Put a Cork in it

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Originally Posted by Str8RYE

You really discriminate against trying a whiskey because of the packaging????? Really??? :skep:

I once heard a saying that really summed this type of reasoning up: NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

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Good one! Thanks for the responses. I don't think that its outright discrimination but more a protest against unnecessary change and an appreciation for tradition. And I do want that ORVW107 I saw last week. I might even go get it now. The wine industry sells millions of bottles with a screw caps but there would be a lynch mob assembled if they made a move to putting a screw cap on a $200 bottle of Chardonnay and I don't think that they would take that chance and I hope that twist cap Pappy shooters aren't on the horizon...what am I saying that would be great! Hey that's my idea Julian! Now I'm late for my shrink.

I much prefer to see a screw cap on a bottle I'm thinking of buying. If it's cork, I figure they've decided to favor marketing on that point, I'm paying extra that marketing detail, and what else are they trying to pull? OK, that's maybe too harsh, but I've found many wonderful middle-price pours, and enough high priced ones I don't really care for. I really try to divorce my taste experience from the marketers' desired impact on me, and I end up thinking of cork as just useless fluff. Plus, the more cork that goes into bottles, the less there is for fly rod grips, where it really matters.

Bob

I prefer screw caps. Perhaps I have had bad luck with corks; about half of the corked bottles which I have purchased have been problematic for me.

Recently, the cork on my 1/4 full bottle of Bufallo Trace failed, so I emptied the contents into a 1/5 full bottle of WL Weller Special Reserve. I did not like the mix. To prevent oxidation, I latter emptied this into an almost empty 200 mL bottle of Old Fitzgerald.

Last week, the cork on my El Tesero platinum broke. There were about 200 mL left, so I emptied the 200 mL bottle of mixed bourbon into a bottle of Knob Creek, which had about 200 mL left, and transfered the tequila into the 200 mL bottle (after cleaning it).

I am happy now; I like the Knob Creek/Weller/Buffalo Trace/Old Fitzgerald blend better than the earlier two blends.

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Originally Posted by Empty Glass

Good one! Thanks for the responses. I don't think that its outright discrimination but more a protest against unnecessary change and an appreciation for tradition.

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I know that the use of corks is an established tradition for wine, but is it for whiskey?

For bourbon, during which periods was the use of corks ubuiquitous?

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Originally Posted by Empty Glass

I don't want to sound like a snob but I don't want my bourbon to have a screw cap. I know I may be passing on some fine spirts but I'll only buy a bottle if I see a cork or sense that a cork does exist under a thick layer of wax. I was only fooled once by MM as I pulled and pulled on that red cap. I don't care if its cheaper, keeps the bourbon longer, or any other reason for the change and I'm not refering to larger bottles of JB,EW etc.,there's just something special about breaking the wax seal and popping a cork on a new bottle. It just adds somthing to the ambiance of a nightly ritual. I see a slow transition to a foil over wax seal and I hope that the bottlers don't think that we would like an easy opening plastic cap underneath the bronze horse on a bottle of Blantons. By my second pour I don't care if there might be a cork chip floating in my liquid gold and by the third I wouldn't notice a dirty sock floating near the edge. Does anyone else feel the same way I do or should I seek therapy?

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OK, I don't want to stray too far off topic here, but how do you feel about synthetic corks? The introduction of synthetic cork rocked the boat quite a bit in the wine enthusiast crowd, but considering that whiskey coming into contact with the cork is an undesirable thing, then synthetic cork should be a superior closure.

Many wine aficionados find synthetic corks offensive in the extreme, but wine is supposed to come in contact with the stopper when it's cellared; whiskey ain't. Of course I'm not too familiar with the physical properties of synthetic corking material. I don't think it is as susceptible to degradation by drying as real cork however.

I don't think I would have a problem with synthetic corks if it was assured that they did not affect the whiskey. Thinking about it, I would probably prefer them over real cork.
Joe :usflag:

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Originally Posted by jbutler

OK, I don't want to stray too far off topic here, but how do you feel about synthetic corks? The introduction of synthetic cork rocked the boat quite a bit in the wine enthusiast crowd, but considering that whiskey coming into contact with the cork is an undesirable thing, then synthetic cork should be a superior closure.

Many wine aficionados find synthetic corks offensive in the extreme, but wine is supposed to come in contact with the stopper when it's cellared; whiskey ain't. Of course I'm not too familiar with the physical properties of synthetic corking material. I don't think it is as susceptible to degradation by drying as real cork however.

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Great perspective. I would say that I'm more against the appearance of a threaded bottle top and plastic screw cap than the material that a cork (plug) is made of especially if it were superior in keeping the bourbon intact. I can't recall the brand but I just saw an attractive bottle of bourbon with a glass stopper like a decanter. After reviewing a similar thread at SB from 2004 I can see that very little has changed in the boubon bottle plugging industry and that similar positions were taken, traditional cork vs deterioration problems. I'm going to side with Chuck that you should drink your bourbon before it starts to spoil and definetly before the cork disintegrates. What would you think of an exagerated tapped interior bottle neck and a large threaded oak stopper made from over the hill casks? All rights reserved.

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Originally Posted by barturtle

...the way a corked bottle opens feels nice, sounds nice, looks nice.

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This sums up my opinion. All things being equal, I prefer a cork over a screw top. Purely for esthetic / tactile reasons. Would it dictate my purchasing? No, but particularly for high-end bourbons, give me a cork any time!

It's an interesting technological question. I haven't found a cork substitute that has the resilience and closing qualities of cork. In that new XR Crown Royal, they use a synthetic cork and mine at any rate does not fit the bottle well. Every time I open the bottle it seems a struggle to take out the cork and sometimes droplets of whisky fly out. The theory is good (no deterioration, minimal if any adverse contact with the whisky) but it may take time for technology to achieve the results.

As between a threaded closure and cork I have no preference, well, the corks (some of them) have a pleasing aesthetic look and feel. I like the ones that fit Buffalo Trace (that brand) and WT 80 and 101 bottles. Big corks seem a little clumsy and more liable to cracking and breaking. Still, I don't store most bottles for long, so...

Gary

I would be fine with a synthetic cork. The thing I like about a cork is the "pop". As long as I have that, I am a happy camper.

I like the cork tops better also. But I am not giving up Old Rip Van Winkle, Weller Antique, or OC 12, just because they screw on....although the screw caps seem kind of chinsy or 80's to me...