18-year Scotch Whisky

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by nirvana
Probably a dumb question but, can you age liquor in the bottle it's packaged in?  I think my mom has had some Crown Royal in the cabinet  for at least 5 years, never been opened.

Booze generally dont get any better unless its in a cask, but it doesnt get any worse either. As long as its not too hot or exposed to sunlight it should stay good for a lifteme or more

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Nilsen
Booze generally dont get any better unless its in a cask, but it doesnt get any worse either. As long as its not too hot or exposed to sunlight it should stay good for a lifteme or more

I'm assuming this only applies if the bottle is unopened.

An opened bottle of Tequila doesn't last more than a month or two before it gets harsh.

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by Sandman
I'm assuming this only applies if the bottle is unopened.

An opened bottle of Tequila doesn't last more than a month or two before it gets harsh.

yes.. good point

if air has gotten into the bottle (this applies to wines anyway) it should be consumed.

I have had a bottle of cognac that had been opened two years earlyer and forgotten in a cabinet. Im not a big fan of that drink but it tasted as bad as a fresh bottle in my opinion.

The general rule tho is that if its opened then you should finish it within a reasonable timeframe.

[rpm]

Liquor does not age in the bottle. Age refers to the time spent in wood only. An opened bottle of liquor can oxidize, but usually it's those with cork stoppers.

[M36]

a bottle of alcoholic lighter fluid would bring a smile to the face of the majority of scotsmen.

[Angus]

Glenmorangie is the best Scotch I ever tasted.
This is truly a good present.

[Neubob]

A question:

How does Whisky react to heat? The bottle was sitting in my car for about 2 hours, in a parking garage that was at about 80-85 degrees. I'm worried that I ruined it.

[Seagoon]

As has been pointed out, Liquor doesn't age in the bottle. The cask itself and the surrounding atmosphere adds almost all the complexities (including the color - the alcohol itself is clear when it goes in) to the Whiskey. The alcohol actually saturates the wood, and gradually will absorb the local flavor. That is why Islay whiskeys have a "sea weed" or "sea air" flavor to them. The only other thing added is the distinctive "peat flavor" that comes from the smoking process that the grain undergoes in order to stop germination and prepare it for the mash in the tun.

Along those lines, Glenmorangie makes several lines of Single Malts that have been aged in barrels used in making other liquors - my favorite being the "port wine finish". As it ages, the whiskey takes on a distinctive "port" flavor which is actually quite good.  

BTW - The one exception to the no aging in the bottle rule are undistilled alcoholic beverages such as wine. A good wine will continue to improve with age. Unfortunately though, 20 years in the bottle will not turn a bad wine into a good one. Some beers are better a few weeks after they are bottled (this is the case with some of the Belgian Ales), most however  simply get stale with age.

- SEAGOON

[Seagoon]

Hi Neubob,

Originally posted by Neubob
A question:

How does Whisky react to heat? The bottle was sitting in my car for about 2 hours, in a parking garage that was at about 80-85 degrees. I'm worried that I ruined it.

Don't worry, the top levels of the warehouses where Whiskey barrels are stored while aging will often get to over 100 degrees in the Summer. As long as you don't boil or freeze it - which affects the water content - you won't damage your whiskey. It's not like Beer in that regard.

- SEAGOON

[Nifty]

Home brewed beer will continue to "age" in the bottle because the yeast strains stay active.  Purchased beer is almost always pastuerized to kill off the active strains. The reasoning is, if the beer continued to "condition" in the bottle, one bottle of Beer X could taste different than another bottle of Beer X.  As for the homebrews, they last a LOOONG time if they are not opened. If you like beer, I highly recommend trying home brewing. It's fun, and gives you some tasty beer.

As for scotch, I have two Glenlivets (the 12 yr French Oak finish and the 18 yr) and a bottle of Johnny Walker blue that was a gift from my dad.    The Blue is really good (it better be considering how much it costs!)

[Neubob]

Happy birthday, Seagoon!!!

(tomorrow, that is)

There's nothing like being surrounded by great friends. I hope that you will be also!

PS, thanks for explaining about whisky and heat. I was getting a little worried.

[Tarmac]

Whenever people ***** about alcohol changing temperature, just remember how many times it's changed in warehouse/transit.  Those beer trucks that deliver to the stores aren't temperature controlled, and the warehouse probably sees big variations as well.  

Microbrews and home brews may be affected by the temperatures because of active yeast and such, but the guy who won't take his pasteurized, preservative-laden Bud Light out of the fridge "because it will get skunky" doesn't know what he's talking about.  That beer's already seen so many temperature variations that one more isn't going to hurt it.  


Good to know that Liquor doesn't age in the bottle, though.  I've got a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year that's been sitting on a shelf for 4 years.

[nirvana]

Well I was figuring that because of the flavours from the wood and air that I always hear about on the History Channel.

Happy early birthday Seagoon!

[DiabloTX]

There's absolutely no doubt that Seagoon is an Irish Catholic priest.

Tell me I'm wrong!  

[Neubob]

Originally posted by DiabloTX
There's absolutely no doubt that Seagoon is an Irish Catholic priest.

Tell me I'm wrong!  

Lance Bass owes everything to Seagoon.


Happy Birthday, dingus. It's saturday somewhere.

PS: How old are you now?