Words by Colin Hampden-White
What is an Infinity Bottle?
If you are an avid whisky drinker, you may well have many bottles open at the same time and some of them will have very little left in them. A good way to make space for more bottles is to create what is commonly known as an infinity bottle. This is simply a large bottle (I use 8 and 4 litre Kilner jars), which contain a blend of all the nearly finished bottles in my house. This creates a living blend which as it is drunk and re-filled with different bottles, changes in character as new whiskies are poured into it.
How do you make a whisky infinity bottle?
There are a few tips that will help when creating an infinity bottle:
If using a jar with a tap at the bottom, buy extra seals in case one doesn’t last and it begins to leak.
Keep peated and non-peated whisky separate. A tiny amount of peat in an un-peated blend can overpower the whisky.
Don’t be too precious about pouring your most sought-after whiskies into it. A good whisky will help the blend, and if it is left to oxidise in its own bottle it will simply never be as good as it first tasted.
Don’t worry about the size. I use large Kilner jars now, but in the past, I had a simple 750ml decanter. It did the job just as well, I simply had to top it up more frequently!
Lastly, if it all goes very wrong and it tastes horrible, don’t be afraid to start again, it’s not worth pouring perfectly good whisky into not so good leading to the end result being unsatisfactory.
I find an infinity bottle both fun and interesting at the same time. I use my blend for long drinks like whiskey and ginger ale when it is an average blend, and occasionally it has been superb, and I’ve sipped it neat or on ice to be able to savour the good blends for longer. But I’m fully in the knowledge that whenever I pour a new whisky into the blend, it will be different. For better or for worse. And that’s what makes it exciting. The art of blending is strange, and a whisky can be far greater than the sum of its parts as new flavours are created by blending. It makes me realise how skilled our whisky blenders of today are. Whether they are blending many casks from a single distillery, or many from many distilleries to keep a brand consistent, their skill is clear, and as for me, I’m happy to keep on practicing.
Wondering which whiskies to try next? Why not have a read through The Best Scotch Whisky to Try This Year or The Best Japanese Whisky to Buy.