Old spirits....

onedayiwill

Not ghosts. Alcohol.

We have a bottle of brandy, a bottle of vodka and a bottle of gin which have been sitting at the back of our alcohol cupboard for about 8 years since they were opened.

So, what happens to opened bottles of spirits once they have been open for that long ... are they worth keeping for drinking?

Or should I use them cleaning, cooking or :eek: just throw them out?

(Actually, I don't drink alcohol, which is probably why they've stayed at the back of the cupboard - Mr OneDay is a whisky & beer man).

ChocClare

Trust me, honey, you're an AMATEUR compared to me...

I used to work for a major market research company. Whenever we did alcohol research for eg new products, we would have to buy up (or have provided) bottles of everything under the sun for comparison purposes. At the end of the research they would come back with one or two measures missing from each bottle. It got to the point that the store room had so much alcohol in it it was a danger to walk in - so we held a lottery - you bought a £1 ticket, were guaranteed to win "a prize" - the bottle with that number on - and all the proceeds went to charity.

I look like Mrs Alky because my drinks cupboard has EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine, and every bottle is open.

The last alcohol research I did was 1996, so some bottles have been there a mere 13 years whereas some have been there even longer.

THEY ARE ALL FINE. ALCOHOL IS A PRESERVATIVE.

Oh, unless you have Baileys or any other cream-based liqueur. They go off after about six weeks so hold them at arm's length and sling them!

You obviously drink about as much as I do. Perhaps you SHOULD use them for cooking!

ChocClare

Oh, for the brandy, if you don't drink: soften an onion in some oil and butter, then turn up the heat and brown some chicken breasts on each side. When sizzling, sprinkle over some fresh or dried sage and slosh in some brandy (you can light it if you want to be flash), allow to reduce, then add some stock and simmer till the stock is reduced to a syrupy glaze and the chicken breasts are cooked. Now stir in a bit of cream.

Now, was that scrumola, or what?

Gin - is good for cleaning diamonds. Allegedly. I wouldn't know, as that is the one spirit I would save to mix with tonic, ice and lemon.

Vodka - can be flavoured with something else. I can't get excited about vodka.

valk_scot

My late SIL had a cupboard like that, filled with the gummy leftovers of every bottle of spirits she'd ever brought back from holiday. When I was clearing the house I tipped about forty half bottles down the sink. I really couldn't think what to do with them. That was six years ago and we've still got all the unopened bottles, still unopened. And lots of oldish wine, but at least I can cook with that.

charliee_3

valk_scot wrote: »

And lots of oldish wine, but at least I can cook with that.

i wouldn't be so sure about that, i lived in a rented shared house with loads of old bottles of wine from many a party of yesteryear.. one day i decided to open them one by one.. had to tip the whole lot away.. all gone bad... nasty nasty

i recently added sloes an sugar to all out random opened bottles of spirits.. i now have sloe gin, sloe dark rum, sloe overproof white rum (this one looks scary) and sloe tequila on the go...

can only be an improvement on the overproof rum and the tequila anyway!!

valk_scot

charliee wrote: »

i wouldn't be so sure about that, i lived in a rented shared house with loads of old bottles of wine from many a party of yesteryear.. one day i decided to open them one by one.. had to tip the whole lot away.. all gone bad... nasty nasty

Yeah, some of them have been a bit foul. I just open another one. She had some pretty decent wine, of the kinds that you lay down to age for a few years, in amongst the supermarket deals. Unfortunately I have no clue as to which bottles are which!

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya, The brandy I would put in the Christmas cake. I have had the same bottle for a few years and it always goes in the cake.

Butterfly_Brain

I have a bottle of cointreau that I only have a couple of glasses of every Christmas it has been going for 5 years now and is fine

Bongedone

valk_scot wrote: »

Yeah, some of them have been a bit foul. I just open another one. She had some pretty decent wine, of the kinds that you lay down to age for a few years, in amongst the supermarket deals. Unfortunately I have no clue as to which bottles are which!

Google them. Good wine will be listed on wine websites. The websites will tell you how long they will last. They usually have an age on the bottle. Some of them have serial numbers.

valk_scot

Bongedone wrote: »

Google them. Good wine will be listed on wine websites. They usually have an age on the bottle. Some of them have serial numbers.

That's a very good idea. I never thought of that!

Chris25

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I have a bottle of cointreau that I only have a couple of glasses of every Christmas it has been going for 5 years now and is fine

I mix Cointreau with mascapone cheese and stuff dates with it. I've too have had the same bottle for don't know how long - but it is eventually going down.

A slug of brandy is lovely in hot chocolate. Or in hm choccies

Could you flavour the vodka or gin and find some pretty bottles and give them as presents to anyone? There have been loads of recipes for flavoured drinks on here.

Use the brandy in mincemeat or If you make jams or marmalade, you can stir in a tablespoon of alcohol just after setting point reached. Gin is good in lemon marmalade.