# Korbel 30 year old bottle of brandy--safe to drink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495 "2015-12-27T21:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/21 "2015-12-28T15:51:50Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > As such it should, in theory, taste just fine. As fine as Korbel tastes anyway. I wouldn’t worry- I’ve had 20 year old unopened spirits before, and it was just fine. I can’t imagine another 10 years would make any difference. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/22 "2015-12-28T18:15:58Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Oddly, the idea is that the humidity is higher because of the carbonation and that keeps the cork moist. That’s not right, either. The carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the solution is a volatile solute, and will therefore not affect the partial pressure of water vapor in the headspace (i.e. the vapor pressure), which means the humidity would be no different than without the carbonation. (And for what it’s worth, the presence of _non_-volatile solutes in a solution tends to \*decrease \* the vapor pressure, not increase it.) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/23 "2015-12-28T19:06:15Z")
I inherited some 40 year old Canadian whiskey when my mother in law died, and it was fine. It hadn’t improved, but it was OK. If you don’t want to risk it, I would be glad to offer myself up as guinea pig. It all tastes the same after the third one anyway. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/24 "2015-12-29T04:09:14Z")
> [@robby](#): > > > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > > > Oddly, the idea is that the humidity is higher because of the carbonation and that keeps the cork moist. > > That’s not right, either. The carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the solution is a volatile solute, and will therefore not affect the partial pressure of water vapor in the headspace (i.e. the vapor pressure), which means the humidity would be no different than without the carbonation. > > (And for what it’s worth, the presence of _non_-volatile solutes in a solution tends to \*decrease \* the vapor pressure, not increase it.) Whether it is right or not, the _idea_ that the humidity is higher in the bottle because of the carbonation is apparently not that uncommon. It’s a misconception that pops up in wine articles and on wine blogs and discussion boards fairly often. Honestly, it hasn’t ever made much sense to me. As I mentioned in the part of my post that got snipped, the best way to store wine is with the bottle on its side. The only bottles I ever have standing upright are ones I plan to consume in the next few days. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/25 "2015-12-31T07:21:09Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > were they kept upright? If the cork dries out, goodbye wine. Aha! Now I know why bottles of wine in wine cellars are always stored on their sides. Thank you very much for this info. I love learning new things and this is a good one to know. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/26 "2016-01-01T23:07:54Z")
In 1964 NY Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne had a $4000 dinner: [Craig Claiborne - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Claiborne#The_.244.2C000_meal). > [@](#): > > The $4,000 meal > > In 1975, he placed a $300 winning bid at a charity auction for a no-price-limit dinner for two at any restaurant of the winner’s choice, sponsored by American Express. Selecting Franey as his dining companion, the two settled on Chez Denis, a noted restaurant located in Paris, France, where they racked up a $4,000 tab on a five-hour, thirty-one-course meal of foie gras, truffles, lobster, caviar and rare wines. When Claiborne later wrote about the experience in his New York Times column, the newspaper received a deluge of reader mail expressing outrage at such an extravagance at a time when so many in the world went without. Even the Vatican and Pope Paul VI criticized it, calling it “scandalous.”[2] It was also noted that he and Franey ordered nearly every dish on the menu, but they took only a few bites of each one. Despite its scale and expense, Claiborne gave the meal a mixed review, noting that several dishes fell short in terms of conception, presentation or quality. Although the wiki article doesn’t go into detail, there are two things I remember from his original article: they opened three bottles of pre-phylloxera wine (would have been vintage 1860 at the latest) to find one that hadn’t turned; and they opened a bottle of Napoleon brandy from around 1820 and that was fine. I would assume that the higher the alcohol content, the better it would be preserved. ---
**Author:** ![botsgotme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@botsgotme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botsgotme)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/27 "2016-01-02T00:53:30Z")
A few years ago, they found a case of scotch whiskey, in a hut in Antarctica-it was left there by the last Shackleton Expedition. As I recall, it was taken to Scotland, so that a master blender could recreate the taste. was this 100 year old scotch anything special? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/28 "2016-01-02T02:18:36Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > A few years ago, they found a case of scotch whiskey, in a hut in Antarctica-it was left there by the last Shackleton Expedition. As I recall, it was taken to Scotland, so that a master blender could recreate the taste. was this 100 year old scotch anything special? It’s unlikely. As previously mentioned distilled beverages, like Scotch, do not improve or “age” once they have been bottled. The aging process for spirits is done in wooden, usually oak, barrels for an extended period of time prior to bottling. Other than being a very old bottle of Scotch from with an interesting story it probably tastes basically the same as when it went into the bottle. Fermented beverages, such as wine and beer, do continue to evolve and change in the bottle. Eventually they will end up being not very interesting or will turn to vinegar but as **Hari Seldon** mentions in his post just up from yours, there are bottles of wine that can age for as much as 100 years and still be enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/29 "2016-01-02T03:43:22Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > It’s unlikely. As previously mentioned distilled beverages, like Scotch, do not improve or “age” once they have been bottled. The aging process for spirits is done in wooden, usually oak, barrels for an extended period of time prior to bottling. Other than being a very old bottle of Scotch from with an interesting story it probably tastes basically the same as when it went into the bottle. A more interesting question is whether or not the 100 yr old scotch’s recipe is markedly different from the scotch being produced today? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495/30 "2016-01-02T04:47:42Z")
MacKinlay attempted to recreate Shackleton’s whiskey. Their work was being sold for US$225 a bottle, but it might be hard to find, as the run was only 50k. I, personally, would not waste the money, all they did was recreate the taste. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/korbel-30-year-old-bottle-of-brandy-safe-to-drink/741495.md?page=1)