When it comes to a good bottle of whiskey, there are two types of people. Those who uncork a bottle and drink it quickly and those who open one up, have a few drinks, but are fearful of finishing off a great, hard to find bottle. I fall in the latter category and find it hard to drink my really good stuff, in fear that I might not be able to find that bottle again.

I have found a great solution to my dilemma. I have created what I like to call my Mini Whiskey Library. As soon as open a bottle, I fill a mini bottle, make a label, wax seal it and add it to my collection. I once had a friend tell me that my archive reminded him a little of the show Dexter, with his slides behind his A/C unit……

Anyway, I also use these bottles to give sample flights to my friends and family, as well as trading with others that might have something I would like to try. I give my brother in law, who lives out of state a new set of filled bottles from my collection for his birthday every year. I think he likes it.

Enough of that, let me show you how to do it for yourself.

What you need:

• 2 oz glass mini bottles-make sure you get the plastic cones in the lids. this will create an airtight seal in the bottle

• Small metal funnel

• Bottle seal wax beads- I like to use gold, however, there are many colors to choose from.

• Filament tape- this is key for making a pull tab to open the bottles with.

• empty can

• utility knife

• cutting board

• metal ruler or straight edge

• Avery 8165 labels

The process:

The first thing I do, is create labels for the whiskey. I will normally create two or three for each whiskey, in case I want to give a bottle as a gift, or if it is a really special bottle. I buy the Avery Label 8165, which is a full label sheet. I use the Avery Template 22816 for the design process that prints 12 labels per page. I like the full page label, since it allows you to cut out labels and custom trim them. In the beginning, I used Avery 5160 labels, which are also pictured above. There are many types of label options, get what works best for you, and make sure you get kinds that work with whatever type of ink you are using (inkjet or laser).

Cut a thin strip of the tape and place it around the lid of the bottle. Create a tab by folding the tape as seen above.

Heat the beads inside the metal can on the stove until the beads melt. Pull it off the stove and wait until the liquid thickens up a bit. I use a toothpick or plastic knife to check for consistency

After that, place the decals on the bottles, and you have your own Mini-Whiskey Library!

I bought a box at a local store that totally sells wine and more to display my bottles. It closes up nicely and looks great in my whiskey cabinet.

Hope you enjoyed this how to! If you have any questions or comments, please let us know!