I have a heavy crystal decanter I’ve been using for years. A while back I was having some guests for a week, and thought I’d save some money and grabbed a bottle of Jim beam to put in it, as opposed to the higher end I tend to go for, because none of my guest cared about Bourbon. I noticed the level going down further than I had consumed. This has never been an issue before, so I figured someone had just nipped it while o was asleep. The next day, there was condensation on the inside, and the level had dropped further.

Since I’d been using the decanter for so long, I assumed the frosting on the stopper had rubbed off and it no longer sealed.

When it was empty, I refilled it with larceny, my standard, and to my surprise, it didn’t evaporate at all for weeks.

Last night, I refilled it with beam again, and this morning, it had dropped and there was condensation on the side.

What really confused me, is Jim beam has a lower alcohol content than the Bourbons I usually fill the decanter with, so I would think it would evaporate as readily.

Why does only this one brand evaporate?

Quick searching gave me no results

Tldr: Why does Jim Beam evaporate in my decanter while nothing else does?

  • @[email protected]
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    151 month ago

    Condensation means there is more water evaporating, not alcohol.

    Keep it in a cooler place and this will reduce the evaporation rate.

    • SadSadSatellite OP
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      31 month ago

      I had considered that I wouldn’t see condensation from alcohol evaporating, but I only noticed the level visibly dropping with Jim beam specifically.

      It could be as simple as the difference in color absorbing more heat from light, I suppose.

    • @NeoNachtwaechter
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      01 month ago

      The water condensates after evaporating, the alcohol doesn’t.