Cork vs Synthetic cord vs screw tops

[Flyfish]

I (like most of you) think the corks are a marketing/perception thing. That said, I've rarely had problems with them (corks on wine bottles are another story). I think I've only replaced one in the past couple of years, two at the most. Although I can think of at least one bottle that I probably finished off quicker than I ordinarily would have just because the cork was starting to look a little ragged.

That's my experience as well. Even so, some SBers seem to get "bad corks" by the boat load. Do y'all pull 'em wit yer teeth?

[VAGentleman]

Just about every dusty I've had that was older than 15 years or so has had a cork that breaks off

[393foureyedfox]

Just about every dusty I've had that was older than 15 years or so has had a cork that breaks off

i have that C87 Bookers on the shelf that I just know will break when I open it someday.

Bookers I tend to drink in small amounts, so a bottle is corked-uncorked many more times than a regular pour that I have larger pours from, so maybe its not fair to judge them that way

[squire]

Just about every dusty I've had that was older than 15 years or so has had a cork that breaks off

I expect old corks to be brittle and accept that as the nature of the beast. I also view them as being archaic as a hand cranked Model T Ford.

[Scotch Neat]

So tonight I walk into the house with a couple bags of bourbon and lay them on my computer desk while my wife is web surfing.

She turns to me and says "man that stuff stinks" I with a perplexed look manage to say "huh".

She tells me she can smell the bourbon in the bags, I am thinking oh no something cracked on the way home.

One by one I pull out a Pappy 12 then a George T Stagg and an Pappy rye to inspect them, I dont see anything wrong so I smell them and I smell nothing.

There is one more bag and I bend down and sure enough I smell bourbon from a bottle of Weller 107. I put my nose to the screw cap and can clearly smell the bourbon.So I give it a small twist to confirm it is sealed.

I guess the machine that torques the caps was out of calibration.

Give me a cork.

[jburlowski]

At my age, I'm starting to favor Velcro.

[squire]

My tastes haven't changed but my endurance isn't what it used to be.

[393foureyedfox]

My tastes haven't changed but my endurance isn't what it used to be.

[bin31z]

I'm not a huge fan of screw caps because I have seen some on dusties leak and I feel like sometimes they allow for more evaporative loss. Plastic gets brittle over time. I'm absolutely a fan of synthetic cork like on the mmcs, absolute seal and won't go back over time. I've seen so many old corks simply disintegrate.

[scubadoo97]

I've had so many broken cork issues over the years that i am of the opinion they should be left to wine. Nothing pisses me off like a broken whiskey cork.

I think as others have said its about customer perception at this point. Unfortunately, public perception moves at glacial speed.

Why diss wine? A broken cork in anything is a pisser.

Corks have tradition and that appeals to many but functionally there are better ways to seal a bottle

[BigRich]

Why diss wine? A broken cork in anything is a pisser.

Corks have tradition and that appeals to many but functionally there are better ways to seal a bottle

No diss at all. I enjoy quite a good bit of wine. I don't see where you take umbrage to my comment. I didn't say that bad corks don't screw over wine too. Maybe reading between the lines a little too much are we?

[scubadoo97]

Certainly no offense taken and no unkind feeling directed toward your comment. Just saying how corks are out dated and cause issues in all beverage storage systems.

[Vadertime]

Relevant to this discussion:

http://whiskyscience.blogspot.tw/2013/02/bottle-maturation-obe.html

It seems that screw caps are 6-13x more effective than synthetic corks at keeping out oxygen and also much better than real cork in this matter.

Also interesting in regards to dusties:

Most phenols oxidize slowly, usually forming polyphenols, resulting in diminished astringency and probably less peaty whisky over years of bottle storage. An exeption in the phenol group is vanillin, which increases slowly independently of the oxidation/reduction state.

Less astringent and more vanillin? YES!

And more:

Most likely the bottle maturation of whisky is more reductive than oxidative, producing more fruity, aetheral, peachy, vanilla, petrol, rubbery and metallic notes and less phenolic, bitter spicy and citrus notes.

So, screw cap dusties (like my collection of 200ml WT from the mid 90s) are a perfect dusty!

Aethereal- Heavenly. Perfect description of good dusties.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Vadertime

[fusion210]

I wonder if we'll have screw caps with peal away seals. After all, a lot of people are storing theirs for some time.

I started drinking bourbon just a few years ago and always thought the better the price, the better the bourbon. As I made my way south of $30 bottles (and the loss of synthetic corks) I went pretty low (in price) with a fifth of EWBiB. I threw it in my trunk and on it's short 10 minute drive home, leaked out onto the bottle and bag. I returned it for another and even though I feared it wasn't properly sealed like the first one, I kept it upright. No other screw tops have leaked, it was fixed with barely a question after returning it, but I'd hate to drive further or buy something more expensive to have it fail.

[Mr. Bourbon]

The synthetic cork for my KC seems to have a really tight fit. But a normal cork for my BT doesn't have that "snap" sound to it when I put the cork back in. They just look and feel very cheap.

I don't plan on storing an open bottle of it so I don't think it matters too much.

[TunnelTiger]

I keep an empty 8 slot wine box in my SUV for transporting new purchases

[Ravensfire]

I keep an empty 8 slot wine box in my SUV for transporting new purchases

Same, but since I get a fair amount of beer when I hit the store I keep an empty wine case with all 12 slots (and a nice, heavy duty cardboard divider) in my trunk. My wife sighs every time she sees it (and usually that's only when its empty!)

[Vadertime]

I wonder if we'll have screw caps with peal away seals. After all, a lot of people are storing theirs for some time.

I started drinking bourbon just a few years ago and always thought the better the price, the better the bourbon. As I made my way south of $30 bottles (and the loss of synthetic corks) I went pretty low (in price) with a fifth of EWBiB. I threw it in my trunk and on it's short 10 minute drive home, leaked out onto the bottle and bag. I returned it for another and even though I feared it wasn't properly sealed like the first one, I kept it upright. No other screw tops have leaked, it was fixed with barely a question after returning it, but I'd hate to drive further or buy something more expensive to have it fail.

Bourbon ain't for throwing! Its for drinking.

(No, it is not for throwing up either. That is Tennessee Whiskey)

[TunnelTiger]

New convert here for synthetic or screw top. Had my first cork break tonight (a JEP rye) had to filter and was not happy about it. The only bottle close to being empty was an ER so 3 pours and now it's holding the rye.

[Paddy]

New convert here for synthetic or screw top. Had my first cork break tonight (a JEP rye) had to filter and was not happy about it. The only bottle close to being empty was an ER so 3 pours and now it's holding the rye.

And that'll be the last time you don't have an empty (or two) hanging around. :grin:

[TunnelTiger]

And that'll be the last time you don't have an empty (or two) hanging around. :grin:

You got that right! It will also have a synthetic top!

[jvd99]

Count me in for a wholesale change to synthetic or screw top. Notwithstanding the propensity corks failing, an abandonment of cork will offset the occasional practice of store owners displaying bottles on their side. I've seen this quite often, most recently with single malts - a Macallan 25 on its side for years and more recently a Glenfiddich 1973 SB 30+ year old that I had my eye on until it was laid down in the case for several weeks in a row. That took it off my wishlist because I'd never risk that kind of coin based on the unknown integrity of a cork.

[flahute]

You got that right! It will also have a synthetic top!

I have a ziplock bag full of old corks for emergency breakages. Takes up less space than old empties.

[squire]

Or just use a big ole 1.75 empty to vat the leftovers.

[TunnelTiger]

Or just use a big ole 1.75 empty to vat the leftovers.

Now that's a plan and I've been meaning to get a handle of OGDBIB anyway! Or looking for an excuse