Cure for nasty canteen taste?

[Homesteader]

I've got a gourd canteen and a wooden drum canteen, both of which I really like for looks and PC. But I just can't stand the taste. Beeswax coating seems to leave one seriously nasty taste, at least to my palate. The only period canteen I've got that I can stand to drink from is a metal British half-moon canteen, and I ain't British. And down here in South Carolina, there's just NO way to go without water at hand.

Anyone got any magic cures or tips for this problem? Is it just something that the ole boys learned to tolerate? We can't just drink from streams anymore, and even using a secret water filter still means we've got to filter it into something, so I'm really curious how y'all handle it.

As always, I'm a bit long-winded. Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to your responses.

 

[shmrck1]

This is just a thought on my part as I am by no
means an expert, but are you using pure beeswax
in the lining if so then it would be my thought
that the interior may not be completely lined.
You may be picking up taste of gourd or wood.
You should be getting little if any taste from
the beeswax, especially with water. I have a
bourbon flask lined with beeswax and never had
a problem with a taste change, and I would
notice a difference. Just a humble opinion.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[musketman]

Some baking soda water might asorb the taste, swish it around for a few minutes and then rinse several time with clean water...

If that don't do it, you may have to rewax them...

I hope the gourd isn't rotting from the inside where water seaped under the wax, that could account for the off taste...

 

[Swampman]

The only canteens I've ever used that didn't taste bad, were the copper ones. Everyone says they aren't historically correct. You can cover them with leather or wool, or paint them. There are reproduction tin American styled military canteens from the period. They taste fine but a little rusty. Taking the stopper out and hanging them upside down when you get home is a very good thing. In the old days they added rum to kill the germs and keep the canteen from freezing. :winking:

A couple of drops of lemon juice or peppermint oil might help. I've had several wooden canteens and they all looked great and tasted bad.

Since canteens were always rare, I figure I may as well have one that taste good.

 

[Legionair]

Go with the old "leather wrapped wine bottle canteen". Bottles were common, and I'm sure they wouldn't be thrown away like they are today.

I got a glassblower friend of mine making one up for me. Then I just have to wrap with leather, find a cord, and cork.

Just an option....

Legion

 

[twotoescharlie]

use parrafin instead of beeswax, available at your local grocery store.
I have one of the wooden canteens that I coated with parrafin wax, water taste like water from it.

TTC

 

South Carolina? Yep, been there, hot place in the summer. Your wax has probably melted and collected into a pool in the bottom of the canteen and your water is seeping into the wood/gourd. The inside of that canteen, when in the sun, probably nearly hits the boiling point!!!

That heat may account for some of the rank taste too.

Brewers' pitch might work, even in the heat. You can get it from Panther or Townsend, I think.

I'd go with the British tin canteen myself. You can always claim that your persona traded for it, bought it surplus, deserted with it or took it off a dead Lobsterback! My ex-father-in-law still shaves with a razor he took off a dead German at Anzio.

 

[Homesteader]

As always, the tips y'all offer are good ones. I'll try out a few of the methods to get the gourd and wood canteens tasting decent, but I've gotta admit I like the idea of concocting a tale to explain having a good ole metal canteen. Maybe I took it off the same guy I got the Bess from, eh?

You're right about the temps getting brutal down here. Bearing that in mind, how PC would it be to cover the Brit's canteen with some wet wool to keep it a bit cooler?

Or maybe I should just move to the mountains..?

 

[rice1817]

I would stay away from the brewers pitch. What is sold today is made from pine sap. The black kind that they used to use to line the blackjack leather beer mugs is all but extinct today. The blackjack tankards today are lined with a spaceage thermoplastic that looks like old style brewers pitch but is not. Brewers used to use true brewers pitch to line their brewing vats but they all use stainless steel today. I have made a bunch of hard leather canteens and lined it with the pine stuff and water tastes like pine sap coming out of it. Most ended up as useless camp decorations. Parafin is brittle and has a lower melting point also. I can mitigate the pine flavor by mixing the pitch with beeswax, but it still taints the water.
Many of our guys in the Rangers of the Ohio Company use the British milsurp canteens that are readily available, covered with leather or wool. Shape is identical to the 18th century ones, at least close enough. They do not rust, and if you wet the wool the natural evaporation cools the contents. They are accepted at all the events that we do, some of which are pretty strict.
The better wooden ones are designed to be water tight as long as the wood is kept wet on the inside. It swells the wood like is done with a barrel. No coating at all. Of course, their is a slight flavor to the water, but the ones made out of white oak seem to be the most flavor free.

 

[guncobbler]

If you have a non-metal canteen you can rinse with hydrogen peroxide. It kills germs that cause odors real good and has no taste. Vinegar works good too in a non-metal container. In a metal canteen that was not stainless I would not use it or lemon juice or other acid. GC

 

[J.D.]

Try a strong brew of tea, and let it set overnight.

 

[netoleon]

Best solution is probably to go with the Brit canteen. Back in the day there was no shame in using enemy equipment if it had superior functionality ( as long as it wasn't uniform clothing !). Canteens weren't anything like the "Government Issue" we're used to today. For example, Napoleon's army never had an issue of canteens - ever!

The only PC trick I've heard of to treat water was to put some ground Ginger in it. Apparently that was a method of "purifying" naturally acquired water that dates to the French & Indian War, if not earlier. It doesn't taste bad (some enjoy it), but it won't kill hardly any bacteria. It probably will mask the "skunky" flavor you get from an imperfectly coated gourd or the bitterness of a tannic wood though.

 

Back in the day there was no shame in using enemy equipment if it had superior functionality ( as long as it wasn't uniform clothing !).

They used enemy clothing when it was available. Each state, colony and militia unit had its own uniform so what did it matter. Daniel Morgan's VA riflemen were issued Canadian caps and capotes after the fall of Qubec. (so much for a KY woodsman not wearing a capote!)

 

[FireMaker]

Fill the canteen with Rum. Always takes the icky flavors out in mine.

 

[dlemaster]

Fill the canteen with Rum. Always takes the icky flavors out in mine.

Or at least you wouldn't care. :rotf:
I'm a Captain Morgan man myself.

Regards, Dave

 

[Black Hand]

I'm a Captain Morgan man myself.

Give the Captain Morgans private stock variety a try. A couple of $$ more, but well worth it!!!

 

[dlemaster]

I'm way ahead of ya Blackhand. LOL
I have so many friends and coworkers doing the Captain that one of my coworkers emailed them and suggested they give me a life time supply as a spokesperson. :rotf:
I can only hope.

Regards, Dave

 

[Birdman]

Blackhand I gots to agree with ya, SMOOOOOOTH STUFF, WELL WORTH THE COUPLE EXTRA COINS, YMHS Birdman

 

[netoleon]

Aye, I thought better of that myself, remembering that some of Wellington's boys in Spain wore French items at times (I doubt tunics though - good way to get shot, and that was my point !). Outerwear of the typical non-standard type (i.e.; capotes, fur trimmed winter hats, etc.) seem much less risky to swap around. I don't know how friendly fire incidents didn't abound in the Revolution. Throw in the Tory militias and you really have ID problems.

In the best congressional tradition I'm going to revise and extend my previous remarks - I checked back and Ginger wasn't used for "purification", but as a health measure. It was thought to prevent malaria, "the bloody flux" (dysentery) and the ever popular "Ague". Less risky than wearing an enemy tunic for sure.

 

[Black Hand]

Give it a try in Hot-Buttered Rum (at home) or in a pot of chocolate (on the trail). It'll make you happy!!!!!!