I’m on summer vacation in Germany by car, and of course I took advantage of being in a country with a more diverse range of rums than my home country Sweden and bought around 15 bottles to bring home.
Before heading home, I’m attending a festival for 5 days, and it is hot as hell here.
I’m keeping my bottles of rum in inflatable protective cases behind the drivers seat with a blanket on top to protect from direct sunlight. The car is unfortunately standing in direct sunlight, with windows pulled down to increase the air exchange.
But it is like a sauna in there and I’m guessing it’s reaching around 50 degrees during peak sun hours. Under the blanket, it is considerably cooler, but still probably reaches 40. At night time, temperatures can drop down to 12-15 degrees.
Is this a big no-no for 5 days + 5 nights? Will they lose flavour? Is the temperature delta between day- and nighttime super bad? How can I inspect and identify any signs of things going bad?
I’m staying in a tent right next to the car. The tent stays a bit cooler, but will in return probably become even colder at nighttime. It will be hard for me to fit all the bottles in the tent, but it could probably be done if you think that would be a game-changer.
Eine normale Kühlbox könnte hilfreich sein.
Das die Hitze großen Einfluss hat, glaube ich eher nicht, solange sie ordnungsgemäß verschlossen sind. Bedenkt man dabei die tropische Fasslagerung . Aber genau weiß ich es nicht!
Das wichtigste ist definitiv die direkte Sonneneinstrahlung zu vermeiden !
long term storage under hot temperature is for sure a problem; a few days should be ok, most important is to avoid big changes in temperature over short time and sunlight. So covered in the trunk and put them in tent or windows open should be ok. Where are you staying? maybe you can leave the rum at a community member‘s place. I am e.g, based close to Lübeck, on the way if many Swedish travelers
As others already said, I think the high temperatures (and the high delta) ain’t a big problem for a couple of days. Like Thunderbird said, best is to avoid direct UV light, but you already got that covered
Enjoy your stay in Germany! Usually it is us Germans invading Sweden. But ye, compared to Sweden this is alcohol heaven I suppose. Not to mention the significantly lower population of mosquitos in Germany
Anyway, which festival you’re on?
Temp swings are bad, but for 5 days I guess won’t have noticeable impact. At some point all bottles risk beeing exposed to those conditions.
On Velier bottles I would worry if it get really hot. I’ve seen Hampdens that popped the cork due to pressure build inside. (Damage profile could only have been that. The cork was still inside the capsule, removed cleanly from the completely undamaged bottles – and it was super hot outside. Popped like Champagne)
Edit: Thirsty and drunk festival guests are also a menace for yummy bottles – beware!
I doubt that it is in relation to Velier bottles or bottlings. It was rather a very high fill level that caused the problem.
Interesting is the question if high ester rums react more on heat exposure.
I had a few bottles pop the cork due to high temperatures, but only opened bottles. Never closed ones. You should be fine. But probably better check afterwards if a cork got pushed out a bit
There is a good mix of rums I bought; some Swell de Spirits, some TWJ, Dillon BDF and some tall Velier bottles also (Hampden & Papalin). Let’s see how they hold up!
Feels a bit better knowing that 5 days probably has no impact. I’ll try to keep the delta at a minimum by opening/closing windows based on temperature and hour of day. Windows are not opened enough for thirsty people to steal, all good
@Jonas I’m at Fusion Festival, and the mosquitos are starting to come out now at this hour! Much less aggressive than Swedish ones though
Ah Fusion, nice!
At least you don’t have to be afraid, that someone will be after your rum reserve, unless it is dried and in powder form or pressed in pill form
I should have specified that it’s the Velier bottles with plastic cork that are potentially affected because they are especially air tight. The Habitation Velier and the Hampden 8yo etc. Most (all?) Caroni and Guyana have a natural cork where it is less problematic.
