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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?

Using a corkscrew

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!

Using a long nail and a piler

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.

Using a flat blade

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.

Push the broken cork into the whisky bottle

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.

Decanter your whisky

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.

Using a wire

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!

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