Cork floating in bottle for years....is it OK to drink?

London52 · September 6 2019 at 10:40PM

I inherited from someone a Caol Ila 1984 17 Year Old Signatory Vintage 70cl that was bottled in 2002. When I took it out of the dark closet to look at it, I saw the cork floating in it. I was able to get the cork out using some tools, but I see some tiny remnants of the cork still in there (looks so small it could be mistaken for minor sediment). I have no idea how long that big piece of cork has been floating around in there. The top was sealed with a wine stopper, so the person who had this before must have known the cork fell in and just decided to use a wine stopper. Do you think this bottle must be thrown out? Or is it still good to drink?

Hate to waste some good stuff.

bedlamborn · September 10 2019 at 7:05PM

@London52

Cork in the whisky is not a good sign. But smell the whisky. Is it good smell to it or does it have off putting notes?
A cork in the whisky may give some bad taste to the whisky but it is not dangerous. So the next step is to taste a small amount, take a drop and see how it tastes. Is it good or not or is it off putting? But don't do it before you want to enjoy other whiskies as it may taste bad that the evening is ruined for other whisky experiences.