I know half the board probably won't be able to help me with this, but does anyone know how long the follow open bottles of liquor are good for?
Creme de Menthe Creme de Cocao Kahlua
Posted by KEGE (Member # 424) on :
If they've been stored in a relatively cool, dry place - probably almost forever. You can taste them and see.
Seriously though my dad used to keep those in his "bar" at home for ages since you use them only rarely unless you want to make yourself sick.
How long have you had them open already?
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
Well, they've been in my parents' wine cellar type deal for about 30 years...
I want to take those up to college with me when I go back to make spiffy ice cream sundaes and things.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I'd do a sniff test. If you pass out, they're bad.
Seriously, though, if there's crap floating in them, get rid of the bottles; if they smell even vaguely rancid, get rid of them; and check the thickness. Hard liquor lasts a long time, but I've never tried anything from a bottle which was originally opened 30 years ago. I'd be dubious of the contents at best, and probably willing to splurge on new bottles.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
If they were opened and that old, i might wonder. If the bottles are unopened, and seemingly undamaged, they sould be fine.
Posted by Treason (Member # 7587) on :
well, it's not crazy amounts of money to buy new liquor. I would do that.
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
Well I know stuff like vodka doesn't go ever bad but this stuff doesn't have as high an alcholic content. I shall investigate and report on my findings in case anyone else ever finds 30 year old bottles of hard liquor somewhere. Posted by KEGE (Member # 424) on :
I'm thinking being open for 30 years is a bit too long.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I've never heard of any of those three described as "hard liquor" before.
I'd bet they're bad. I have no idea if they'd make you sick or not. If you're not used to alcohol, then don't try them, because you might not notice a bad flavor that signals rancidity or worse.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Actual hard liquor doesn't go bad, I don't think.
What you described are liquers, and I would drink carefully. Kahlua especially, may contain some sort of dairy ingredients, which definitely do expire.
EDIT: Kahlua contains coffee, not dairy, so you may be alright. But still, exercise caution.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Since they've been opened before, be safe and throw them out. Had they not been opened you would have most likely been okay.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
*nod* All the advice here is sound. Unopened 30-year liquor would probably be fine. Opened 30-year liquor is almost certainly icky.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Most of all it depends on what type it is...adn none of those are actually HARD, so I would ditch them. Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
What Dag and JT said. I opened some Bailey's at my in-laws that had been in a pantry for I don't know how many years--let's guess fifteen--and it was absolutely disgusting. I suspect with true hard liquor like vodka, gin, or rum, you'd be fine pretty much forever (even open, I think), but not these drinks.
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
True true, they're not hard, but they're also not beer or wine. The Kahlua actually hasn't been opened, though the other two have. My parents also have a lot of old rum, gin, and brandy hanging around down there. It's really more of a wine closet for my dad than anything else.
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
Oh Bailey's you can't keep around because it has creme in it.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I wouldn't trust the Kahlua, either. (And wow. I didn't realize they even had Kahlua 30 years ago.)
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
Well the Kahlua isn't quite 30 years old. It's probably more like 10-15.
But I've had enough Kahlua to know if it's good or bad.
Update: The Creme de Menthe has been smelled by both my father and me, we think it's ok.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
quote:How long is hard liquor good for?
Possible answers:
1) Until it goes soft? 2) Was it ever good?
Posted by Hmm216 (Member # 8403) on :
WHEN IN DOUBT THROUGH IT OUT!
Posted by Jaiden (Member # 2099) on :
Point of note, hard liquor opened would not last forever. The alcohol part would most likely evaporate
I would throw out this stuff. It's not worth enough to risk it in my opinion. In good bars, any bottle older than 6 months is tossed.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I am 40 years old, and I have no liquor in my possession as old as the stuff you've got.
However, based on family history, I guess you might be safe consuming them. They won't make you sick (or rather, they won't make you sicker than a newly-opened fresh bottle would ), but the flavor and consistency may suffer. They might be a tad more viscous than fresh liquers.
Oh yeah, the family history. My grandfather had a liquor cabinet with two bottles in it: Canadian Club and Cherry Heering. He was not a drinker, but rather would keep the bottles "for an occaision". When I announced that I was getting married, he responded "This is an occaision!" and dusted off the Cherry Heering and poured out a thimbleful for himself and a thimbleful for me. We toasted and drank together. Twelve years after that, my brother announced his engagement, and had the same response, except he got the Canadian Club (I guess Cherry Heering is a lady's drink and Canadian Club is a man's drink). My brother asked him how long he had those bottles. Grandpa wasn't sure, but he assured my brother that is was the same bottle he toasted our father from when he announced his engagement to our mother.
I'm sure that the bottles weren't brand-new then, either.
Posted by Hmm216 (Member # 8403) on :
THROW (yeah, sometimes my brain doesnt work properly!)
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
When I used to keep liquor around the house, I always worried about keeping it safe to drink because neither I nor Wes were ever big drinkers, so if we bought a bottle of, say rum we might have it for weeks or months at our rate of alcohol consumption. Normally we'd each have maybe one drink on a Friday night and nothing else all week.
I found keeping the bottles in the freezer was good. They didn't freeze solid, and stayed fresh and crisp tasting. Now, I wouldn't recommend doing it forever but for a few weeks the freezer worked well for us.
One of the reasons I pretty much stopped buying all forms of alcohol though was the fact that I'd throw so much of it away. We drink so seldom we just didn't use any of it fast. In fact, when I cleaned out my fridge last week I found a can of Coors beer in the very back, pushed behind pickles and olives.
I tried to think back to when I'd bought any Coors beer and I remembered that one of our guests liked that beer and I bought a six pack for them to have. The guest was here at Thanksgiving last year. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Belle, I use to drink a lot, probably too much...but I don't drink much at all any more. I only buy it when I am eithre out with friends (and usually I don't even then, I drive. ) or if I am having people over to the house. I just don't drink enough of it fast enough to justify spending money on it. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Lat time my dad came up for a visit (last month) I gave him one of the really crappy beers (Busch) he had bought the previous time he was up.
That had been for my wedding.
Our two year anniversary will be in October this year.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)