Parafilm & Other Bottle Preservation Techniques! (For Open & Sealed Liquor Bottles)

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Today I'm going to try and answer some often-asked questions I get from viewers about oxidation/flavor loss, evaporation, parafilm application, and why and how I gas my bottles with argon. Hopefully, by me sharing what I've learned over the last 28 years, you can protect your open and sealed bottles like never before! One of the key techniques I use (and show the detailed application of at the 11:11 mark) is Parafilm. It’s a semi-transparent, flexible film composed of a blend of waxes and polyolefins. It’s malleable, non-toxic, edible, tasteless, odorless, and self-sealing thermoplastic. I like to buy the 4” x 125’ rolls online for around $40-$55 - which will easily seal 125 bottles.
As always, I want to thank all of my viewers and send a special thank you to my Patreon supporters who’ve helped me keep my independence and allowed me to continue creating these unbiased and honest reviews. So, if you enjoy this content and would like to help keep it afloat, please join us at www.patreon.com/LiquorHound. There you’ll get “Patron Only” bonus reviews, a 2-week head start on hunting all the bottles I review - before they launch on RU-vid. You’ll also get add-free videos, be able to message me directly with questions, a private review library (which hasn’t been on RU-vid), get some secret tips, and can be eligible for my giveaways.
As of February 2023, my current bottle count is over 2,600. I am a Certified Specialist of Spirits and have also been accredited by the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT). I've been actively collecting for more than two decades and what started as a small basic home bar has transformed (with the help and understanding of my wonderful wife) into this collection and career. Speaking of my career, my “Saints Alley" Bourbons & Rye whiskeys are on Total Wine shelves and customers are really enjoying them (be sure to ask for a sample when you're in the stores)! Currently, our two new Special Editions are also available for a limited time! One is our "Nobleman" Rye Whiskey aged in Tokaji (pronounced Tok-eye) casks - Tokaji is a Hungarian fortified wine (similar to the French Sauternes) that’s oak barrel aged. The other is a twist on our "Herald" Bourbon. Instead of just finishing the bourbon in Armagnac casks, we've also used some that rested in French Pineau des Charentes casks - “Pineau” is unfiltered grape juice (sometimes lightly fermented) that’s fortified with Cognac and barrel aged. Trust me, both are delicious, and given my knowledge and high standards, you know I’m working hard with my team to continue releasing whiskeys that we're proud of! Thanks for watching and please remember to drink responsibly. Cheers!

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Опубликовано:

8 фев 2023

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Комментарии : 48

@NothingMaster Год назад

Excellent, informative video. Thanks for sharing.

@stockicide Год назад

For those who want more information about Liquorhound's argon setup, he talks about it in the second half of his video titled "Breckenridge Bourbon & Vodka Review - My Argon Spirit Preservation Setup" (starting at 10 minutes and 18 seconds into the video).

@zen_gypsie2189 Год назад

Thank you great techniques.

@jg4767 Год назад

Very informative thanks!

@LiquorHound Год назад

Glad it was helpful and thank you for watching! Cheers!

@DonnerPassWhisky Год назад

Great topic. For some reason where I live open bottles get cloudy and throw a sediment after 7-9 months open. This has happened with bourbon, rye, scotch, 40% to cask strength. I keep them in the center of the house and away from light. My way to keep this from happening is having a library of 4 & 8 ounce sample bottles that I use to keep samples of everything I open. Usually more than one sample. I then drink what's left in the bottle as I like within 6-8 months. Cheers

@vrccim5930 Год назад

Thanks.

@stephentatoul215 8 месяцев назад

Thanks!

@LiquorHound 8 месяцев назад

Thank you and cheers! 🥃

@ccuellar6212 Год назад

I never thought of protecting my back stock 😳

@tommyb6422 Год назад

What about the Vacu Vin option? Designed for wine but should work for whiskey’s?

@marcwhiskey Год назад

Maybe it's just my palate but I have not really noticed a ton of difference in bottles that have been open over a year or 2. But I guess you'd have to compare side by side with something.

@jg4767 Год назад

I bought some of the Private Preserve for my vermouth because of how quickly it goes off. Even with 375 ml bottles I end up having to use vermouth for cooking. This also keeps me from buying a lot of vermouth I'd love to try because they only come in 750 ml bottles. Anyhow, I realized that not all the vermouth I want to preserve has cork tops. Have you successfully used the Private Preserve on screw top bottles? If not, do you think it can be done successfully?

@skraegorn7317 Год назад

Thanks for making this! I was wondering if you had made a video on caring for your collection. Parafilm works wonders, especially for wine collectors. With wine you've got plenty of 30+ year old bottles with corks that can degrade and destroy the contents of the bottle. Do you recommend storing corked bottles on their side? I know that that's a common technique for wine collectors to preserve the corks.

@LiquorHound Год назад

Nice! Yes that Parafilm really helps the corks from drying out. With wine, you definitely want to store them on their sides - if you’re not using Parafilm. I’d think that if it was wrapped properly, it shouldn’t matter too much. But with spirits, you never want to store sideways. The alcohol is too strong and will degrade the cork (and possibly taint the spirit). Cheers!

@utoobia Год назад

After you’ve gassed and corked the bottle, you do NOT need to worry about jostling or shaking the bottle and disturbing the layer of gas. It will settle right back down onto the whisky within a minute. Absolutely inconsequential in terms of oxidation.

@stephentatoul215 8 месяцев назад

Great video! Thank you. Question: why argon rather than CO2 or Nitrogen? CO2 I believe is heavier, we use it in beer to create the blanket/oxygen barrier. Since I have the CO2 available already would that be equal to Argon or is there some Argon advantage that I am not aware of? Thank you in advance for your answer.

@LiquorHound 8 месяцев назад

I’ve just always use argon over nitrogen because it’s heavier. C02 is slightly heavier than argon, but I’ve always been leery about using a gas that can go into solution (granted that’s only under pressure). I’m sure you’ll be fine using it though. Thank you and cheers!

@williamsedlock3903 11 месяцев назад

Nice video I wonder if you have any advice on that parafilm when you remove it does it damage any of the bottles I have a lot of bottles and was curious on some of my older very expensive ones I have shrunk wrap the top two or three times and even sometimes shrunk rap the whole label area to keep perfect and I have always tried to maintain my bottles by laying on the side once a year for 1 hour being very picky about the maintenance All bottles are sealed for the last three decades haven't seen any major loss except for some of the older older '60s bottles from michter's Fitzgerald seem to lose but nevertheless then looking for some ideas on preserving some of the full line collection great videos once again first time watching

@LiquorHound 11 месяцев назад

I’ve never noticed any damage removing parafilm from old bottles. Just be sure to never parafilm waxed bottles (it’ll stick like crazy). With a good parafilm seal, there’s really no need to turn them on the sides. The trapped water moisture will keep the cork from shrinking. Thank you for the great comment and sorry for my delayed response. Cheers! 🥃

@scottf.8627 Год назад

Would you parafilm your unopened bottles as well? I don't have many of them usually only when I have a "backup" bottle. I've been gassing my opened ones ever since you released your first video on the subject and I have been very pleased with the results! Thx again LiquorHound for your fantastic content! Cheers!

@DayKlight Год назад

i normally dont parafilm my unopened bottles, since the seal is normally pretty good, except when it has some deep scratches or some tearing, but then depending on the seal, you maybe want to remove it and reseal it with parafilm, so it doesnt tear through the parafilm with some sharp aluminum edges from the original seal.

@LiquorHound Год назад

So I only really Parafilm my sealed bottles. I have a buddy that seals his opens with the 2” Parafilm and he’s had good results with the corks holding up well. That’s great that you’ve been taking care of your open bottles! You’re welcome and cheers!

@lordgarth1 Год назад

I’d be curious to know what’s left to oxidize that hasn’t already done so over the years that whiskey has been exposed to oxygen in the barrels. I do get the evaporation idea if the seal is allowed to age and shrink.

@LiquorHound Год назад

Well, my thought is that unchecked oxidation is a constant force. So you’re correct in that it was oxidizing in the barrel (for years), but we also have to remember that the flavors were also constantly developing due to temperature fluctuations, as well as wood and oxygen exposure during that time. So when the bottler felt it was “ready”, it was bottled. As long as that cork seal was good, it will remain very close to what the bottler intended. The minimum amount of trapped oxygen in the neck of a bottle has a tiny surface area to interact with the spirit, so oxidation is slowed tremendously. But once it’s opened and poured from, or if the volume dips below that neck (on say a sealed bottle with a bad cork), there’s more surface area exposed, and the process speeds up and the oxidation/degradation continues. That’s why you’ll usually notice the flavors change as a bottle “opens up” over many months to a couple years. That change also depends heavily on proof - the lower the proof the faster. And in my opinion, the complexity of the spirit is also a factor. A less complex spirit doesn’t show change (oxidation) nearly as fast as more complex ones. All that said, I’ve experienced unchecked oxidation in positive and negative ways. Some bottles get better and others eventually lose so much flavor that they’re no longer enjoyable. Thank you for the great and thought provoking comment. Take care and cheers!

@BeThereAgainProductions 3 месяца назад

Any thought on tipping a sealed bottle occasionally to keep the cork moist? How long does a cork last before it starts drying out to the point it could let ethanol out and air in?

@LiquorHound 3 месяца назад

Great question! I’ve never really liked wetting the corks, because I’ve seen a great rye get corked when it fell over for a few hours. That said, I’ve also seen some corks dry out, so I wouldn’t advise against it (if it’s just a quick splash every now and then). If your collection isn’t too big, a 2” parafilm wrap works great at trapping the water moisture in the bottle and thus keeping the corks from drying out. Thank you and cheers!

@williamsedlock3903 11 месяцев назад

Great advice on the glass cap with the silicone in my older years I haven't seen these fancy things lol old man grow die from the liquor store is rolling in his grave at the growth of whiskey and bourbon these days I can remember cleaning the parking lots in 1980s and him complaining doesn't anybody drink whiskey anymore lol

@dkfromthebay Год назад

Parafilm is gas permeable, at least for O2 and CO2, so would be interesting to see if it prevents ethanol evaporation.

@LiquorHound Год назад

Yeah, I think its main benefit is that it keeps the corks from drying out and shrinking up. Cheers!

@mitar512 Год назад

Hi. For wrapping an unopened whisky bottles, would you recommend a classic transparent plastic film instead of parafilm? Like a kitchen foil, used to wrap up the food for example. Also, is it possible that the original wooden box affects somehow the spirit in an unopened bottle? Because some boxes have a specific wooden smell, like sawdust, very pungent. So if the cork is breathable to some extent, does this affects the spirit? Thanks.

@LiquorHound Год назад

So either will work. Parafilm is good at keeping the moisture in the bottle (which prevents the cork from drying and shrinking). I’d suppose a wooden box could influence a bottle with a bad cork, but I don’t believe I’ve experienced that. Cheers!

@jmiller8745 Год назад

I have a few bottles that I vacuum sealed them in a foodsaver unit where once the air is eliminated, the plastic bag is void of all air!

@LiquorHound Год назад

That should do the trick! Cheers!

@insurroundsound 10 месяцев назад

LiquorHound, before you parafilm unopened bottles, am I supposed to remove the plastic store seal first? Or do you just go right over it? Thanks in advance.

@LiquorHound 10 месяцев назад

No. I go over the factory seals. Cheers!

@ralpha7352 4 месяца назад

Is teflon tape safe to use ?

@LiquorHound 4 месяца назад

I’ve heard of people doing that, but I’m not 100% sure how safe it is. I know others use a cellophane and parafilm combination that seems to work well. Good luck and cheers!

@Raymaster7482 Год назад

I like to use a self-bonding tape (f. ex. 3M from Scotch) instead of Parafilm. Imo it works better at sealing the bottle off

@LiquorHound Год назад

Probably a nice option as well. Thank you and cheers!

@ranman1959 Год назад

Everything I've read, including the datasheet from the manufacturer, says that Parafilm is gas permeable (including oxygen). It does however prevent loss of moisture. Perhaps that keeps the cork from drying out which I guess would keep oxygen out of the bottle. I've used silicone tape to seal bottles for travel. It looks like electrical tape but there is no adhesive and sticks only to itself. I try to put my sealed bottles on their sides once or twice a year to try to keep the cork from drying out; my oldest sealed bottle is over 14 years old and I've noticed no drop in the fill line.

@faust451 Год назад

That is my understanding regarding Parafilm as well - it is gas permeable. I too use both silicone tape as well as teflon tape (plumber's thread tape) with good results on bottles that have been open for over a decade.

@LiquorHound Год назад

Yep, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. It traps the moisture inside the bottle, which keeps the cork from drying out and letting the alcohol vapors out (or outside oxygen in). I’ve had bottles parafilmed for 10-12 years as well and also haven’t noticed a drop in volume. Now given the pricing of Parafilm lately (it’s up to $40-$60), Teflon and silicone tape might be nice alternatives. Thank you for the comment and cheers!

@damarei Год назад

Saying that parafilm is "gas permeable" is like giving someone directions by just saying the street name. You're missing information. Cheesecloth is also gas permeable. Do you think cheesecloth and parafilm are equivalent in sealing a bottle? People really need to learn to ask themselves these types of questions.

@jonzylka9474 Год назад

Easy solution…. Just drink the damn whiskey and enjoy it. Good whiskey is meant to be shared with people you love, not sit and stared at on a shelf…

@LiquorHound Год назад

Nothing wrong with that. In my situation, I do share all my bottles - hence the argon to keep them flavorful. It’s necessary since there’s so many bottles, that it could be many months until one makes the rotation. The Parafilm I use to keep my backups in good shape (for future sharing). Cheers!

@jonzylka9474 Год назад

@@LiquorHound Lol… I hear ya buddy!!! I do the same. Just a little jealously with your unbelievable collection. BTW… love the Saints Alley collection. Job well done!!

@LiquorHound Год назад

Thank you sir and cheers!