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?

  • AmidFuror
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    21 month ago

    Define “safe.” If drinking from a lead crystal glass for 10 years took 10 years and 2 days off your life, would that be safe?

    Alcohol isn’t exactly safe to drink. Your liver can repair itself, but not back to 100%. And you’ll pick up some mutations that will make cancer more likely by a little bit down the road.

    • @piecat
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      21 month ago

      Alcohol damage doesn’t accumulate in the same way.

      • AmidFuror
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        21 month ago

        Mutations that increase proliferative capability accumulate, and increased cell death and renewal enhance this.

        Not the same way, yes. You get different effects from light drinking over years vs occasional binge drinking, for example. But still cumulative.

        • @piecat
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          31 month ago

          The damage being done by alcohol accumulates, sure. But if you stop drinking, the damage is done. You’re not going to see more damage occur once it is out of your body. The poison doesn’t accumulate over time.

          With lead exposure, the poison is the thing accumulating in the body. If you stopped your exposure to lead, it’s still in the body, doing damage over time.