@geologyjane you’re better off than me at least. Dr cooper would have no respect for me: Univ of Michigan grad chem eng turned bean counting MBA. A traitor in his eyes 😞

@PBMichiganWolverine - haha if you’ve ever been exposed to The Big Bang Theory you will know Sheldon Cooper resentfully proclaims that “geology isn’t a real science!” While I disagree with him, I did get degrees in chemistry and geology so hopefully I’m not a complete disappointment by his standards. 😅 I like @cascode’s advice, make a little party out of it and crack open something to enjoy to pass the time - then report back to us with a full review!

@PBMichiganWolverine Oh, the first world problems we endure.

@geologyjane now yours is an opinion I can fully trust in this matter. It’s backed up by solid advanced sciences education. On the downside, @Rick_M and @cascode , I’ll need a day to flip all 600 of my bottles

@PBMichiganWolverine - on the flip side (and now that I can’t help myself because the nerd flag is out), you wouldn’t want to store the bottles permanently upright because ethanol has a higher vapor pressure than water and it will dry the corks out. And we have all probably experienced this at some point or another when we find those ages old, dusty bottles on the shelf and the cork’s become dry and brittle. The joys of hydrogen bonding and intermolecular attractions! 🤓

@PBMichiganWolverine - just seeing this, another long day. But I agree with @cascode, that has been my practice (store vertically and give them a short “nap” to moisten the cork a bit). I can’t imagine I will be keeping any of my bottles around for decades though. Also, as more producers switch to composite corks, laying the bottle down on its side for an extended period of time will eventually undermine the adhesive holding the cork bits together. This will happen with natural cork too due to the high alcohol content but composite has more “fissures” and weak spots. Wine doesn’t usually have this problem because of lower alcohol content, but I will say in my experience it’s more likely for a composite cork to fall apart when stored on its side and natural cork seems to do ok for longer. In the end though, cork is better at being water repellant than alcohol repellant and I’m better at enjoying them than hoarding them so who am I to say. 😅

@PBMichiganWolverine Yes that’s correct. The bottles are stored upright in dark cupboards or in the original boxes and laid on their sides for an hour or two while the shelves are dusted and the sorting is done. That’s plenty of time to moisten the corks. Long-term storage of spirit bottles laying down is not a good idea.

@cascode so, wait—-do you store it upright and then, by “turn”, do you mean you then flip it horizontally on its side?

Regarding bottle maintenance, 2 or 3 times a year I “turn” the collection. Every bottle is taken out and laid on its side, and the shelves and bins dusted. Then the bottles are sorted (to include any new purchases that were out of order - so all the Springbanks go together, etc). The bottles are dusted, examined and replaced upright. I have some mates over for the day to help and I select a bottle from the stash to open and share afterwards. The time flys when you make a party of the chore.

@Slainte-Mhath Regarding bottle ageing, there is a subtle effect but it’s less than the effect of cask ageing and of a different quality. The cask is an active participant in shaping the profile of a whisky. A bottle does not do this but instead provides a neutral environment where the spirit can gradually “mellow”. Whisky that has been well maintained in a bottle for years achieves greater balance and integration. However this is just my subjective view based on experience and it’s probably impossible to prove, as any 20 year old whisky will have been different right from the start compared to a contemporary expression of the same thing. As for other spirits, rum and brandy behave the same way, but the “white spirits” all seem to be best fresh. Gin and vodka are just lab concoctions anyway, and mezcal is a special case.

@Slainte-Mhath i did...I have 3 Karuizawas —-all of which I got for about $50-80 ages ago. Including one that’s a full sherry matured single cask. I didn’t know it back then, but I only bought it because I was curious of Japanese whiskey

@PBMichiganWolverine @Rick_M yeah from what i've read alcohol that strength will eat the cork alive over time. Keep dry and seal I reckon. Does make you think what it does for our stomach!

@PBMichiganWolverine Well, time to open and enjoy these Karuizawa's! I assume you bought them back in the days when they didn't cost a fortune, so pop the cork and enjoy!

@Slainte-Mhath well said. I still can picture my kids pouring my precious Karuizawas into a Diet Coke. And at my funeral too...will be enough to make me come back from the afterlife and smack them

@Rick_M @PBMichiganWolverine I got this old Chivas (among other bottles) from a distant relative who passed away. He kept his precious whisky tucked away, and always refused to open and share it with guests, as I was told. I think this is a good reminder to all of us, to enjoy our bottles - especially the precious ones! Don't wait for this special occasion which will never come.

@Rick_M @PBMichiganWolverine When I first opened this old bottle, I expected a disintegrated cork. Luckily, the bottle was well-sealed with a plastic screw cap, so no evaporation or oxidation occured during the 40 years of storage. At first, I had my doubts because it was a 1L bottle, but now I am enjoying every bit of this blend.

@Rick_M i don’t know...but I’m going to google expert opinions. Just based on my chemical engineering /chemistry knowledge, I would think that high ABV in whisky means you should store upright, else you’ll see that alcohol degrade the cork, and contaminating the liquid. Wine, with lower ABV benefits from horizontal. But I would think just rotating every few months for whiskey should keep it moist enough. Fellow scientist @geologyjane ...would live your view on this

@PBMichiganWolverine - that is probably a good practice. I haven’t done anything with mine, but then again I don’t plan on holding onto them for 20 years.

@PBMichiganWolverine - what do the experts say? Should you tip them upside down for a day or so every six months?

@Rick_M I also thought whisky with higher ABV than wine will eat through the cork or at least have it contaminated. So I stored mine vertically, with parafilm wrapped at top

@Rick_M I’m going to contact Skinner and see if they have local pickup...there’s maybe 500 of mine I can sell there

@PBMichiganWolverine - there’s a guy on cape code that gave his 600 bottle whisky collection to Skinner to sell a while ago. He found a bunch more bottles he had stored in wine bins laying horizontally for 2 decades. I bought a bunch and opened 2 so far. Like wine, the cork saturates and protects the whisky from oxidation and evaporation, but forget about getting the cork out in one piece. One I opened last month was a Laphroaig 15 bottled 20 years ago. Tremendous!

@Rick_M damnit. I just blocked my calendar for next Sunday to go to the vault from 9-5, and rotate 600 bottles. No one will believe me the following day when I claim my right hand wrist is sprained from bottle rotations...perverts will think otherwise.

@Rick_M Totally agree with @cascode my Del maguey Arroqueno is now down to maybe 1/8 of bottle. I can’t detect any smoke. Just agave at this point.

@PBMichiganWolverine - forget it. You’re screwed. :)

Also, both @cascode and I commented recently on how much oxidation affects mezcal. Since mezcal is generally unaged, it is very unstable and can lose all of its smokiness in as little as 3 to 6 months after opening.

@Rick_M so—-just to keep the cork moist, should I be rotating it every once in a while, like 1x/quarter? I”ll need a full day for that mundane activity for all 600 of mine.

Saw a bottle of 25yo Macallan (bottled in 1992) sell recently for half its low estimate because of a low shoulder. A modest estimate had already taken this in consideration and the sale still suffered. Corks can dry up in unopened bottles and evaporation and oxidation takes place. With whisky, sometimes oxidation is good and sometimes bad. Depends on the whisky and personal taste. The older the whisky, the less effect oxidation seems to play after opening, since the whisky breaths in the barrel while maturing. This is just an opinion, not expert advice. I have found that oxidation really benefits port influenced whisky, for my tastes.

Bottle aging and whisky: We all know about bottle aging and wine. Mostly, people think that storage of whisky in a glass bottle has no further impact on its quality. However, I think for blends it can actually make a difference, as the spirit mellows over time. What is your experience?

Chivas Regal 12 OLD vs NEW: The blends of yesteryear have two big advantages, a presumably higher malt content and better caliber of casks. The modern Chivas 12 has less substance, lower ABV and is rather spirity and thin. Refill cask bitterness dominates the short and featureless finish. I still think that Chivas 12 is one of the better blends out there, but the old version is so much better. Link to my review of the modern Chivas Regal 12: https://distiller.com/tastes/198450

Additional information: Bottled at 75 British proof (42.8% ABV) for N.A.A.F.I Stores for HM Forces. It is hard to believe that they have wasted such a nice booze on their troops. Did they drink this during the Falklands War?