Recently, a thread was started on Straightbourbon.com about the possibility of lead leeching from the glaze of whiskey decanters into the whiskey over time. While it does seem like a stretch, after the a sample was sent to the lab, it turns out it's not. The sample registered over ONE THOUSAND times the acceptable limit of lead! So there is certainly an issue here. I do not know what the glaze is on Michter's decanters, but I would assume it would be the same. Most decanters were glazed with leaded glazing through the 80's. So this is a warning- be careful about consuming too much whiskey out of old decanters! Try to find full, sealed glass bottles instead as the whiskey should have a lower amount of lead, oxidation, and contaminants. For further reading, here is the link to the thread on Straightbourbon:
Lead In Decanters
