Great ‘how to use up old booze’ hunt

I'll hold my hand up here...I'm constantly chucking out wine. When my SIL died five years ago we inherited her copious booze cupboard which contained everything from five years out of date cases of lager through dozens of half empty bottles of "holiday bad buy" liqueurs to some very good wines, good malt whisky and gawd knows what else. There was so much of this stuff we were giving out half cases of wine to just about anyone that came over the threshold. And I distinctly recall spending half an hour one day tipping all the crusty, sticky, brightly coloured liqueurs down the sink.

Five years on we've almost got to the end of the wine. (Only about 40 bottles left.) Trouble is most of the time I've got little idea what I'm opening, other than red, white or rose. She had posh wine, she had cheap wine. Cheap wine five years on is garbage, belive me. If I open a bottle for the bolognaise and it's good, we drink the rest. If not we chuck it. Yes, chuck it. With so much left we feel there's not much point in forcing ourselves to drink nasty stuff!

We have enough port and malt whisky left to last us to the end of our days. Actually, I quite like port but it's not something I drink every day. Our main problem is that Hubby is a real beer man and I barely drink at all. While SIL...well, she was a single mum. What the heck did she need an understair cupboard FULL of booze for?

You can use spirits in cake making. It makes excellent flavouring if you use it to soak the dried fruit. Quite useful if you don't drink but are given some for a present as we sometimes have been.

JackieO you can poach apples in it, it should be ok. Chardonnay will be nice with apples. You could always use it in a white wine and cream sauce for chicken or put it into a gravy.
I make lavender wine and roast peaches and nectarines in it, think I'll try with apples next time.

minerva_windsong wrote: »

If you buy a red wine and then find out you don't like it

do what I do and carry on drinking it:rotfl:I do realise not everyone is an old soak like me:o

Left over wine???? Never had it......:o

On the other hand, left over cider or beer goes lovely in stews (cider for pork or chicken, beer with beef). Left over port goes well with game stews.

Left over liqueurs - make chocolate truffles (with Amaretto or Grand Marnier - lovely!) or maybe pour a little over trifle sponges. Most spirits make good fruit cake ingredients - esp. for christmas cake - soak the fruit in booze for a few days beforehand. Or you can add a little spirit or liqueur to custard to make a boozy custard (the operative word here is 'little'.... too much is definitely too much..._pale_) Failing that some spirits can be added to jams or marmalades as they are cooking - specifically whisky or Grand Marnier/Cointreau to marmalade, Vodka or Gin to strawberry or raspberry jam, Brandy or Bacardi to blackberry or plum jam.