Shelf Life of Alcohols

[gfron1]

I'm getting me feet wetter on mixed drinks. I've always been a beer and wine guy, but Death & Co peeked my interest a few months back. So I've been stocking my cabinet...very well I might add. Recently I learned that a vintage port I bought needed to be drunk immediately and not corked like the younger ones (I learned before I opened it fortunately). But as I poured some sherry tonight that has been corked for godknowshowlong its made me wonder which others do I need to be aware of their shelf life.

Those with livers more decayed than mine...what do I need to know? Thanks.

[gfron1]

Noting a previous topic that fixates on vermouth HERE.

[mkayahara]

My rule of thumb is that if it's above about 20% alcohol, it should be relatively shelf-stable. Below that, and it should be consumed promptly and kept in the fridge in the interim. With some exceptions, anything you'd think of as a "wine" should be consumed promptly, including ports and sherries. Sugar is a good preservative, of course, which is why sweeter sherries will last longer than dry ones, but I still don't treat sherry as shelf-stable if I plan to drink it (as opposed to cooking with it). The biggest exception to the wine rule, in my mind, is Madeira. And, of course, it's not a binary; it's a spectrum. So even if something is "shelf-stable," some things will last longer than others. Bitters (potable or non) tend to have enough alcohol and sugar to be shelf-stable, but they can lose their nuances over time. Same with gin, over a long-enough time frame. On the other hand, as far as I can tell, Cointreau and Luxardo maraschino are indestructible.

[ChrisTaylor]

To some extent the shelf life of certain products informs my purchasing decisions. You mention sherry. When I buy sherry, which isn't very often, I tend to go for relatively inexpensive half bottles. I don't drink it often enough (on its own or as part of cocktails) to justify the purchase of large bottles. I've never seen small bottles of vermouth in Australia but I still think about my purchases carefully. I usually have one bottle of sweet vermouth open at a time (same with dry). I don't use enough of it to justify opening, say, Punt e Mes, Carpano, Dolin and Vya. At some point I'm going to get around to seeing if I get longer shelf life by decanting a freshly-opened bottle of vermouth into several smaller bottles and storing them in the fridge.

 

Now, my rule here is probably going to offend some of the pros in this section: if it still tastes good then it's good enough to drink. You will undeniably lose some of the subtler flavours and aromas of <product x> after a few days/weeks/months. Nonetheless, if you're storing the product appropriately--in the fridge, in the case of a sherry or vermouth--then you may well be able to eek out a bit more life than the sometimes very conservative time periods you'll see mentioned online. Yes, you'll lose quality. No, you couldn't get away with this if you were running a bar (although some bars try). But unless you're interested in drinking a lot of vermouth very quickly or are ultra picky (or are, yes, serving drinks to people you want to impress) you can sometimes get away with using 'old' stock. In short, trust your palate. If it tastes shit, tip it down the sink and replace it with a smaller bottle/make more drinks with <product x> next time. But if it's still okay, even if it's lost a little of its edge? You won't be the only one.

[lesliec]

I agree with Chris on the 'if it tastes ok' rule.  I'm rather partial to (eg) Punt e Mes, but a bottle still lasts us several months.  But I've never found any sign of it going off.

 

Rob, port is a slightly tricky beast.  Tawny port has already been aged in the barrel and is ready to drink as soon as you take it off the shelf.  Doesn't mean you can't hang onto it for a while, but it's not going to get any better.  Real vintage port, on the other hand, is intended to age in the bottle - that's why it's normally decanted; a lot of interesting lumps can form over the years.  Assuming reasonable cellaring conditions, vintage port will last for many years; even decades.  Somewhere between tawny and vintage comes late-bottled vintage, or LBV, which has some vintage character but again is ready to drink as soon as you buy it.  I quite like LBV; I find it more interesting than tawny but much cheaper than 'real' vintage.

 

What you possibly hadn't grasped when you said you'd learned a vintage port should be drunk immediately is that once you've opened the bottle - of pretty well any port, or sherry for that matter - the shelf life is short.  A bottle of nicely-aged vintage port ideally should be finished in one session.  Fortunately that's not difficult ...

[haresfur]

I'll go further than Chris - I generally don't mix with Vermouth or related wine-based substances. If I do I will decant part of the bottle into beer bottles and cap them and plan a campaign of drinks to go through the open bottle quickly. Interestingly, I think Dubonnet holds better than sweet vermouth, but I'm not sure why.

 

Aside from some sherry and vermouth, Lillet, Cocci Americano, and maybe some amari may be worth worrying about. I think nothing can degrade Campari or Aperol. Not sure how Pims holds up.

 

In general, any bottle with less than ~3 fingers in the bottom is a good excuse to drink it up and buy a new one.

 

Bottom line: there is a reason we have bars and bartenders. Some things should be left to the high-volume experts.

[gfron1]

Wow. This has all been incredibly helpful. And yes, we need to drink up apparently.

[Tri2Cook]

I'll try to keep track of a few things over time. I have a lot in my cabinet and don't drink very often (haven't touched my cabinet since New Year's Eve) so I have a few things from the list of concerns people have mentioned that are definitely doing some shelf time. We'll see what awaits me the next time I'm in there.

[EvergreenDan]

I generally don't mix with Vermouth.

Call 911?

[Czequershuus]

As you play more with vermouth, you will find your own lines. Personally I have a hard time with dry vermouth that has been open more than two weeks, and I really only find it Martini acceptable for 5 days. Sweet vermouth keeps a long time, especially Carpano Antica. I once left about an ounce in a bottle of Antice and left it at room temperature for 6 months. Still did not taste off to me. Thankfully, vermouth is cheap.

 

Also, with things like Sherry, I always save up recipes I might want for a particular bottle, and commit myself to those before buying something which spoils quickly.

[Syzygies]

Even with distilled spirits, important to finish the bottle once it gets low. I lost the last glass of a '42 armagnac by imagining I'd drink it someday.