20yr whisky ruined by heat?

On 21 Oct 2004 09:04:31 -0700, the alleged Bryanska, may have posted the following, to alt.drinks.scotch-whisky:

Hello, y'all.

O.K., but the denizens of this froup have proved to be very tolerant of more than a few Bourbon whiskey posts of mine, so you'll have to watch your step.

Given those storage conditions it's probably still drinkable, but if you have reservations about it I'll be more than happy to "test" it for you. If it were mine I'd put it on its side for about a week or so to rehydrate(?) the cork to minimize the possibility of the cork fragmenting upon removal.

If it were mine I'd try a small dram before serving in to guests... However if it isn't up to your standards you can always use a bit to degalze the skillet after you pan-broil a steak. Another idea is for Bourbon chicken [1].

Regards, Rob "Bourbon County fool" Crowe

BTW: Your whiskey isn't 20 years old, it hasn't aged a day since it was bottled.

P.S. I prefer to use sliced almonds for the Bourbon chicken.

Recipe By : Wayne Thompson Tolerant Systems San Jose, California Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time 0:30

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

------- -------- ----------------------------------------- 2 whole chicken breasts (4 breast halves) 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups frozen thawed orange-juice concentrate 1/2 cup Bourbon whiskey 1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds 1 tbsp butter salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375F. In a large heavy oven-proof skillet melt butter; let cool, but do not let solidify. Turn chicken in butter to coat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Tuck edges under, forming compact shape about 1 1/2" thick. Place chicken in skillet, skinned side up. Bake, basting occasionally, about 15 minutes. Saute almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Sprinkle with salt and cool slightly. Place chicken on heated plates. Add orange-juice concentrate to drippings in skillet; stir over high heat until reduced by 1/3. Stir in Bourbon and heat through. Season with salt and pepper; pour sauce over chicken and srinkle with almonds.

At the risk of sounding rash, why not just open it and try it!? Maker's isn't vintage bourbon, so it's no more rare or valuable than the same bottle you can buy today, nor has it aged 20 years in the bottle.

Huh - I thought Maker's Mark was the kind of bourbon you could put away. So a bottle wouldn't get better with age? Even 20 years later?

The fact is, Whisky is not like wine. It does not age in a bottle. In fact, if the bottle is not sealed well and air gets into it (same with wine bottle that has cork stoppers) it could then loose some of its quality (taste, etc). Interestingly enough wine will spoil much faster if air gets in the bottle than will whiskey and the (wine) aging process will stop.

Dave

No. In fact, for whiskies the only significant changes that can occur are for the WORSE, not better. For a clear bottle, light, heat, and oxygen are your enemies. Whiskey ages in the *barrel*, once it's bottled the aging process is over.

An interesting experiment would be to buy some of today's Maker's Mark and do a side-by-side comparison with your old bottle. Oak quality and to a certain extent overall bourbon quality were different 20 years ago.

Wow - then mine was a common misconception, because in college I would often mention this bottle, and everyone seemed to swoon, entreating me to drink it when I got married, first had a son, etc. In other words, everybody I've met has insinuated it would get better with age.

Then why would guys pay lotsa money for an 80-year old bottle of Scotch?

You seem determined to plea your case, but the bottom line is that you and your uneducated cronies are wrong. While you might have told them something to the effect of "I have a 15 year old bourbon I'm saving...", that sounds exciting, but what you *REALLY* had was a 6 year old bourbon that spent 9 years in the bottle. I can go to the corner and get the same 6 year old bourbon today. Get it?

Whenever you see a label that says "Aged XX years", that label indicates how many years that whisk(e)y spent in wood. *Vintage* whiskies have a distilling date and/or a bottling date, and can also be highly collectible because of their age (in or out of wood) and rarity.

Your Maker's Mark has no age statement. Sorry, but you have a non-collectible sentimental bottle. Open it and enjoy.

To say nothing of the fact that one just might enjoy the taste. "Age" is age whether it be in a bottle (wine) or cask (whisky). The end result one would hope is that at the end of the process you'd be able to enjoy the contents either by the ego of have a rare wine, whiskey, painting, or by taste.

In this case, Karl is correct. Open it and enjoy.

Because there are some very rare examples where the whisky has in fact aged for that amount of time...

ex:

/J

Yes. Aged in a cask....

But outside casks. Nothing happens...

MacDeffe

In college, we drank 24-packs of Keystone Light, then, on dares, would take our clothes off and run around outside in the middle of winter.

Makers Mark is a "fancy" whiskey for people who aren't too "fancy."

John

Yes... AGED IN CASK for 64 years... Ohh my god I omitted the "for that amount of time..." IN CASK...

How obvious wasn't that for all the others?

/ J

Wha? Karl, do you know what "flamebait" is?

My "uneducated cronies" were under 22 years old.

Plus, mine was a legitimate request for further explanation. Did I deserve the above somehow...?

While you might have told them

I like this explanation.

I can go to the corner and get the

I don't appreciate unnecessary finger-in-the-chest pompousness. "Get it?"

Good facts and well stated. Thanks to Karl

Yet I worked in the cigar trade for five years, and learned something. Being an asshole about esoteric things turns people off. Nothing drives away budding enthusiasts like a guy in a golf shirt laughing at your misconception. (Karl sounds like a dick who likes golf.)

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive, but liking golf is, in and of itself, a good thing!

Karl you dumb bitch. Do you realize that Scotch whisky doesn't have an "e" in it? Obviously not as you made the same mistake twice (once quoted).

Karl is just upset with men in general - his mom sold him to some Arabs when he was young.

We are talking about bourbon. Do try to keep up. And yes, I realize Maker's goes against convention and spells it "whisky" as well. Bourbon is a "whiskey", Scotch is a "whisky."

Yo Bryan...where's that flamebait link!?

So, ahem, "Karl", what's your favourite single-malt? (Note: I even used the non-standard UK spelling of "favorite" just for you!)

Nah. You've been belligerent with all your responses. I consider you a dick and will casually cyberstalk you for a few years.

Dismissed.

Please don't characterize Karl's responses as representative of this group. This is the right place to ask your questions and, by and large, the good people here are happy to answer politely.