A little help with dried out cork

I have a few nice bottles of Scotch that I've kept upright for about 4-7 years. I recently opened up a bottle only to find that the cork came apart in the bottle opening. I opened up a second and the same thing occured. These bottles are stored in a cool / dark location.

I'm a bit concerned about the other bottles and would like some advice on whether or not these bottles should be kept on their side to help keep the corks moist? I've never believed that a cork could dry out such as this one has, but now I'm second guessing. I've had many a bottle of wine withstand similar durations upright with no issues whatsoever.

Any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreceiated! Thanks so much.

Drew

[Jojo]

What kind of Scotches do you have where the cork is dried out?

Generally speaking you should not store distilled spirits on their sides for long periods of time, the high alcohol content can break down the cork and transfer cork flavors back into the spirit.

If you are having trouble with some particular corks, I would suggest replacing them with some higher quality t-corks from your local liquor store or online (lots of stores have them, google away).

My scotch doesn't usually stick around long enough to warrant me using these, but I do use them for bottles of absinthe and they work nicely.

[buckeyede06]

Can you splash the liquid on the cork every now and again to keep it moist? Or will that make them go dry faster?

I'm so mad! I just bought this bottle. I had to fish out pieces of cork. I got it all but now my question is, is the scotch ok to drink now?