Drain Pour? What do you do with a bottle you don't like?

So...you bought a bottle, cracked it open and were well,....disappointed. Or maybe you hated it. What do you do with it now?

I have this happen to me. More than once in a while. And, it's not just craft whiskey that this happens. It's big bourbon too.

I'll be honest, when I see a review of a whiskey (whether it be craft or big bourbon) and it's not very positive, it causes me to want to try it for myself. So, I do it to myself willingly more times that I can count.

But, it still doesn't answer the question what do you do with a bottle you don't like?

Simple answer - I keep it. I will let a bottle sit for several weeks to several months and come back to it and try it again to see if I still taste what I tasted before. Look, maybe your taste buds were off that day. Maybe you were coming down with something or getting over the flu. Maybe you had a meal that affected your pallet and your nose. Maybe....you are in a crappy mood (sounds crazy, I know, but your mood can affect what you taste).

I find that I need to come back to a bottle more than once to validate my initial impressions. I have written about this before. I once purchased a big bourbon ($100) single barrel. I was super excited to crack it open and try it. And, when I did, I hated it. I thought "crap! I wasted a $100 bucks on this! This is supposed to be great and it wasn't." But, I let it sit for about 3 months. I came back to it, and tried it again and wow! Totally different. I've had the same experience with craft whiskey as well.

Don't let your first impression of a whiskey, especially if you think it stinks, cause you to think it's a drain pour. That's probably the thing that irks me the most when I see a post like that. Someone or many someone's put a lot of time, energy and grit into making the whiskey. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it sucks. It just means it didn't hit your pallet very well at the time. Give it another try later on.

If after a second or third try, you still don't like it, fair enough. But I still have a hard time pouring something down a drain. Matter of fact....i've never done it.

I will keep a bottle and let other people try it if they are interested. Or maybe they have heard about it and want to try it. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean they won't like it. Everyone's pallet is different. Let me say that again. "Everyone's" pallet is different.

Gift it to someone else who loves the bottle design or the whiskey. Keep it as conversation piece so that when someone asks you if you have ever had a whiskey you don't like, you can show them and get their input. I've given away several bottles to people who either were a fan of the brand, or who tried it and liked it.

If you really don't like something, do the distiller a solid, contact them and tell them why. Just telling them it sucks isn't helpful. They can't do anything with that. They don't come to your work, crap all over it, and then post about it online anonymously. Don't do that to them. Give them something they can work with.

This is just my take. I have yet to meet a craft distiller who wants to make bad whiskey. They are passionate about what they do and what they put out.

I have yet to pour out a bottle. And I just don't see me doing it. If nothing else, it's a great conversation piece.