Can whiskey go bad?

[Wings Of Wax]

Hi again, I just moved this post over to this forum; hope that's okay.

I like to have an array of whiskys to sample in a setting, which means I usually drink one glass per whisky, then move on to the next. But can a whisky go "bad"? I know it's not as bad as with red wine, which is undrinkable after being open for a week, but should I think twice about opening all of my whiskys and letting them stay opened on the shelf? How long can a whisky last opened, and does this vary from each type of whisky?

Thanks!

[Jiggers McCoy]

As long as you put the caps back on or cork back in, it will keep indefinitely. The distillation and aging process makes it so that oxygen exposure isn't really a problem.

Now if you left them OPEN (like with the cap off) for weeks, then the alcohol would evaporate and you would be a sad panda.

I think there was a story in the magazine about drinking really old bottles of hooch and how they tasted fine, you just have to be careful if it has a natural cork since it can dry out and fall into the liquor (but that takes YEARS).

Here's the link: "What Extinct Tastes Like:" http://drunkard.com/issues/10_06/10_06_extinct.html

[Wings Of Wax]

Thanks, McCoy. The answer was sort of what I expected, but better safe than sorry.

May I ask how you store your opened whisky? Or do you always polish off the entire bottle?

Others may chime in too, please.

[John Barleycorn]

It can kind of go bad. It can oxidize. Try to finish each bottle of whiskey within a year of opening. A bit quicker if you've opened the bottle and left only a little bit in the bottom already. That needs to be drunk up because the surface area to volume ratio is high.

But it's not like milk. You don't have to worry about heaving your guts out because you drank whiskey that was too old. Unless you drink way too much of it, that is.

[Wings Of Wax]

It can kind of go bad. It can oxidize. Try to finish each bottle of whiskey within a year of opening.

The reason I am asking is this: We pay a lot of dough for single malts for their complexity and depth. It's those characteristics I would be afraid of losing over time. But if it's not an issue, well, I'll stop worrying.

Btw, I would love to hear how you guys store your different alcohols; has anyone ever had a whisky in their fridge?

[JimLahey]

The whole "try to drink a bottle of whiskey within a year" made me chuckle. I don't think that's going to be a problem on this forum John.

[ThirstyDrunk]

Allow me to explain the contamination process.

Go buy a bottle of liquor. Could be any liquor depending upon your taste/mood. For my demonstration we will go with a $15 bottle of Ezra Brooks bourbon.
Now find the little flap of the plastic seal, carefully pull it until it is off, yank off the cap and THROW IT IN THE FUCKING STREET. You shant be needing that again.
Consume the tasty liquor UNTIL IT IS GONE.
Repeat if necessary.

This is how you do it. puds.

[Rooster]

Whiskey doesn't go bad, it goes in my stomach.

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

[gnarkill]

As long as you put the caps back on or cork back in, it will keep indefinitely. The distillation and aging process makes it so that oxygen exposure isn't really a problem.

Now if you left them OPEN (like with the cap off) for weeks, then the alcohol would evaporate and you would be a sad panda.

I think there was a story in the magazine about drinking really old bottles of hooch and how they tasted fine, you just have to be careful if it has a natural cork since it can dry out and fall into the liquor (but that takes YEARS).

Here's the link: "What Extinct Tastes Like:" http://drunkard.com/issues/10_06/10_06_extinct.html

I've heard that altitude and humidity can effect how quickly uncorked/capped booze will evaporate, though I've never heard anything other than rumors to back it up. I live at high altitude in a dry climate, and have friends who won't drink at bars that don't seal their bottles at the end of the night on account of how fast it supposedly goes bad out here.

It's kind of a tricky thing to test independently, i'd imagine... How many drunks do you know who would say "yes, leave my whiskey in the open to see how fast it goes bad"?

[Judge]

I have one of these with just slightly less booze in it than this pick. It's 90 proof so it's pretty old. We don't drink it because its rare and I'm afraid to be disappointed if it went wrong. I keep it just because. It has been opened.


That's a 1.75liter bottle from 1979 by the way. The bottle is called "Belle of Lincoln" and was based on a gift bottle the old man used to give to friends.

[Judge]

And I've seen whisky go bad. It's a terrible thing to see, what with all the bad language and police. Sometimes no matter how hard you try to be a good parent, they go bad.

[Frankennietzsche]

That kind of ruined my joke, Judge. Thanks. I was going to say "Yes, Just look at TJD." And then we all would have had a laugh and a hearty knee-slap.

[Judge]

That kind of ruined my joke, Judge. Thanks. I was going to say "Yes, Just look at TJD." And then we all would have had a laugh and a hearty knee-slap.

Never give up on the hearty knee-slap. Some days its all you got.

[Frankennietzsche]

Never give up on the hearty knee-slap. Some days its all you got.

Words of wisdom, right there, folks.

[Judge]

Right, I"m off to watch the rest of "Sniper 2" which I fell asleep during last night. I really need to not update my que when I'm blacked out. You can't believe the shit that arrived today.