Spirits on the shelf

My post of yesterday on the necessity that you should toss old, opened bottles of liquor away because they go “bad” elicited a comment from a friend:

“I never heard of this, and I don't think it's true. Brandy from colonial times, not all that well-sealed, has been resurrected in Williamsburg and pronounced excellent, for example. I sample our cognacs and scotches and liqueurs about once a year and have never noticed any deterioration. Some go back to my late father-in-law's lifetime, which is about 20 years.

“I think that guy must be a flack for the drinks industry.”

This friend knows way more about bibulous beverages than I’m ever going to, so I thought I should poke around the electrons a bit.

Apparently this is a topic of some discussion. Glenn Jeffers of the Chicago (possibly soon to be late-lamented) Trib gathered examples from his colleagues’ stashes & submitted them to a rep of the Beverage-Testing Institute for assaying. (I’m not making that organization up; here’s their web site.)

Now, having worked in print journalism, I am of the opinion that no one drinks like journalists, at least newspapermen—except possibly cops. So Jeffers had quite a range to test, with results reported here.

The ex sum is that distilled spirits don’t go bad, they fade. Cream, fruit & herb liqueurs will spoil. (I don’t do those nasty cream things, but I have to say that the B&B & Triple Sec bottles seem okay to me.) The less air in the bottle, the better the flavor will hold.

Amazon’s Askville concurs. The purer the spirit (whisky, vodka, rum, etc.) the less likely it is to fade. Once you start blending other additives (flavors, fruits, herbs), you give the air something to interact with. Sugary liqueurs will oxidize; exposure to light intensifies the reaction.

Finally, the Stealth Survival blogger has recommendations on how to maximize shelf life.

In short, no one came up with the somewhat arbitrary "three to four months" cited in the LA Times for keeping open bottles of spirits.

I offer this to you as a public service, & to confirm The Pundit’s Apprentice’s objection.