Decanting?

[jjwest]

A good friend, having tried the Pyrat 1623 at a NYC bar, decided he had to get his own bottle. After special ordering his well over $200 treasure, he eagerly opened it up, sampled the contents and was crestfallen. It was not the incredible elixir he remembers having in NYC. He put the bottle aside for many months until I dropped by with another friend for the weekend. One night we started with some Zacapa 23, progressed to some Zacapa XO and then he went searching for his Pyrat 1623. As it turns out, the bottle in its special wooden box had fallen on its side and about half the contents had leaked out. Well he may have lost half his rum, but he was absolutely ecstatic over what he told us was an incredible change in the character of the rum. The rum had become what he had remembered so well in NYC. (it was the most delicious and fragrantly intoxicating rum I've ever had)

I speculated that as the air got into the bottle, it gave the remaining rum a chance to breath, not unlike why some wines benefit from decanting. Since the rum had redeemed itself and he was considering getting another bottle, I suggested he keep the current bottle when he was done with it and use it to pour off 1/2 the new bottle, allowing the two halves to breath as the first bottle had done by tragic mistake.

So, I'm wondering, has anyone ever experimented (purposefully) with decanting fine rums? Or noticed a similar effect as some of your finer rums have drawn down enough for the volume of air in the bottle to make a difference?

[leisure master]

All the time, my friend.

Whenever I am tasting rum for the first time or for purposes of a review, I will taste immediately, and then leave some in the glass and taste again at various intervals (5, 15, 30 mins). I have often noticed a change in flavor - generally the more higher end a rum is, the better the chance it will change while sitting.

Next time you are getting to the end of a bottle and you have a backup available (probably Z23...?) - open the new bottle, pour both and compare.

[Edoc]

I've had this happen quite a few times. One's experience with any given glass can be affected by many factors -- your mood, what you last ate/drank, the glass or container, or the amount of time the dram has had to "breathe". Any fine rum that runs "hot" or has significant barrel aging will often calm down with a little time and swirling.

While I don't see this as often with rum, I sense it all the time with cognac, whiskey and bourbon. It may seem crazy, but I would swear that some of the bottles of whiskey I have in my cabinet have mellowed out noticeably since first opening the bottle. To the point that I'd almost bet that the final third of a bottle of Bushmill's 10 Year that has been lingering in my cabinet for several months is easily better than my favorite bottle freshly uncapped (Middleton or Lagavulin).

[Edward Hamilton]

I completely agree but there is a limit to how long you want your partial bottle to breathe. If you could keep spirits in half full bottles and they would improve indefinitely the whole market for spirits would change.

Some air, oxidation is a good thing, but like so many things, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. I suggest keeping track of your open bottles because at some point they will oxidize past their peak of perfection and degrade rather quickly. There is another thread (http://www.ministryofrum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=455) that discusses this in length.

[itsme_timd]

Great information... I've got a lot of reading to do!

[jjwest]

Yes indeed. It had never occurred to me that I ought to be concerned about how long I've had a given bottle open. Starting last spring on a monthly basis, I've been adding new rums long before I finish what I've already acquired. Currently, I have about 8 bottles which are about half to 2/3 full.

It sounds like as the bottle gets to about 1/3 or less this will become much more critical and I will have to accelerate my use of these already opened bottles.

Thank you for your insights on my question about this, and the link to more info on the topic.

[Rx2010]

I've had this happen recently with my bottle of Zaya, I thought it was harsh and artificial tasting when I opened it up

now, 5 months later, I find it smooth and sweet, and it really sings with an ice cube

[Bluehammer]

I do not suspect there is a single answer to apply to all rums. I think some do open up to air as some open up with the addition of small amounts of water or ice. I have also had rums that have lost a bit of something with water or air. I tend to enjoy Planters Gold Pyrat after it has time to breathe, but equally enjoy a freshly opened bottle of Guat Zaya. To me the Guat Zaya has a bit more "spice" when fresh and it is the flavor for me that sets it apart from the Trin variety. I am sure this is just a personal preference and each will have their own. Best advice I can give is to drink more rum and experiment.