Shelf Life of Booze

[Anna Blume]

I confess. Not much of a drinker when it comes to things stronger than beer or wine. Shoulder pads were decades out of fashion before I emptied the bottle bought for that 80s-trend: penne with vodka sauce.

So, should I dump out the Kahlua that's travelled with me since 1998 at least to make Mississippi mud bundt cakes which I haven't done since 1999?

What about the DOC Marsala (dry) which lost only a neck and a bit of the shoulder's worth for an Italian Regional Cooking project back in 2006, perhaps?

Cognac from the year before Fabio Trabocchi fled to Manhattan? Poire Willam opened more than two years ago?

Thanks!

FTR: I skimmed the fabulous indices of leleboo and ol-ironstomach before launching this new topic. If appropriate, please feel free to merge it when another.

[jparrott]

The Marsala may be a little flat. The others should be OK at least. Taste them!

[lperry]

I'm linking to a discussion of this topic by people who know a great deal more than I do. The specific spirit in question here is rum, but there was a similar discussion very recently about vermouth that led me to taste a long-opened bottle and promptly pour the remainder down the sink. Click. I would taste everything to see if it is worth saving. You never know. It may all depend on how much air space is in the bottle, and under what conditions the bottles have been stored.

Whoops! Cross post on the tasting.

[jparrott]

Remember that vermouth is wine. Keep it chilled and use it quickly after opening. Liqueurs and spirits are better preserved by sugar, alcohol, or both. Headspace is a factor, especially in rum and American straight whiskey, neither of which has interesting oily bits that are less volatile.

[Anna Blume]

Remember that vermouth is wine. Keep it chilled and use it quickly after opening.

Yes, I've always kept vermouth in fridge when I've had it. For some reason, I thought it was okay to keep Marsala in the cupboard, too, but it seems time to recycle the bottle.

Thanks for all these replies and sharing expertise.

[jparrott]

Marsala is pre-oxidized for your convenience, but I'd still keep it in the fridge. Vermouth is fragile stuff.

[lperry]

So should other fortified wines like port and sherry go in the fridge too?

[jparrott]

So should other fortified wines like port and sherry go in the fridge too?

If you plan to keep them awhile, it's best. Port, ruby/vintage ones in particular, can get headspace issues (evaporation of yummy bits) quickly. You can always warm them in your glass.

Dry sherries go off quickly after opening, sweet sherries more slowly (they are also pre-oxidized for your convenience).

[DrXmus]

If you plan to keep them awhile, it's best. Port, ruby/vintage ones in particular, can get headspace issues (evaporation of yummy bits) quickly. You can always warm them in your glass.

Dry sherries go off quickly after opening, sweet sherries more slowly (they are also pre-oxidized for your convenience).

Has there been any talk of preserving liquor/wine using CO2? I think the wine savers use nitrogen, but what about buying a little CO2 air duster (or using a CO2 tank) and putting a good-sized squirt in the bottle after pouring your drink(s)? The CO2 is heavier than air so it'll form a protective layer over the liquid to prevent O2 from damaging the "yummy bits". Homebrewers do the same thing when racking beer from one container to another...just purge the container with CO2 and the beer won't get oxidized during transfer.

[DaRiv18]

This has been addressed in the Castries thread, but . . . does this peanut-butter cream liqueur really need no refrigeration? It says it should be refrigerated on the bottle. If something goes bad in 2 years unrefrigerated (as creator in the Castries thread says), well, that makes me wonder. Thought someone with a better science background than me might ease my mind.

[lperry]

This has been addressed in the Castries thread, but . . . does this peanut-butter cream liqueur really need no refrigeration? It says it should be refrigerated on the bottle. If something goes bad in 2 years unrefrigerated (as creator in the Castries thread says), well, that makes me wonder. Thought someone with a better science background than me might ease my mind.

According to the label, it is 16% alcohol, which is higher than both beer and most wine. Ethanol is a preservative and a disinfectant, and few things can survive in it, although I think viruses can live at a pretty high concentration. Are you concerned about the dairy component going off from bacterial growth? I think it would take a while to happen, and, assuming hygienic pasteurization and bottling practices, the bacteria would have to be introduced from an external source. Plus, spoiled milk smells distinctively awful. I think you will be able to tell if it goes off.

[DrXmus]

According to the label, it is 16% alcohol, which is higher than both beer and most wine. Ethanol is a preservative and a disinfectant, and few things can survive in it, although I think viruses can live at a pretty high concentration. Are you concerned about the dairy component going off from bacterial growth? I think it would take a while to happen, and, assuming hygienic pasteurization and bottling practices, the bacteria would have to be introduced from an external source. Plus, spoiled milk smells distinctively awful. I think you will be able to tell if it goes off.

I've had the pleasure of being "served" gloppy, stinky Amarula at a friend's house. It was actually pretty funny, yet disgusting, watching him try to pour this liquid feta from the bottle. And, yeah, we could tell it was off.

[DaRiv18]

Are you concerned about the dairy component going off from bacterial growth?

Yes, that was my main concern. I take it that Bailey's can also be left out? It is 17%. Thanks for your answer lperry!

[jparrott]

I keep my cream liqueurs in the fridge.

[lperry]

I keep my cream liqueurs in the fridge.

You must have a gigantic fridge. I don't and fridge storage depends on how much space I have, and sometimes on what I like to have cold from the bottle. Then there's the issue of time. A bottle of sherry will last a whole lot longer than a bottle of Bailey's, and I'm more worried by oxidation ruining the flavor than bacterial spoilage.

[JMac]

Maybe a little off topc but . . . I just bought a product called Private Preserve – www.winepreserve.com. It was recommended to me by a retailer in DC. It is a little early for me to tell whether or not it works as advertised but so far I am satisfied. The reviews on Amazon are pretty positive. I am very weak at science so I can't really explain how it works other than to say that it is a spray that seems to put a blanket of inert gas on top of the liquid which prevents the liquid from getting exposed to oxygen. It costs around $8.00 – 9.00 per bottle and I think it is worth a try.

[mdt]

Maybe a little off topc but . . . I just bought a product called Private Preserve – www.winepreserve.com. It was recommended to me by a retailer in DC. It is a little early for me to tell whether or not it works as advertised but so far I am satisfied. The reviews on Amazon are pretty positive. I am very weak at science so I can't really explain how it works other than to say that it is a spray that seems to put a blanket of inert gas on top of the liquid which prevents the liquid from getting exposed to oxygen. It costs around $8.00 – 9.00 per bottle and I think it is worth a try.

It is just a bottle of inert gases that are heavier than air (contains that nasty oxygen). These heavier gas molecules push out the lighter air molecules and settle underneath and this helps to prevent oxidation of the wine.

In my previous life when I worked in a chem lab we blanketing reactions in flasks with inert gas to prevent oxidation. The technique works quite well as we hardly ever had any surprise explosions.