Question on aging alcohol...

[MrOneEyedBoh]

I found some old jack, Captain Morgan rum and Seagram 7 in the basement by the old bar. They have been sitting in the basement for around 15-20 years. Its cold and damp down there, and they windows down there didn't let light get to the bottles. Question is, are these bottles still good? Anyway to tell there age?

[McSmokey]

Drink Up IMO

[paris1129]

I am certainly no expert, I would think that they are just fine. I took some bottles that my parents had in their bar in the 70s with me to college less than 10 years ago (so they were at least 20 years old too) and drank from them, no problem. In fact, I STILL have a couple of those bottles in my bar now! As long as it was just liquor in the bottle (no fruit juice mixture, something that would spoil) it should be fine. Pour yourself a dram and see, if you don't turn green, then you're good to go!

[Mark C]

If they're sealed well, you're good to go.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by Mark C

If they're sealed well, you're good to go.

It would be hard to tell their ages, but keep in mind that they don't "age" in the bottles. Once they are bottled, the aging process stops. At least that's how it is for whiskies. I'm assuming its the same for rum and gin.

You can't age Liquor!!!

[MrOneEyedBoh]

Well main thing was to see if they were still good. Guess they are. Thanks!

I agree with most of the comments here.

1. As long as the bottle is sealed you are okay.
2. For hard liquor, my understanding is that aging is normally done is casks or barrels so the taste of liquor is influenced by the wood that it's stored in (plus the air that passes through the wood. Once it's sealed in a glass bottle the flavor won't change much.

Hope that helps!

[mosesbotbol]

They won't have the freshness & boquet that new bottle will. You may taste some oxidation or deadness, but they're fine to drink.

[MrOneEyedBoh]

Well I guess if it tastes flat or whatever I can always just dump them. Nothing really lost, ya know?

Thanks again!

[wolfandwhisky]

Originally Posted by MrOneEyedBoh

Well I guess if it tastes flat or whatever I can always just dump them. Nothing really lost, ya know?

Thanks again!

Twist cap or cork? With liquor that has cork caps, if they have been on their sides, or if the liquid has otherwise contacted the cork, it will likely have ruined, or at least unfavorably altered, them. If its a twist cap, less of an issue. If they have been standing upright (so the cork hasn't been wet), they should still be pretty dang good and with little to no change. If they weren't open, there isn't a sufficient amount of air in there to cause oxidation. And even if there is, there is argument as to whether or not that is bad in the case of liquor.

I think your question was already answered (drink up and see!), but thought I'd add that extra bit.

[Commander Quan]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

They won't have the freshness & boquet that new bottle will. You may taste some oxidation or deadness, but they're fine to drink.

Nobody drinks Seagram's for the bouquet.

If it tastes funny mix it with coke instead of 7up