Santa Loves Me!

[T47]

Well a little over 2 weeks ago I found this site, and what an educational experience it has been. I shared some of my new found knowledge with Santa...and look what happened! I also had to share some of the PVW 15 with one of the Santas...



It does however post another rookie question from me.
I also received a Food Saver Vacuum packaging system, mostly to use with my BBQ. If I uncork more of these to sample, how long will they remain in good condition? Would it be worth it to buy some of the vacuum corks and seal each bottle up if they are going to sit for a while? They are not displayed on a nice bar or anything so that is not an issue. If the cork seals tight is that good enough for 6 months to a year? Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks for all the great knowledge on this site!

[BrbnBorderline]

Welcome to straightbourbon.com.

Gotta love Pappy!

[JeffRenner]

I also received a Food Saver Vacuum packaging system, mostly to use with my BBQ. If I uncork more of these to sample, how long will they remain in good condition? Would it be worth it to buy some of the vacuum corks and seal each bottle up if they are going to sit for a while? They are not displayed on a nice bar or anything so that is not an issue. If the cork seals tight is that good enough for 6 months to a year?

I think that they will be fine, although there may be some subtle changes. Some people feel that the whiskey mellows or gets softer after its been open a while, and prefer that.

After all, the barrels are oxygen permeable, and as they age, there is more and more head space due to evaporation. I wouldn't worry. As a matter of fact, I don't worry. I have a number of bottles open at any one time, and some of them are open longer than a year. I've never had a problem.

Some people decant into smaller bottles, or drop enough clean glass marbles into the bottle to take up head space. I don't think it's necessary.

Jeff

[BourbonBalls]

Spirits are very stable....Not as unpredictable as wine. Open bottles should taste the same years from now...

Enjoy!

[JeffRenner]

Spirits are very stable....Not as unpredictable as wine. Open bottles should taste the same years from now...

Actually, I find that opened table wines are very predictable - they oxidize very quickly! I do find that VacuVin works well, though, for a few days, at least. I refrigerate any opened and VacuVin-ed wines, even reds, which I leave out to warm up before serving.

Port and sherry seem surprisingly resistant to oxidation. Vermouths also, although not as long. The fridge helps, as does a VacuVin.

Jeff

[Vange]

try this
works better than vacuwin
wine preserver
http://www.privatepreserve.com/

[voigtman]

What gases are it it? Argon is fine, nitrogen is OK, but carbon dioxide is not good for whiskey: who wants carbonated whiskey? Best bet is to finish bottles that are almost empty.

[barturtle]

The website says it's "pure air without the oxygen". This leads me to believe that it's nitrogen as that's what the air is mostly(70%+ IIRC)

[voigtman]

The website says it's "pure air without the oxygen". This leads me to believe that it's nitrogen as that's what the air is mostly(70%+ IIRC)

Not far off: the nitrogen content of dry air is about 78 mole percent. The problem is that the website just says what you quoted, rather than specifying the gas composition. I am always suspicious of these obvious omissions, being a chemist and all.

Sometimes marketing speak is so tarted up as to be funny, and, of course, intentionally misleading ("leads me to believe" indeed). A nice example is for one of the decaffeination processes for coffee. The process was desscribed in advertising as using "the natural effervescence that makes water sparkle." Which means, in fact, that the coffee was extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide, and, of course, the carbon dioxide is really just industrial waste (and a probable big problem globally).

It would be easy to tell if there was carbon dioxide in the spray canister: it will carbonate water, thereby making it acidic, and this can be easily checked with cheap pH paper test strips. Nitrogen and argon, on the other hand, are no problem, and do not change the pH of water, beer, wine or whiskey.