Moving Bottles of Scotch and Cork Contact
 

Having recently read about the necessity of keeping scotch out of contact with the cork I was wondering while driving with a load of bottles how long it was allowable to keep them in a prone position.

Also the bottles in my suitcase a couple weeks ago were definitely prone for most of the trip.

So how serious is the problem of scotch to cork contact and what are the allowable time frames?

I wouldn't worry, contact is measured in months if not years. The problem occurs when the cork already has TCA in it, if so, the a day would be too long. Mind you the "corky" problem is measured in maybe 1 or 2 bottles a year over the whole of the industry so don't panic.

Hadn't heard of TCA until your reply and the issue I was curious at first about was that I read not to store whisky horizontally, as with wine, but vertically to keep the spirits out of contact with the cork.

What is this secondary issue of TCA and do you have any opinion on the first one, regarding length of time for cork contact?

TCA is trichloanisol which is the problem when you get a corky bottle of wine and the same problem occurs when whisky bottlers use traditional corks, it's an infection in the cork. Some of them are going over to composite corks which stops the problem [and the problem of lying bottles on their sides] but the response from us [the drinkers] is that we don't want them used.

Wine shouldn't lie completely flat but with the cork slightly above the wine and not in contact with the cork, that's because wine needs the air to enter the bottle to continue it's maturation.

If you really want all the pro's and cons then a whisky cork should not be allowed to dry out as the cork starts to crumble but the normal evaporation that happens naturally with whisky is normally sufficient to keep the cork in good condition.

So in other words, assuming there's no problem with the cork then there's no reason to be concerned about a bottle laying on its side for months or years even?

Months I wouldn't be concerned about, years I would be.

My mind is now at ease...

I myself had this same question as my brother, who housed some very expensive single malts for me during renovations, placed them on their sides for a duration of no more than 2 months.