Most Irritating Packaging!

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

I vote for an international ban on corks. The association of corks with high quality spirits and wines is a false one. It came about because at one time it was the best that was available, but that is no longer true. The only effect that cork can have on the contents of the bottle is a negative one. I want screw caps, plastic or steel, forget those crappy aluminum ones.

Ed

[ProofPositive]

I'm not sure this qualifies, but I noticed recently that my bottle of Eagle Rare SB 10 is over an inch taller than my other tall bottles, making it difficult to store it in an enclosed 2 shelf cabinet.

Not exactly hand-wringing, I know, but a pain nonetheless.

Kevin

You think that is tough, then try the 1.75L size bottle of same.

[ProofPositive]

My all time biggest nightmare was with a 1.75L of Knob Creek. I had to use channellocks to get the wax off of the neck!

Thomas

I'll second that one and extend it to other sizes of KC as well.....have had a bit of trouble with all of them. Nothing else though has give me any trouble and if the KC had been too big of a headache, I would not still be buying it!

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Leif, Chuck and Ed,

I´d be more than willing to join a global movement against corks.

Let´s hear it for the plastic/steel screw cap!

[BourbonJoe]

I'll vote for the screw cap over cork.

Joe :usflag:

[ratcheer]

it reminded me of Baker's.

Gary

I have not had the Booker's. But now I am looking forward to it.

I have been through a bottle of Baker's. I really liked it.

Baker's neat reminded me of some of Buf Trce's stuff. On the rocks, it got fat, like Beam on steroids.

So I will now have to move the Booker's up on the rotation. The two being similar doesn't suprise me, after all Booker and Baker are cousins.

Oscar

Odd. I thoroughly enjoy Booker's but I don't really care for Baker's. To me, Baker's has a dry, astringent quality that is very offputting (is that a word?), while Booker's has a thicker, sweeter profile.

Tim

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Odd. I thoroughly enjoy Booker's but I don't really care for Baker's. To me, Baker's has a dry, astringent quality that is very offputting (is that a word?), while Booker's has a thicker, sweeter profile.

Tim

What Tim said.

Ed

[nor02lei]

I vote for an international ban on corks. The association of corks with high quality spirits and wines is a false one. It came about because at one time it was the best that was available, but that is no longer true. The only effect that cork can have on the contents of the bottle is a negative one. I want screw caps, plastic or steel, forget those crappy aluminum ones.

Ed

Well Ed here were all the reasons why I dislike cork and prefer plastic or steel screw caps.

Leif

[bluesbassdad]

After the switch will movie tough-guys still remove the closure with their teeth? :slappin:

Come to think of it, such a scene would fit nicely into a Mel Brooks movie, say something on the order of "Blazing Saddles".

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[brian12069]

That big honkin' Booker's crate obscures a nice presentation and is a pound of trash I wish I didn't have to pay Binny's to send to me.

The silver lining is Binny's picks some great barrels of Booker's.

I always thought that was kind of neat, the way Booker's came in that box. Looks nice on the shelf.

[brian12069]

Odd. I thoroughly enjoy Booker's but I don't really care for Baker's. To me, Baker's has a dry, astringent quality that is very offputting (is that a word?), while Booker's has a thicker, sweeter profile.

Tim

I have to agree in that Booker's and Baker's taste completely different to me. I happen to enjoy both though!

[smokinjoe]

The screw caps don't leak. They pour better. They don't foul what's inside. They travel better...But they don't beat that sound when you pull the cork out...thumbp! Like Pavlov's dog, I salivate when I hear it. It makes opening the bottle an event. For that reason alone, I vote cork!

JOE

[elkdoggydog]

Out here in wine country, some wineries are switching to screw-tops. I'm told this is due to a cork shortage. Others use a plastic stopper with a thin cork veneer.

I vote for the screw-on caps as well, regardless of the shortage. It makes no difference to the whiskey, and it makes my life just a touch easier.

[OscarV]

Odd. I thoroughly enjoy Booker's but I don't really care for Baker's. To me, Baker's has a dry, astringent quality that is very offputting (is that a word?), while Booker's has a thicker, sweeter profile.

Tim

Some say Baker's and Booker's are different and some say they are not.

Like I said I do like Baker's, but haven't tried the Booker's yet.

Well this on-going research may be tough but I am up to it.(LOL)

Hey Tim,... here's a shout out from a 'Bama native.

I am originally from Cullman, my family is in the LaconMnt./Vinemont/Hartselle area.

Oscar

[MattB]

Out here in wine country, some wineries are switching to screw-tops. I'm told this is due to a cork shortage. Others use a plastic stopper with a thin cork veneer.

I vote for the screw-on caps as well, regardless of the shortage. It makes no difference to the whiskey, and it makes my life just a touch easier.

While cork is getting harder to find, my understanding is that the change to screw-tops has had to do with cork spoilage--I've read in a few wine snob magazines that the percentage of bottles "corked" is not insignificant. (Chances are most people on this board have had a bad bottle, whether they recognized it or not.) But while a number of quality wineries have started switching over, it will probably be a while before you open a bottle of Mouton in the same way you open your Mountain Dew Code Red. Cork may be inferior, but it adds a festive and ceremonial element. (I assume this is why many bourbons come with wax and the like--to make it seem like a sacred or special occasion.)

Has anyone here experienced a bourbon that was fouled b/c of cork issues? I know that folks can respond very differently to the same bourbon--just read some of the older posts on something like EC 12--but I wonder if a few of these negative experiences have had something to do with bad corks.

[JeffRenner]

Has anyone here experienced a bourbon that was fouled b/c of cork issues? I know that folks can respond very differently to the same bourbon--just read some of the older posts on something like EC 12--but I wonder if a few of these negative experiences have had something to do with bad corks.

There have been some posts on this. Here is one thread on the subject.

As was mentioned in these earlier posts, the bad flavor comes from 2,4,6 trichloroanisol (TCA) that comes from a fungus in the cork.

I posted a photo of a bad EC12 cork six months back or so.

Jeff

[tachyonshuggy]

Switching gears a bit, let me nominate Knob Creek 1.75 (I think I piped up about this in another thread). It's basically a huge, unwieldy glass brick. No handle. Crazy fluid dynamics going on when you pour (most 1.75 bottles have the bulk of their liquid at the bottom, but the KC 1.75 has it, well, wherever it thinks it needs to be at the time). I would not trust the bottle to a person under 120 pounds

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

While cork is getting harder to find, my understanding is that the change to screw-tops has had to do with cork spoilage--I've read in a few wine snob magazines that the percentage of bottles "corked" is not insignificant. (Chances are most people on this board have had a bad bottle, whether they recognized it or not.) But while a number of quality wineries have started switching over, it will probably be a while before you open a bottle of Mouton in the same way you open your Mountain Dew Code Red. Cork may be inferior, but it adds a festive and ceremonial element. (I assume this is why many bourbons come with wax and the like--to make it seem like a sacred or special occasion.)

Has anyone here experienced a bourbon that was fouled b/c of cork issues? I know that folks can respond very differently to the same bourbon--just read some of the older posts on something like EC 12--but I wonder if a few of these negative experiences have had something to do with bad corks.

Some people just don't like EC 12.

That said, I have had corked whisky. The first bottle of Highland Park 12 that I bought was horrible. Definitely corked. I took it back and they replaced it. The second bottle was worlds better. Not as good as bourbon, mind you...

Sadly, the first Blanton's Straight From the Barrel I have had seemed to be corked. It wasn't as bad as the Highland Park, but clearly noticeable. It spoiled an excellent bourbon. I could taste the goodness behind the cork, but the cork kept intruding. I suppose it could have been a musty barrel, but I don't believe a musty barrel could have made it into a Blanton's bottle.

There have been other times that I thought a bottle had been adversely effected by cork without actually being "corked." Never noticed anything of the sort with a screw cap.

Ed

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Switching gears a bit, let me nominate Knob Creek 1.75 (I think I piped up about this in another thread). It's basically a huge, unwieldy glass brick. No handle. Crazy fluid dynamics going on when you pour (most 1.75 bottles have the bulk of their liquid at the bottom, but the KC 1.75 has it, well, wherever it thinks it needs to be at the time). I would not trust the bottle to a person under 120 pounds

Ah, the 1.75 liter bottles. Those are irritating due to their absence in this market. At least the absence of any big bottles containing something I would like to have at home...

Ed

[tgriff]

The only effect that cork can have on the contents of the bottle is a negative one.

Ed

After reading about much distaste for corks in this thread, I wonder if the use of synthetic corks would make a difference ? Would they be an improvement? Are bottlers using synthetic corks? The wine industry is using them quite frequently these days, presumably due to the shortage of natural cork.

[DrinkyBanjo]

Old Potrero uses synthetic corks but I don't know of any others. That being said I prefer the 'cork' to the twist off. Something about the sound...

[jburlowski]

The new Pritchard's Double Barreled Bourbon uses a large ( and IMHO ugly) plastic "cork".

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

After reading about much distaste for corks in this thread, I wonder if the use of synthetic corks would make a difference ? Would they be an improvement? Are bottlers using synthetic corks? The wine industry is using them quite frequently these days, presumably due to the shortage of natural cork.

Nikka, a Japanese company, uses plastic covered corks in some of their bottlings. Not quite the same, but not a bad compromise. They do pop fairly well, but they don't squeak first. They are a little harder to pull out. Oh, I had forgotten one, it had a very thin bit of plastic film on the bottom of the cork that kept the whisky from making actual contact with the cork. The sides of the cork were bare to the glass so there was a more natural feel, squeak and pop.

I still prefer screw caps.

Ed

[Nebraska]

I tried my first sip of Rock Hill Farms tonight. After taking a knife (three times) to the plastic holding the stopper down, I became very alarmed when I started to pull, I could tell something was a miss.

The thin ring of cork around the stopper was looking pretty nasty. The plastic on the stopper was shifting and my first thought was...what an incredibly stupid design for the inner part of the stopper.

Fortunately, the bourbon is not tainted...wonderful stuff. All is well in Nebraskaland.

[bluesbassdad]

Mark,

It could have been worse.

IIRC, my current bottle had a vertical, perforated strip in the clear plastic seal. It was easy to remove.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield