Where do you start in building a look for your whisky cave?
The trend of creating a bar at home has been around for decades, but now we see much more envy-inducing creations on social media. Pool tables, spiral staircases and oldfashioned trolleys are entirely at your discretion; we’ll take you through bottle arranging. Whether you start out small with a couple of bottles or have a room dedicated to your hobby, here’s a guide to what to consider.
Consider a systematic approach
- Left to right in A-Z alphabetical order of brands/distillery names
- Brand grouping, this can be similar to A-Z approach – depends on how you like to layout
- Scotch Whisky Regions; Lowland, Speyside, Highland, Campbeltown, Islay
- Flavour based left to right; Light, Fruity, Coastal, Peat (you’ll see this most at airport duty-free stores.)
- Single Malt, Blended Malt, Independent Bottlings, Blended, Irish, Bourbon, World Whisky
- Age arranged; under 12 years, 12-18years old, 18-25 years, rare
- Colour coded neck tags; green for everyday enjoyment, red for high priced – a warning to take care when opening!
Tips on what to stock your bar with
Obviously your favourites must be in there! It’s always a good idea to add something similar to the style you’re loyal to, but broaden horizons when friends come round to add something new to explore. Also, keep something you might not like but others will, for example, if you don’t like peaty whisky, it could be a guest’s favourite style. As tastes change over time, sometimes you enjoy different drams at different times of the year, so always keep a wishlist. No rules, but we recommend not leaving a dribble of good stuff for a special occasion, decant it into a smaller bottle so there’s less oxidation and keep the bottle/box for display.
The Lost Distillery Company Archivist Selection Range
Here’s the case for a Lost Distillery Company whisky in your cave
Each has a unique story from the past, the black bottle adds shelf candy and something curious to any collection.
- Auchnagie – Perthshire farm style perfect aperitif pre-dinner dramming
- Stratheden – Lowland but doesn’t behave like it, more like coastal notes
- Towiemore – tastes like an old Speyside, a whiff of smoke, subtle & complex
- Jericho – Heavy Sherried Highland, a big bang for your buck pudding dram
- Gerston – North Highland maritime wine cask influenced, a salty caramel profile
- Dalaruan – A style not made in Campbeltown today, sherry & rum cask coastal smokiness
- Lossit – An elegant Islay whisky at 35ppm, it’s a terrific gateway to peaty whisky
Please share your thoughts and pictures tagging @lostdistillery on Twitter and Facebook, @thelostdistillerycompany on Instagram, we love to see a good layout!
Slàinte Mhath