Broken Cork!

[Grant]

I bought a bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed back in early January 2006 and opened it the same day to try it out - as this was my first experience with this bourbon.

This afternoon I decided to taste it again for the second time - and the cork broke off near the top of the wooden handle - leaving the remainder of the cork stuck in the bottle. I was able to pry it out with my trusty Swiss Army knife's AWL tool - with no cork in the bottle.

For now I have take some plastic wrap and a rubber band to fix the problem - ugly but functional.

This is the first time I have had this problem - has anyone else experienced this too?

I sent an email to WT customer service asking for another cork - what do you think the odds are that they will send me one?

[DrinkyBanjo]

I had the same issue with an old bottle of Evan Williams Single Barrel. I sent Heaven Hill a not and they sent me about 5 replacement corks in the mail the same week.

If I know the bourbon industry and how it treats it's customers you will receive your corks by next week.

[CrispyCritter]

I've made a habit of saving corks for this very reason - I had the plastic knob break off on one of my bottles a while back, but I had a replacement already on hand.

[Grant]

I've made a habit of saving corks for this very reason - I had the plastic knob break off on one of my bottles a while back, but I had a replacement already on hand.

Excellent idea - I'll start to do the same.

[BourbonBalls]

Spare bourbon corks also come in handy on that bottle of wine you didn't finish the nite before . . . much easier to put in and out rather than use the cork-screwed wine cork.

[jeff]

Spare bourbon corks also come in handy on that bottle of wine you didn't finish the nite before . . . much easier to put in and out rather than use the cork-screwed wine cork.

I don't understand...not finishing a bottle of wine?...I'm confused :confused:

[pbrian]

Just last week the same thing happened to me with my EWSB '87. And since I don't drink wine (but plenty of craft beer), I don't have corks lying around. The piece of cork that stayed in the bottle was too loose to corkscrew out, so I just poked it through. And the little that remained on the top isn't enough for a good fit either. I took this as a sign that I should just drink up (tough task, I know), but since it seems this one isn't the easiest to replace maybe I'll shoot Heaven Hill a note myself to get a correct stopper and savor this one a little longer.

[bluesbassdad]

Jeff,

He must be talking about the third or fourth bottle. :grin:

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[TNbourbon]

Just last week the same thing happened to me with my EWSB '87...

Shhhh!!! Don't anybody let Bobby read this!:bigeyes:

[Grant]

Good news - I just received this email from WT today:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. A replacement cork for the bottle of Rare Breed was sent out today, 4/14/06. We always enjoy hearing from loyal customers.

We appreciate your continued patronage of Wild Turkey Bourbon and hope you continue to enjoy our products.

Best regards,

Earline Oberholtzer

Wild Turkey Bourbon

Consumer Relations

[nor02lei]

I bought a bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed back in early January 2006 and opened it the same day to try it out - as this was my first experience with this bourbon.

This afternoon I decided to taste it again for the second time - and the cork broke off near the top of the wooden handle - leaving the remainder of the cork stuck in the bottle. I was able to pry it out with my trusty Swiss Army knife's AWL tool - with no cork in the bottle.

For now I have take some plastic wrap and a rubber band to fix the problem - ugly but functional.

This is the first time I have had this problem - has anyone else experienced this too?

I sent an email to WT customer service asking for another cork - what do you think the odds are that they will send me one?

I got the ultimate solution on this problem. Plastic screw corks. I have never ever in my life understood the benefit of natural cork in spirit and wine bottles. Can anyone come up with any reason that natural cork stoppers in wine or liquor bottles could be better in any way?

Leif

[Gillman]

Well, that's a good question. I like using real corks. I tend to "mix and match" them, that is, after a few bottles get opened, the corks get re-assigned, to the bottles they fit best. (Within reason, i.e., I won't use a Scotch cork for bourbon or Canadian, but between the latter, no worries; ditto between Scotch and Irish whiskey bottles). As the corks dampen, darken and take character from the spirit they close, they seem to become more effective, and have an aesthetic quality I find pleasing. There is a satisfying moist pop when they are removed from the bottles, and any off-odours they may once have had are obviated by long contact with characterful spirits of high (or any - it doesn't matter for this purpose) quality.

Of course I discard some corks, when they become crumbly, but some have lasted a long time and have a peculiarly strong plastic resilience. Artificial corks wouldn't work of course in the same way and therefore aren't of the same utility - or fun.

Gary

[jburlowski]

I've had great luck removing broken corks using an Ah-So type cork remover. It has two flat metal tongs that go between cork and bottle on opposite sides of the cork. A combination of twisting while pulling usually removes the remainder cork without further breakage and minimizes the amount of debris that enters the bottle.

I've used one of these successfully on wine corks for years and just rescued a bottle of Peter Jake's that my wife brought home for me this weekend.

[Grant]

I got the ultimate solution on this problem. Plastic screw corks. I have never ever in my life understood the benefit of natural cork in spirit and wine bottles. Can anyone come up with any reason that natural cork stoppers in wine or liquor bottles could be better in any way?

Leif

Interesting question. Have you seen plastic corks in any bottles of spirits?

I could see the use for plastic or rubber corks in wine bottles for the short periods of time that they are still comsumable after openning.

Would plastic degrade or dissolve in higher alcohol content solutions such as 141.2 proof GT Stagg over time?

Does anyone know anything about the cork making process for bourbon bottlers?

[nor02lei]

Interesting question. Have you seen plastic corks in any bottles of spirits?

I could see the use for plastic or rubber corks in wine bottles for the short periods of time that they are still comsumable after openning.

Would plastic degrade or dissolve in higher alcohol content solutions such as 141.2 proof GT Stagg over time?

Does anyone know anything about the cork making process for bourbon bottlers?

Many American whiskies have plastic screw stoppers. Mostly sheap ones but there are some quality ones to like ORVW 10 and 15 for example. Personally I would like everybody to have it. Not to mansion wine were the benefit would be bigger still.

Leif

[barturtle]

In wine that is intended to age in the bottle, the use of natural cork allows what best can be described as "controlled oxidation" that greatly improves the wine over extended periods of time.

However many wines that are considered "ready to drink" when bottled, do not benefit from the use af natual cork closures, and a few wineries are switching over to either plastic corks or screw caps (many Australians, are going the screw cap route)

Few types of plastic can't handle exposure to high proofs, after all several pure grain(190 proof) bottlings are packaged in plastic bottles.

The main problem I could see with switching to plastic corks, is the fact that they aren't going to have the nice soft release that a natural cork closure is going to have in a decanter style bottle. If you've ever opened a bottle of wine with a plastic cork you would notice how much tighter the seal is(requires a lot of extra force to remove), trying to use this in a stopper type opening seems like you'll be having a lot of corks breaking off of the stopper...not an unsolveable problem, but possibly one that could cause some problems early on.

[nor02lei]

In wine that is intended to age in the bottle, the use of natural cork allows what best can be described as "controlled oxidation" that greatly improves the wine over extended periods of time.

However many wines that are considered "ready to drink" when bottled, do not benefit from the use af natual cork closures, and a few wineries are switching over to either plastic corks or screw caps (many Australians, are going the screw cap route)

Few types of plastic can't handle exposure to high proofs, after all several pure grain(190 proof) bottlings are packaged in plastic bottles.

The main problem I could see with switching to plastic corks, is the fact that they aren't going to have the nice soft release that a natural cork closure is going to have in a decanter style bottle. If you've ever opened a bottle of wine with a plastic cork you would notice how much tighter the seal is(requires a lot of extra force to remove), trying to use this in a stopper type opening seems like you'll be having a lot of corks breaking off of the stopper...not an unsolveable problem, but possibly one that could cause some problems early on.

Timothy,

When I wrote plastic cork I meant more like plastic cap like in ORVW. I am not in to wine so much but as I have heard it from more wine knowing friends the only oxidation that goes on in a wine bottle is with the little air that are inside the bottle. Nether a natural cork nor a plastic or metal screw cap allows any more air into the bottle. Therefore the wine can mature in the exact same way in both cases, but you never have the risk of the cork destroying the good taste with a plastic cap. It’s not as common but natural cork can destroy the taste of whiskey as well especially if the bottle have been lying down. All this said I can of cause understand that many of you guys appreciate the special feeling when opening a bottle with natural cork.

Leif

[Gillman]

If we are speaking only of a plastic cap which threads on to the bottle top, that is an effective closure. Originally these were made of metal. One sees metal ones still, e.g., on some rum bottles. The hard plastic closures (the newer types seem more resilient than the original kind, e.g., the red plastic caps that close Gosling dark rum) seem to impart no odor or other ill effects to the ethanol solution. I have no issue with these closures, and it is true that cork taint is not a problem here (although cases of bad corks of any kind are quite rare I think). I am not claiming that a slightly moist stopper cork improves the spirit but it makes opening the bottle fun as I had said. I have used some real plastic corks, in wine bottles, and find them (the ones I've seen) not perfected. If made to withdraw with a corkscrew the plastic is often too hard for the screw to penetrate easily. The stopper-style plastic closures, which have been around a long time, are more successful. I don't think I've ever seen one in a bourbon bottle.

Gary

[CrispyCritter]

Interesting question. Have you seen plastic corks in any bottles of spirits?

The only one I've seen has been used in bottles of Compass Box Asyla (a lovely, reasonably-priced blended Scotch). From what I can tell, it is some sort of synthetic elastomer. I found it very difficult to remove the first time around, but afterwards it worked quite well.

[pepcycle]

I have Walker Decanter from the 70's that has a plastic cork that's part of the glass stopper.

Its a clear plastic with ridges.

[boone]

I have Walker Decanter from the 70's that has a plastic cork that's part of the glass stopper.

Its a clear plastic with ridges.

Seems that alot of folks have cork problems :skep: one time or another, one company to another...

I note that in many of the bottlings (with gift boxes) they throw in a extra cork :grin:

I will bring "extra" corks to the Sampler for those of you needing replacements.

Bettye Jo

[TNbourbon]

Seems that alot of folks have cork problems :skep: one time or another, one company to another...

I note that in many of the bottlings (with gift boxes) they throw in a extra cork :grin:

I will bring "extra" corks to the Sampler for those of you needing replacements.

Bettye Jo

How do we love thee, Bettye Jo -- let us count the ways. You're a real corker!:grin:

[Grant]

Good news - I just received this email from WT today:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. A replacement cork for the bottle of Rare Breed was sent out today, 4/14/06. We always enjoy hearing from loyal customers.

We appreciate your continued patronage of Wild Turkey Bourbon and hope you continue to enjoy our products.

Best regards,

Earline Oberholtzer

Wild Turkey Bourbon

Consumer Relations

I received my new cork today - great customer service!

[rcitino]

I received my new cork today - great customer service!

Grant--

I just joined this board today, but your message blew my mind. Last summer my brother in law and I sat down to a bottle of his WT Rare Breed (I have a wonderful B-i-L--thanks, Ron!) As we were opening it for the first time, son-of-a-gun if the cork didn't break in the bottle. I understand there are cork problems from time to time--any wine drinker knows that--but maybe this is happening more often than it should to WTRB.

--Rob

[Grant]

Grant--

I just joined this board today, but your message blew my mind. Last summer my brother in law and I sat down to a bottle of his WT Rare Breed (I have a wonderful B-i-L--thanks, Ron!) As we were opening it for the first time, son-of-a-gun if the cork didn't break in the bottle. I understand there are cork problems from time to time--any wine drinker knows that--but maybe this is happening more often than it should to WTRB.

--Rob

I bought another bottle of Rare Breed at the same time as the one mentioned in this thread. I have yet to open it - but I'm really curious as to what the results will be. I will make sure to save the replacement cork that they sent me - just in case.