Does whisky go off?

pattycake

i have a litre bottle of Bells whisky in my cupboard which is at least 8 years old!  We don’t like whisky and I am thinking of giving it to a friend but I wonder if it’s still good.  It’s unopened.  Any thoughts please?

PLRFD

Absolutely no problem at all it will be fine.

pattycake

Excellent.  I thought as much but didn’t want to be responsible for poisoning anyone! Thank you.

vacheron

Yes, once the bottle is opened the alcohol can evaporate into the air, the speed of which is determined by how empty the bottle is and how many times it is opened, but a sealed bottle will be absolutely fine (you can also tell just by looking at the level of liquid in the bottle).

However, even on a sealed bottle (especially much older ones), the cork can dry out which lets the alcohol vapor slowly escape.

I remember from my childhood that my grandmother had a bottle of whisky in her cocktail cabinet for about 30 years that was almost exactly 60% full..... but the seal was still intact, meaning that all the alcohol had escaped, effectively leaving her a bottle full of iodiney flavoured wood water! 

Since that day I have made an oath never to let a good bottle of whisky suffer a similar fate!

pattycake

I have had a good look at the bottle.  It seems full and completely sealed.  It would be a shame to leave it another 8 years so someone might as well enjoy it.

When I was little, my mum would administer a tot of whisky with sugar and hot water to cure most childhood ailments.  Perhaps that is what triggered my dislike of the stuff.

maman

I'm sure it will be absolutely fine and wouldn't poison anyone. I think I'd say to the friend that you found it in the cupboard when decluttering during lockdown though so he knows it's not recently bought. 

pattycake

That’s actually just what happened maman.  So nearly another year has passed since it was unearthed and it’s still sitting there!

LameWolf

I have to wonder how come you have a litre of whisky in your cupboard, when you don't actually drink it! 

But if memory serves, Bells has a screw top, so it will be perfectly fine. (I'm a Single Malt girl myself,so don't drink Bells).

pattycake

Well, the mystery deepens as we had more bottles of whisky but gave them away over time for raffle prizes etc.  My husband travelled a lot once upon a time and could never resist the so-called duty free.  We were well stocked with vodka and gin too but actually like those drinks!

pattycake

Also, I now remember during our lockdown decluttering, there was a bottle of dark rum which we brought back from the Caribbean.  I gave that to our next door neighbour who is ex-navy and he was delighted!

cornishchick

in connection to this post, I have a bottle of opened Bells, which I don't like,( single malt Girl too) any suggestions for using it up?