Essential Equipment-- To Decant or not?

[Patchez]

I have often wondered about the whole aeration and decanting thing. I know it does great things to wines, but are tannins and such a problem with whiskey or whisky? Also is it just those that should be decanted? Should you decant vodka? Gin? Absinthe?

Can the potion contained within be there forever or is the time finite?

The "experts" have their opinions but they are paid to say something, anything that progresses the "industry".

I want to know what the true experts think.

There were some knowledgeable heavy hitters on here in the past, Ivan, Big Casino, the Limey..as well as others. Any of those mentioned and unmentioned, think the Rediscovering Scotch Whisky thread. You know who you are.

Basically, the reason I ask this is I always thought they were cool if a bit pretentious. I thought having a Globe wet bar would be awesome but thought the overly cut crystal decanters or the cheaper copies were snooty. However I did find a really cool, to me, decanter that I had to have. In it rests the last of my Ardbeg Corry.

[Miklo]

I always decant, at least for my daily go to. I have two decanters that sit on top of my bar, and they look better than a handle of EW sitting on top. I must admit, they are glass, not crystal, but nevertheless I do enjoy using them. As far as the longgevity of storeing, they are air tight, and do not leak when tipped upside down, but I have never kept them full for more than two weeks. The only thing you have to watch out for with the crystal decanters is the leaching of lead. Other than that, decanting is essential for the modern drunkard.

[mistah willies]

I have no cannon in this fight, due to college aged youth and the impossibility of having any bottles in a liquor cabinet remain there for long...


But that decanter in that pic up above looks to be blown. With, what, five capillaries?


Wha? Where? How?


Drunkard minds want to know about your fine vessel.

[Badfellow]

There's a practical side to decanting if you're rich enough to have casks of spirits lain away in a cellar. Then you send the butler down to top off the decanter for dinner and to grab a bottle of '64 Lafite for target practice with your antique golden musket.

Really though, I don't much do it myself but can appreciate the art to it. I've heard things about how it introduces oxidation to ambers and is said to "smooth them out while opening them up." I don't know how true that is mainly because I lack the knowledge. But I can tell you a good anecdote on the subject:

One time we were throwing a house party with a lot of different booze on an open bar. One of the bottles was a full 500ml plastic traveler of Canadian Windsor someone left behind at some point. It's notoriously cheap Canadian style whiskey made by the Phillips Company. Nobody was likely to touch it given the selection of much better liquor available. But an idea struck me. There was an empty crystal decanter in the glass cabinet. You can guess what happened next.

"Mark my words," I said. "Someone will drink this tonight and think it's the best shit they've ever tasted."

Sure enough, one of the guests to show was an old, babbling university putty-head. Just to get him to STFU, I suggested he pour a snifter of the aged whiskey we had decanted on the bar. He gave his glass a baronial swirl, sniffed and sipped. "Ahhhh, yes. Nice caramel and vanilla notes. This must have set you back a penny or two."

Truer than he knew.

[Patchez]

BF that is and outstanding little story. I love it!

Miklo I had heard about the lead problem as well. That was another reason for me to go with glass. I just like a decanter to be interesting and/or understated. I will let you know how the Corry turns out after about two weeks or so. Or maybe this weekend.

Willies the decanter does seem to be hand or machine blown, bubbles trapped in the glass, and it does have five small tubes leading from one bulb to the other. How it was made or where it was made, I have no clue. I bought it for $2 at a yard sale.

[oettinger]

FKR had the trick Badfellow layed out here describeb in detail in his well written bock in the chapter about the home party i seem to remember.
Works with a lot of things, fill the leftover beers from last night in one of these

and tell people it`s one of bavarias truly originals and they`ll surely rave about it`s awesomeness.

On topic, these seem to be more toys of the drunkard rather than necessity.
On the other hand, if you want to top off a shady business deal you just agreed upon with some mafia members it is a must have in your office.

[Mr. Viking]

I decant cheap whisky to hide the bottle

[Badfellow]

There's also the trick of hiding your really good whiskey by decanting it in an empty of rotgut. Hopefully it never becomes necessary for any of you, but I actually had to resort to such measures when sharing a house with three other raging hooch-garglers who'd clean out your stock if you turned your back for a minute. But then I just got a liquor locker. Problem solved.

You got that decanter at a garage sale for $2? That's a sweet score.

[Mr. Viking]

I decanted a bottle of jura and it went very flat. Some malt whisky is too delicate for decanting, but some can definitely benefit, like some take water and some don't. Suppose it's the same way with wine. Wouldn't dream of decanting a light white wine, but a heavy or oak aged red can be wasted if it isn't aerated to some degree.

i use an LSA Polish crystal decanter, in the flat bottomed, waisted neck style, that my brother and sister got me for my 21st birthday. It has a pretty good seal but glass on glass can't be as good as a screw top or a cork. Certainly, having left a bottle of whiskey in it for 3 months it had gone very flat tasting. A week or too won't be a problem at all though. Dad has a few decanters with cork seals around the plug. I would happily leave whisk(e)y in them for up to a year

[oettinger]

but a heavy or oak aged red can be wasted if it isn't aerated to some degree.

My parents have an old expensive one of these

It shouldn`t be longer in there than one session but looks cool

[Mr. Viking]

My parents have an old expensive one of these

It shouldn`t be longer in there than one session but looks cool

mine have some less ornate claret jugs. I imagine that was the same in that it originally had a stopper but it got lost or broken. I believe wine should be drunk within 12 hours of opening anyway

[oettinger]

To bad Viking, such a nice tool. Repiars wouild go in the hundreds i guess?
Without the stopper takes away all the fun of being something better, different. Pouring in proudly with your thumb on the stopper until no guest says "stop" is kind of decadently hilarious and should be done more often

[Mr. Viking]

repairs would probably be about £20 to get a good fit or £5 just for show. We tend to finish bottles though

[givemesomepils]

I've never bothered but if i manage putting the money together i might get one just because it looks very fucking sophisticated. and why aerate if it's going to be gone by the next day?

[mistah willies]

I should have sprung for this


I should have fucking nabbed this