Broken Cork on Bourbon Bottle

[brschoppe]

I was wondering if anyone has experience having a cork break off in a bottle of Whiskey while opening it? Unlike a bottle of wine, it isn't something I tend to consume in a day or two so it seems like the situation needed to be dealt with. In trying to get the remaining cork out of the bottle, it fell into the bottle. To get it out, I poured the remaining contents into another empty bottle (Four Roses Single Barrel into a empty Woodford Reserve bottle). I then used a wine cork screw to the remaining cork back in. I rinsed the bottle out to try to get any remaining cork pieces out. Then I poured the contents back into the bottle and used the cork stopper from an old vodka bottle. However, the Bourbon now taste a little different. Did I do something bad here? Besides drinking the whole bottle tonight, what should I have done? Can cork effect the taste of Whiskey/Bourbon?

[garbandz]

If you have not sampled the bottle for a while it is likely that the contents have oxidised a little,which is perfectly normal.

In another month or two ,the taste could change again.

Cork will not affect the taste of a liquor,otherwise I think they would use another way to seal a bottle.

Relax and have a drink................

[PapaDisco]

Probably it's just in your mind, but did you rinse the bottle and let it completely dry before putting the whiskey back in? And were you rinsing it with chlorinated water? You know how a drop or two in the glass can make a difference (not ruination by any measure, just a difference).

[...]

Always good to keep a liquor decanter with stopper for these occasions

[fokker4me]

It is just a case of faster oxidation. When you poured the bourbon out it was the equilevent of decanting a bottle of wine. To prevent further oxidation you could use private preserve as an inert gas to fill the bottle and as you drink.it down, reduce the bottle size. I always keep my old bottle stoppers especially the synthetic ones as they don't break or crack.

[brschoppe]

Thanks for the info!

[dangolf18]

This happened on an old bottle of JW I had. It must have been from the 80's or early 90's. I didn't notice any off taste, in fact it was the best blended whisky I've had to date. Wish the quality was still there with the Blue. Anyhow, all I did was strain the contents and put them in an empty bottle I had with a functional cork. Only way a crumbly cork will affect the flavor is if the bottle was stored on its side or any bits of cork were actually in the bottle before you opened it.

[Kbb]

If you have old bottles, try a CO2 needle wine opener. You stick it right through the cork and into the bottle. Press the top of the canister to release the CO2 and the pressure forces the whole cork out in one motion. This should help prevent cork breakage as there is no torque on the cork. Pretty slick and one canister opens many bottles.

[TM-US]

I'm sure this is obvious, but do not store liquor on its side, store the bottles upright. The higher alcohol content will cause the cork to deteriorate.

In case you question my wisdom on this, the people at Macallan have advised the same thing.

[sengjc]

I'm sure this is obvious, but do not store liquor on its side, store the bottles upright. The higher alcohol content will cause the cork to deteriorate.

In case you question my wisdom on this, the people at Macallan have advised the same thing.

Yes, contrary to wine, the higher alcohol concentration in spirits will cause cork deterioration over time.

[Ken Gargett]

Cork will not affect the taste of a liquor,otherwise I think they would use another way to seal a bottle.

i would strongly dispute this. cork does affect the taste. look at wine. not just the impact of TCA (cork taint) but through oxidation. granted, far less obvious in spirits but taint is certainly not unknown.

there are better ways to seal bottles - screwcaps most obviously - but marketing/human nature and so on all contribute to the final decision.

but agree re standing the spirits upright.

i keep a few old stoppers around for the rare occasions a spirit cork crumbles.