Can WT101 go stale?

[Waiahi]

So I'm at a bar here in Honolulu the other night with my wife and all of her co-workers, having some "pau hana drinks and pupus" (after work drinking and eating local-style bar food), and I'm looking to see what kind of Bourbon's they have on the bar.

They only had JBwhite, Early Times, WT80 and WT101.

No secondary thoughts, I order the WT101 on the rocks.

Upon first taste, it was kinda 'funny.' I don't know how to describe it other than it did not have the great finish I have recently become accustomed to...furthermore that was my impression on first sip, before the ice had even begun to melt, making my first taste pretty close to neat. Something just wasn't right...

Needless to say, since I didn't want to drink beer, I stuck with two more orders of the WT101. And my impressions of it didn't change, even as I started to get a light buzz.

Anyhow, after our third drink, my wife and I went home, and I decided to "double-check." So I went to my bar and poured a glass of my own WT101...this time I knew I wasn't mistaken that something was definitely wrong with that bar's WT101.

I'm pretty sure that the bottle at the bar was fairly old, and it had one of those open-air spout tops on it, and that it has probably been sitting there like that for well over a month or two...Bourbon is certainly not very popular here in Hawaii.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised, given my assessment of the typical patrons of the joint, if that bottle had been 6 months old! Hawaii's typical working class is a coors light/heineken beer drinkers and if they drink spririts would either favor tequila or rum/JD and coke.

My question though is this: do you guys think it's more likely that the bar (a blue-collar worker joint) may have cut the WT101 because it's a higher proof and they thought they could get away with it? That was my first thought...but even still, I've let my WT101 at home sit in it's tumbler until the ice completely melted, probably cutting the proof down to 80-85...and I could still taste that signature finish.

Is it possible that they may have cut it with a cheaper whiskey? Have you guys ever heard of this?

Or could an old bottle with one of those open air pour spouts on it change the character and flavor over a long period of time if it's not selling?

[ILLfarmboy]

....

Or could an old bottle with one of those open air pour spouts on it change the character and flavor over a long period of time if it's not selling?

Perhaps if there was only a few pours left in the bottle and it sat in a smoky bar for many months. Does the establishment allow smoking?

[Waiahi]

Nope...indoor smoking establishments have been completely banned in hawaii for several years now.

Oh, and the bottle was about 1/3rd full... :skep:

[Stu]

I was in Ireland, where the Guinness is far superior to ours, and in an Irish pub in a small village I got a bad pint with lunch. I couldn't drink it. when I went to pay the bill the barkeep said "I notice you didn't finish your Guinness, was there something wrong with it?" I told her the taste was off. She said "perhaps I didn't clean the glass well enough, it happens now and again, I won't charge you for it". Which I thought was Very nice, but it told me that if the glass still has soap residue, the drink is terrible. It's possible you had a dirty glass.

Stu

[spun_cookie]

yes... that will do it... soap... that cleaner that they use turns stuff fast

[Waiahi]

That would perhaps make sense, Stu, if I had only one...but I had three, and all three times I was served with a brand new glass.

Oh, and my wife was drinking Yukon Jack, and she said her's was perfectly fine, so I don't think it could be a general problem with glass cleanliness in the bar.

BTW - I went to Ireland and visited the Guinness storehouse in Dublin. Guinness sure tastes better off the tap there than it does in the bottle!

I was also able to bring back a six pack of "Guinness Export" which has an 8.5% alcohol content...the highest that Guinness makes - but they only sell it to the UK, EU and Africa.

I wish I could get some more of that here in the US...

[onmytrack]

I’m going to go with what you had to drink was not WT101. I was in an upscale San Diego restaurant last year with some clients that wanted Irish whisky. What the waitress brought wasn’t even close to Irish whisky. We asked her to bring the bottle. The bottle said Irish whisky, but that was not what was in it. We sent the drinks back and ordered an unopened bottle. Needless to say we will not be back. Doesn’t matter where you are, there are always those that will try to squeeze out an extra buck and sacrifice their reputation.

Jim

[ILLfarmboy]

I’m going to go with what you had to drink was not WT101. I was in an upscale San Diego restaurant last year with some clients that wanted Irish whisky. What the waitress brought wasn’t even close to Irish whisky. We asked her to bring the bottle. The bottle said Irish whisky, but that was not what was in it. We sent the drinks back and ordered an unopened bottle. Needless to say we will not be back. Doesn’t matter where you are, there are always those that will try to squeeze out an extra buck and sacrifice their reputation.

Jim

I've ran into similar experiences lately. Not with whiskey but with tequila. In the last year I have gained an interest it this spirit. I swear I have tied several blanco tequilas in restaurants that were cut with vodka. I suppose that most people order them in margaritas where this would likely go unnoticed, but it sure seemed like something wasn't right when tasting them neat. Sure enough, I tried them at another restaurant and they had more flavor. Although the food is good at the "suspect" eatery, I haven't been back there for a meal since.

[Joeluka]

I've ran into similar experiences lately. Not with whiskey but with tequila. In the last year I have gained an interest it this spirit. I swear I have tied several blanco tequilas in restaurants that were cut with vodka. I suppose that most people order them in margaritas where this would likely go unnoticed, but it sure seemed like something wasn't right when tasting them neat. Sure enough, I tried them at another restaurant and they had more flavor. Although the food is good at the "suspect" eatery, I haven't been back there for a meal since.

They don't even have to use vodka to cut it Brad. There are plenty of $6-8 tequilas out there that they can repour into the bottle. Hell after having had a few of them myself, cheap vodka would be a step up!!!

[kickert]

Oh, and my wife was drinking Yukon Jack, and she said her's was perfectly fine,

This is not possible

[Waiahi]

:slappin: Good riposte, kickert. That shit is vile.

What puzzles me though, is that WT is not even a top shelf, premium order at this bar....and I'm quite sure anyone who would order it would be a bourbon drinker, as a typical whiskey/coke drinker would usually order Jack or JBwhite, the cheapest pours for mixing...so cutting it wouldn't really make sense from the bar's perspective. That is why I was curious if anyone here has heard of or experienced a whiskey going "stale."

I was thinking that it is so rarely ordered, and has been sitting on the bar with an open top for a long period of time, that perhaps it may have altered the taste of it. It wasn't 'terrible' but it certainly didn't have that definitive taste of WT101.

Ever since I bought a bottle of it after reading this forum memebers outstanding reviews of it, I've been on a WT101 kick as of late. I have a glass or three at least 3 times a week now... :cool: So I'm absolutely certain that I could recognize WT101 in a blind taste-testing. What I had at the bar was similar...but just not quite right.

I'm now thinking that maybe they just cut it with some WT80...:skep:

[kickert]

Often if a bourbon oxidizes from being open too long it will look cloudy - almost like apple cider. Did you notice anything like that?

[Waiahi]

I don't think so. Upon my first taste, I immediately recognized something wasn't right, and I looked at it...and it looked normal.

[Waiahi]

Could it possibly "start" to oxidize without looking cloudy at first? Perhaps if it sat for awhile longer with the open top it's on the verge of turning cloudy?

[polyamnesia]

...I went to Ireland and visited the Guinness storehouse in Dublin. Guinness sure tastes better off the tap there than it does in the bottle!

I was also able to bring back a six pack of "Guinness Export" which has an 8.5% alcohol content...the highest that Guinness makes - but they only sell it to the UK, EU and Africa.

I wish I could get some more of that here in the US...

i thought the Guinness tasted better because i was ireland! but it's true, it tasted SO good there....of course, being there was magical so i thought it was just the ambience and charm...it still tastes great here, but nice to know others noticed. of course, i enjoyed the free one i had up on the top floor of the brewery!