How to start an infinity bottle

A few weeks ago, Chelsea surprised me with a decanter set. While some people might simply put their favorite whiskey in there and call it a day, I was excited to finally take the initiative and start an infinity bottle.

An infinity bottle is a personal blend of whiskey, typically made by combining the last ounces of bottles you have on hand. Aaron Goldfarb traced the origins of the infinity bottle in an article he wrote in 2017 for Punch:

The infinity bottle (or “fractional bottle” or “living bottle”) seems to have first entered prominence courtesy of a 2012 video by popular whiskey YouTuber Ralfy Mitchell. In his thick brogue, he rhetorically asks viewers, “How can you create something which is 100 percent uniquely yours? That is part of your whiskey or spirit drinking history? That becomes, in fact, a family heirloom in time?”

His answer is what he calls a “solera bottle,” likening his experiment to the world of sherry, in which casks are fractionally blended over time via the solera system in order to create consistency. Using an empty bottle from WhiskyBlender, Mitchell affixed a label to the back in order to keep a running tally of each new whiskey he added, and when. An infinity bottle, he says, can create “a taste that you just can’t buy,” one worth far more than what he paid for the component whiskeys. He also imagines a world where children inherit their parents’ or grandparents’ solera bottle started decades before.

I’ve been inspired to create my infinity bottle for two reasons. The first is practicality. I often have several open bottles of whiskey at a given time and while my thirst for whiskey is infinite (har har), my storage space isn’t. As someone who has a passion for crafting cocktails, I have a bar cabinet, an overflow section, and now an overflow for the overflow section. I’ll take any excuse to consolidate bottles and create additional space.

In addition, while whiskey rarely “goes bad”, it does lose flavor the longer it’s been open. This process is accelerated when a bottle is less than half full as there is now more air to oxidize the whiskey. Combining leftover whiskey into a single bottle can help slow this down.

The second reason why I appreciate the concept of the infinity bottle is how it becomes a physical representation of your whiskey profile and journey. This blend of whiskey will be completely unique to you and the whiskeys you drink and the longer you maintain one, the more emotion and attachment you’ll add to it as well.

Furthermore, an infinity bottle is easily accessible to anyone. You don’t need a decanter to start one - any empty bottle will suffice. Whiskey has been on such a pedestal for the past decade, with standard whiskeys like Weller 107 and Eagle Rare becoming rare and rare whiskeys becoming unobtainable. An infinity bottle carries an emotional depth and personal history that these whiskeys can never capture. As Goldfarb states, “Offering a taste from one’s very own infinity blend is a gesture of hospitality that’s more personal than pouring out, say, a taste of Yamazaki 18 or Pappy. After all, a geek’s most cherished bottle is often his or her own blend.”

Making an infinity bottle

There are two different approaches for making an infinity bottle. One can be methodical and implement rules that allow only for meticulous precision such as sticking to one type of whiskey, measuring each amount, and even testing out blends before committing them to the bottle.

The other approach is the more carefree attitude that involves pouring whatever you have leftover into the bottle to see what happens. This approach is both adventurous and haphazard with no control or documentation on what will happen.

For my own bottle, I combined the two approaches I wanted the unpredictability of adding whatever whiskey I had on hand, but at the same time, I wanted to measure and record my mix in case I came across a situation that I wanted to replicate (I am a data analyst after all).

My overall methodology for adding a new whiskey into my infinity bottle

• Any kind of whiskey can go in

• I recorded the weight of the decanter

• Anytime I add a new whiskey, I record the weight of it going in

• When you pour yourself a drink, weigh out how much is going out

• With the total weight of the whiskey (minus the decanter), you can calculate the individual percentage that each whiskey makes

• Accept that at some point I will screw up and that’s okay

• Don’t be too precious

Whiskeys for the inaugural Infinity Bottle

Trapline Rock & Rye (Batch 2021F-620) (23% of blend)

Trapline Rock and Rye is a rye whiskey made by the Glacier Distilling company in Montana and is a blend of rye whiskey with honey, orange, and aromatic spices. I picked this up direct from the distillery after a day of hiking in Glacier National Park. The whiskey is truly unique. While I find it too sweet to drink on its own, it is the perfect whiskey for a hot toddy.

High West Campfire (Batch 20F17) (13% of blend)

High West is one of my favorite distilleries based out in Utah and Campfire is one of their limited releases. I bought this particular bottle back in 2020 when High West announced it would no longer produce Campfire outside of Utah. Thankfully, it seems that the distillery has walked this back. This specific whiskey shows why it can be complicated in understanding what is in your infinity bottle. Not only is this whiskey in itself a blend of scotch, bourbon, and rye, but this batch is much older and not the same as the current.

Sazerac Rye (24% of blend)

For a while, it was hard for me to drink Sazerac on its own - not because I didn’t enjoy it, but every time I got a bottle, it would instantly find it’s way into a Monte Carlo. Thankfully, at some point I ran out of Bénédictine, which left me with some of this bottle.

Maker’s Mark (40% of blend)

Lastly, to give the bottle some heft, I poured in a generous amount of Marker’s Mark bourbon, which accounts for 40% of the infinity bottle’s blend. While I like drinking craft whiskey, it can be expensive (especially if you’re also using it to mix drinks). As a result, it’s practical to buy a “daily sipper”, a whiskey that’s more economical for daily consumption and cocktails. I like Maker’s Mark because it’s easy to find and buy in bulk.

So how does it taste?

It’s remarkable that at only being 13% of the blend (and even less since it’s a blend in itself), how much peated flavor from the Campfire comes through. I find this interesting and something to keep in mind for the future when adding more scotch to the bottle. Outside of this, the sweetness from the Rock and Rye also stands out, giving the blend an overall sweet and smokey flavor that’s filled out with wheated, spices from the Marker’s Mark and Sazerac. For my first blend, I’m enjoying it a ton and finding it hard not to drink the whole thing.

Have you started an infinity bottle? What’s in yours and how does it taste? Let me know in the comments!