Hmm… I have an unopened bottle of Pear Brandy, with a pear in the bottle that is at least 25 years old. I wonder about that…
Tell me about it. Hell my Natural Light doesn’t make it past about 5 days 
And how picky you are about your hooch.
Yep. Whiskey, unfortunately, does not improve with age when bottled. A 12 year whiskey is still a 12 year whiskey twenty years from now. I have an unopened 12 year bottle of Scotch from 1996 which I was saving for my wedding (in just a month). I really wish I had gotten 15 years of real aging on it but, alas, that is not the case.
My in-laws have an unopened bottle of whiskey they got for their wedding, over 50 years ago. It’s probably still good, but of course it hasn’t improved over the last 50 years.
I wonder how heat (gentle?) application would affect the Bailey’s. I’d drink the (was it Scotch?) no question – still got alcohol in it, don’t it? I guarantee you’d rather drink that than some mouthwash, and chances are it’s just fine. Maybe a little rummy (rheumy?)
I have hopes the Bailey’s could be saved, maybe even by shaking the bottle a bunch.
Experiments await!!! Begin…now!
ETA if it’s Early Times, you have nothing to lose and only a slight hangover to gain! Drink that beyatch up! Make an evening of it with some friends.
I concur that the Bailey’s will be a coagulated mess by now. I recently opened some Amarula, a South African cream liqueur, that was sitting in my parents’ liquor cabinet for about 10 years. It had completely separated and poured in a chunky mess. Was it undrinkable? Well, depends on your definition of “drinkable.” It wouldn’t have killed you, but it was a disgusting glop of a drink at this point.
Unopened base liquors, vodka, gin, rum, whiskey etc. last forever. After they are opened they can lose taste or alcohol content.
Bailey’s is only good for a few years, I remember a thread where someone found an ancient bottle of Bailey’s that had turned to gel, they carefully broke away the bottle and had a bottle shaped mold of Bailey’s ‘stuff’ someone was paid to consume this, no one died.
When dealing with Liqueurs and Cordial many have sugars and they will go bad with time. Look at the bottom of the bottle if you see crystals it’s done for.
I don’t think any bottled alcoholic beverage becomes poisonous, they just become foul tasting. If in doubt smell it.
Here you go. Even has a youtube video thanks Enderw24
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=543663&highlight=Bailey's
Ha! I remebered the video but I completely forgot that I posted that on here. Man, I really wish that video had come out right. It would have been gold. Gold Jerry!
So what happened to your friend – did he get sick or anything?
He died.
[sub]but he got better. Stomach of steel that one has.[/sub]