Is it safe to store liquor in crystal bottles?

Things like whisky and bourbon are frequently decanted into elegant cut-crystal bottles and left around dens, living rooms, etc. It looks nice, and is sort of old-fashioned, and is an unnecessary expense, and in general is right up my alley and I’d like to do it.

What’s stopping me is *Home Comforts * by Cheryl Mendelson, where she says that alcohol leaches the lead out of crystal, and that any alcoholic beverage that has sat in a crystal container for more than an hour isn’t safe to drink.

So what’s the dope? Are people giving themselves lead poisoning? Are all decanters lined with regular lead-free glass? Are only some? How can I tell the difference?

Yeah, I wouldn’t do it. From here :

Later in the article, a source from an industry group says…

I don’t understand your question. Store liquor? I have always purchased liquor, then consumed liquor.

Where do you buy your liquor, vetbridge?
Chances are, you purchase it at a store.

As opposed to moonshine or bathtub gin. As in “Go ahead and drink your high falootin’ store liquor, I’ll stick with this anti-freeze laden home liquor.”

Ahhhhh, thanks Squink. I owe ya.

Not around me. I’ll drink it. :slight_smile:

A search turned this up. Unfortunately, I don’t subscribe, so I can’t tell any more than you can read there. It was an article from 1991, and I couldn’t find it on the FDA website.