Tips to Keep Scotch Bottles in Good Condition

I put the bottles that I want to preserve in the basement, next to the wine rack. For some I reused the containers of other bottles and filled them up with styrofoam pellets.I guess that as long as you keep them in a cool dark place, store them in an upside down position and keep your hands, they should be fine

@Pandemonium upsidedown? Is that for real? Any contact with the cork in my opinion is bad news. Alcohol boils at 78°C so I guess that is the point you have to start to worry?

Agree with the dark and cold (but not damp). You can also get a clear tape that you can wrap round the cap that forms a good seal I have used this. Also I have got some bottles in oversized zip seal bags.

Parafilm is the name of the tape

What about bottles that were shipped to me from two or three thousand miles away? The whisky in those might have had too much contact with the cork. I worry about that. I store all bottles upright in the individual whisky boxes/cartons they arrived in.

I'm hoping the condition of the corks has not been compromised. It's hard to say because the corks are covered. If there is anything I can do to ensure the corks keep from drying out of getting eaten by contact with the whisky then I am all ears.

So you think that extra tape around the caps of bottles that were shipped to might might be a good precaution against air getting inside?

@Onlyhalfmad Sry, too much whisky already, I meant upright, not upside down, never ever upside down.

@rigmorole personally I don't think a short period of time in transit is going to be a problem, long term is different. The parafilm is cheap and doesn't do any damage to the bottles, but does it work? I will tell you when my son opens the bottles I have saved for him.

I think poor quality corks would be more of an issue, but how do you know till you open it.

@Pandemonium good man.

My primary concern is the heat. I'm worried about corks drying out over the course of a decade or so on a few expensive bottles. Air getting in could ruin the whisky in those bottles.

I don't have a basement, only a garage with a thick concrete floor

Bottles for the long term: wrapped in plastic with the cork and capsule tightly sealed with film tape, the container/box is similarly wrapped in plastic and all are stored upright in a dark storeroom.

My concern is heat. Here in Japan, most homes (ours included) don't have central heating/cooling, or basements. I'm very worried about the effect the hot summer months could have on my bottles. Keeping them in the dark is easy, but unfortunately there is virtually nothing I can do about their exposure to summer heat. I have a couple of bottles that I will be keeping for quite some time, over a decade certainly. I pray that they will not be damaged by the heat. Does anyone know if natural occurring summer temperatures are hot enough to cause damage to whisky?

@CanadianNinja I think summer heat in Japan can indeed dry out a cork and ruin a bottle. You might consider getting a window air conditioner just for your whisky!

@rigmorole, would it simply be the drying out of the cork, or would the heat have adverse effects on the whisky itself? I do have bottles with cork tops so I am quite concerned about their preservation, what's interesting though is that most Japanese whiskies are bottled with screw tops. Again, would those bottles be of any concern, could general summer heat damage whisky?

I would worry much more about the corks if it were my whisky. Keep the whisky in a dark place. Keep the bottles upright. Out of sunlight. Corks are the most vulnerable aspect of a collection in my view at least. I've heard horror stories about corks drying up and exposing the whisky, which then spoils unless the air exposure is caught in time. By that point, the whisky must be drunk and enjoyed. No more saving it, of course. If you've got bottles with plastic corks or other types of tops you're probably safer. Most of mine have traditional corks

My house is perfect for storing Whisky with 2 foot thick solid stone walls. I recommend you all ship your Whisky to me and I will "take care" of it.

Maybe I can help Rigmorole. I keep over 500 bottles, I store them as follows with NO issues at all! Two walk in closets and one linen closet. Walls are from cement, doors are solid real wood, quality hinges And locks, weather strips around door and door bucks for temp control, white linen place on solid shells So boxes won't stick! And completely dark no light fixtures at all! Bottles are placed --back to front, left to right, top to bottom in somewhat preference order like, most Expensive and rare etc. tightly placed together so one bottle supports the other even on top of each Other three bottles high with no issues at all. In fact on top of each other you can assure that the corks Stay tightly in place, I even place them on the concrete floor using every square inch of space. Tips to keep in mind -- keep original box if possible, no light at all sunlight or from bulbs, keep temperature Around 10 degree or less in other words very temp fluctuation is key!, keep away from dust, debris and Odors like cleaning solutions and such. I can't believe some people store them by the kitchen hell NO!
Try not to move them often if you follows these steps the cork won't dry I promise that. Corks do come Bad from the factory. Different quality corks are the culprit here!! As a building engineer, temperature And thermodynamics are what I use to preserve my bottles. I have bottles that I do not list here that are In my canbinet which have been bottle years ago with no issues at all. Your every day drinking whisky should be keep always from your liquid stash!! Keep it a secret Thanks for your time.

I meant little temperature fluctuation in my reply , extreme temperature high and low is not ideal.

@luckyshot - Fantastic information about storage, climate, and use of space...and not advertising valuable/collectible bottles is prudent advice. I too stack cases as it will aid in keeping the corks flush.

Just yesterday I went to a shop to see what interest me and I was stunned to see a cheiftains choice laphroaig 14 yo on the shelf, placed on its side, out of the box and a huge hologen bulb spotlighting it And just cooking the heck out of the bottle, infact all four of these cheiftains was placed in the same Manner. So as a passionate enthusiast I gave them my tips and they looked at me like I had three heads. It goes to show that sometimes even before you make a purchase, the bottle your thinking of buying Has been mistreated and handled by the importer or shop employees with no common sense.

@luckyshot

There are some retailers in Australia that do that too, storing spirits like they are wine, something's due to shelf space constraint.

I tend to insist on selecting the bottles that I am comfortable with.

@Rigmorole one of the things that I've heard and do with my entire collection to avoid having the corks dry out is every 6 months or so I take all of my collection with corks and turn them onto their sides for 15 minutes or so. I then put them back right side up and there they sit for another 6 months. I keep a little diary with reminders in it to when I need to do this.

Doing this I've yet to have any issues with the corks drying out. You don't want to leave the bottles on their sides for long periods of time as the whisky will eat through the cork, but for short periods it keeps the cork slightly moist and functioning. I hope this helps!

@Canadianninja I wouldn't stress the heat TOO much. Again keep the whisky in as stable a condition as you possibly can, I've always found that big temperature fluctuations and light shock to be the big killers to beers and spirits. If it gets CRAZY hot though I'd invest in possibly a temperature controlled storage facility if possible, that's what I do with all my high end bottles.

Has anyone else heard about this technique that Ash wrote about to keep corks from drying out? See his very interesting reply below:

ASH WROTE: One of the things that I've heard and do with my entire collection to avoid having the corks dry out is every 6 months or so I take all of my collection with corks and turn them onto their sides for 15 minutes or so. I then put them back right side up and there they sit for another 6 months. I keep a little diary with reminders in it to when I need to do this.

@Rigmorole Here's some links for you. There was also a discussion on the Malt Maniacs Facebook page maybe a year or so ago.

www.theglenlivet.com/blog/storing-whisky whiskymag.com/forum/viewtopic.php/…

Quite a few of the folks in the different whisky clubs I run do the same thing as well. I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts on this!

Extremely helpful @SquidgyAsh! Thanks so much brother ; )

Ash, you put your finger on precisely what I was curious about. I had heard rumors about wetting corks from the inside (letting whisky contact them) but I wasn't sure if there was anything to them. Thanks so much for the links! Before starting this discussion, I tried in vain to surf for links such as these.

@Rigmorole no worries buddy! There's LOTS of conflicting information out there on this, with some folks saying that doing this leads to more degradation of the cork. However to be perfectly honest to be able to prove if it works or not you'd honestly have to take on a long term science experiment with controls, different variables accounted for, etc.

I do it with all my whisky collection, including my investment grade bottles which are sitting in the ball park of around $30-35k right now and feel comfortable doing so. I'm always cautious with all my whisky as I want to be able to enjoy that whisky to the fullest when I crack it open, whenever in the future that is. I hope that helps everyone!

@SquidgyAsh great info !

Also...I've wondered about the effect of checking a corked bottle into luggage for a flight and left it laying down for the 8-10 hours of the flight.

@Frost

This has not been a problem for me. The only way to get a good variety at a decent price in Ontario is to go elsewhere and bring it back. I've packed a few bottles into a suitcase and brought them back. It's a good way of encouraging me to unpack right away. I then put them in my cabinet, upright, and I haven't noticed a problem with any of the ones I've opened yet, nor from the ones my friends or family have "muled" for me.

@Frost Same experience for me as @Nozinan. I travel frequently and almost always bring back a bottle in my checked luggage or a well cushioned box. No problems yet.

I also suggest that you lay a bottle down for a couple of hours before you transport it in checked luggage. I have experienced buying a bottle of bushmills 10 at the local liquor monopoly, putting it in the car trunk for the ride home and discovering that it had been leaking on the way. If I had bought that bottle in Ireland and brought it home in my luggage there would have been quite a mess. For that reason I now always try to stand my purchases up on the way home from the liquor store at least until I know there is no problem with leaks.