Not specifically a food lovers’ question, but I know you all get out a lot. I just stopped by Bifteck for a quick pint and a few minutes of futbol, and Boréale pints are only $6.50 (might be happy hour, I don’t know - and be warned they take cash only, and the in-house ATM charges a $3.99 fee - but still!).
Wondering if anyone has a list of budget-friendly drinking holes. Or if we can start one here. 😁
So I was gifted the three matching decanters in the first photo, and was doing some research to see what the best way to get them clean and shiny was, and if there was anything that could be done to remove the light brown tinge (second photo), or if that was likely the original colour of the crystal. What I quickly discovered is that the lead in most older crystal can rapidly leach into the contents if you use them to store acidic alcohol (including whiskey, which is what I was planning to use them for).
So that made me then think of the crystal decanter I inherited from my family that I have been using to store whiskey for 10-20 years (third photo) - for example, this whiskey has probably been in there for 6 months or so now.
Here are my current thoughts, would love to have them confirmed (or rebutted!):
I shouldn't use the 3 new (old) decanters to store whiskey. (As my place is small, if they're not functional, they're going to the charity shop.)
Info on testing for lead seems unclear - I can try to scrape the surface and test that, or test acidic liquid that has been stored in it (I guess the whiskey inside could work), but neither seems super-reliable, and even the cheap test strips will cost about $15 Cdn (it's just Jameson, not anything super pricey, so this is throwing good money after bad, I think). More expensive options like lab tests or XRF meters seem more dependable, but would cost me the equivalent of a case of whiskey or more. So therefore...
I should just throw out the 2/3 of a bottle of whiskey in my previous decanter, and switch to using it just to decant wine for dinner, emptying it of any wine left at the end of the meal.
Do I have this right? Thanks in advance for your help!