Whisky Forum - How long does whisky keep?

bluepeter · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 9:13 am Post subject: How long does whisky keep?

Any advice on how long whisky will keep, please?

There are several aspects to this question:
(a) whether or not the bottle has been opened; and
(b) degradation of the cork.

I recently found about half a bottle of Glenmorangie that had been mislaid when I moved to this house, about six or seven years ago. The cork had crumbled and the whisky was undrinkable. I have also, rather daftly, currently got quite a few opened bottles on the go. It'll be a good few months before I can polish them off.

On the other hand, I've seen people talking about buying bottles to drink (much?) later. The likes of Amazon and Waitrose seem to have some pretty good offers on whisky. Is it worth buying interesting ones now, knowing that I won't get round to drinking them for many months, or even years?

Thank you.

Peter.

Bookie · Master Of Malts Joined: 15 Sep 2008 Posts: 945

Hi Peter, you may find the info here of interest

http://www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/how-to-store.htm

The whisky wont go bad simply because it has been open for some time but it can loose some of its character. In general I never have a bottle sitting in the cupboard open for more than 18 - 24 months and very rarely more than 12 months.

bluepeter · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:15 am Post subject:

Thanks, Bookie. That is of some help. I hadn't seen that page, though I was looking for something like that. It's still vaguer than I'd like, but I understand the problem better now. Given my experience with that bottle of Glenmorangie, I'm inclined to think that corks might not have improved as much as is implied there!

At least I know that I'm keeping my supply in the best place I have - the garage of my north-facing town house.

Bookie · Master Of Malts Joined: 15 Sep 2008 Posts: 945

Corks have improved hugely but no cork will last if a bottle of whisky is stored on its side, it will perish eventually.

opelfruit · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:31 am Post subject:

I'd be surprised if the cork only lasted 6 or 7 years...unopened whisky is good indefinitely, and whilst the cork can degrade, it generally taste a long time to do so.

That being said, I've had an issue with duff corks before but these have been from Independant Bottlers (and the odd Glenfarclas oddly enough). Not that the corks have crumbled per se but broken away from the stopper.

If you have a bottle, stored upright out of daylight and a consistent temperature then it should last longer than you Smile

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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."