Using a decanter you have found

Hi guys

I found these decanters:

The Pussers one is freely available. The cork had broke in half, it smelt like rum when I opened it.

The Maori one was a surprise to find, Im really pleased! :)

It had no makers marks, was quite sticky & had a liquid inside. The liquid was clear ish but kind of brown / orange with bits of broken cork in it - it seemed to have a greenish tinge (like the bottles colour). It smelt like triple sec to me, my Dad thought it smelt like Kahula - I didnt taste it!

Having given them both a good scrub - do I use them as decanters or not?

[ Edited by: AdOrAdam 2013-07-06 06:27 ]

Yes. Re-purposing an old decanter is a great way to add character to the home bar in my opinion. Might wanna make a note what you put in it though. After a few cocktails it could get confusing :D

I would definitely reuse them.

The Pisco Capel Moai bottle is one that I like to re-purpose for homemade liqueurs and syrups. Eventually I may play around and see how they take paint because I'd like to color code a small army of moai bottles to contain different concoctions.

"If you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel."
Robert Louis Stevenson

[ Edited by: Sunny&Rummy 2013-07-06 07:07 ]

I agree that it adds interest to a home bar to have curious bottles with your own mixes in.

I have a little skull bottle with pimento dram in & some spare bottles for syrups - the Picso Moai is on my purchase radar when I can spot one! :)

I think the Pussers decanter is ok to reuse - it smelt like rum & is probably a more recent creation.

I just found out the Maori decanter is for a liqueur called 'Ti-Toki' (http://www.ti-toki.com/)

I was more wondering if it was safe to store liquids in given that:

On 2013-07-06 06:24, AdOrAdam wrote:
The liquid seemed to have a greenish tinge (like the bottles colour)...!

I figure it'd be fine to drink from (like a mug would) but storage longer term might not be a good idea?

I was wondering if anyone had experience / methods of preparing / checking a bottles suitability?

[ Edited by: AdOrAdam 2013-07-06 08:08 ]

Yeah, I figured your question was more about safety than aesthetics, but safety is boring. :)

I really think with inert glass or finished ceramic, as long as you can give the bottles a thorough cleaning you have no issues. I think the only common exception is leaded decanters as there are known health issues associated with long-term storage of spirits in leaded crystal. It's any liquid, actually, alcohol content doesn't change the ability of stored liquids to leach lead from the decanters. I read a summary of a study recently indicating that liquid stored in leaded crystal leached enough lead that it exceeded the EPA safety standards in less than 2 days.

Fortunately(?) I am not well-heeled enough to own a lot of leaded crystal, so that's not a problem.

On 2013-07-06 08:41, Sunny&Rummy wrote:
I really think with inert glass or finished ceramic, as long as you can give the bottles a thorough cleaning you have no issues. I think the only common exception is leaded decanters...

I figured your question was more about safety than aesthetics, but safety is boring :)

I would agree, I just 'trust' the maori bottle less because what I poured out... But that's only because I saw it, if it had been empty I probably would be filling it up.

Ill put some water / rum inside for a few months & post if it changes colour (if I can be that patient)...

A little bit of safety would have prevented my hangover this morning :)

[ Edited by: AdOrAdam 2013-07-07 10:25 ]

I did a quick Google shopping search, link below, and it seems these folks may have the Pisco Capel moai bottle in stock and will ship it to you. I bought mine last year from a shop in Los Angeles (now don't carry it anymore) and it was kinda pricey to buy and ship cross-country. The bottle is pretty cool, but I didn't care much for the wine/liquor inside it. Acquired taste, I'd say. But I sipped the whole bottle two ounces at a time with an ice cube and "studied" it... Definitely unique.

http://www.shopritewines.com/sku16117.html?utm_source=Google%2520Products&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=CAPEL%20PISCO%20MOAI%20EASTER%20ISLAND%20BOTTLE&gclid=CP6Rx73snrgCFWlp7Aod2z0A1Q

On 2013-07-07 19:30, AceExplorer wrote:

I did a quick Google shopping search, link below, and it seems these folks may have the Pisco Capel moai bottle in stock and will ship it to you. I bought mine last year from a shop in Los Angeles (now don't carry it anymore) and it was kinda pricey to buy and ship cross-country. The bottle is pretty cool, but I didn't care much for the wine/liquor inside it. Acquired taste, I'd say. But I sipped the whole bottle two ounces at a time with an ice cube and "studied" it... Definitely unique.

http://www.shopritewines.com/sku16117.html?utm_source=Google%2520Products&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=CAPEL%20PISCO%20MOAI%20EASTER%20ISLAND%20BOTTLE&gclid=CP6Rx73snrgCFWlp7Aod2z0A1Q

Next time you are faced with the dilemma of having to finish off a bottle of Pisco, go with Pisco Sours. 2 oz Pisco, 1oz lime, 0.75 oz simple, 1egg white. Dry shake/wet shake/strain up, gently shake several drops of Angostura on the frothy surface of the cocktail. Brilliant classic cocktail.

Will do, thanks. I went the "purist" route with my Pisco because a friend of mine came back from a trip to Peru and told me the stuff was very popular, and there were many different varieties of "Pisco." The locals were proud of their Pisco, and he had many opportunities to drink it. So I wasn't sure the Pisco Capel was the real traditional stuff, but should still have tried some cocktails with it. Good point - I might get some more, thanks for the suggestion.

Go to your local "home brew" shop and ask them for sterilising tablets (they won't cost much).

Get a plastic bucket full of water and drop a couple of the tablets in there, then soak the bottles / decanters overnight.

Rinse well, and use as normal.