I have a heavy crystal decanter I’ve been using for years. A while back I was having some guests for a week, and thought I’d save some money and grabbed a bottle of Jim beam to put in it, as opposed to the higher end I tend to go for, because none of my guest cared about Bourbon. I noticed the level going down further than I had consumed. This has never been an issue before, so I figured someone had just nipped it while o was asleep. The next day, there was condensation on the inside, and the level had dropped further.
Since I’d been using the decanter for so long, I assumed the frosting on the stopper had rubbed off and it no longer sealed.
When it was empty, I refilled it with larceny, my standard, and to my surprise, it didn’t evaporate at all for weeks.
Last night, I refilled it with beam again, and this morning, it had dropped and there was condensation on the side.
What really confused me, is Jim beam has a lower alcohol content than the Bourbons I usually fill the decanter with, so I would think it would evaporate as readily.
Why does only this one brand evaporate?
Quick searching gave me no results
Tldr: Why does Jim Beam evaporate in my decanter while nothing else does?
Occam’s Razor: prefer the answer with the least assumptions. The simplest answer is that the stopper leaks.
You’ve only got a very small sample size and it’s possible that the stopper is slightly asymmetric and fits well one way and no other.
The easiest way to unreliability detect this is just to rotate the stopper in the neck and see if it sits in one place sightly differently than other positions.
Also, if you’re more frequently drinking your preferred bourbon, you’ll have a harder time noticing any evaporation.
I have noticed the stopper is occasionally harder to pull out, so I’m leaning toward this.
I guess I’ll have to get a few more bottles to expiriment.
My suspicion is that your stopper isn’t sealing well, possibly from wear or just odd positioning. If you feel like ruining what’s left of that Jim beam in the decanter you can run a little experiment. Clear the condensation out of the decanter and mark the current level. Leave it for a week and see if the level dropped to establish a baseline. After marking the change, coat the stopper in Vaseline and leave it for another week. See if that helped or not. If it helped then you’ve got a leak
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news – you subconsciously prefer the Jim Beam and are sleep drinking it at night.
It was pretty clever to use a spray bottle to add condensation to the inside of the bottle. I would of gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you pesky lemmings.
Not to be ‘that guy’, but it’s “would’ve” or “would have”, never “would of”.
Dude is night drinking Jim Beam. He can spell but he’s permanently drunk so doesn’t care
True, but if it helps it was an error of editing my post out of order, not of mistaken grammar
“Not to be that guy, but I’m gonna go out of my way to be that guy.”
An amusing observation. It’s a general statement to indicate a lack of mallice and imply I’m not just trolling. Posting grammar corrections with no fluff or preface is a fantastic way to earn downvotes, sadly.
“out’ve my way”
Is your decanter over something warm? A TV? Cable box? Radiator? Heater register?
Something that will cause the likelihood of evaporation to go up?
If it has a rubber stopper, maybe prime it with a bit of booze to seal gaps. Also if it’s older replace the rubber bits.
If it’s lead crystal then don’t store alcohol in your decanter. It will slowly leach out over time. Crystal is meant to be used then stored away.
Different alcohol sources evaporate at different rates.
An experiment:
- Zero out a scale with a glass
- Put 4oz of Beam in the glass
- Zero out a scale with another glass
- Put 4oz of the other bourbon in that glass
- Record total weight of each glass
- Wait 24 hours
- Weigh them again to see change
- Pour fresh glasses
- Try all 4 back to back to compare alcohol taste
My guess will be that unless you have a coffee or herb scale, you probably won’t see a measurable difference, but you’ll be able to taste more of a difference in the Beam.
Do you live alone? I mean I’ve heard lots of stories where kids, spouses, visitors … help themselves. And some booze just vanishes, or gets replaced.
Or becomes cut with water
Not what you’re asking for, but unless you know your decanter is made from lead free crystal (most aren’t), don’t store booze in it for any amount of time. You should be safe to use it to serve a spirit in, but lead leaches into the spirit much quicker than you’d realise
The lead adds sweetness though
Only if it’s lead acetate. You’d need vinegar or at least wine, not whisky.
Do people actually keep around lead crystal shit still?!
Yes. Most crystal has lead, it’s just how it works. It’s fine if you’re not a child and you don’t store it in there for long periods.
I have some and use the glasses regularly. The decanter is and finished in 1-2 days though.
If it has a deep resounding ring you might want to avoid it.
And its not dangerous, like leaching into everything? How can you know its safe besides simply throwing it away?
Theres no safe level of lead, it accumulates in the body.
Thats what I was thought
You can do your own research, but it takes time to leech. If you’re not storing in it for long periods it’s fine.
No lead. It’s not great quality or antique, I just liked the shape.
That means it’s a glass decanter, as crystal always has lead 😉
In the 1800s absolutely, but since the discontinuation of leaded products, significantly heavy glass with tin, aluminum, titanium or other metals added for strength and sheen has been deemed crystal, with the previous material being designated as leaded crystal.
I’m an avid antique collector and have needed to know the difference for several years.
If you reside in the EU or Britain however, disregard those statements, as they still have legal definitions of crystal on the books.
How many kids do you have.
None
None that you know of
None that know where i live*
Condensation means there is more water evaporating, not alcohol.
Keep it in a cooler place and this will reduce the evaporation rate.
I doubt that it’s water condensation. Based on some internet sleuthing I strongly suspect that it’s alcohol.
https://foodwine.com/alcohol-evaporation/
Why it’s happening for one and not the other, I’m not sure.
it’s probably the quality.
https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/brewers-library/safety-foreshot
The foreshot generally contains a quantity of Methanol, Acetone and various Aldehydes along with small amounts of wanted Ethanol.
There’s other even more volatile compounds in the cheaper stuff. They will evaporate even more easily than alcohol, though I’d suspect that they drag some along with it.
The water condensates after evaporating, the alcohol doesn’t.
I had considered that I wouldn’t see condensation from alcohol evaporating, but I only noticed the level visibly dropping with Jim beam specifically.
It could be as simple as the difference in color absorbing more heat from light, I suppose.
your roommates are drinking it.
No roommates, my partner doesn’t drink, and I can see condensation in the container.
Your partner does drink.
And they also add condensation to the inside of the bottle?
Condensation can only happen on the inside of the bottle if it was opened.
You can dance around the issue as much as you like, there is no magic involved here.My guy have you never left a partially full water bottle on the counter for a few days with the lid shut? You can get condensation every time.
Stop trying to pretend ops so is sneaking drinks behind them.
Condensation can only happen on the inside of the bottle if it was opened.
WTF? Just as an experiment get a bottle or jar or something and fill it about one fifth of the way up with water then screw the lid on tight. Now leave it somewhere like a windowsill where the temperature will fluctuate a bit. I can’t speak for your climate but in most places the liquid water will evaporate bit during the day and then the trapped water vapor will condense on the inside of the bottle overnight.
What temperature is your house normally? Also what are the high and low temps experienced?
Between 65 and 74
Are there any windows that ever allow sunlight to shine on, or near, where the decanter is located?
Is there a difference in alcohol level? Alcohol evaporates easier than water.
Yes, but what I usually store is higher proof
Preface: Not a fancy alcohol enjoyer.
My quick searching gave compromised stopper, oxidation and environmental conditions as possible causes. As to why only Jim Beam reacts visibly, might be due to its recipe causing different or more intense chemical reactions.
