Anyone know a trick to opening Jades?

[m.a.mccullough]

Perhaps you are in need of a very fine strainer/cheese cloth/ tea bag. But in any case I'm sure that NO will be divine even with a little cork in it. It is hard to spoil something so good in my opinion as long as you keep the right mindset and enjoy it.

[divulse123]

I just wasn't sure if absinthe can become "corked" like wine. If not, then great, I have no problem with a little residue left over from my own clumsiness.

Edited June 2, 2010 by divulse123

[m.a.mccullough]

I am by no means an expert but I would'nt think the fungus that causes wine to become "corked" can grow in the harsh enviorment of an absinthe.

[Ron]

It can most certainly be corked. Bill has a very, very sad story about this.

 

I can't understand how much shredding of the cork you must have done to get microscopic bits of cork in the booze, but a coffee filter should do the trick. A coffee filter inside a funnel will solve both of your problems!

[divulse123]

You, sir, are some kind of sorcerer! Much obliged.

[m.a.mccullough]

The fungus can grom in 68% alcohol?!? Wow, learn something new every day. Good to know, thanks Ron.

[Ron]

Hell, Bill's still crying into some preban bottles over it.

[Brian Robinson]

1.) how do I get it back into the bottle? Mouth of the decanter is larger than the mouth of the bottle. Hmmm, isn't this what funnels are made for?

Yep.

 

2.) Is there anything I can do about the tiny, almost microscopic, pieces of cork that went through the strainer? Or have I just skunked a $100 bottle of booze? Help!

Go to your local supermarket and pick up some cheese cloth. Put one layer (not any more than that, or you risk over-filtering) in your strainer and strain again. You should be fine.

[Jack Griffin]

a funnel lined with folded cheesecloth will do.

 

edit: Oops! I didn't see Brian's post!

[fingerpickinblue]

Feel good about getting your US RDA of fiber. If the cork didn't carry TCA before you opened it, it is unlikely any contamination happened while opening, although it is possible (contaminants can form on the top of the cork after it is inserted in the bottle, but not likely when waxed , like the Jades, in my opinion) . And get a double prong "Ah - So" style cork puller for your absinthes. I even use one for wines with higher levels of age, since sometimes the cork can be dry-rotted, with the wine still perfectly intact, and it gets the cork out neatly without "gutting" it, which is what it sounds like you did to your bottle of NO.

 

From my experience with NO, you probably just gave it a big aeration kick, which helps a lot in the aromatic and flavor department.

 

BTW, if your "crappy screw" is one of those "double wing" types, get something else. The screw taper is way too aggressive for most corks.

[divulse123]

Heh. The wife bought a new, state-of-the-art, fancy ass, uber-corkscrew. It runs on deisel and jellybeans. I'm not sure why our old one was so bad. It opened things. The new one destroys them. I've always liked the ones that come on swiss-army knives. It's a metal screw. You twist it. You pull the cork out. Simple. I prefer it to the ones where you have to issue commands to it using close-harmony singing in Klingon.

[hauntedoaks]

I opened a new bottle of NO last weekend with a rabbit corkscrew and it worked great. I opened my first bottle of NO with a winged corkscrew and the cork broke but none of the cork fell into the bottle. I used a T-cork from a bottle of Grey Goose to re-cork the bottle after the original cork was out.

[MrGreenGenes]

I'd like to see a YouTube video of TB opening a bottle of his own absinthe.

[Brian Robinson]

I'll post one after Tales. There will be more than enough of the bottles to go around.

[sixela]

close-harmony singing in Klingon.

 

 

This one ought to work. Practice with your favourite hologram.

[Jack Griffin]

This works for me...

[rob fritz]

But Scott, how are you going to recork it ? Maybe try Sabering instead ?

[Jack Griffin]

Recork it? Ya drink it all laddie, ya dunna recork it!

[Absomphe]

That's my modus operandi.

[ignis]

Jades cork 1......corkscrew 0

 

[Ian McCarthy]

WWsda

 

this type of corkscrew aka "prong" blade ... you will never destroy a jade type cork again

 

You destroy not destroy a cork, but I've dropped several irretrievably into wine bottles with this nightmare.

 

 

We call this nightmare a "butler's friend", due to the fact that you can remove the cork intact.

 

1) Remove cork from fancy bottle

2) drink fancy wine

3) take not-so-fancy wine and put it into fancy bottle

4) Put fancy cork back into fancy bottle filled with not-so-fancy wine

5) Charge fancy prices

 

Not that I would ever. Just sayin...

[Hedonmonkey]

I was just opening a bottle of NO to air, cork and sit.

 

On the subject of wax removal with no mess, got it totally covered!

I approached the situation from the point of view, how would i go about this if I wanted the wax intact, forget the bottle....think wax. I took a fine bladed knife to the silver wrap under the wax, cut around the bottle just under the lip and rolled the edge up over it. Then it was a simple matter of sliding the silver wrapping under the wax up over the top.

 

Didn't lose a flake of wax, completely perfect!!

 

Yes, I have a picture.

 

[m.a.mccullough]

Forget the bottle?!? All i can think of is give me what inside that bottle!

Edited November 28, 2010 by m.a.mccullough

[Brian Robinson]

Speaking of wax, I just got the new barrel aged l'enjelouse in today. Holy crap, that wax is like a rock. Gonna take some time...

[luchog]

 

this type of corkscrew aka "prong" blade ... you will never destroy a jade type cork again

I strongly second this post. I use the bladed cork pullers on everything with corks. The only better method is a nitrogen injector (uses small compressed nitrogen cylinders and an oversized hypodermic needle); but that's rather pricey for most people (typically only used by serious wine snobs).

 

A lot of homebrew shops carry T-corks really cheap, natural and synthetic, which make good replacements. I have about a dozen of various sizes to fit any potential bottle size.

 

As far as wax, I've never found a good method for consistently removing it cleanly, since waxes vary so widely in texture and adhesiveness. The closest I've found is to freeze it to make it brittle.

Edited November 28, 2010 by luchog

[luchog]

2.) Is there anything I can do about the tiny, almost microscopic, pieces of cork that went through the strainer? Or have I just skunked a $100 bottle of booze? Help!

A few bits of cork aren't really going to damage the drink, or it wouldn't be possible to use cork at all. Skunking is the result of degradation of volatile esters by UV radiation. That's why bottles are typically made of dark-coloured glass. (Some American beer uses clear glass bottles because the brewers don't use actual hops, they use light-stable hops extracts.) The worst you'll have to deal with is a few annoying bits in your drink from time to time.

[Joe Legate]

Speaking of wax, I just got the new barrel aged l'enjelouse in today. Holy crap, that wax is like a rock. Gonna take some time...

I have a bottle waiting for me at the Post Office. I love a good challenge.

 

I have never understood the issue with Jade corks: rip the offending cork out, toss the cork and drink. In the unlikely event I want to save some for later, pop in a bar top and walk away.

[Hedonmonkey]

I thought the original question was how to open jades easily and neatly.

 

Took less than a mintue to get the wax off with no mess, and getting the cork out has never been a hassle.

[mgs]

I am anxiously waiting my first Jade to arrive to have "this problem"....... to report in near future....

 

- Marcelo

[Absomphe]

None of the tough wax seals have been a problem for me on any absinthe.

 

I simply drill right through the seal and the cork with my lever monster (BAUB, nothing to see here, move along... no wait, that came out wrong, er, I mean, er, um, oh fogedaboutit!!! )... every once in a while a little bit of cork gets into the bottle, but, hey, wood aging is nice...so to speak.