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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?

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[-] intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago

I assume your decanter is transparent?

Lots of people assume Jim Beam whiskey got its name from some fellow names James Beam. But actually it’s a reference to its dual nature: the beverage can exist as both a liquid and an electromagnetic wave.

This is why Jim Beam is so cheap. They want to get it off the shelves before it disappears via Hawking radiation.

Your whiskey didn’t actually disappear. It changed.

[-] etchinghillside@reddthat.com 5 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] IronKrill@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

Not to be 'that guy', but it's "would've" or "would have", never "would of".

[-] BangCrash@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Dude is night drinking Jim Beam. He can spell but he's permanently drunk so doesn't care

[-] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org -1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

"Not to be that guy, but I'm gonna go out of my way to be that guy."

[-] lando55@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

"out've my way"

[-] IronKrill@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

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 unreliabily 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.

[-] Oaksey@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

For research

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 1 points 1 week ago

I guess I’ll have to get a few more bottles to expiriment.

Shame!

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

You got kids?

[-] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 2 points 1 week ago

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

[-] madjo@feddit.nl 2 points 1 week ago

You just have a lot of angels that want their Angel Share

[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

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

[-] SuperIce@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

The lead adds sweetness though

[-] cheese_greater@lemmy.world -1 points 1 week ago

Do people actually keep around lead crystal shit still?!

[-] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] cheese_greater@lemmy.world -1 points 1 week ago

And its not dangerous, like leaching into everything? How can you know its safe besides simply throwing it away?

[-] piecat@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Theres no safe level of lead, it accumulates in the body.

[-] cheese_greater@lemmy.world -1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Thats what I was thought

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Is your decanter over something warm? A TV? Cable box? Radiator? Heater register?

Something that will cause the likelihood of evaporation to go up?

[-] stoly@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

How many kids do you have.

[-] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

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.

[-] superkret@feddit.org 0 points 1 week ago

your roommates are drinking it.

No roommates, my partner doesn't drink, and I can see condensation in the container.

[-] superkret@feddit.org -1 points 1 week ago

And they also add condensation to the inside of the bottle?

[-] superkret@feddit.org -1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] Strykker@programming.dev 2 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 week ago

Condensation means there is more water evaporating, not alcohol.

Keep it in a cooler place and this will reduce the evaporation rate.

[-] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

Alcohol condenses too

[-] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 1 points 1 week ago

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.

this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2024
5 points (100.0% liked)

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