Favorite cap? [was: Bottling Bernheim Original]

[kbuzbee]

Bettye Jo,

Thanks for posting the pictures. Can't wait! I also thought it was a twist off cap and got excited. Something about the picture makes it look like it is a metal twist off cap. I think the bottle would look great with a twist off. There were a lot of great bourbons in the past with metal twist off caps, like Old Taylor or Old Grandad. Metal cap or not, at the end of the day it's what's in side that counts.

Okay, that said, what is everyone's favorite cap??? (Yes, I agree, it IS what's inside that matters but estetics are nice).

Mine is the heavy "Pewter" cork in Kentucky Spirit.

Cheers,

Ken[

[TNbourbon]

...Mine is the heavy "Pewter" cork in Kentucky Spirit...

Alas, Ken, they replaced the pewter with a wooden cork stopper 3-4 years ago. Glad you've got an old bottle.

[BourbonJoe]

I like screw caps for long term storage. Also, they won't taint the whiskey like cork can sometimes do.

Joe

[Dave_in_Canada]

Woo Hoo, I have a pewter cap on my KS that I really like too.

I like a cork pull because of the thunk it makes when you pull it out.

I like the little horsies on Blantons.

I like the wooden stop plus the canvas strip on 1792 even though it's not part of the cap.

I like the different colours on the Antique Collection caps.

I like the blue writing on the foil of Bulleit. It's kinda cool too.

[monte]

Mine is the large, bright orange cap on a ND Old Grand Dad 1.75 liter bottle. It's _huge_, super easy to open and looks really cool. It makes you feel small to pour from that bottle...

The Blanton's horse is nice too, but in general, I don't like cork as much as a plastic screw cap.

Cheers,

-monte-

[CrispyCritter]

I kind of like the mongo cork in the OGD 114 and EC 12 bottles, or the wood-topped cork in Aberlour A'Bunadh. I could do without the hard-to-remove wax on the A'Bunadh bottle, though. Maybe they should call it Triopenin.

Probably my favorite stopper, though, is the porcelain-and-rubber stopper with the overcenter lever that one finds on a bottle of Grolsch beer.

[matthew0715]

Probably my favorite stopper, though, is the porcelain-and-rubber stopper with the overcenter lever that one finds on a bottle of Grolsch beer.

That's the same stopper I've seen on Tangle Ridge Canadian Whisky. Haven't tried the stuff, mainly due to some comments I read here.

I like cork tops, but the VWFRR has a rather small plastic part to which the cork is attached. Makes it a bit more difficult to open compared to, say, EWSB. I think the wax there helps give you something to grip. Of course when the contents are as good as VWFRR, I don't really mind taking my time opening the bottle.

Matt

[kbuzbee]

...Mine is the heavy "Pewter" cork in Kentucky Spirit...

Alas, Ken, they replaced the pewter with a wooden cork stopper 3-4 years ago. Glad you've got an old bottle.

Really??? That's too bad!! I have several of these in the bunker. Haven't looked for it recently (but I don't recall seeing it.... I wonder if it's still in Ohio??).

Did the Bourbon inside change? Or only the cork?? Does the old cork fit the new bottle??? Maybe I'll save the cork!

To others, yeah, I like the Blanton's horse as well. It's my second favorite (but it's delicate, I wound up breaking a tail off one somehow). Anyone collected the whole set?? (each stopper has one letter of "Blantons" stamped on it.)

Cheers,

Ken

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

I agree with Bourbon Joe. Function over form. Plastic screw tops are the best. Still they could be dressed up a little. Some of the Nikka whiskies have rather nice plastic screw tops.

I do like corks. The pop, the look of them, they seem classy. I don't trust them though.

Ed

PS. I am a big fan of the little horsies.

[TMH]

Ken,

I as I wrote in my post to Bettye Jo, I was excited when I thought the new Bernheim Original had a metal screw top. I've seen several old bottles (Old Taylor & Old Grandad) that look great with a metal screw top. I think the Bernheim bottle would also look great with a metal screw top.

That being said, my favorite cap is Blanton's. It works on that bottle. The horse and wax dripping down is stunning.

That being said, I think there are too many bottles with wax and corks. When I first started drinking Bourbon I had a different view. I was honestly disappointed when I saw a VW 15yr squat bottle for the first time. The plastic twist cap looked cheat. Now after being exposed to a wide variety of bottles, I think the plastic cap on that squat bottle looks fine. I wonder if corked bottles with wax are just a passing fad and a reflection of what this generation of bourbon drinkers looks for in a bottle of bourbon.

[chasking]

Mine is the large, bright orange cap on a ND Old Grand Dad 1.75 liter bottle. It's _huge_, super easy to open and looks really cool. It makes you feel small to pour from that bottle...

I don't have a 1.75, but when I saw the title of this thread I did immediately think of the bright orange cap on my OGD BIB. I like it---it's brash.

[kbuzbee]

I wonder if corked bottles with wax are just a passing fad and a reflection of what this generation of bourbon drinkers looks for in a bottle of bourbon.

For reasons others list above, I really enjoy a cork. I've never experienced anything bad from a cork (okay, not true, I had the top of a cork break off in a bottle of Jefferson Reserve, I had to use a corkscrew to open the darned thing - AND it was my first bottle of JR!) and I just plain enjoy the mechanics of opening a corked bottle (especially the, apparently now gone, pewter cork in Kentucky Spirit). I do place primary value in the contents and would never genegrate a product based on it's cap. Like (I suspect) you I see great practical value to screw caps in centain situations but I still enjoy corks more. Maybe that is a contributing factor to this "fad" maybe not.

Almost time to 'pop that cork'

Ken

[gr8erdane]

Going along with many on this forum, I think the plastic cap is more functional but not near as attractive. One approach I've seen more of is to seal the plastic cap UNDER wax. What a surprise I get when I get the wax to open as intended and almost pop a vein in my forehead trying to pop a cork only to find that it unscrews easily. And with the wax to hide it much more aesthetic....