Great ‘how to use up old booze’ hunt

Churchmouse

JackieO wrote: »

Thanks Pol for the Chardonnay and cream sauce idea I actually have the same sis-in-law coming for lunch this Saturday, so I could do some chicken in wine and cream sauce then.Would she be able to drive home afterwards though I would worry about it in case she got stopped.

As long as you "cook" the sauce once the wine is added, all alcohol will be evaporated off Only the taste will remain, so she'll be fine to drive Now my "brandy-fed" Christmas cake ........................ friends have sworn they'd fail a breathalyser after that :rotfl:

simmonc2

There's no such thing as "left over"........
............There's just booze that's waiting................!

Top Tip - Take one glass (any sort); pour "left over" booze into glass; swirl delicately; tip into mouth; swallow; repeat until all "left over" booze is consumed.

sunshinelover

freakyogre wrote: »

I very rarely drink, so don't have this problem! I have however, got a bottle of mulled wine that someone bought me last Christmas that I have yet to do anything with. I don't think i've ever actually had mulled wine, but the thought of any wine makes me feel sick (first time I got drunk was on wine and it's put me off for life!)

Any ideas? Or will it be 'off' by now anyway?

Hi there ... browsing the thread and felt a need to respond to this one - Bottle of mulled wine in a beef bourguignonne (that can't be the right spelling?) - did this once to use up a bottle and it was a real winter warmer, absolutely delicious. I'd now consider buying the mulled wine rather than an ordinary bottle for the dish!

Conrad_Smith

Red wine is not at its best until it has been opened for at least an hour at room temperature and aerated: pouring from a greater height than the minimum helps and a decanter doubles this effect.

The wine is as good the next day [i.e. BETTER than when first opened] when kept steadily at room temperature and it goes off gradually afterwards, although a fridge will arrest this process.

Once the wine starts to go off it slowly becomes sour wine - 'vin aigre' i.e. vinegar as the alcohol turns to acid - it was this semi-acid drink which was given to Jesus on the Cross: wine drinking goes back a long time.

A surer way to create wine vinegar is to find some 'vinegar mother', the sludge in the bottom of an older bottle of real wine vinegar [from Aldi/Lidl or personally imported from France - the UK-made versions from UK-based supermarkets seem to be super-filtered so don't produce any nice healthy sediment] and to keep adding older red wine to this: the result is a superb vinegar for salads and for marinating.

sunshinelover

My problem is all those bottles of spirits and liquors ... vodka, port, marsala, whisky, rum, pimms ... don't like fruit cake in our house so soaked fruit not a likely option. Any ideas?

VeeW

My partner decided they'd like to become a wine drinker rather than spirits, however knowing nothing about wine she bought bottle after bottle, opened them had a glass & threw the rest away. She'd given up drinking for the main part now, tho' we do like Rose and occassionally she'll take a malt.

VeeW

simmonc2 wrote: »

There's no such thing as "left over"........
............There's just booze that's waiting................!

Top Tip - Take one glass (any sort); pour "left over" booze into glass; swirl delicately; tip into mouth; swallow; repeat until all "left over" booze is consumed.

Excellent concept:T

Little_Feet

I have used any leftover wine to make my own vinegar. I then use this vinegar to make my own pickles, preserves and sauces the following year. It gives a much milder, fragrant result than bought stuff and is far less expensive than buying white wine vinegar off the shelf.

There are probably more technical methods but this is what I do: Sterilise everything. Dry your bottles and tops or corks THOROUGHLY in the oven. 'Seed' the leftover wine with a little leftover vinegar. Flavour the wine to your taste with: Cinnamon, utterly dry fresh herbs(or the vinegar will go mouldy,) dry spices such as chillies or peppercorns. Cork or seal and store in a dark dry place.

You can do this with old sherry, white wine, red wine etc etc.

The purists will probably say, what a PLONKer (pardon the pun) but it works for me.

fairleee

First of all, I would try to address the issue of letting it get past its best to begin with!

Once wine is opened, exposure to the air causes it to begin a chemical reaction which leads to it ultimately becoming vinegar. It begins immediately, but takes some time before it becomes noticeable. However, wine left over until the next day is usually noticeably worse than fresh wine (although normally still drinkable).

There is a fantastic little gadget I have always used made by Vacuvin called a Vacuum Wine Saver to address this. Unfortunately as a new user I cannot post links, but just google the product and you will find it.
The way it works is that once you have decided that you have finished glugging wine for the night, you stick one of the rubber corks in the bottle. You then attach the pump, and pump out excess air. The pump makes a clicking noise once enough air has been extracted. The rubber corks are one way seals - air can get out, but not in. I have used this before and found a bottle that I opened almost a week ago to still be in drinking condition, although not at its freshest. However, if you are just saving the bottle for a few days, it is perfect.

The product costs under a tenner for the pump and two corks (extra corks can be purchased separately), so makes a perfect stocking filler/ secret Santa gift (and no, I'm not selling these before you ask!)

Otherwise, leftover wine goes well in stews, gravy, risottos etc, as others have said.

Also, just to address a common fallacy I have seen a few times on this post: cooking wine or spirits does NOT burn off all the alcohol unless you are cooking it for a long time: at least half an hour for a smallish quantity. Beware of that.

Hope this helps!

TheCheapFashionista

Bit of a strange request but does anyone have any recipes for Scotch? I have three bottles in the cupboard and no-one I know drinks it (or where it came from!) and I'm loath to just throw it away!