Recently, someone asked Cecil “What’s the diff between age and maturity in liquor?”. The Cecil’s answer was incomplete and I think missed the point of what the person wanted to know, because it did not mention that for distilled spirits, once out of the cask and into the bottle, the aging process stops. So, it makes no sense to hold on to a bottle of bourbon, for example, in the belief that it will continue to mature. If you come across an unopened bottle of grand dad’s 8 -year old whiskey that has been stashed away for the last 50 years, it is still an 8 year-old whiskey.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, billinrio, glad to have you with us. And thanks for providing the link, which makes life much easier for other readers!
Cecil’s answer and the previous threads almost, but not quite, resolve a dispute between me and my brother. I would appreciate expert testimony that develops the information presented so far.
My brother recently expressed horror and outrage upon hearing that my niece and I had dumped the contents of my late mother’s meager “liquor cabinet” in the course of cleaning out her house. I don’t drink much, and my niece’s college imbibing is more that of the talented amateur than the conoisseur.
The liquor consisted mostly of opened bottles of run-of-the-mill brands like Canadian Club whiskey, Christian Brothers brandy, Frangelico, etc. There was no way to determine how old the items were, or when they were opened. I’d guess that they were all at least five years old or more.
My brother contended-- wrongly, I now know-- that hard liquor only improves with age, regardless of whether it’s been opened. But I’m wondering whether the opposite is true, i.e. whether the stuff has a finite shelf life. I would think that over time, alcohol would evaporate, and/or some sort of deterioration or negative process would “ruin” the liquor. Regardless of whether it matures or improves on the shelf, does bottled liquor keep indefinitely?
I would appreciate a chance to rub my brother’s face in his self-righteous ignorance.