Sealing open whisky bottles

[guggug]

Hey,
Im interested to know what ideas people have when it comes to sealing whisky bottles after you have bottled them, Ive been thinking about going for a bottle wax but i cant get any idea about air tightness, or should i go for a cork and the screw top and then wax, ive heard that whisky starts to lose its quaility after being open for a couple of months, and i plan to store my whisky for years and dont want my hard work to be invain, so any help regarding sealing homebrew whisky bottles would be of great help.

Shaune

[decoy]

i use 1 galon glass bottles and just seal em with a cork.. i can stretch my storage to 3 months..

I dont have a drinking problem, when i run out i just make some more...

[Hawke]

Most of the Whiskey I buy comes with a cork stopper. If you are trying to keep it for years, I would say cork it then do the bottle wax. Make sure the cork is tight, then dip the neck of the bottle in the wax, it will be airtight.
By the way, distillers store and age it in wooden barrels for up to 10 years, not the most airtight containers.

[Dnderhead]

if you want it to "age" use just corks it will experience slight loss. but not a grate amount.

[guggug]

How long will a cork last in a bottle of whisky ?, over time does it deteriorate and become corked or once a year if i tip the bottles and get the cork wet will this help ?

Regards.

[Dnderhead]

Corked wine comes from contaminated corks not how long it has bin kept ,if I remember right its a fungus that grows in the the bark of the
cork tree . but I thank for your use it whould never happen because of the alcohol content. maybe someone can add more.

up on doing further research whisky can become "corked" but as I said it is a contamination of a fungus that grows in the bark of the tree
also "whisky" with high alcohol content will over time deteorate the cork so it is suggested to store upright. but the article was talking about
storing for long periods of time as 20 years or so. even so it said that they have found no better solution.that even synthetic corks and plastic
deteorate over time.

[Hack]

You just gotta drink it before the cork goes bad. Think of it as a moral imperative or something...

[goinbroke2]

I seen old bottles that had glass stoppers and rubber washers. Get rid of the washers and just use the glass stopper and dip it in wax.

[bronzdragon]

Cork also dries out after a time, that is why wines with natural corks in them are kept on their sides to keep the cork wet. If you've ever had a cork bust up in a good bottle of wine, you know what I'm talking about.

For spirits, I'd just use the old wax approach if you are going to put the bottles up for a number of years. If you're going to store less than ten years, I wouldn't worry about it unless you like the fancy presentation as gifts and such.

As said above, the wax will seal it air tight and protect the cork. It's still a good idea to store it on the side if you want to keep it a long time. I haven't had that problem yet though, as for some reason since I started making my own drinks, my friends find a lot of reasons to "just stopped by because I was passing by".



cheers
~bd~

[1fourme]

Has anyone found a source for sealing wax, like they use for Makers Mark? It seems to be some type of wax/plastic type.

[Dnderhead]

dont know where your at but most wine shops/sites has it. http://morewinemaking.com/search/103303 ... ternatives" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[1fourme]

Thanks Dnderhead
They are only 150 miles south, and I will be going that way next week.

[Bob421]

Has anyone found a source for sealing wax, like they use for Makers Mark? It seems to be some type of wax/plastic type.

The stuff on Makers Mark bottles is a proprietary plastic.
This info came straight from the supplier of the plastic when I inquired about the empty but sealed Makers Mark bottles sitting around the office.