Collection vs. Accumulation: What's in Your Cabinet?

[dan_the_tax_man]

The other day on the Malt Maniacs FaceBook page there was a discussion of what constitutes a "good collection" of whisky, to which Serge Valentin from WhiskyFun noted that there is a discrepancy in the English language when it comes to understanding what "a collection" actually is.  The individual had asked "[h]ow many bottles is considered a good collection?"  In response, Serge points out that a collection is a number of "...worthy items that are somewhat related each to the other, with some kind of coherence and even sometimes a goal, such as completeness, or a theme. Distilleries, ages, vintages, else...".  If what you have doesn't have a coherent theme, he says, it is an "accumulation", not a collection, but you can have a tight collection within a larger accumulation...does this make sense yet?

My friend shara collects books, which she blogs about over at Inklings, and her collection is very definitely focused on a specific author (she also tends to accumlate books, such are the hazards of working at a book store, but her collection has a separate space on the shelves).  Likewise, Mark Dermal (markjedi1, aka 'Toshan Man') has a large, but extremely focused collection of all things Auchentoshan related (whisky expressions, paraphenalia, etc.; he is also responsible for the 'Save the Lars Homestead' campaign which restored original Star Wars set pieces in Tunisia).  As for myself, I have a small collection of Lego (Castle Lego and Ninja/Samurai Lego), most of which is packed in boxes at the moment as I currently have no place to display it (when I was in university, one of the places I lived had a ping-pong table in the basement that none of my room-mates used, so I set up my collection down there and waged battles...).

That being said, what I have in terms of whisky is definitely an accumulation.  Sure, I could pretend that just because I've got a couple of limited release / out of production malts, that I'm starting a collection, but I'm not.  What I have are a couple of bottles that I plan to save for an unspecified later date, but I still intend to drink them.  While I may accumulate, I have no plans to hoard (nor do I have the space).  So, what is in my accumulation, and do I have a plan for future accumulation and/or consumption?  Right now I have ten bottles of whisky, two bottles of rum, and a bottle of Peruvian Pisco open, which fall into the following categories:

• Canadian Whisky - Danfield's Limited Edition 21 year-old Canadian Rye Whisky
• American Whiskey - Old Forester Signature 100 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• Peated Single Malt - Laphroaig Quarter-Cask (Islay)
• Sherried Single Malt - Balvenie Double Wood 12 year-old
• Speyside Single Malt - Glenlivet 15 year-old French Oak Reserve
• Lowland Single Malt - Auchentoshan Three Wood
• Highland Single Malt - Clynelish Distiller's Edition (1993/2010 - 17 year-old)
• Blended Whisky - Nikka Taketsuru 12 year-old Pure Malt (also counts as a 'World Malt Whisky')
• World Single Malt - Penderyn Aur Cymru (Welsh Single Malt)
• Irish Whiskey - Jameson
• Rum - St. Nicholas Abbey 12 year-old (Bajan)
• Rum - El Dorado 12 year-old (Guyanese)

Do I have a system?  In thinking about whether or not I do, I may have in fact come up with a system.  Ten bottles of whisky, plus one or two bottles of rum in the following configuration: one Canadian whisky, one American whiskey, a peated whisky (not necessarily from Islay), a sherried single malt (not necessarily from Speyside), a Speyside single malt, an Island whisky (Scapa, Jura, Highland Park, Talisker, Mull, etc.), a Highland single malt, a Blended Whisky (which could be a malt or a blend of malt and grain), a Campbeltown or Lowland single Malt, and a World Malt Whisky (which could be a blend or a single malt)...and it turns out that my accumulation has plenty of bottles that could fill those categories when the existing bottles run dry:

• Canadian Whisky - Alberta Premium Dark Horse, Highwood Distiller's Centennial 10 year-old Canadian Rye Whisky, Lot 40 2012 Release, Alberta Springs 10 year-old Canadian Rye Whisky
• American Whiskey - Wild Turkey 81 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Makers Mark (20cl)...I'm not overly fond of bourbon, so I may not keep much stock and am likely to just fill this category as needed
• Peated Whisky - Ardmore Traditional Cask (also a Speyside whisky), Arran Machrie Moor (also an Island whisky), Compass Box Peat Monster (also a Blended Malt), Islay Mist 17 year-old (also a Blended Scotch), Bowmore 12 year-old, Signatory Caol Ila 1999/2011 (11 year-old), Dun Bheagan Islay 8 year-old (an independent bottling of Lagavulin), Lagavulin 16 year-old (20cl)
• Sherried Single Malt - Aberlour 10 year-old, Aberlour 12 year-old, GlenDronach 12 year-old (all of these are also Speyside whiskies)
• Speyside Single Malt - Cragganmore 12 year-old (20cl)
• Island Single Malt / Whisky - Talisker 10 year-old (20cl), Talisker Distiller's Edition (20cl), Talisker 57' North (20cl), Scapa 16 year-old, Te Bheag (also a Blend with a heavy Talisker influence), Arran Machrie Moor (also a Peated whisky)
• Highland Single Malt - Oban 14 year-old (20cl), Clynelish 14 year-old
• Campbeltown or Lowland Single Malt - nothing currently in stock, but I do want to pick up a Springbank 10 year-old at some point.
• Blended Whisky - Compass Box Spice Tree, Compass Box Oak Cross, Compass Box Peat Monster (also a Peated whisky), Islay Mist 17 year-old (also a Peated whisky), Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 year-old (20cl), Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 year-old (Blended Malt), Te Bheag (which could also be an Island whisky)
• World Malt Whisky - Yoichi 10 year-old (Japan; 18cl; also a Peated whisky), English Whisky Company Chapter 6 (England; 3 year-old), Belgian Owl Single Malt Whisky (Belgium; 3 year-old; organic barley from Belgium; 50cl)

An accumulation, not a collection, but with a plan for a rotating cabinet.  I really want to keep my accumulation and my cabinet somewhat eclectic, as opposed to filling my available shelf space with the "staple drams" that many other whisky bloggers seem to think are part and parcel of a well stocked whisky shelf.  So, what's in your cabinet?

***** UPDATE - November 8, 2012 *****

Added a couple of more whiskies to the shelf list...

***** UPDATE - November 17, 2012 *****

Added another whisky to the shelf list...