Got Cork?

[gr8erdane]

Ed, looked to me to be straight corks with plastic caps but I didn't inspect them too closely. I don't have anything old enough to need them yet. YET

[Paradox]

Some more opinions can be found in this old thread. I like corks.

[Buckky]

Since I started this poll, it seems only fair that I put in my 2 cents...When I first began to buy bourbon with corks, I enjoyed the "pop" that a pulled cork can give you. I also associated a cork with quality. I still do. But as a general rule I must say that corks are earned by only the best of bourbons. Corks in the Antique collection is a natural, with the "Derby Day" bourbon Blanton's a must...my favorite example is with Elijah Craig...the wide mouth and cork is probably the best example we have. But in the end, the practical and utterly functional screw top proves why whiskey makers moved beyond the cork. We are a conservative and nostalgic bunch who want to know what the taste and experience of past bourbons were like so I, like you, enjoy the pull of a cork on the best...but in the end I like the 20th century solution over the 19th century solution....now if they ever go to pop tops I will definately be annoyed...

[boone]

My Aunt Jo, met a woman from Portugal, who was touring the Getz Museum, several years ago. She asked lots of questions about the corks, in the bottles, on display. One question, led to another and Aunt Jo was stumped for indepth information about corks.

Her visitor, turned out to be from a company that makes corks. They donated a really nice display of corks and a video about how they are made.

Me, Bobby and Amelia watched this video on day while visiting the Getz. I had no idea that corks were "harvested" from tree's. It's actually skinned bark.

I recommend, that if you tour the Getz, watch this video along with Chuck's video, Made and Bottled in Kentucky.

Bettye Jo

[tlsmothers]

Screwtop doesn't always mean "plonk" anymore. Aussies and New Zealanders especially have been involved with extensive study on long term effects of natural cork, synthetic cork, and screwtops on wines. Natural cork is losing out in those studies. The cork is a relic and associated with romance of opening bottles, but with taint and breakage often a problem, I'm all for the Stelvin closures or synthetic corks. Ages ago people closed up amphoras and other containers with rags or whatever they could think of. Imagine the talk that must have ensued when someone came up with this cork notion? "Give up my rags? You have to be kidding me?" Many wineries have moved to screw tops even on their high end bottlings. Randall Graham of Bonny Doon held a big hoopla here in NYC a while back where he took corks in a casket through Grand Central as a public way of saying, "Time to move on, folks." I have a section in my store just for quality screw top bottles to assist folks to begin thinking about it more positively.

[Black85L98]

I like corks because:

They sound cool

Opening a corked bottle makes me feel like I'm in a western

EC12YO has one

The number one reason, if a cork goes bad I have to drink all the bourbon in the bottle.

[SteveZZZ]

Definitely corks. Whether wine, beer, vodka, rum, or whiskey, I really like the cork. It just adds to the whole experience. Save the screwtops for milk and soda. On liquor I feel it adds a touch of class. On Wine, I demand it. I drink wine rarely, and always in the presence of company deserving of special treatment (females, preferably atractive ), and opening a corked bottle is just another part of the experience. Beer bottles with corks are actually fairly common on Belgian beer if you buy the 750ml bottles. It's topped off like a champagne bottle, with the little wire cage you untwist. Since those beers are large, strong, and expensive, they're special occasion beers for me, and firing off the cork sure is a lot of fun.

Steve

[kitzg]

I recommend, that if you tour the Getz, watch this video along with Chuck's video, Made and Bottled in Kentucky.

better yet, BUY Chuck's video to show your friends AND visit the Getz and ask to see the cork video

[wadewood]

I did not vote. I enjoy the tradition of cork, but I also know it is inferior. Check out:

Deathofthecork.com

[SteveZZZ]

Whichever method of sealing wine bottles becomes mainstream in the future, I'll always seek out bottles sealed with corks. Synthetic corks are ok. Screwtops on wine would just ruin the experience for me.