Bulleit Bourbon/Rye Gripe.

[mawnansmiff]

Ever since I 'discovered' bourbon & rye via this Forum I have bought several hundred bottles over the last 8 or 9 years of various brands and enjoyed each and every one of them.

Last night I discovered amongst my stash a long forgotten about bottle of Bulleit Bourbon (thought I'd drunk it an age ago) so decided that would be my tipple for my late night tot.

As I was removing the protective seal from the bottle I remembered that every single bottle of Bulleit I've ever had came with a loose fitting cork and sure enough, once the seal was removed the cork just popped out with the seal. Why do they do this? I'm amazed they don't leak or evaporate.

Over the years I guess I must have had around 30+ bottles of their glorious juice and always with a loose bung. They look to be of the reconstituted cork variety (one up from those horrible silicone bungs) and as luck would have it I had a bottle of Sazerac Rye in the kitchen with about 1/4 inches left in the bottle so poured that on top of my shot of Bulleit and used that bung which fitted the Bulleit bottle a treat.

BTW, the Bulleit with Sazerac tasted fantastic

Anyone else suffered from undersized corks?

Jay.

 

[PipePint&Cross]

Over the years I've encountered loose corks, snapped corks, and disintegrating corks. I now keep a gallon baggies with a bunch of corks from old bottles in case I come across these scenarios. I always seem to have an appropriate sized cork to replace the malfunctioning one.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Thinking about it I've had several Buffalo Trace corks snap on me so I've had to revert to careful corkscrewing to remove the remainder.

I do actually have a few loose corks in a drawer for such emergencies.

Jay.

 

[shanez]

I've had good luck with silicone stoppers I got off Amazon:



I've got one that's been in a bottle of mezcal for a few years now.

 

[Steddy]

Anyone else suffered from undersized corks?

Jay.

I don’t think so. Ask my wife.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I suggest that you just store new bottles of Bulleit on their side. The alcohol will help keep the cork expanded. This is a vinters trick.

I have not experienced shrunken corks in my bottles of Bulleit Ry or Bourbons though.
If you can find it, try the new Jack Daniels release of Triple Mash. It is a 100 proof, but goes down as smooth as Old #7.

 

[Grangerous]

I’m a Rye fan. I prefer a ryed bourbon over wheated, which explains my love for Wild Turkey 101.

Never had a cork issue…

But if you’ve not tried Wild Turkey Rye 101, may I suggest giving it a go.

 

[mawnansmiff]

If you can find it, try the new Jack Daniels release of Triple Mash.

Thanks for the tip....a bottle is now ordered

It's on special on Amazon UK right now £31 down from £41. No shrunken corks I hope.

I still have a bottle of their single barrel rye I'm saving for some special occasion.



Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I liked the Triple Mash so much, that I bought twelve bottles to give my bourbon club friends one each for Christmas. I was told that this is a limited release, but I don't know if it is like pipe tobaccos in how ltd releases work or not.

 

[bullet08]

No. Never had a loose cork on a whiskey. Then again, I don't mind screw top either. Only cork problem I had was with a bottle of wine in shape of Eiffel towel we pick up on our honeymoon. The cork dried out and fell into the bottle. I guess I didn't pay too much attention to it. If I don't drink it, I don't look at it twice.

 

[danimalia]

I thought the trend in wine and liquor (especially wine) was to move away from corks to screw-caps? I have occasionally noticed issues with loose corks, but I don't drink much Bulleit to know. My go-to rye is the Wild Turkey 101, or sometimes the Rittenhouse.

 

[JOHN72]

The same thing happened to me. Some brands have a cork that does not tighten enough, so I have put other thicker corks, so that it is completely sealed, and keeps the alcohol.

 

[mawnansmiff]

My go-to rye is the Wild Turkey 101, or sometimes the Rittenhouse.

Two of my favourites. Jim Beam also do a good rye but not so easily found round these parts.

Jay.

 

[mawnansmiff]

I suggest that you just store new bottles of Bulleit on their side. The alcohol will help keep the cork expanded. This is a vinters trick.

I've heard that too. However I just read this....

While wine is better stored on its side to keep the cork moist, whisky is a different story. If the whisky's touching the cork, its higher proof will degrade it.

I would guess that it would take a very long time for the cork to degrade.

Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

We discussed corks once before. First off, there isn't any significant aging that happens in the bottle. The aging process is the reaction with the oak and the oxygen coming in through the microcracks between the staves. Unlike wines, once it's in the bottle, it's not really neat to be aged further.
You've mentioned folks that age booze, but there are folks that do all sorts of things that baffle me.

But, the liquor should keep... pending the cork. Deteriorating corks is even a problem in wines. If you go to the websites that sell natural cork, they will tell you that their material is best. And, if you go to the synthetic cork sites, they will say theirs is best. But, for me, natural cork is cheap, so I spend the extra for my wines to get synthetic.

It could be just a business cost based decision that led to poorly fitting corks. Just a guess.

I like Bulleit bourbon, but if I encountered this problem, I would probably be deterred from buying much more of it. For rye, I agree that Sazerac is the example all other ryes should shoot for.

 

[pappymac]

I haven't bought a bottle with a loose cork but I did get a bottle of bourbon with a loose cork at a local grocer last year. The bottle had one of those anti-theft devices on it that had to be removed upon check-out. I was actually talking to the store owner when the cashier went to remove the device and it somehow pulled the cork out of the bottle. This was after I had paid for it.

The store owner sent the cashier back to get me another unopened bottle and after writing "bottle damaged" on the label of the open one handed it back to me. He said they weren't allowed to sell open bottles so I might as well take it.

What I hate is the bottles where the cork is too tight. I had a bottle of tequila and when I first opened it, the wood cap separated from the cork, leaving the cork in the bottle. I used a cork screw to remove it and replaced it with the cork I had saved from a previous bottle.

 

[ThermionicScott]

I'm a big fan of Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, and I've encountered loose corks on those bottles now and then. I've taken to (gently) twisting the cap on bottles in the store to find the ones that have the better seal. I have a variety of old stoppers that I'll use to reseal bottles at home.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

My friend decants all his bottles after he opens them. I’m wondering if it’s because he’s had issues with corks. I’ll have to ask tomorrow when we’re out for drinks.

 

[andrew]

I suggest that you just store new bottles of Bulleit on their side. The alcohol will help keep the cork expanded. This is a vinters trick.

I have not experienced shrunken corks in my bottles of Bulleit Ry or Bourbons though.
If you can find it, try the new Jack Daniels release of Triple Mash. It is a 100 proof, but goes down as smooth as Old #7.

I've heard from scotch people don't do this as it will eat away the cork. It's a big no no for spirits

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've heard from scotch people don't do this as it will eat away the cork. It's a big no no for spirits

True for real corks.