Message 21707 of 39188 in General Discussion

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I know the alcohol acts a 
> preservative but we've had problems with bottles blowing up after a 
> long time infusing with fruit/peel, at the time the general guess was 
> that the ingrediant added had started to ferment (we're tenders not 
> scientists) and given the bottles were sealed the increased preasure 
> from the gas given off caused them to blow!

My background is in biology and I'm midly embarrassed that I don't have a good 
explanation for what's going on here.  You might be right about the 
fermentation but that leaves me wondering what bacteria can prosper in an 80+ 
proof environment.  Bacteria are renowned for their diversity and ability to 
survive in hostile environments but alcohol is pretty harsh on them, it pretty 
much destroys their outer membranes which means the cells have no structural 
integrity.  Still, if the bottles are exploding then the conclusion that gas 
is being created as a byproduct of metabolism seems inescapable.  Maybe I'm 
overthinking this but I am amazed that even the most robust microorganism 
could replicate in the presence of so much ethanol.  

> 
> I think with oil you've got a bit more leway 'coz if the flavour gets 
> too intense you can use less oil. With liqour you need the alcohol 
> content for the drink so to use less is an unatractive option!

Just a thought, but if your infused liquor is too intense how about diluting 
it with the same liquor?