How many open bottles do you keep on hand?

4-5 bottles open.

Always have Bacardi silver for mixing as I live in SW Florida and have a steady stream of out of town guests.

For myself and other rum drinking guests ... 1-3 bottles of R.L. Seale b/c at $26 US, it is the highest price performer I know. I struggle to keep Mount Gay XO on the shelf b/c it is difficult to stop drinking it.

Then I rotate a third and/or 4th bottle with one favorite and one first timer. My new addition is Bombarda Falconette. El Pasador de Oro Gran Reserva is a nice change of pace. Also just tried Plantation overproof.

Finally, I have 2 bottles of Four Square ... waiting for a special occasion to crack one of them open.

 in the bar i have almost all bottles opened (most than 28), at home around 20 ...

Not more than I can finish within a year, cause that's a maximum time it can keep its flavours and taste if you keep it away from direct sunshine.

With me, almost half of all the bottles in my "home bar" are open (more than 28), although a quarter of them are used for mixing, a third are white rum / rum and about an eighth are rare rum. Some "normal" are also there.

I handle a quarter rule: If the bottle is 3/4 full, drink it within 3 years; if it's half full, drink it in a year; if it's 1/4 full, drink it in six months. I have had good experience. As Stefan already mentioned, a good storage is indispensable. But every rum behaves differently, high proof unsweetened rums have a longer shelf life when opened than low proof sweetened rums. Paul surely has a chart for this ;-)  no, Paul knows the problem all too well.

Rene:

Yes, I know the problem of rum deteriorating in the bottle all too well. It would be off the charts to take data on what percent is full and how has the taste degraded. Then that could theoretically create more charts. Nope! That is more like a scientific experiment than me being just another avid rum drinker.  I won't do it!

6 that constantly change. I see no reason to stay with any one rum seeing how vast the rum world is.  I do find ones I like but as the pirate I am I find it difficult to stay in any one port too long. There's just way too much out there to explore!

Kevin:

I guess that I must be more of a pirate because 6 opened bottles is not enough to choose from for me.

Paul, more or less is not the factor. As long as you favor rum you have pirate within. My reasoning for 6 bottles has some influence. 1st while on board stores are limited and with a full crew all need their own libations on board so that limit was 2 bottles per crew member. Which was fine by me seeing just about every port of call had a distillery. This port replenishment worked great for the pirates on board seeing we were the only crew that had a constantly evolving drinking experience. Another is once I hit home I would go crazy purchasing up to 12 bottles but found it expensive,  confusing and a bit disappointing. Confusing because it was hard to pick and disappointing because I found myself becoming excessive with my consumption. So I narrowed it down to just 2 bottles and that was not enough. Even 4 was not enough and I went to 6 and am now comfortable with that amount and so is my pocket! Lol I don't like sticking to one bottle. I believe much of the fun comes from constantly mixing it up trying different grogs in one sitting which 12 is again excessive for one sitting. I found my balance at 6 bottles. I switch up 3 of them in a sitting and have found my paradise. This also allows me to travel the rum world more often because I'm  stocking up more often. They all have stories to tell same as sailors and the more the merrier!  So, I'll bet your stock has quite the story telling. Arrrgh!

when i was in martinique i bought some t shirts for my kids and waiters, on them (in french) the motto:

if you drink rhum before twelve youre not an alcoholic but a pirate ... and a nice skull and bones logo

Bar, Arrrgh again. Very true statement. While we're on anchor we partake on a moment's notice no matter how many bells. If the seas calm down, if the wind changes direction, if a chore was successful.....

Sorry, this is what happens before noon, trigger happy double posting! Arrrgh!

I really miss my days sailing and diving in the Caribbean. I am now stuck being a land lubber in constant pain from a back injury. And rum only negates the pain relief from my painkiller meds. Do it all while you still have the energy! Take the ball and run with the damn thing when handed to you! I am so glad that I did and I must have had a crystal ball.

Paul, U couldn't be in a better place than the big easy seeing your predicament. I lived there for 12 of my best years and often yearn to return. If I ever do I shall look u up to indulge in some grog.

Kevin:

It is now so sad what The Big Easy has become. Pot holes and crime infestation keep me away from there at night, and I feel quite safe living on the north shore.

I just counted my open bottles  74. I only have about 120 bottles at home, so my ratio seems high. I'll have to work at this problem. Cheers

Currently I have 14 different Rum bottles opened and 131 full bottles waiting their turn.

Jagsroy:

That is just perfect. You now have a variety to choose from with much more waiting in the wings.

As for me, I now have 6 bottles opened and 29 bottles closed from only 10 different rums. I need to open some of them up, but not until I get past this medical dillema.

Don:

Don't open any more until you drink up some of thiose already opened. Always keep track of the date opened.

That is interessting and i guess most of us rum lovers have the problem of to many open bottles. i have 25 open bottles and about 70 closed ones. i guess it will be hard to ever open them all. i am not a fast drinker and also have like 100 samples. most are 5cl. some are 2cl or 10cl. it is just a lot of rums. i have one or two open bottles that are open for more than two years. they still taste good. better to drink dry rums i guess ; ). and good to use smaller bottles when the bottle has less than 30cl. We make bottle kill meetings sometimes to end bottles that have been alive to long ; P

Paul i see a bacardi and a bayou, both have suger added :-)

bar la moura:

Many think that Bayou XO Mardi Gras has added sugar. Their website clearly states that it does not. This sweetness is from sherry cask aging.

I guess that you cannot read the fine print in the dark on that Bacardi bottle. It is a 16-year-old 2021 Special Edition bottled at a slightly higher proof. No added sugar.

So does this satisfy the Chief of The Sugar Police? Oh, I forgot!!!! There is sugar in EVERYTHING!!!!

I have about 50 opened bottles of rum. I started culling them down but keep adding new ones. The problem comes from the bottles I don't care for that much, many strong Jamaican rums, strange second aging or over aging, etc, then the super rare ones like La Favorite or Caroni I want to hold on to. If I like it I'll drink it all with the couple exceptions.