Vinturi spirits aerator?

[Guest]

Anyone here own one/used one? What are your thoughts?

[clingman71]

My wife loves their wine aerator. I've poured whiskey through it, but have never done a side by side. Not sure what differences may be between the wine and liquor versions.

[tmckenzie]

I keep one in my lab for barrel samples. It really opens the whiskey up.

[Lost Pollito]

I can tell you, it certainly changes the profile. Night and day. We did a blind tasting of 4 whisky's, without knowing about the aerator. We all thought the tasting was of 8 malts. Not good, not bad, just different.

[ChicagoFlyer]

We have one that came with a full set (Red, White, Spirit). It does a really good job of opening some of the bottles and has less impact on others. We use it mostly for freshly open dusties and wheaters. We have found that they do much better with some air and the Vinturi does a solid job of providing it. The differences are subtle though and it doesn't make a profound difference to the juice. If you are one who enjoys blind tastings and exploring the subtleties, then its a really fun tool. If you're looking to turn bad juice good, it won't help.

[Guest]

Outstanding response fellas, great spread of information.

My expectation is that it could help open up the higher proof whisky faster without adding water.

If i can find one at a good price its coming home with me.

[sailor22]

We have used a red wine aerator to good effect with some Bourbon dusties. Giving the partly empty bottle a vigorous extended shaking seems to help wake up some dusties that have been snoozing too long in the bottle too.

[draiiinage]

I read an article about aerating wines with a blender. Did an experiment with half a bottle blended and half not, blinded my wife and I both chose the blended as better. Haven't tried it with whiskey, but it might save you whatever the spirits aerator costs (more money to buy bourbon!).

[TheNovaMan]

We have one that came with a full set (Red, White, Spirit). It does a really good job of opening some of the bottles and has less impact on others... The differences are subtle though and it doesn't make a profound difference to the juice.

That's about what my family and I have found using it on wine.

[DBM]

I have the spirits and the red wine Vinturi. The main difference between the two is the spirits model has a button to release the liquid so you can measure a shot.

I find that it can make a huge difference depending on the whiskey. It can really smooth out some harsh, newly opened bottles. I find it works exceptionally well with OGD BIB/114 and FRSB bottles (regular, LE and private barrel selection). Less so with bottles like Weller 12 and most 80 proofers.

A friend of mine tried using both in sequence and repeating multiple times. Place the spirits on top of the red wine, pour a shot and let it aerate through both. Dump the juice back in the repeat 2 or more times. It REALLY changes some whiskeys, and usually for the better.

[Low West]

+1 on it being not good or bad, but different. I got it as a xmas gift, and thought it was going to be very "gimicky" but it turned out to make a noticable change in the flavor profile. I can't say that I reach for it everytime I have a pour. More for exerimental fun if anything for me.

[TheNovaMan]

I agree with that. My dad and I thought they sounded super gimmicky, but then he tried a red wine aerator that belonged to a friend and noticed a difference even though he approached it with a skeptical attitude. Then he got one for a Christmas or birthday present, and the rest of us tried it a few times, and we could sometimes notice a difference.

I notice that Squire hasn't posted in this thread (yet), but I suspect his overall opinion is probably similar to mine: OK, it's an interesting academic exercise, but why should I have to pour my bourbon through an aerator?

[WAINWRIGHT]

I have tried it myself and I get the very same effects with letting a pour settle and open up on it's own time in a glencairn,if you are in a rush by all means knock yourself out.I have no such experience with anything other than with bourbon,rye or scotch so with wine it may be the miracle product of the century I couldn't tell you.

[squire]

I agree with Pete, basically what we're doing is allowing the whisky some time to interact with oxygen. The same thing can be accomplished by letting the whisky sit in the glass for awhile, or, if you're in a hurry and the guests are waiting, just decant it into another container.

[DBM]

I disagree with the comments that an aerator accomplishes the same effect as pouring a glass and letting it sit (or even swirl). On numerous occasions I have taken an ounce-ish of whiskey from a pour that had sat for hours and ran it through the Venturi. It immediately changes. Not always for the better, but still an effect.

I don't use an aerator as a rule, but any time I'm looking for something different from whatever I pour, I don't hesitate to use it. I don't have hours to wait to drink my whiskey!!