For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

On Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:04:38 PM UTC+1, Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

No, don't think so. Spirits were used as an antiseptic and a preservative (cf 'Tapping the Admiral'). It evaporates.

I suspect you may have had a bottle in which the contents had been 'recycled'. Never drink from a warm bottle.

In message , Mr Pounder
writes
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Presumably the bottle had the type of screw top which splits away from a
perforated bit (indicating that the bottle has been opened). However,
sometimes the whole of the top comes off intact, and if this is what
happened, it could be that the contents have been got at. Someone could
have been having the occasional surreptitious sip, and topping the
bottle up with water - and well-diluted whiskey tends to taste rather
nasty - and, of course, looks pale.

Also, although 40% full strength whiskey won't 'go off' after the bottle
is opened, it will do if it has been diluted to less than (say) 15%.

Do you, by any chance, have a teenage son?
--
Ian

In article ,
Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of
Bells Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click
sound when I opened it. It tasted awful so I have poured it down the
drain. Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Not in a few years. The best ones are matured in casks for longer than
that. And they're not sealed as well as a bottle.

--
*Frankly, scallop, I don't give a clam

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 14/06/2012 19:04, Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.

If it was Whiskey ... then it was not Bells

Bells is Scotch Blended Whisky

Whiskey is Irish not Scottish


Whatever you had as a Blended spirit it does not usually improve that
much with age, compared to for example a single malt ........ also it
does not go off ....

If it is in fact labelled as Bells Whiskey .... then maybe it is a cheap
copy, and may have moire in common with anti-freeze than Scotland.

Mr Pounder :
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey.

Whisky, I suspect (Whiskey is Irish).

Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.

Seems a bit cheapskate to me, unless you painted the house with the
contents of some paint cans you happen to have lying around.

It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Not unless tampered with. Presumably the tamperer wasn't clueful enough
to restore the click using nail varnish or similar.

--
Mike Barnes

On 14/06/2012 19:04, Mr Pounder wrote:

Does Whiskey deteriorate?




It certainly evaporates....

--
Dave - Cyclists VOR. "Many people barely recognise the bicycle as a
legitimate mode of transport; it is either a toy for children or a
vehicle fit only for the poor and/or strange," Dave Horton - Lancaster
University

"Mr Pounder" wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

If it really said Bells *Whiskey* (as opposed to Whisky) then it's
counterfeit stuff.

Whisky doesn't go off in poorly sealed bottles. If the Whiskey was a typo,
then someone's been drinking it and adulterating it with something else to
top it up.

Tim

Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of
Bells Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click
sound when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

You thought it tasted awful as it was Whisky and not Old Spice (your usual
tipple).

--
Adam

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

Whatever you had as a Blended spirit it does not usually improve that much
with age, compared to for example a single malt ........ also it does not
go off ....

None of them do after they are bottled.
Its the time they spend in the barrel absorbing the tastes of whatever was
in them previously that is the age of a whisky.

Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.

Thats Bells whiskey all right.

Does Whiskey deteriorate?


It will lose alcohol faster than it loses water if its not sealed.






--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.

Mr Pounder wrote

For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.

It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Nope. In fact the best of its 20-80+ years old.

Bells isnt much of a whiskey when brand new.

On Jun 14, 8:47*pm, "Rod Speed" wrote:
Mr Pounder wrote

For being a good boy, *pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Nope. In fact the best of its 20-80+ years old.

Only if it's (a) whisky, not whiskey, and (b) still in casks.

And it's reckoned that after about 25 to 30 years, it starts to get
"woody".

--
Halmyre

Halmyre wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Mr Pounder wrote

For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of
Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click
sound
when I opened it.

It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Nope. In fact the best of its 20-80+ years old.

Only if it's (a) whisky, not whiskey,

Nope, they do that with whiskey too.

and (b) still in casks.

Where its even less sealed than in a glass bottle with a screw top.

And it's reckoned that after about 25 to 30 years, it starts to get
"woody".

Doesn't stop plenty flogging it a lot older than that at outrageous prices.

In article ,
Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

If it was Bells Whiskey and not Bells Whisky, then it was probably a fake.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

"Mr Pounder" wrote in message
...
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells

Doesn't your wife love you? If my wife bought me Bells, I'd divorce her.

Whiskey.

Bells is whisky rather than whiskey.

Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Bells always tastes awful.

Next time demand something decent, Bushmills or at least Jamesons ;-)

--
73
Brian G8OSN/W8OSN
www.g8osn.net

In message , Brian Reay.
writes
"Mr Pounder" wrote in message
...
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells

Doesn't your wife love you? If my wife bought me Bells, I'd divorce her.

Whiskey.

Bells is whisky rather than whiskey.

Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Bells always tastes awful.

Next time demand something decent, Bushmills or at least Jamesons ;-)

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.
--
Ian

On 14 Jun,
Halmyre wrote:

On Jun 14, 8:47*pm, "Rod Speed" wrote:
Mr Pounder wrote

For being a good boy, *pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of
Bells Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click
sound when I opened it. It tasted awful so I have poured it down the
drain. Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Nope. In fact the best of its 20-80+ years old.

Only if it's (a) whisky, not whiskey, and (b) still in casks.

And it's reckoned that after about 25 to 30 years, it starts to get
"woody".

I've just tried (almost the last dregs) of my bottle of Bushmills bought in
1975. I went off whisk(e)y around the time I bought it due to a surfeit of
it.

I've been testing this bottle for the last.... 37 years. I could develop a
taste for it. It certainly hasn't gone off.


--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:04:38 +0100, "Mr Pounder"
wrote:

Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

It probably went into a sulk being called Whiskey.
Anyway, that's Bells - headbanging juice.

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:37:02 +0100, Ian Jackson
wrote:

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.

I'm Scottish and can't stand the blended ****. Malts, otoh, fill me
with delight, especially with some ginger ale [1], and some of them
don't even give me a banging headache next day.
Irish Whiskey goes down a treat too - preferably Jimmy's.

[1] **** off, purists.

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:37:02 +0100, Ian Jackson
wrote:

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.

I'm Scottish and can't stand the blended ****. Malts, otoh, fill me
with delight, especially with some ginger ale [1], and some of them
don't even give me a banging headache next day.
Irish Whiskey goes down a treat too - preferably Jimmy's.

[1] **** off, purists.

I'm slightly diff, if it says scotch & 40% on the bottle, I'll drink it.
I drink for effect, I don't particularly like the stuff.
I'm not as thunk as you drink I am and I was deffo not expeeding the seed
limit, ossifer.

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:04:38 +0100, "Mr Pounder"
wrote:

Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

It probably went into a sulk being called Whiskey.
Anyway, that's Bells - headbanging juice.

O c'mon, if it says 40%, get it down yer neck

Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Brian Reay. writes
"Mr Pounder" wrote in message
...
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells

Doesn't your wife love you? If my wife bought me Bells, I'd divorce her.

Whiskey.

Bells is whisky rather than whiskey.

Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Bells always tastes awful.

Next time demand something decent, Bushmills or at least Jamesons ;-)

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.

Au contraire. I think you'll find that it's the Irish who are struggling to
get it right. Can't even spell it right for starters! ;-)

Tim

In message , Grimly
Curmudgeon writes
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:37:02 +0100, Ian Jackson
wrote:

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.

I'm Scottish and can't stand the blended ****. Malts, otoh, fill me
with delight, especially with some ginger ale [1], and some of them
don't even give me a banging headache next day.
Irish Whiskey goes down a treat too - preferably Jimmy's.

[1] **** off, purists.

'Tis said the only thing you should add to a single malt whisky is a
drop or two of pure Highland spring water from the grouse moors. On the
other hand, 'tis also said that a true whisky aficionado will add
anything which helps it go down well. While I prefer mine unadulterated,
someone recommended Coca Cola - and yes, it's quite nice.
--
Ian

In message
-sep
tember.org, Tim writes
Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Brian Reay.
writes




Bells always tastes awful.

Next time demand something decent, Bushmills or at least Jamesons ;-)

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.

Au contraire. I think you'll find that it's the Irish who are struggling to
get it right. Can't even spell it right for starters! ;-)

If I get enough, I can't spell it either way.
--
Ian

"Mr Pounder" wrote in message
...
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?


You could have run the lawn mower on it or poured it into the petrol tank on
the car !!

Jim G

In article ,
Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Grimly
Curmudgeon writes
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:37:02 +0100, Ian Jackson
wrote:

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never turn down a
kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow, the Scots have never
quite got the hang of making it.

I'm Scottish and can't stand the blended ****. Malts, otoh, fill me
with delight, especially with some ginger ale [1], and some of them
don't even give me a banging headache next day.
Irish Whiskey goes down a treat too - preferably Jimmy's.

[1] **** off, purists.

'Tis said the only thing you should add to a single malt whisky is a
drop or two of pure Highland spring water from the grouse moors. On the
other hand, 'tis also said that a true whisky aficionado will add
anything which helps it go down well. While I prefer mine unadulterated,
someone recommended Coca Cola - and yes, it's quite nice.

you can do that with "cooking" whisky - but with malt - never!

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

Ian Jackson wrote
Grimly Curmudgeon wrote
Ian wrote

Indeed. I much prefer whiskey to whisky (although I never
turn down a kind offer). I can't help feeling that, somehow,
the Scots have never quite got the hang of making it.

I'm Scottish and can't stand the blended ****. Malts, otoh,
fill me with delight, especially with some ginger ale [1],

Heathens like that should be burnt at the stake.

and some of them don't even give me a banging headache next
day. Irish Whiskey goes down a treat too - preferably Jimmy's.

[1] **** off, purists.

'Tis said the only thing you should add to a single malt whisky is a
drop or two of pure Highland spring water from the grouse moors.

It would be interesting to see if anyone can actually
pick that with a proper double blind trial compared
with nothing added at all and with normal water too.

On the other hand, 'tis also said that a true whisky
aficionado will add anything which helps it go down well.

That's mad.

While I prefer mine unadulterated,

Me too. I cant pick it between that and a drop of decent water.

someone recommended Coca Cola - and yes, it's quite nice.

Unadulterated is much better IMO.

On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 08:22:02 +0100, "the_constructor"
wrote:


"Mr Pounder" Me the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.

r on it or poured it into the petrol tank on
the car !!

I can still see the bemused expressions of passengers on a ferry as we
did that returning from France in the hey day of the Booze cruise.

The ferry company had an offer on and it included a "free" bottle of
whisky per ticket. Was something blended I had not come across
before.
Amongst our purchases in France we got some reasonable Malts and were
above the customs limit so all six bottles of the nondescript brand
were poured in to the tank before we disembarked. We did get pulled
over and an officer seeing the empties asked where the contents were,
we've drunk it was the reply.

G.Harman

On Jun 15, 9:00*am, wrote:
On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 08:22:02 +0100, "the_constructor"

wrote:

"Mr Pounder" Me the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
r on it or poured it into the petrol tank on
the car !!

I can still see the bemused expressions of passengers on a ferry as we
did that returning from France in the hey day of the Booze cruise.

The ferry company had an offer on and it included a "free" bottle of
whisky per ticket. *Was something blended I had not come across
before.
Amongst our purchases in France we got some reasonable Malts and were
above the customs limit so all six bottles of the nondescript brand
were poured in to the tank before we disembarked. We *did get pulled
over and an officer seeing the empties asked where the contents were,
we've drunk it was the reply.


There's a story in one of Spike Milligan's war books about coming back
to the UK after the war and one soldier in his party having a bottle
of whisky that he couldn't bring into the country; it would have to be
confiscated. So he cracked it open, drank half the contents and passed
the rest around, much to the excise officer's fury. He called over a
Military Policeman and told him to arrest the soldier.

MP: "Why?"

EO: "He's drunk."

MP: "No he's not."

MP: "Just wait a bit..."

--
Halmyre

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:38:35 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

Whatever you had as a Blended spirit it does not usually improve that
much with age, compared to for example a single malt ........ also it
does not go off ....

None of them do after they are bottled. Its the time they spend in the
barrel absorbing the tastes of whatever was in them previously that is
the age of a whisky.

Not just that, but the *very* slow expansion-contraction due to changes
in temperature forces the whisky through the "skin" of the wood, which is
usually charred. This acts to filter out certain notes, whilst the wood
itself imparts a flavour - plus, as you say, any hint of previous cask
contents (sherry and bourbon are the most popular).

Bourbon barrels are only allowed to be used once, by some sort of law, so
there's a thriving trade from the US to Scotland. I had the luck to visit
a working cooperage near Elgin a few years ago, which I would recommend
to anyone - especially if you plan on visiting a distillery (I went to
the Glen Moray one).

On 14/06/2012 21:08, Halmyre wrote:
On Jun 14, 8:47 pm, "Rod wrote:
Mr wrote


Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Nope. In fact the best of its 20-80+ years old.

Only if it's (a) whisky, not whiskey, and (b) still in casks.

And it's reckoned that after about 25 to 30 years, it starts to get
"woody".

Or maybe "woodey"?

David

On 14/06/2012 19:37, Onetap wrote:
On Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:04:38 PM UTC+1, Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

No, don't think so. Spirits were used as an antiseptic and a preservative (cf 'Tapping the Admiral'). It evaporates.

I suspect you may have had a bottle in which the contents had been 'recycled'. Never drink from a warm bottle.

Where did Mrs Pounder get it from, then?

David

Tim wrote:

Au contraire. I think you'll find that it's the Irish who are struggling to
get it right. Can't even spell it right for starters! ;-)


Indeed. They spell its uisquebagh



--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.

Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:38:35 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

Whatever you had as a Blended spirit it does not usually improve that
much with age, compared to for example a single malt ........ also it
does not go off ....
None of them do after they are bottled. Its the time they spend in the
barrel absorbing the tastes of whatever was in them previously that is
the age of a whisky.

Not just that, but the *very* slow expansion-contraction due to changes
in temperature forces the whisky through the "skin" of the wood, which is
usually charred. This acts to filter out certain notes, whilst the wood
itself imparts a flavour - plus, as you say, any hint of previous cask
contents (sherry and bourbon are the most popular).

Er no. The wood is not 100% alcohol or water tight and the liquid
evaporates out. No expansion or contraction required.



--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.

"Mr Pounder" wrote in message
...
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

Not in this house, it doesn't have time.

In message , The Natural Philosopher
writes
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:38:35 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

Whatever you had as a Blended spirit it does not usually improve that
much with age, compared to for example a single malt ........ also it
does not go off ....
None of them do after they are bottled. Its the time they spend in the
barrel absorbing the tastes of whatever was in them previously that is
the age of a whisky.
Not just that, but the *very* slow expansion-contraction due to
changes in temperature forces the whisky through the "skin" of the
wood, which is usually charred. This acts to filter out certain notes,
whilst the wood itself imparts a flavour - plus, as you say, any hint
of previous cask contents (sherry and bourbon are the most popular).

Er no. The wood is not 100% alcohol or water tight and the liquid
evaporates out. No expansion or contraction required.

http://www.whiskymag.com/glossary/angels_share.html
--
Ian

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:37:36 -0700 (PDT), Onetap
wrote:

On Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:04:38 PM UTC+1, Mr Pounder wrote:
For being a good boy, pulling my guts out and making a 10/10 job of
painting the interior of my house the wife has given me a bottle of Bells
Whiskey. Seems she has had it in a drawer for maybe three years.
It looked a bit pale. The top was on tightly but there was no click sound
when I opened it.
It tasted awful so I have poured it down the drain.
Does Whiskey deteriorate?

No, don't think so. Spirits were used as an antiseptic and a preservative (cf 'Tapping the Admiral'). It evaporates.

I suspect you may have had a bottle in which the contents had been 'recycled'. Never drink from a warm bottle.

In Ye Olden Dayes (c.1950) one could leave a child in a pram outside a
grocer's shop without fear of a SWAT team from Social Services
descending on you.

Also in Ye Olden Dayes, ones doctor did not hand out sterilised sample
bottles, one used whatever came to hand. (You can see where this is
going, can't you?)

So, one day around 1950 my mother produced a 'sample' in a whisky
bottle - probably Johnnie Walker since you ask - stuck the sample in
the pram and headed off to the doctor. On the way there, she stopped
off at a parade of shops, parked the pram outside and went inside to
buy a few things. When she came out, the pram was still there and I
was still there.

But the whisky bottle had gone.

Nick

On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:33:24 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Jethro_uk wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:38:35 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

Whatever you had as a Blended spirit it does not usually improve that
much with age, compared to for example a single malt ........ also it
does not go off ....
None of them do after they are bottled. Its the time they spend in the
barrel absorbing the tastes of whatever was in them previously that is
the age of a whisky.

Not just that, but the *very* slow expansion-contraction due to changes
in temperature forces the whisky through the "skin" of the wood, which
is usually charred. This acts to filter out certain notes, whilst the
wood itself imparts a flavour - plus, as you say, any hint of previous
cask contents (sherry and bourbon are the most popular).

Er no. The wood is not 100% alcohol or water tight and the liquid
evaporates out. No expansion or contraction required.



Being shown the warehouse, and being asked why the barrels are laid down
for years on end, the distiller told me that over seasons, the "pores in
the wood" act like little pumps sucking and squeezing the whisky through
the wood and charcoal, and mellowing it, and adding complex flavours. His
stance was because of the climate in Scotland, this is a much more
gradual process than (say Tennessee). I'm not disputing the evaporation,
but there are a lot of things going on in a good whisky.

"Nick Odell" wrote in message
news
But the whisky bottle had gone.

Are you suggesting Mrs Pounder nicked it and aged it until now?