Whiskey doesnt go off, does it??

JMSE

I have a half bottle of Paddy here probably opened in the 90s for hot whiskey remedies and not much else. Whats the story, theres no bother drinking it after so long is there?

Kintarō Hattori

I don't think spirits go off but it may very well have lost a lot of its flavour.

the beer revolu

Perfectly safe to drink.

JMSE

date under the cap on the neck was 7.12.95, twas very nice

braddun

whiskey gets better with age

JMSE

but does it get better in the oak cask, and then stop getting better when bottled?

anto3473

Whiskey gets better with age in the barrel, not in a bottle.

It would actually loose some of its alcohol content due to evaporation and dissolving water vapor from the air, not very much though.

Peanut Butter Jelly

If the bottle was never opened, would it go off?

marco_polo

Peanut Butter Jelly wrote: »

If the bottle was never opened, would it go off?

Shouldn't no if properly stored. Main difference between spirits and wine is that the latter should continue to mature in the bottle, wheras the former is as good as its going to get once bottled.

EDIT: To add I am open to correction here but even when opened I don't think a high proof spirit can go "off" in a harmful way, beyond tasting like ass if sitting in a sunny window for years

Peanut Butter Jelly

marco_polo wrote: »

Shouldn't no if properly stored. Main difference between spirits and wine is that the latter should continue to mature in the bottle, wheras the former is as good as its going to get once bottled.

What would be the preferable conditions to store whiskey in?

marco_polo

Peanut Butter Jelly wrote: »

What would be the preferable conditions to store whiskey in?

Ideally somewhere dark and fairly cool with reasonably small temprature fluctuations. For most purposes the cupboard will do just fine , as it is inert once bottled you're not looking at the levels of precision of a wine cellar or anything like that.

Peanut Butter Jelly

marco_polo wrote: »

Ideally somewhere dark and fairly cool with reasonably small temprature fluctuations. For most purposes the cupboard will do just fine

Perfect. Thanks for that.

the beer revolu

marco_polo wrote: »

Shouldn't no if properly stored. Main difference between spirits and wine is that the latter should continue to mature in the bottle, wheras the former is as good as its going to get once bottled.

EDIT: To add I am open to correction here but even when opened I don't think a high proof spirit can go "off" in a harmful way, beyond tasting like ass if sitting in a sunny window for years

No correction needed.
This is completely correct.
I can't even imagine a bottle of spirits tasting bad, as such. Would only lose a little flavour and complexity and alcohol very slowly over time, once opened.
I've read that good tequila can lose some of its fragrance after a few months but I've never noticed this to be the case.

Toast

What's the opinion on Port and this? I saw a documentary about making Port where the lad was shocked "the English" would keep bottles opened for years. He claimed a week tops and if you weren't a heathen treat it like wine and have it done in 3 days. I generally only keep it around for cooking which means it will be rare we'd get through one in a year. I've tasted some that had been open for months and didn't notice it tasting off but I'm sure it was cheap stuff to begin with.

the beer revolu

In my experience, Port doesn't improve but still tastes pretty good after time open. If I have a bottle of decent port I try to get through it pretty quickly but I have a bottle of ruby port open in the cupboard for years that I use for cooking - it still tastes ok.

anto3473

As a rule of thumb anything stronger than vermooth (around 20-ish % abv) has enough alcohol in it to stay sterile and not spoil pretty much indefinably.

Sugars in the alcohol may be broken down affecting flavor though especially if its exposed to light or heat.

coylemj

Although mentioned earlier, evaporation is not going to be a problem once the cap is screwed on properly and is airtight. The only evaporation that can take place is to the air inside the bottle. The amount of liquid required to evaporate and saturate the air in that empty space with whiskey vapour is negligible.

L1011

coylemj wrote: »

Although mentioned earlier, evaporation is not going to be a problem once the cap is screwed on properly and is airtight. The only evaporation that can take place is to the air inside the bottle. The amount of liquid required to evaporate and saturate the air in that empty space with whiskey vapour is negligible.

Most whiskeys over about 25 quid (with Johnnie Walker as an obvious exception, though I think their very dear ones do) use corks, often with other wood or plastic moulded caps attached, which aren't as reliably airtight. Not sure its going to have a significant impact but I've had a particularly dodgy tasting bottle of Connemara that was left closed but half drunk for a year or so.

sdanseo

There's at least thirty bottles of varied booze in the press downstairs that have been open since the parents stopped living under the same roof in the mid nineties. Guts of 20 years old, all of them. Most are about half empty, if not a little more or less.

I've only developed a taste for de alcohols in the last two years, and have always veered clear of these because most are open. Would there be anything coming to mind that wouldn't be safe to have a taste of? Most specifically it looks like the 500ml or so of Jameson that's left should be fine for me to dig into, but there's an assortment of cognac, vodka, port and other ****e in there that is all either going into myself and the lads, or the bin.

the beer revolu

sdanseo wrote: »

There's at least thirty bottles of varied booze in the press downstairs that have been open since the parents stopped living under the same roof in the mid nineties. Guts of 20 years old, all of them. Most are about half empty, if not a little more or less.

I've only developed a taste for de alcohols in the last two years, and have always veered clear of these because most are open. Would there be anything coming to mind that wouldn't be safe to have a taste of? Most specifically it looks like the 500ml or so of Jameson that's left should be fine for me to dig into, but there's an assortment of cognac, vodka, port and other ****e in there that is all either going into myself and the lads, or the bin.

The most dangerous component of any of those drinks is the alcohol.
That is the only thing that will make you sick unless you have allergies. Spirits do not go off. Open or closed, spirits do not go off.
Port might not taste great but won't make you sick - unless you drink too much of it!

It's very simple. Taste each bottle. If you like the taste, drink it. If you don't like the taste, do not drink it.

Reading this thread would have given you this information.

Pinch Flat

Polished off a bit of jack Daniels on the rocks from around 1998 that was in the back of the cupboard in the kitchen. Tasted fine.

CramCycle

I found the taste of any high end scotches stupidly left on a shelf to go "off" after awhile of being opened, tasting like I imagine the cleaner in a hospital to taste like. Not harmful as far as I know, so not "gone off" just the taste has deteriorated over time.