskeys should I buy first, should I buy the whiskeys I know and love or have never experienced, where should I keep the whiskeys I bought, should I open them and taste them or should I wait...

Similar questions popped up in my mind every time I wanted to buy a bottle. For this reason, I would like to share with you step-by-step some of the information I have gained from the literature, a little from myself, and that I think may be useful for those who want to start their whiskey collection or have just started whiskey lovers.

1. Determine your purpose for starting the collection well.

Some collectors try to collect whiskeys that they think will increase in value in the future for investment purposes. Since some want to have different experiences by tasting different whiskeys, they want to add all kinds of whiskeys they find to their collection and taste them whenever they want. Others, perhaps, just want to host their guests and make presentations by making a section in their home where there are quality and stylish whiskeys.

We can add many other motivations to these. As you can see, there can be many different motivations for the purpose of collecting whiskey. For this reason, it is useful to determine what your purpose is in the first place.

After determining your purpose, “Which whiskey should I buy?” The process will become much easier. But to give a small piece of advice, it's always good to start with familiar bottles.

Here are all my tasting notes to help you choose. “My Whiskey Tasting Notes from A to Z” Check out the section.

2. Budget!

Unfortunately, whiskey prices are very high in our country due to taxes. For this reason, it is useful to know what kind of cost awaits you before you start your collection.

If you go abroad frequently, you can find many whiskeys at affordable prices, including those that are not sold in Turkey. However, you have to take into account the high prices, since there is a limitation in this regard when entering the country.

A little advice: If you want to try different whiskeys but buying so many bottles is a strain on your budget, you can turn to miniature bottles.

Similarly, in cases where you are not sure whether you will like the whiskey you are going to buy, but you still want to try it, it may make much more sense to buy 10-15 miniatures instead of buying 1-2 bottles.

I've been following this path recently to try different things. I recommend you to take a look at the miniature bottle sections in the shops, especially when you travel abroad.

3. Glasses, books and accessories…

In addition to the bottles, you can add different items to your collection. whiskey accessories you can also add. I suggest you buy a few whiskey glasses first. There are many types of whiskey glasses on the market (Glencairn, tumbler, Copita, Riedel, snifter…). Each of them has its own pros and cons, and many sites have analysis articles on this subject. But the right glass will be the one you like. My favorites are Glencairn and Tumbler…

Which whiskey glasses should I add to your collection? you may take a look at my article. .

Books on whiskey, cocktails or similar topics You can enrich your whiskey collection with You can position these books in the area where you put your bottles or in a different part of the house.

Book Recommendations for Those Who Are Curious About Whiskey Culture

In addition to their rich content, there are many whiskey books that look very stylish visually. Books in my collection that I can recommend: Malt Whiskey Companion (Michael Jackson) Whiskey: The Manual (Dave Broom), World Whiskey (Charles Maclean).

4. Don't be afraid to open bottles!

You may have some special whiskeys in your collection that you find with great difficulty after a long search or that you keep for special occasions. Of course, opening these bottles will not be easy.

While this approach may make sense for some bottles, if the number of bottles you can't bear to open is growing, there is a problem. Because in this way, you deprive yourself of a great pleasure…

5. Create a special area for your collection.

When you start the collection, the bookcase or counter in your home may be enough to display your bottles for a while. But when the number of bottles increases, you should start looking for a special area for your collection.

6. Don't be selfish!

Although whiskey is a drink that you can drink alone, the most enjoyable is to drink it with a close friend. That's why you can invite your friends and try the bottles in your collection together and increase your fun. You can even organize small tasting activities.

There are different tasting clubs that I have founded with my close friends or that I am a member of. To the tastings we organize with these clubs here. .

7. Keep exploring!

Every time you want to buy a new bottle for your collection, it is likely that you will have your hands on the whiskeys you know and like. When I first started my collection, my hand was always sooty and peat whiskeys.

But after trying new things I started to buy whiskeys that I did not know or did not suit my tastes. Over time, I realized that some of the whiskeys I used to dislike were already among my favourites.

Therefore, do not hesitate to try new things and discover your taste!

As for my collection,

As I said at the beginning of the article, I recently started a whiskey collection. I am currently progressing in a planned way in the collection that I started as a random.

I divided my collection into 2 parts. In the first section, there are whiskeys that I have experienced and loved: Talisker 10, Johnnie Walker Black Label, Monkey Shoulder, Oban 14, Glenmorangie Nectar D'or… These are the whiskeys in the collection that I try to buy new ones as soon as they run out.

In the other section, there are whiskeys that I have never tried or tried a long time ago. Here, there are whiskeys from countries other than Scotland and Ireland, bourbon or blend whiskeys not sold in Turkey, and finally, the brand's newly released expressions. I try to provide as much variety as possible in this section.

A little advice: While tasting, it can be very useful to compare the whiskey in your glass with different whiskeys. In this way, you can feel the differences or similarities between the whiskeys more clearly. That's why it's important to have variety in your whiskey bar to make retrospective comparisons. 

As the amount of bottles increased, it became necessary to create a separate area for whiskey… Therefore, I bought a small buffet. If you need an additional space, I share my whiskey bar below to give you an idea.