Spirits and their use by date ...

[ginettajoe]

Having a big sort out at home, new furniture, decoration etc etc, and I have numerous bottles of whisky, brandy, vodka, gin, some of which is unopened and still in boxes. I'm not an in house drinker, and the only time it is opened is when anyone comes round, and as I work away a lot, or arrive home late, it is not very often.

How long will spirits last, in both unopened & opened states??? Is it a year, 2 years, several years or indefinately??

....... and NO, we aren't having a party, before someone starts to plan it on here!!!!

[grumbledoak]

"Jack st" can live in strong spirits; 40% or more last pretty much forever.

Edit- just don't put them in lead crystal decanters.

Edited by grumbledoak on Thursday 13th March 00:45

[ginettajoe]

grumbledoak said:

"Jack st" can live in strong spirits; 40% or more last pretty much forever.

Edit- just don't put them in lead crystal decanters.

Edited by grumbledoak on Thursday 13th March 00:45

What if if it is less than 40%, and does it deteriorate??

[TEKNOPUG]

I’ll be more than happy to come round and thoroughly test them all for you

[ginettajoe]

TEKNOPUG said:

I’ll be more than happy to come round and thoroughly test them all for you

....... that had to be the obvious solution!!!

[ludo]

ginettajoe said:

Having a big sort out at home, new furniture, decoration etc etc, and I have numerous bottles of whisky, brandy, vodka, gin, some of which is unopened and still in boxes. I'm not an in house drinker, and the only time it is opened is when anyone comes round, and as I work away a lot, or arrive home late, it is not very often.

How long will spirits last, in both unopened & opened states??? Is it a year, 2 years, several years or indefinately??

....... and NO, we aren't having a party, before someone starts to plan it on here!!!!

If it is good malt whisky then an old unopened bottle might be worth more than a new one, there is a market for old bottles of rare whiskies (e.g. where the distillery has gone bust and no more is being made) and it is drinkable. Remember the stuff matures for 10 years+ in an oak barrell (although the alcaholic content will be higher in the barrell) will react with the whisky far more than it ever will in the bottle.

It is possible that the cork may have degraded, in which case you will find bits of cork in the bottle, but a tea-strainer will help there (I was given an old bottle of Brandy which was like that and it was fine).

[MilnerR]

Bloody years and years and years. Pretty much anything north of 20% ethanol isn't going to go off if kept in a sealed bottle

[zcacogp]

grumbledoak said:

Edit- just don't put them in lead crystal decanters.

Interesting - what happens if you do put them in lead crystal decanters? Does enough lead leech out to cause problems?


Oli.

[ccm]

as far as I know you shouldn't store alcohol or any liquid in lead crystal decanters as the lead can leach out and cause poisoning, especially if the crystal has a high lead density. You really shouldn't drink out of lead crystal either on a regular daily basis for the same reason, especially pregnant women as its harmful to fetuses.

[BigAlinEmbra]

Make em strong enough and it's only the first one that'll taste iffy anyways.