Pouring bourbon into a decanter

[sgtgto]

I would like to pour one of my bourbons into my fabulous DaVinci leaded crystal decanter I got years ago. How long will a bourbon last in a decanter? It is a very very nice decanter, and is extremely high quality, with a crystal stopper that resembles a lightbulb. I am hesitant to put in anything premium because I am afraid it will not keep for a couple years.

Any thoughts?

[Phantos]

I am afraid it will not keep for a couple years.

I don't know the proper answer, but I'll guess you will lose a lot of body and juice to the air if the decanter...

and if you invite any of us to your house!

[CygnusX-1]

I think i read somewhere lead crystal is not good for storing spirits long term, a little while is ok. I have 1 i use but never keep bourbon it it very long

[ggilbertva]

I've never used a decanter but I would be concerned about oxidation over time as I would think the crystal stopper would not provide as good a seal as a cork or twist on cap. If your having some folks over and want to present the bourbon in the decanter, you could do that and then just pour it back into the bottle after.

[House of Payne]

I am hesitant to put in anything premium because I am afraid it will not keep for a couple years.

Any thoughts?

I'm confused. I haven't been successful in keeping a bourbon more than two weeks. It's made to drink, not to look at. Put it in the crystal and drink it in under a week. It will be just fine.

Mike

[ggilbertva]

I'm confused. I haven't been successful in keeping a bourbon more than two weeks. It's made to drink, not to look at. Put it in the crystal and drink it in under a week. It will be just fine.

Mike

At issue is that some of us have 20, 30 bottles or more open at any one time. One member here had close to 100 bottles open. So of course they are not to look at but sometimes it takes time to work your way through a bottle when a couple dozen are open.

As a new member, an introduction in the "New to Straight Bourbon" section would be appropriate. Additionally, our good friend Joe provides these tips for new members. Please feel free to ask questions also as everyone here is more than happy to help. Welcome.

[smokinjoe]

There is the concern with accelerated oxidation from a loose fitting stopper. But, I would guess that if your decanter is high quality, then the fit is pretty snug. They've been designed that way for hundreds of years, so I'm figuring that they design them to be relatively tight. But, there is the concern from the lead leaching, that may be harmful to you. There are some threads here discussing this, and I'm not sure from reading them if the threat is real, or not. My own personal opinion would be, that it would be OK to decant into your crystal decanter, if you were planning to drink the contents within a couple of months, tops. I'm not sure I would keep it in there, beyond that.

My wife and I received a nice lead crystal decanter with matching glasses, as a wedding gift years ago. I'll admit, it is pretty cool to have a pour from it on a Friday evening before dinner. Plus, it looks cool on the bar. :cool:

BTW, I have bottles that have been open for a couple of years. Nothing confusing about that. Come to think of it, I do pull them out occasionally, just to gaze at them...

[Joshua]

I'm doing a test with some Old Fitz BIB, so far it's over a month and going well... no evaporation at all with a nice seal. (crystal)

The nose has improved, but it doesn't seem to be changing as fast as I thought it would.

Get some $20 or less that you like, put it in, and use that as a test is my advice

[p_elliott]

Jake

I have also read that long term storage of high proof alcohol in lead crystal the lead will leech into the liquor. This can cause you health problems. I would only use the decanter for dinner parties etc. then pour it back into the bottle.

Paul

[silverfish]

See this June 2006 article in The Washington Post:

tinyurl.com/y76tv6

They're discussing wine in decanters but I imagine

you could substitute your liquid of choice.

[jburlowski]

See this thread:

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8751&highlight=lead+crystal

[Joshua]

Evaporation in mine was noticeable after a week of not having the top on tight. I usually push it down, twist a bit, and then swish the bourbon over the area to keep a seal. That had no change. With just setting the top on, there was evaporation in a week. Keep that in mind, it will prevent me from putting anything over $20 a bottle in there.

The nose change DRASTICALLY after a week of holding Old Fitz BIB (1/31) in there. After a month it was pretty dang different then the bottle, one may not know it to be the same. This showed me some fast oxidation in my bell shaped decanter. It was not dangerously fast however.

As far the taste? MUCH MUCH MUCH better. The oxidation helped tremendously. The Old Fitz BIB tastes richer, lacks an astringent note that it carried before. I see this decanter as helping most wheaters (Lot B, OWA, etc) be more drinkable after a week or so however I wouldn't use it for anything long term. I'm going to keep at the Old Fitz and see when it goes bad, then move up to OWA and watch how that changes.

By the way... before I drink too much more could someone tell me about crystal/glass differentiation? I can tell with drinking glasses, but decanters i've found have almost all been glass (from what I can tell). I'm basing this off of tone, if I strike it- there is no ring. The note is clear, but stops fairly quickly. Lower then say, my Glencairs by far. The edges are quality, but not as sharp as most cut crystal. If someone can tell me "No, that could very well be leaded crystal!" I'll stop drinking from it.

[pepcycle]

I've kept bourbon in a decanter for longer than a year without any noticeable change in quality.

I do like the blue lines on my gum line though.

[Lab Walker]

You guys got me scared.

I got a 1/2 gal of Knob Creek and filled up my very old decanter (doubt any lead left in it...haha). I was going to pour from it after the remainder of the KC was finished.

Say, is that what killed off all the guys from the 1800's that used lead decanters???

[jburlowski]

You guys got me scared.

I got a 1/2 gal of Knob Creek and filled up my very old decanter (doubt any lead left in it...haha). I was going to pour from it after the remainder of the KC was finished.

Say, is that what killed off all the guys from the 1800's that used lead decanters???

No, it was likely old age.... they'd all be over a hundred years old!

[p_elliott]

You guys got me scared.

I got a 1/2 gal of Knob Creek and filled up my very old decanter (doubt any lead left in it...haha). I was going to pour from it after the remainder of the KC was finished.

Say, is that what killed off all the guys from the 1800's that used lead decanters???

No, it was likely old age.... they'd all be over a hundred years old!

Here's your sign! :slappin: