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All of us are victims of this age-old problem – the cork breaks when we are opening a bottle of our favourite whisky. This issue is especially prevalent in older bottles simply due to age. Needless to say, we are all frustrated with this recurring challenge! What are some of the best ways to remove a broken cork from our whisky bottles?
If the broken cork is just slightly below the open neck of the bottle, it is easiest to use a corkscrew to remove the broken piece. Use the corkscrew the same way that you would when opening a wine bottle, and you should have the broken cork out of the bottle soon enough!
Sometimes, the corkscrew is not delicate enough to do the job, and you will need a better idea. Find a long nail (as long as possible) and make sure it is clean. Screw it slowly into the broken cork, just like how you operate a manual corkscrew. The trick is to pull the long nail a little after screwing it into the cork so that you get a tight grip. Then use piler to slowly but steadily remove the broken cork out of the bottle.
When a corkscrew or a nail is not available, grab a flat blade knife from the kitchen. This is an operation only for the nimble fingers, so be safe when you are doing it. Insert the flat knife into the cork near the cork’s edge and the neck of the bottle. Be careful not to stick the knife into the centre of the cork as you need the neck of the bottle as some form of leverage. Once you insert the blade reasonably deep into the cork, start turning the knife in circular motions. The trick here is to pull upwards as you turn so that you pull up the cork even as you turn the knife in circles. Once you can grip the cork with your fingers, stop using the knife and pull the cork free with your hands.
If there is no way for you to remove the broken cork from the bottle, the next best thing is to push the cork into the bottle. This method requires you to have a spare glass bottle to house your whisky. To use this method, clean the debris of the broken cork so that small particles will not fall into the whisky. You may want to check the integrity of the cork as well because you do not want it to disintegrate when it falls into the bottle. Once you are sure the cork will stay in one piece, go ahead to push the cork into the bottle. After that, follow the next step.
If parts of the broken cork fall into the whisky or you push the broken cork into the whisky, you have to decanter it. Grab a clean, empty glass bottle and decanter your whisky using a sieve or strainer (for bigger debris) or a coffee filter (for tiny particles). After that, the big challenge comes – removing the bigger piece of broken cork from the newly empty bottle. One of the best ways is to use a clean plastic bag. Insert a clean plastic bag into the bottle, with the open end facing the neck of the bottle. Overturn the bottle so that the broken cork falls to the neck of the bottle. Next, blow air into the plastic bag so that the cork remains at the neck of the bottle. Then, delicately pull the plastic bag and cork out of the bottle.
For those with a steady hand and a steely gaze, you can consider using a stainless wire fashioned into a hook to remove the larger pieces of the broken cork. Ensure that the wire is hard, and use it like a fishing hook to puncture and lift the debris gently out of the bottle. It requires a ton of patience and a whole lot more skills!
Whisky drinkers do not usually have a hard time storing whisky as compared to wine drinkers. As our precious liquid stops ageing once bottled, whisky drinkers can keep their whiskies indefinitely. Well, as a broad-based theory, of course. Temperature and storage methods do affect whiskies, unfortunately, so we are here to look into how we can avoid doing the wrong things.
We need to look out for two things when storing sealed bottles. The first is temperature and the second, sunlight. Both of these affect whisky by causing chemical reactions in the whisky compounds and degrade the flavours over time. While this does not happen within a few years, but it will alter the taste after ten years or more.
The best way to store sealed bottles is in a cupboard when the light is minimal, and temperatures do not fluctuate like the stock market. Having a constant room temperature between 15 to 18 degrees Celcius is ideal. Nonetheless, we know that it is impossible for us in this part of the world to get that temperature, so keeping your whiskies in the dark cupboard is the next best thing. Otherwise, make sure that your open shelf is not facing the window to avoid heat and sunlight.
An opened bottle of whisky requires a lot more attention and careful storage as compared to a sealed one. If your bottle is more than 2/3 full, it is entirely possible that the flavours will not change for the next one year or so. What you can do is to use some parafilm to create a seal on the bottle cap or cork to preserve the flavours as much as possible.
The challenge hits when your bottle is about 1/3 full. With that much air in the bottle, the whisky will begin to oxidise. Once oxidisation starts, the whisky will change and no longer taste the way it was. For some expression, oxidisation improves the flavours, but for most others, it degrades the whisky instead.
The best way to prevent oxidisation is to invite a few friends over to your house and finish the bottle on a glorious night. If you want to keep it for yourself, you may want to drink it as quickly as you can. Alternatively, pour the remaining whisky into a smaller glass bottle with a good seal. You can then parafilm the smaller bottle after that.
You can use inert gas to remove the oxygen from the bottle before storing it for a long time. However, there is no study to verify if the inert gas will change the whisky. By theory, the inert gas will not cause any changes since they are not reactive, but nobody has verified it (at least I did not find any scientistic study on it). Some whisky drinkers in our community use inert gas, and they have not complained about taste alteration so far!
Glendronach and BenRiach distilleries are no strangers to our shores, considering the vast number of fans for the Glendronach single casks releases. We attended a private tasting session at La Maison du Whisky on 23 March 2018, hosted by none other than Stewart Buchanan, the global brand ambassador of Glendronach, BenRiach and Glenglassaugh. Alongside Stewart were a few other vital people of the brands. We had the pleasure to meet Finbar Boyle, the General Manager of Southeast Asia, Vincent Pantow, the Area Manager in South East Asia as well as Shirley Sum, the Trade Marketing Manager of Travel Retail, APAC.
Geek Choc and I were the first to arrive for the event, and we were soon seated and served with water while we waited for the rest to show up. As LMDW scheduled the event at 6 pm, it was natural for some participants to be slightly late due to work. Anyway, the rest of the gang soon turned up, and Stewart wasted no time and started the event promptly.
The initial tasting planned was to try five different whiskies. Three of the Glendronach’s core range – 12, 18 and 21, followed by two higher-end BenRiach – 30 and 35. The 30 Years Old was a peated whisky. Stewart, however, decided to add in a BenRiach 10, because he felt that it was essential for us to know how a “normal” BenRiach tastes like. We thought it was considerate of him, especially when some of the audiences have not tried a BenRiach before.
Glendronach distillery is one of the few fortunate distilleries that avoided a closure back in the 1900s. As a result, the distillery’s use of sherry casks did not stop, and today, it is one of the most sought-after sherry bombs in the industry. As many of Glendronach’s fans would say, “Nothing seems bad when you are sipping a Glendronach!”
For the geeky us, we were excited when Stewart started speaking of production! We understood from Stewart that the reason the Glendronach is rich and viscous is due to the way they run their production. The time that Glendronach seeps their barley, the hours of fermentation and even the way the casks are used all played a part to create the end product. Nonetheless, in Glendronach, casks are but a supplement to the rich spirit that they produce.
Stewart started with the Glendronach 12 Years Old. A young whisky by the standard of what’s on offer, the 12 Years Old does not disappoint. With 80% oloroso casks and 20% PX casks, the 12 Years Old boasts of caramel, spice and barley sweetness. The long finish is a bonus too.
The Glendronach 18 Years Old Allardice was up next. The word ‘Allardice’ simply referred to the founder James Allardice. The 18 Years Old is made of 100% oloroso casks which make the whisky drier and spicier. The nose also holds some leathery notes while the long finish is tannic and astringent.
Moving on, we came to the Glendronach 21 Years Old Parliament. Now, the name Parliament has a special story behind it. It has nothing to do with the government or politics. It actually means a flock of crows! A group of crows is called a parliament. Why is there a reference to crows? According to Stewart, the men operating on the illicit stills of the past depended on the ravens to alert them of excisemen in the area. As they hid deep inside the forest, any disturbance by the excisemen would cause the crows to make noise. That became a signal to the illicit stills operators!
The Glendronach 21 Years Old is again, made up of 80% oloroso casks and 20% PX casks. The prolonged maturation allows the PX-influence to shine, making this expression sweeter and yet, rich and robust. The long finish is a balance of caramel sweetness and tannic dryness.
Stewart moved on to BenRiach soon enough. BenRiach sat 600 miles from Longmorn and was mothballed in 2002. Fortunately, Billy Walker bought the distillery and reopened it in 2004. Since then, the distillery has been growing rapidly and moving from glory to glory. Today, BenRiach has some of the richest Speyside spirits and excellent peated ranges that are highly sought-after.
BenRiach also used water with more minerals, which produces more esters during long fermentation. As a result, BenRiach is very fruity even at a young age. Interestingly, BenRiach also has one of the most extended middle cut in their spirit bank, which makes for a fascinating distillery tour as you get to taste the different new make at different cuts.
The BenRiach 10 Years Old uses a combination of bourbon, virgin oak and sherry casks. Boasting notes of honey, butterscotch, vanilla, grapefruits and zesty citrus, it is perfect as a dessert whisky. The long finish helps to keep the fruitiness in the palate long after you swallow it. This is one whisky that is ideal as an introduction to a non-whisky drinker too!
The BenRiach 30 Years Old Authenticus is a unique peated expression. Peated at 55 ppm, it is considered a heavily peated whisky. Now, a highland peated whisky is different from an Islay whisky, mainly because of the peat that was used. Highland peat does not produce the iodine element that you usually associated with Islay peat, making it less pungent and more fragrant. This expression is a combination of American and sherry hogsheads.
The 30 Years old boast some spice notes before a breathe of smoky peat comes thru beautifully. Sweetness than comes in before turning into dry, herbaceous notes. The finish is long and dry.
The BenRiach 35 Years old is a sherried expression. Unlike whiskies using first-filled sherry butts, this expression used a refill sherry hogshead. Stewart shared that sherry hogsheads are hard to come by, and are usually heavily-used. Hence, the BenRiach 35 Years Old likely used one which has been reused several times before.
That probably explains the unusual notes that we get. The 35 years old is both sweet and grassy with medium spice that dissipates quickly. A yummlicious whisky for sure, and one that may confuse you just a little!
The event ended fairly quickly after that and Stewart did a round of autographs before bidding all of us good-bye. It was a great insight into Glendronach and BenRiach, and we look forward to more tasting sessions in the future!
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