The Bad Bottle – the legend, the myth, the reality

[etohchem]

Boston, I have never heard of this trick but don't know of any reason it should or shouldn't work. try it and let me know. I will too.

Funknik, I do remember your sample , personaly wrote the report, and kept up with your post. An issue with complaint samples is that it is unsafe to TASTE them. I know you wouldn't, but some deliberately adulterate, so we do not taste as a rule for our saftey. We must go by smell alone and my response that it "met standards" does not mean that you were wrong in your experience. We just didn't find anything. It is possible that it was cork tainted. Taint shows up first on taste and if stronger in the nose. I do hope your experience was a good one and I am sorry you didn't find the bottle satisfactory. We are always working to lesson the occurance but at present time it is impossible to remove it completely.

Etohchem

[funknik]

Funknik, I do remember your sample , personaly wrote the report, and kept up with your post. An issue with complaint samples is that it is unsafe to TASTE them. I know you wouldn't, but some deliberately adulterate, so we do not taste as a rule for our saftey. We must go by smell alone and my response that it "met standards" does not mean that you were wrong in your experience. We just didn't find anything. It is possible that it was cork tainted. Taint shows up first on taste and if stronger in the nose. I do hope your experience was a good one and I am sorry you didn't find the bottle satisfactory. We are always working to lesson the occurance but at present time it is impossible to remove it completely.

Wow! So we have a personal connection. :grin: I had sort of wondered how you could test for things without tasting them and it makes sense that you can't. Of course it would be dangerous, that should've been obvious to me. My experience was excellent and I'm pretty sure it was cork taint not musty barrel or anything like that....I think the BT products are great and appreciate that nobody bats 1000% all the time -- it's even more vindicating to know the details of this and gratifying that I was given a second chance to try a whiskey I ended up really liking. Thanks again!

[Bourbon Geek]

Great thread here ... I totally agree with Chuck. Most of the product gone bad that I have come across was older stuff that had been just lying around ... most of that was product originally bottled at or above 86 proof that was not chill filtered.

Even with what appears to be a sealed closure, over time, (especially if left on it's side or in sunlight) there will be a lowering of the proof of the product, as alcohol preferentially evaporates ... once the product drops below 86 proof, a cloudiness or chill haze will develop. Over a lengthy period of time, it can get as thick as Mississippi River mud if left to settle out. Generally, and especially in the early stages, this is only an aestetic defect as the taste and aroma remain essentially unchanged... eventually, however, the taste and aroma will be effected as well ...

There is one cause of bad product that I have seen from time to time ... and it is only noted by certain people chemically sensative to it ... That would be either Geosmin or 2,4 MIB. Both of these compounds can be found in surface waters, especially during drought conditions, and can potentially find their way into product in a number of ways ... For those sensative soles, the taste for one would generally be described as earthy to fishy and the other earthy to dirty socks ... Fortunately, the vast majority of us are blissfully uneffected at all by these off notes.

[chefnash51]

I stopped in a new place over the weekend to see what they carried. My eyes immediately caught the top row of shimmering whiskeys. The sun was pouring in the window and flowing through every bottle on the top shelf.

It was quite a sight to see..and there were some decent bottle for a nice price.

... . I left empty handed.

[squire]

It is rare but can happen. When it happens it is noticeable in the aroma and taste. I took mine back to the merchant and got a replacement/refund.

[ElasticalGomez]

well, i'm glad i read through to the end of the thread and though i'm not glad i have smelt it, i'm glad i saw the word "socks". the first smell i got from my first bottle of Sam Houston was "socks" and thought "hmmm, maybe it's just me. maybe that's really butter or something. surely it couldn't be feckin' socks, could it?"

and then i inspected the cork and it had a little, well...a divet that looked like rot with some barely visable white-ish particles in there. maybe like dried/evaporated sugar. the cork was dry and a bit of dust was noticable on the lip of the bottle after i pulled it off.

the bourbon tasted musty, earthy and a bit too much like dried wood. i've thrown the cork out, am airing the bottle and crossing my fingers.

[jburlowski]

well, i'm glad i read through to the end of the thread and though i'm not glad i have smelt it, i'm glad i saw the word "socks". the first smell i got from my first bottle of Sam Houston was "socks" and thought "hmmm, maybe it's just me. maybe that's really butter or something. surely it couldn't be feckin' socks, could it?"

and then i inspected the cork and it had a little, well...a divet that looked like rot with some barely visable white-ish particles in there. maybe like dried/evaporated sugar. the cork was dry and a bit of dust was noticable on the lip of the bottle after i pulled it off.

the bourbon tasted musty, earthy and a bit too much like dried wood. i've thrown the cork out, am airing the bottle and crossing my fingers.

Had a bad bottle of Sam Houston once... it was one of the few bottles that I've actually poured out (and not saved for cooking).

[funknik]

I just sent a bottle of EC12 back to HH for testing and a refund . . . it was terrible and I'm pretty sure it wasn't corked . . . the cork was one of the nicest looking ones I've seen and it had no offending odor. When I let my sister-in-law smell the juice, she almost puked.