How long do opened spirits last ?

Connacht

Question :
How long does an opened bottle of whiskey, gin, vodka, brandy, etc., last ?
I have some in the house and don't drink them at all. Would prefer not to poison any visitors ...Thanks.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

kierank01

with alcohol levels of up to 40%, which is a preservative, I would say they would last until they evaporate.

rubadub

There will be no more poison in it then when you first got it. I have heard tasters say they can taste if a bottle was opened before. Cream liquers might be the only ones to really worry about, liquers could lose flavour over time too.

the beer revolu

will only loose some subtle flavours and aromas but will not go "off"

irish_goat

As rubadub says, cream liquers can go off, I had a glass of baileys that was a year out of date and had been hidden in the back of a cupboard at my grannys for god knows how long. Their was definitely something dodge about it.

Fruity liquers can go off too, threw out a dodgy bottle of creme de cassis at work a while ago but apart from that your regular gin, vodkas etc are grand for years and years as long as you've a lid on them.

Perfect excuse to have a cocktail party if you're worried though.

IrishWhiskeyCha

All I can do is talk from a whiskey prespective. Basically when you open a bottle you leave in fresh air and it starts to oxidise your beverage. Usually this would cause your beverage (or food for that matter) to turn and go off. However as mentioned previously with high abv spirits this is prevented due to the amount of alcohol. So therefore technically yes it does not go off.

However I have noticed if there is a flavour in the spirit it can dissipate over time. Whiskey seems tp loose it's impact over time ... A whiskey that once had a powerful taste profile can seem much more dull and muted after long periods of time opened and the less in the bottle the quicker the flavour profile fades. But we are still talking over long periods i.e. a year and longer minimum.

So I would not overly worry about it ... a quick taste will tell you how it is but it won't kill you

Wine_Guy

As said above, the spirit oxidizes and changes, rather than to go off. Flavours and aroma's die down and the colour deepens. They will be fine, and as most people drink their spirits with a flavoured mixer the loss can be masked, as for some-one who regularly drinks whiskey and water, they should notice more. Sherries, Ports, other fortified wines along with liqueurs should not be kept so long although apart from Cream liqueurs the big issue with these is they tend to be the big flavour booster in a cocktail or as a shooter, and therefore are noticed much easier.

senbwcs

It's vodka. It goes bad once it's opened.

aujopimur

Send your bottles to me, i'll keep them from going stale.

Cicero

had a bottle of Armagnac that tasted a but funny after a year but this was my only experience of 'gone off' ...usually these bottles never last me more than a few months but to consumption!!

Carawaystick

Cicero wrote: »

had a bottle of Armagnac that tasted a but funny after a year but this was my only experience of 'gone off' ...usually these bottles never last me more than a few months but to consumption!!

I got a bottle of 30 year old Armangac for my 30th. It went off after about a year. it was horrible and undrinkable compared to just opened.

Never saw this with whiskey, whisky or rum.

Cicero

Carawaystick wrote: »

I got a bottle of 30 year old Armangac for my 30th. It went off after about a year. it was horrible and undrinkable compared to just opened.

Never saw this with whiskey, whisky or rum.

...on 'mature' recollection, I have only had the bottle since July, so that's only 6/7 months before going off...it's actually undrinkable (I think I totally undersated my previous post) so thanks for letting me know this...it will probably stop my buying anymore of the stuff when in France, as it doesn't appear to have a long shelf-life once opened..