ralfy review 913 Extras - Keeping bottles for a long time successfully.
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
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Great video Ralfy. I’m definitely the guilty one who has 50 open bottles. There’s just so much out there I want to try!
I am new to whisky world and your advices are superb Sir+
I don´t know what´s your experience guys but my last Glen Scotia 15 oxidated in just 4 days. First night was glorious. I came back in 4 days and it was gone. I thought I poured a different whisky. The essence was just gone. It tasted like the bottle was opened for 2 years. What a let down.
VERY interesting, and troubling! Anyone have similar experience?
You're a natural born storyteller, Ralfy. It's great to hear you again.
I bought thirty 100 ml glass bottles. Great size. Any half-decent whisky gets 100 ml marked and saved. Especially good whisky will get two 100 ml bottles saved. 100 ml is great for sharing a dram with a friend or for giving you about five good 20 ml comparison tastings.
Link Please?
Addendum…I’d save more than that, but I’m not wealthy, and I like to DRINK whisky, not collect it.
Link for the bottles?
@@utoobia you don't need to be wealthy. Plenty off bottles under 100 euro that are very great.
Link to bottles keeps being removed. Search on Am-a-Zahn for: “100 ml (3.3 oz) Glass Flask Liquor Bottle with Black Caps (12 Pack)”
As a pipe smoker I really enjoy pairing natural pipe tobacco with whisky. I keep six pipe tobaccos open and six whiskies open (2 peated and 4 non peated to match my 2 Latakia and 4 Virgina Perique and/or Kentucky Blends) . This keeps me tasking one dram and one pipe per day and lasts about 6 months. Thanks dear Ralfy for your helpful advice. Grazie 🙏 ciao from Milano Italy 🇮🇹👋 PS Italy won the gold medal today in curling ( the team all drink single malt scotch whisky 🥃 👍)
I was a pipe smoker many moons ago and I just loved your note. Just for the nostalgia.
I have about 18 open bottles that I reviewed over time. It then gets rested. Going back a couple of months later and you experience something very different and sometimes much better.
Ive got bottles that ive had open for 4 years that are practically identical after four years and going back they are as good. To me the casks are full of air and the bottling process exposes the whisky to heaps of air. Very useful video
The inert gas works perectly. Have you had any experience with tainted samples that sat in a sample bottle for too long? And I mean upright, not touching the rubber underside of the cap. Something I pondered as I've some unicorns sitting in samples for a while now.
Flat, old malts are good for marinating beef, making excellent stew sauce.
Drinkers of quality whisky? Or is it ...Quality whisky drinkers? Or perhaps both on the bothy
On each freshly opened bottle I fill a 20cl bottle to save for later. The remaining 50cl do not last longer than one year. And often the last dram is the best. Just emptied the Glenlivet Illicit Stils today 😄
I see a lot of people using "boston round" glass bottles for keeping samples of whiskey. The bottle is glass but the screw top is plastic. If i wanted to store samples for years, do you see any issue with the plastic on the inside of the cap tainting the whiskey over time? Tried googling it but couldn't find any answers unfortunately.
Hi Ralfy from Oz... You didn't talk about the use of Parafilm? Do you not use it?
Lord! It had never occurred to me that disreputable bar owners would cut or dilute an expensive whisky to make more margin. But why not? Ralfy is right, many customers (me likely) wouldn't know, esp, given a limited experience with drinking single-malts. Gads...
Excellent topic. For some combination of reasons probably, where I live my low bottles become cloudy and form a considerable sediment in just 6-9 months time. Happens with all types of whisky, different abv's filtered and unfiltered. I have adapted to this problem by getting ten boxes of 4oz sample bottles that I use as a Library/Archive. In fact when I open a bottle especially a special one I fill more than one 4oz bottle to put away. Then I can consume the original bottle as I please knowing I have some put away that I can come back to in the future. These full small bottles keep for years without any problems. Cheers Ralfy
In getting on for over 40 years of enjoying spirit's and whisk(ey)'s i can honestly say i have never had any sediment in an open bottle - is it moonshine or something lol, however years ago i bought a bottle that was really cloudy, which can sometimes be a factor in certain unfiltered expressions and normal, however not normal in this particular case, so i emailed the distiliary asking why, and the reply was that the whisky had probably been stored and delivered from a cold warehouse and when the scotch warmed up the cloudiness would disappear, and hey presto it had a cople of days later when i checked again. maybe not the cause in your case, but i learned something nevertheless. GL
I'm a whisk(e)y noob. I have one open bottle of Redbreast 12 year old as suggested on one of Ralphy's vids. You got to start somewhere 😁
Hey ralfy! I've experienced this myself with Old Pulteney 12, had it below half fill level some years and it was just flat because I didn't care good enough for it. The lagavulin distillers edition I always popped some gas in it and it was as powerful as ever until I finished it.
When do you reckon is the time to start treating the bottle? About half fill level I'd wager. Opened bottles near full fill level should be fine in my humble opinion.
Argon doesn't react with molten metal and high temperature arcing when I'm welding, it's not going to react with room temperature whiskey.
I pump argon into my bottles just like you.
By the taste of the average Laphroaig, I really don't think it matters what you put into the bottle with it haha! :)
That’s fighting talk! Pistols at dawn!
Amazon has collections of 24x 100ml glass bottles
I bought that very wine preserver off your suggestion. Excellent 👌
Love having a whisky library!
Great extras Ralfy,
I make my own wine and if it's not skelped in a few days it starts to go as described.
Whisky keeps but you gotta watch it !!
Thank you for saying that folks have 50 or so open bottles. I was starting to think I was some sort of odd duck 🙂
Excelente, muy completa y muy valiosa información. Algo más que aprendo de Ralfy. Muchas gracias!!!.
Ralfy, Excellent video👍
Does anyone have any experience with using poly cone lids to seal Boston round bottles. Does polypropylene degrade over many years?
What I’ve done lately is open a sealed 700-750 ml bottle and immediately fill 3-8 oz Boston bottles. Seal and label them for years of storage.
I’ve followed basically exactly this approach (smaller bottles and private preserve) for years. I’m now trying to drink down the open and decanted bottles I’ve had for years because I found I just wasn’t getting to a lot of them. There is a funny sort of pleasuring in finishing a special old dram that’s been around long time. Like a completion of journey in a way.
The thing about inert gas, it's inert. I.E it doesn't react and therefore bond. Claims of changed flavour are akin to claims of aliens making crop circles.
Thanks for this Ralfy. As a young man with a family that has never really drank, I appreciate the advise from someone with more experience. Since I only drink about 60 mL a week, preserving bottles is top of mind for me.
As a new guy to the scene I’ve avoided this situation y going one bottle at a time, first in first out. I try to pick whiskies that match the season. This approach has been very rewarding, on my second year now.
Re Ralfy's assertion that there's more complexity and diversity thereof in Scotch than in Bourbon, I tend to agree. However, when you think about it, it's a strange phenomenon. Because the main requirement for Bourbon is at least 51% corn in the mash bill, the remainder can be any combination of rye, barley and/or wheat or other grains and it still remain Bourbon. Whereas in Scotch, it must be 100% malted barley and no other grains. One would think a mash bill more open to various grains would lend itself to far more diversity than one that's very restrictive to one grain and only one form of it (malted). I honestly can't think of why this exists, other than perhaps slower aging in colder climates brings about more diverse complexities that faster aging in warm climates do not. And/or perhaps Bourbon is restricted to new charred white oak whereas in Scotch it can be used oak casks that have held Bourbon, Wine, Beer, etc. I dunno.
And I too am a glass bottle collector, have been for a few years. Both whiskey and wine bottles. Use them for aging NSG spirits to try out various wood (currently I'm experimenting with red oak), for giving these home-aged whiskies to friends or family, & for holding cooking sauces (I've used them for homemade Japanese tare sauce for chicken, etc). So I guess I'm a hoarder to when it comes to that at least.
I would think it's mainly due to the cask aging limitations and the generalized youth of bourbon (I think I read somewhere that because the mash is 51% corn the spirit cannot be in the casks for too long, but fact check that).
It is my understanding that barley is a more complex grain that produces a more complex mash, leading to a greater variety of flavours upon distillation and ageing. I should fins some references for this statement, though.
--[1] In a variation of your Ralfy Review 218, Sep 2011, on the day of or the day after I open any bottle (Scotch, American Why, brandy, Irish Why, Canadian Why, rum, etc.), I first squirt sufficient food grade CO2 gas into my opened bottles to displace the vast majority of oxygen in the bottle & replace the oxygen with CO2 gas. I appropriately replace the cork/top into/onto the bottle. Then, as per your 218 suggestion, I completely wrap white electrical tape sealing the junction between the bottle & the cork/top, to deter any air leaks to & from the bottle. For some historical recording, I then write this event's date on the white elec tape. Over the past 10 years, I have had seemingly good success in de-oxygenating & sealing my opened whisky bottles. --[2] Being a home brewer, I have a nice sized (2 foot tall) CO2 gas pressure tank. CO2 gas' advantage is that it is quite a bit cheaper than the quite excellent, but fairly expensive cans of Wine Preserver. Indeed, I'm lucky, because the vast number of whisky tasters do not have a CO2 tank. --[3] I have followed you for 10 years, & for all of that time, I have enjoy & valued your informed opinions. Please, keep it up. Thanks, Ralfy. Richard
Is CO2 a better way to go than Argon or Wine Preserver? ScotchTestDummies have done 4 yrs of annual tests and claim they detect flavor degradation.
@@marclambert8596/videos/videos --[1] Thanks for giving me a heads-up on the Scotch Test Dummies doing a comparison of CO2, argon, & Wine Preserver. I will look up their vids on this subject & gain some knowledge. --[2] Truly, I suspect and would not be surprised that Argon or Wine Preserver are or might be better for whisky preservation that pure CO2. Factually, Co2 is simply cheaper than argon or WP. Also, I have a lot of opened (at least 100), but not finished whisky bottles. Thus, cheaper CO2 might be an OK enough way for me to go for whisky preservation. Thanks, Richard
@@rayraymond2952 Just to clarify, I didnt mean they compared the different types of gas, but that they compared the effects of using the one gas (I think commercially canned Wine Preserver) over time. Ralfy seemed to disagree completely & that’s why I ask about the various types of gas and sealants like parafilm or plastic instead of natural corks.
I recently combined about 1/3 of Ardbeg wee beastie, oogie and correy to preserve the whiskies and I have to say it’s the best Ardbeg I’ve ever had
Im actually about to decant all three…. Might have to try this
Last summer my flat's temperature was consistently above 27 degrees for 2-3 weeks and above 30C for many hours. I have just invested in several bottles of good whisky, will these high temperatures degrade it ?
. . . just keep you bottles in a drinks fridge if you notice 'over-heating' which, unfortunately can happen over time.
Hi Ralfy, I remember once you talked about the usage of parafilm, but can’t remember if it was a good thing or not.
. . . I don't like thge stuff. Too much chemicals and plastics in it.
I had to stop at 8:43. 😱
A stunner, hammer XXXXXTra... Thanks Master Ralfy :-) And a new version of InvBo is born... keep the malts from one distillery in a bottle...🙂And I thought having a InvBo of "Bourbon-Beauties", "Sherry-Monsters" and "Peaters and Smokers" is already crazy... I even started a small bottle with the "best of the best" malts running over my tongue... Now I will start an InvBo of all the cool destilleries... starting with Ardnamurchan? Lagavulin? Edradour? Arran? Benromach? never finish a bottle....never stop exploring...thank again Ralfy!!!! You'll be always in my glass!!!
Ralfy, thanks for the information. What is your take on a bottle needing time to open up/neck pours? Science says there’s no reason the whiskey should be closed off but our hearts and palate say the bottle needs some air.
. . . give it all the time it needs.
Would a Mason jar with the screw top gasket lids work? Have plenty of those.
. . . yes, if they seal well.
Howdy
from Calgary Alberta Canada.
Ralfy,
I started watching your show when I was just starting to experiment with whiskey.
Thank you for the wisdom, encouragement and knowledge.
Cheers
Tony.
I usually have at least 30-40 bottles of mainly whisky, but some rum's, brandies, bourbon and armagnac, and love to decide on a night what i fancy. i've found that many whiskies improve after the bottle is opened and subject to some oxidization, but i don't keep many for over a year or so, as i like to keep trying different ones, and don't really have the space, but one thing i would'nt do is mix two different whisky's from the same distilliary into the same bottle, it just doesn't seem right to me somehow, i like them as god intended !!
In my opinion I think whiskey gets better exposed to oxygen in the bottle after time
Yep, never had one get worse. But open bottles don’t last but 3 months for me. They all improve in that time, some much more than others.
Hey Ralfy. I have a suggestion for a presenter or even a glass raiser for next year's OSWA's.
Erik Wait Whisky Studies. Check him out and see what you think. Thanks!
Ralfy… how long would a couple of sprays in a bottle last in preserving your whisky ? Do you need to do it regularly or just the once , and put it away ? Slainte mhath 🥃🥃🥃
If you spray with the wine preserver it's fine until the next time you open the bottle, then you'd need another spray as obviously when you pour another dram you'd be letting the heavier gas out.
. . . years, until you pour a dram, then more gas needed.
As an American who primarily drinks Single Malt Scotch, my pals who drink Bourbon or American Whiskies exclusively are constantly educated how I usually max out at 5 or 6 notes on American Whiskey or Bourbon and how with Scotch the notes are more numerous and can actually change and morph as oxidation takes place as the bottles are explored. I'll turn my fellow Yanks into educated Single malt aficionados yet!
I'm guilty of having about 40 bottles and about 15 open with most of the whisky still in. I use parafilm to reseal.
Then I have standard bottles that I enjoy when I just want a nice drink.
Laphroaig 10yo, Johnnie Walker black, double black and gold.
I enjoy buying whisky though to experience then reseal and some like my Laphroaig 15yo I bought in 2003 I only taste on special occasions.
Ralfy! I love you. Do you find the same general principle about opening a bottle once and it not lasting more than a few months holds across different spirits? Or is that more true of scotch? I got like 50 bottles of rums and bourbons and tequila that i opened and tried once and figured they’d last indefinitely… thanks on the off chance u response to this if not i still love you god bless please never stop the project
30-50 open bottles at a time... It's the only way I know how to do it. I can't just nurse a bottle or two or three. The way I best enjoy whisky is to explore, compare, contrast and constantly change it up. Whisky to me isn't just a good flavor; it's true appeal is in it's diversity and ability to constantly challenge my senses and evolve my experience with it. A magical drink indeed.
P.S. I just popped open a bottle of kilkerran 8 I bought a ways back because The Single Malt Review gave it their whisky of the year last year, and dang it am I kicking myself for not buying more! What a damn good dram that is, especially for the money (or at least what it used to cost; no idea nowadays, but I can only imagine).
Ralfy. I am super upset with you, sorry. You made me realize that I have been misgendered by society. From now on, I shall represent myself as a whiskey Anorak from now on. Or, just White Dog. Sounds tribal and the pun lies only with people on our team ;).
Thank you!
Quintessential Ralfy. Quintessential WhiskyTube.
Private preserve works great. But I have to say, that the wine preserver (pump and "cork") also work's great for me. The (under) presure is hold for years - no problem with that. Ok, there is still oxigene remining in the bottle, but the oxidation is much much slower.
There's a relationship between the "impression" of oxydation on the palate and low ABV ?
Generally my 40% AVB bottles change the taste faster than the others (often before a year ! )
Glad I’m not forced to agree with Ralf, in this case I really don’t. Gas impacts the taste of the whisky, what ever you do whisky changes over time….
"People don't want to get drunk and cancelled out on social media". (Ralfy, 2022)
I like and I love hearimg you talk about it picked up somr useful know how from you, kerp up the good work
I've got 57 bottles open at the moment. About 10 of them are really special and have argon gas in them and tape over the closure to ensure sealing. I will decant some bottles into smaller bottles. I've only had one bottle go bad. It was quite low and already old and it sat for 3 years. The natural cork shrank and let air in. It formed a sediment, turned an off color and did not smell right at all. Drain pour without question. Too bad as it was a bottle I was keeping for reverence as it had a 12 year age statement and new bottlings are NAS. Should have decanted it.
Ralfy, you're amazing. Full of good, common sense and good advice. I guess you've been around a bit.
Any bottle-finishers in the comments?
I usually have around 5-6 bottles open at any given moment. Traditionally I'd have a bourbon, maybe a rye, a sweet and smoky Scotch with maybe a cask strength or two in there as well.
A question just pop up while I enjoying your sharing: if I use the preserved gas in my collection, do I still need to keep the cork moisture to prevent it breaks?
Thanks for the video! I have around 35 open bottles for around 2-3 years, using pure argon for welding, like LiquorHound do. My opinion is that argon is the best gas because there aren't any chemical reactions with argon at normal conditions and it is very heavy. Haven't noticed any bad degradation so far, maybe because all bottles are at least half full.
But does the alcohol (ethanol) in whisky really oxidize?
You said nearly the same in an old video, but im glad for an updated video. As a result i also have the argon gas, small bottles and parafilm. Atm i have around 40 bottles open, some "resealed" again, as they are more special bottlings. I enjoy having the variety of my bottles. ill be starting my first infinity bottle soon, already looking forward to it :D
Got about 80 open at the moment just love to chop and change the flavours, keeps me interested, maybe a little to interested.
I have quite a collection of bottles getting down nearly passing the shoulder.
I start thinking about inert gas as the level goes down through the label. It could be many weeks between pours.
I went back to something last night and it seemed very sharp, I remember it being perfectly lovely last time around.
So, this is a good topic, very relevant to my favorite hobby.
Excellent information and very relevant for us enthusiasts that have 20+ open bottles. Thanks, Ralfy. It makes me feel better to know that you save special bottles, too. I have quite a collection.
You’re a fascinating individual with an incredible knowledge of past & present whiskies, you’ve fair opened up my tastebuds to whiskies I’d never of dreamed of trying, for that I thank you 🙏 .
& i heartily recommend Ardbeg’s ‘decades’ tour along these lines..a total delight to sample from the ages.
There's no harm in getting pished every once in a while...
I have found the gas to be quite good for preserving whisky.
guilty of this for the past 25 years or so and have not been disappointed, ever
Your as canny as you are crafty Ralf. Great stuff.
Could we see your whiskey library?
I only have one bottle at a time. But I only buy one or two bottles a year.
Lovely extra, Ralfy! These are my favorites
Respect from Liverpool
Just tried Kilkerran 12, finishing the bottle. Idk why, just sharing. Quality stuff forever 😂😎
My first two bottles of Kilkerran 12 have been delivered to my brother's home (800 miles away) for pickup later this year. Very exciting! Also three bottles of Hazelburn waiting for me in Knoxville! Right now I'm enjoying the Hazelburn 10 as much or more than Springbank 12 CS, which is a long-time favorite of mine.
i like these extra contents.
I know this is a little off topic, I just opened a 20 year old port, (Presidential) and it reeks of must. Is there any way to remove this, or is it a clinker?
. . . decant it and let is breath for a few days before checking again. Possibly it is a contaminated cork, and is spoiled. But don't rush to get rid of it just yet. Good luck.
Thanks Ralfy!!
Lovely as always. Well said.
keep up the good work Ralfy.
HD, oh my
... Cheers...
I have a couple of unopened bottles that I bought for my kids when they grow up and am concerned that when they are old enough to open them that the corks will crumble into the bottle. Should I be tipping the bottles periodically to wet the corks or not? Thanks for any advice!
I'm no expert, but I've heard Whisky should not contact the cork because it will degrade the cork.
. . . should not be necessary, however an occasional bottle flip will do no harm.
I have over 800 bottles and none of them are open
and?
@Rostislav Traps one of the weird collectors who doesn't drink but only collects
@@Maltmeister1 whatever rocks your boat
I accept donations
I am a young malt lovers and I have started my whisky stash ! Today I bought about a dozens whisky from Douglas Laing (Caol Ila, Bunnahabain, Ardmore and so on) and I'm so excited to have started that thing ! Thank you Ralfy
Also do you think that were would be any difference in the preservation of a brand new bottle of malt never even opened and a bottle of malt that has been opened, topped up like its is new and cork back in ? Same place, same temperature, same everything ? What do you think ?
. . . take your time and enjoy the malt-moments.
@@michayewiczigor1418 . . . very little difference.
👍❤️🥃
What is the longest period of time before we should worry about over oxidation of the whisky? one year, two years, five years? At what fill level? Below the neck?
Extremely useful information. I have been keeping a tradition for the past two years now, where every bottle of whisky that I purchase, I immediately decant the first pour into a 4 oz bottle and store it away. This way, if I'm still around in my 60s or 70s, I can purchase a bottle of, say, Talisker 10, open my 4oz sample from 40 years ago and compare them to see how the flavor profile has changed. A malty time capsule, if you will. The idea came to me when I watched you comparing bottles of Red Label from decades apart and noting the differences. Great extra, Ralfy. Thank you, from Pensacola, Florida.
Aren’t we all a bit of a hoarder Ralfy?!? 😂
First I think.C/bank 🏴
Ralfy, does storing whisky on its side, like a wine bottle to keep the cork wet, help at all?
No! Don’t do this. It will eat up the cork if it doesn’t leak first..
You should never store whisky on its side, as the alcohol content is much higher than wine, and it will rot the cork if you keepo the cork soaked in the whisky
. . . never do that, leakage !
Than you for all the replies! My liquor is vertical now.
I’m wonderful. I’m beautiful. I’m a malt mate. Ralfy affirmations for daily use.
I wish i could find the wine preservator her in norway, but ebay dont ship and its not possible to get as i now=/ thank you ralfy
Makes sense Sir .