I had my yearly call with our insurance agent the other day to discuss our policies and ensure everything was in order, which it was.  At the end of the call he asked me if I had any questions about anything.  I did.  I asked, so, what if a guy had a rather large collection of bourbon in his garage bar - lets say an earthquake occurred - would the value of those bottles be covered? (Most importantly, for specific unicorn bottles of Pappy and the likes.) The short story is that it all depends on your adjuster, but likely not...it was funny however as he inquired about my garage to help him understand the question a bit better:  

"So, this is a collection of unopened bottles?"

"No, they're all opened...I don't believe in not opening them."

"So how many bottles are we talking...20...50...?"No, more like 150."

"That's a lot of bottles"..."...and they're all just in there, open, on the wall?"

"Yep."

Some things, like natural disasters, are hard to prepare for.  At the end of the day it's also a garage, doors are open...people are in and out...and, it's a lot of alcohol.  A lot of nice bottles...some with stories - like a gift from a friend who's now passed.  That bottle I take down here and there when someone who was close to him comes by and we toast his memory.  

Whether being mindful of irreplaceable bottles or the fact that you won't find too many garages out there that have Pappy, at some point, it made sense that I needed to up my game on the security front.  I invested in an Arlo system which after a lot of looking did all the things I was wanting, motion sensing - night vision - and best of all I could place it anywhere as it's wireless.  It has a long battery life, I maybe charge them once every six months or so.  It was an easy no fuss option that's worked great - for what it's worth.

Protect the Pappy

Sure, I could store my unicorn bottles inside. But let's be honest: it's pretty satisfying to gaze up at the wall of whiskey. And it's more about the memories made than anything else. So, I invest in a bit of security like the Arlo system, lock it all down, and hope any bourbon burglars can't reach the top shelf.

Check back for more ultimate home bar tips...

From security to climate control and of course kegerator setup expertise, you can find it all at bourboneur.com. (Need a laugh? Take peek inside the life of a local home bar hero on TikTok. Bonus points if you can spot the Pappy.)

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