Is a thirty five year old Remy Cognac, in a Baccarat lead decanter, safe to drink?

This isn’t Louis X111 but another Remy Cognac bottled in the early 1980s in the Baccarat container. I assume not worth the risk, but have there been any studies?

My recommendation: buy a lead test kit. Then compare it to some Cognac not in a Baccarat container. I would be curious as to the results. You could also send it off to a lab.

I would be interested to know the results of this, and would be willing to chip-in some money towards the cause. I was gifted many bottles of old cognac in crystal decanters and have always wondered the same thing.

Put me in the camp of “not worth the risk”

From a NY Times article in the early 90s:

A 1991 study on lead crystal noted that the longer a liquid sat in a lead crystal container the greater the amount of lead that would leach from the crystal into the liquid. The greatest concentration of lead was found in brandy that had been stored in a crystal decanter. Lead is a chronic hazard that can damage the nervous system, the kidneys and bone marrow. Pregnant women should beware because fetuses are particularly sensitive to lead.

The danger depends on a lot of factors: the amount of lead that leaches from the decanter; how long the alcohol had been stored in the decanter; how often and how much you drink from decanters. There are no Government standards for the amount of lead in crystal, but the 1991 study found that lead levels in wine that had been stored in crystal decanters for four months were many times above the permissible levels for lead in ceramic containers.

Thanks for the reference. I didn’t get this quoted line, though. It’s comparing wine stored in crystal to what – wine stored in ceramics?

fyi:
Kelly Kinkade, IT geek, former law student, many other things
Answered Jun 4, 2015
Any alcoholic beverage (indeed, nearly any beverage at all) stored in lead crystal for more than an hour or so will become toxic. Baccarat, who makes the signature bottles that Louis XIII cognac is bottled in, is a premier manufacturer of lead crystal. It’s likely, however, that bottles made since the European 1969 directive on this issue are nonleaded crystal using barium or potassium oxide instead of lead oxide, and thus would not be toxic. But I cannot find any clear statement on this, either from Baccarat or from Rémy Martin.
698 Views · 7 Upvotes
Frank Duncan
Frank Duncan, BS Chemistry, 1967
Answered Jun 4, 2015
Yes and no. How’s that for an answer. As far as real toxicity, no. The amount of lead that is leached out of lead crystal is so small as to be completely harmless to the human body. However, using modern analytical techniques, you can detect it. Modern techniques can detect lead at parts per trillion under certain circumstances, but this is FAR below any level that would threaten human health in any meaningful way.

If, however, you are a True Environmentalist, note the caps, then ANY level of lead is anathema. Any level is toxic. If it can be detected, it is toxic.

If you feel unable to partake of your vintage, just send it to me and I will cheerfully drink to your health with it!

aLSO;

Lead toxicity range for adults is super high. The danger of lead primarily comes from exposure as a child. As an adult, you need to have a HUGE and long term exposure to have issues. For a glass of cognac from time to time from a lead crystal decanter, I wouldnt worry about unless you are nursing.

When I was the compliance manager at a hazwaste transfer facility, even guys who would pack lead waste wouldnt come close to blood levels that would cause issues.

Is that year right? Doesn’t sound right, because the European Union only came into existence in 1993. Before that it was simply the European Economic Community, which was basically a free trade zone. There was no common government or directives at that stage, I don’t believe.

And it was the US, not Europe, that banned lead capsules around ~1989 – a product that potentially threatened to harm many, many more people than Baccarat lead crystal ever did.

Great, another thing to worry about. But, perhaps it explains many things.

I have a crystal Baccarat Remy decanter that I received as a law grad gift in 1992. Still using it…

Ugh.

That would explain your shaved legs!

Food Chem Toxicol. 1994 Mar;32(3):285-8.
Release of lead from crystal decanters under conditions of normal use.
Barbee SJ1, Constantine LA.
Author information
Abstract

The pattern of release of lead (Pb) from crystal was investigated using new and used decanters. Two decanters in use prior to this study yielded significantly less Pb into sherry than did a decanter during its initial use. Pb concentrations in sherry after storage for 2 months reached 50, 163 or 1410 micrograms/litre in decanters previously used for 20, or for 10 yr, or a new decanter, respectively. The new decanter imparted progressively less Pb through normal use. Pb concentration was assayed in sherry during a series of three separate sampling periods, each 2 months in duration. The Pb concentration at the end of each period was 1410, 330 or 150 micrograms/litre respectively. These data are consistent with ceramic chemistry theory, which predicts that leaching of Pb from crystal is self-limiting exponentially as a function of increasing distance from the crystal-liquid interface. The results of this investigation support the concept that sufficient ageing of Pb crystal prior to use reduces, to acceptable levels, the human health risk to adults associated with consumption of beverages stored in Pb crystal decanters.

PMID:
8157224

[Indexed for MEDLINE]

I guess the moral is: buy well-used lead crystal decanters and the previous owner will suffer the ill effects.

This is consistent with the FDA tests of lead capsules, as best I can recall them. They found that the first few glassed poured from a bottle with a lead capsule had significantly high lead levels than later-poured glasses. The first few glasses absorbed the lead round the lip of the bottle.

The 1969 directive (from the EEC) relates only to harmonizing terminology, not safety

Ask the Canadians. They test any alcohol coming into the country for sale and they do reject them if they exceed set levels. I do know that some older Ports are not lawful to sell there due to higher lead levels.

Those lead levels came from being stored in large wood barrels where the couplings used for racking the wines way back in time contained lead and over time it leached enough to reach high enough levels to cause them to be rejected. When you think about it, that’s a small contact area for a large volume of Port. Condense that down to a relatively large surface area for a small amount of distilled spirit (Cognac in this case) in a 750ml bottle/decanter.

I would never use anything with lead to store alcohol for any amount of time.

The pH of the liquid is an important factor in the leaching of lead. It happens mostly at low pH.
At least, this is well established in ceramics with lead glaze. Not sure about the pH of brandy but my guess is that it pretty neutral.

Mark, take one for the team, and let us know how it goes…if possible.

I just called Remy in NY, was passed to a woman from Compliance of all things. Just hit her voicemail.

I was just going to suggest this as well. You can buy a water testing kit that gives lead results for under $20 from Amazon.