Decant in bourbon bottles

[Guy Debord]

This may seem silly, but when I had a 750ml MM get low, I poured the remains into a rinsed out recently emptied 350ml bottle of BT.

I hold on to at least 2, 350ml bottles in case I want to use one as a flask to transport to a friend's house or get a 750ml off the bar to make room.

Is this okay? Am I hurting the bourbon that goes into the rinsed out 350ml? So far I have not noticed any differences.

Opinions?

Best,

[cnybrbnhntr]

I do this with all my booze. I keep 750s in my liquor cabinet and refill them from 1.75s of things like MM, Larceny, Tanqueray, SoCo, etc. saves room for more open bottles. 1.75s are stashed in basement.

[amg]

If anything, putting it into the smaller bottle might preserve it slightly longer due to less air exposure inside the bottle.

[Guy Debord]

If anything, putting it into the smaller bottle might preserve it slightly longer due to less air exposure inside the bottle.

Thanks, oh yes, I have heard that and it's been heavily debated here on SB on how long before air matters etc. I keep a 7 bottle bunker, so I never have to worry about anything staying low over two years (which is what some say is a threshold for altering flavor profiles in super low bottles).

The heart of my question is if there is any issue in throwing one brand into another brand's bottle. If thoroughly rinsed with hot water I cannot see how this is a problem. Just wanting see if others do it too.

Having smaller bottles around for making space is nice.

[amg]

I've done this and have never noticed a difference. I suppose you should rinse the bottle with distilled or deionized water if you want to be super picky about it.

[Thig]

Glass is glass, I don't see how it could possibly hurt if it is rinsed thoroughly.

[Richnimrod]

I do 'refills' of Bourbon bottles, as well as other spirits bottles all the time. I keep several around in various sizes, along with much smaller 'sample' bottles for tiny vatting experiments, and for 'time capsules' of things I think may be hard to duplicate. Keeping anything you want keep 'fresh', in bottles with as little extra space (air space) as possible, is always a good idea; especially if your intention is to keep 'em around for any extended period (year-plus).

[GaryT]

I actually buy a particular brand of ginger beer from World Market just because they come in 375 mL bottles (no joke - plus the ginger beer ain't bad). I rarely buy 375s of whiskey, but I do like to use these to decant, as well as if I am making a smaller batch mingle. I do buy 200 mL bottles of things like WT101 because that will last me several months, and I always wash/reuse those bottles for mingles or flasks. I use a couple 750mL bottles, but not so much. I have been using the same ETL bottle for SB Blend for a couple years now - when it gets low, I just top it off (so it is a living blend as it were).

[Thig]

You can buy new 375ml and even 187.5ml bottles new at most wine and beer making supply stores. They are not that expensive.

[kcgumbohead]

I keep a couple old 375s just for this purpose and it works great, no harm whatsoever in fact i believe I am taking a step to better preserve those last few ounces

[kjbeggs]

I do this with all my booze. I keep 750s in my liquor cabinet and refill them from 1.75s of things like MM, Larceny, Tanqueray, SoCo, etc. saves room for more open bottles. 1.75s are stashed in basement.

Rock Hill Farms bottles are great for this.

[fishnbowljoe]

I save all the 375 ml and 200 ml bottles I finish. I use them for samples, tastings, decanting etc….. I also save a few other empty bottles just in case. Things like broken corks, or decanting from 1.75's. My favorite bottle to decant into is the ETL/Weller Centennial bottles. They are the perfect size, IMHO. They don't take up much room on a shelf or in a cabinet, and they pack very nicely in a suitcase. They are also good for "full sized" samples, like splitting or sharing of the aforementioned 1.75's.

[gblick]

I agree, it's perfectly fine to rinse and reuse a bottle, but make sure that the bottle is thoroughly dry inside before pouring into it again. I thought I would add those 2¢ since nobody else mentioned it (maybe it was understood?).

[MikeK]

I do this religiously. Many folks can leave a 750ml half full for years and taste no difference. I am not so fortunate. Within a month or two the bourbon goes stale or off flavor for me. Sometimes undrinkable at the end of a 750. I always decant 750 -> 375 -> 200 as the level gets down to keep the airspace low. I also swear by 'Wine Preserve' to keep the air out, but that will open another debate I'm sure!

Do it!!

[Flyfish]

Rock Hill Farms bottles are great for this.

Hear him! Hear him! Put Benchmark in RHF bottles for guests who insist on Coke in their bourbon.