# Old booze **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797 "2020-05-14T17:40:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/21 "2020-05-16T04:34:44Z")
> [@Old\_Wench](#): > > When Kopek and I were cleaning out my mother’s house in preparation for selling it in 2010, we discovered that there were still several bottles of my uncle’s favorite beer in the basement fridge. Said uncle died in 1976. :eek: I got a pint of gin from my aunt that still had the price tag on it. $1.95. It atill made good gin and tonics. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/22 "2020-05-16T04:46:24Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Probably fine if the cork is good. A half bottle can oxidize some, but if the seal is good it’s not a major impact. Taste it and see! I don’t drink. Can’t stand the taste. I just want to know if I should toss it or offer it to someone some day. But I will check the cork. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/23 "2020-05-16T15:53:38Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > So, I enjoy an adult beverage on occasion. And since I am stuck at home due to the current situation, I generally enjoy a tipple in the evening while watching the tube. I am the only one in the house who drinks hard stuff (my spouse is all about red wine). Because I don’t move through my supply very quickly my bar is relatively small: one of each of the standards, and a few mixers. > > However, I also have acquired over time some stuff that I really don’t have a need for and plan on drinking. The bottle look fine lined up with everything else and add to the decor, sorta like books on a shelf. But I do get to wondering if some of this old stuff is still any good. I know certain wines and liquors get better with age, but is that 20 year old half-bottle of Chambord still drinkable? I suppose I could look it up, but why bother? > > Here’s my list: > [ul] > [li]Decorative champagne bottle from our wedding years ago. We just don’t drink champagne.[/li][li]Another champagne given as a house warming gift.[/li][li]2 bottles of Port[/li][li]Cointreau[/li][li]Vinsanto[/li][li]Chambord[/li][li]Disaronno[/li][/ul] > > So, am I unique in this rumination? Or do others keep old booze around for decoration? What are your orphan bottles? How old and what champagnes are they? I like aged champagnes, but most don’t age well. Your run-of-the-mill, non-vintage champagnes, and virtually every other sparkling wine out there are meant to be drunk young. The ports should be just fine if they are unopened. No idea about the rest. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/24 "2020-05-16T17:11:58Z")
I’ve mentioned before that they whole time I was growing up, there was a finger or two of gin in my parents’ liquor cabinet. When I returned home from my first semester of college, I drank the damned gin. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/25 "2020-05-17T17:33:58Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > How old and what champagnes are they? I like aged champagnes, but most don’t age well. Your run-of-the-mill, non-vintage champagnes, and virtually every other sparkling wine out there are meant to be drunk young. > > The ports should be just fine if they are unopened. > > No idea about the rest. Storage is going to matter for the wines (Champagnes, Port, Vin Santo). Champagne in particular is notable for not liking poor storage. Will they harm you? No. Will they be good? Probably not. One way to find out… Worse comes to worse, make cocktails like sangria and mimosas with them, albeit older Champagne can lose its fizz with time. The Port and Vin Santo will be sweet, FWIW. Though maybe not as sweet as younger versions. Cointreau’s 80 proof. I’d think it would be fine, albeit maybe less orangey. Chambord may have curdled. I don’t think the Chambord could hurt you though, it is 16.5% alcohol. Probably nasty tasting though. I have some older Scotch and brandies that I haven’t gotten around to finishing, but nothing truly orphan that I couldn’t stand after the first sip. I never seem to finish any vermouth that I buy before it goes bad though. So i generally don’t buy vermouth anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/26 "2020-05-17T17:48:46Z")
The Chambord is definitely bad. Once opened, that stuff deteriorates within months if not weeks, even if you keep it in the fridge. Most liqueur and schnapps, which are typically around half the strength of hard liquor, will eventually go bad, but most take years. Often even if the color fades, it still tastes the same. Hard liquor (80 proof/40% ABV) seems to last almost indefinitely; some of the alcohol might evaporate, but it doesn’t seem to make a huge difference. White wine, whether bubbly or flat, is generally not meant to be stored [eta: even unopened. The above paragraphs refer to open bottles]. It probably won’t make you sick, but it probably won’t taste very good. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/27 "2020-05-24T19:18:46Z")
When Typo Knig’s parents were preparing to sell the house they’d lived in for decades, they found a large stash of bottles of various liquor. They rarely drank - it was all inherited from FIL’s father - who also rarely drank. He was a doctor - and people would give it to him as a gift. I remember the bottle of Palestinian brandy (which meant it was at least 45 years old at the time). Severel had decreased levels of visible liquid despite still being sealed. I swear there was one which had a strand of mold or something growing in it (or I might be conflating it with a bottle of Karo syrup we tossed from my mother’s house - that was 30+ years old at the time). When Mom passed away, I think my brothers took most of the remaining liquor: neither of the parents drank liquor routinely (Mom, not at all; Dad preferred beer) but they kept it around for when they had guests. There was a bottle of Chambord - that I snagged; it had a ribbon on it and was clearly given to them as a gift. I used it in fruitcake :). ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/28 "2020-05-26T12:17:20Z")
Maybe a little bit of a hijack, but this post reminded me of a segment on the CBS Sunday Morning show a few months back about people who covet and seek out vintage liquor. ‘At The Office, a high-end “speakeasy” in Manhattan, Mark Dipasquale can make you a pre-Prohibition martini using Vermouth from 1906, and gin from the turn of the century. It will set you back $600.’ > **[Aging well: The allure of vintage spirits](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aging-well-the-allure-of-vintage-spirits/)** > > Century-old liquor and distilled spirits are becoming a popular ingredient at auctions and "speakeasies" catering to pre-Prohibition Era tastes Apparently some people think vintage liquors or bottles of bittters have a special “mouth feel” or something modern versions don’t. My main thought was some of that old liquor, especially the Prohibition-era stuff, could have some bad chemicals in it that could mess you up. It certainly does a number on your wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797/29 "2020-05-26T17:13:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Maybe a little bit of a hijack, but this post reminded me of a segment on the CBS Sunday Morning show a few months back about people who covet and seek out vintage liquor. > > ‘At The Office, a high-end “speakeasy” in Manhattan, Mark Dipasquale can make you a pre-Prohibition martini using Vermouth from 1906, and gin from the turn of the century. It will set you back $600.’ > [Aging well: The allure of vintage spirits - CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aging-well-the-allure-of-vintage-spirits/) > > Apparently some people think vintage liquors or bottles of bittters have a special “mouth feel” or something modern versions don’t. My main thought was some of that old liquor, especially the Prohibition-era stuff, could have some bad chemicals in it that could mess you up. It certainly does a number on your wallet. Eewww! 100 year old Vermouth?! That just sounds nasty. And your wallet gets to be hit over the head for the privilege. It’s a free country. 100 year old Madeira, on the other hand… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-booze/853797.md?page=1)