New Glass Closures Aim To Keep Cork Taint Out Of Whiskey

Innovation comes in many forms in the whiskey industry, whether it is a focus on a unique whiskey style or the use of technology to enhance bottle design. Online whisky retailer and independent bottler Master of Malt is now looking to add its own mark in this category, unveiling new bottle closures designed to make “cork taint in single malt whiskies a thing of the past.”

These new experimental glass closures, already available for consumers to try out in a pair of 12 Year Old Bruichladdich single malts (one matured in a first-fill Sherry cask (62.3% ABV) and the other in a first-fill bourbon cask (57.3% ABV)) Master of Malt bottled, aim to offer an alternative to the traditional use of corks in whiskey bottles. These cork stoppers, like sometimes happens in fine wine bottles, have the potential to go south. If such were to happen, it is argued, there’s a chance undesirable aromas and flavors could result in the whiskey’s taste profile.

Master of Malt, in crafting these, believes the closures to be a better alternative as well to screw tops, which are said to be “viewed by many whisky enthusiasts as ‘cheap’ and aesthetically unpleasing.” They are thus designed to be both attractive and functional, including being air tight thanks to “a thin, specially engineered rubberised seal that perfectly fits each bottle.”

As these are the first two bottlings from Master of Malt sealed in this regard, the company is inviting feedback from those who give them a trial over at its blog.