Whisky for beginners: Can an opened whisky go bad?

[Bur]

trying to figure out how a bottle stays around long enough to worry about evaporation.
I don't care how expensive it is. If it gets opened, it gets drunk, and so do I.

Ding, ding, ding and we have a winner.

[ADHD]

Great question, there is only one answer of course, NO. I've only had the misfortune of leaving a bottle of shitty whiskey sit around long enough to even wonder about this, and I can say, if it's that bad just toss it in the still again. It'll be better the next time around.

Good whiskey on the other hand, thats another story. Your best bet is to get a Texas Micky of your favorite whiskey, cause the real problem wont be bad open whiskey, it'll be no whiskey in stock.

Around my place, the sure sign that booze is worth drinkin is, IT'S NOT HERE ANYMORE, it's all gone. What I mean is, my favorite bourbon, (which I make myself) I consume at a rate of over 3L a weekend. This leads me to believe that no normal whiskey connoisseur would experience a degradation of quality if whiskey were to be left open at my place, but sadly, i cannot speak for you sir.

In conclusion, if you have a problem with whiskey going bad due to you not drinking it fast enough, I have two courses of action to suggest,
1) Drink more
2) Go to AA, they like your kind there

[ghostface1]

LOL big casino! by the way, how's the drinkin' goin?

[Miklo]

i have passed out with whiskey still in my glass, woke up the next morning and finished it. it was still good several hours later.

[zfish]

It doesn't go bad. It's not wine or beer. It's chemicals man.

[Mr. Viking]

it can oxidise, which will dull the taste, but this happens really slowly, and if the bottle is resealed, there isn't really enough air in it to do any damage, the only time you would notice it is if there is a tiny bit at the bottom of a bottle which is left for ages, or the top is left off the bottle, but even then it takes a long time

[peetie44]

Only if you spill it in the dirt.

[Count Silvio]

The only thing that might spoil it is if the bottle wasn't sealed tight...then you'd have evaporation and loss of alcohol content.

Yep, evaporation is my main concern too. If the cork or screw isn't perfect, there will be some evaporation, right?

A solution could be storing your whisky in the fridge. Are there any issues with doing that, besides having a full fridge and cold whisky?

In general, if you have whiskys where you don't drink the whole bottle, what do you usually do, storage-wise?

I would not worry as much about evaporation as I would about oxidation. I've had some bottles for years with no noticeable evaporation of alcohol, some with only a little left. You could always replace a bad screw top or cork with a better cork. Storage-wise I just leave the bottle on the shelf out of direct sunlight.

Limey and Mr. Viking are correct in the below posts - The more you remove from the bottle the more oxygen gets inside the bottle and the more the spirit will react with the oxygen eventually resulting in a stale, lesser alcoholic liquid than the original. A dramatised version of oxidation can be seen if you have poured any spirit/booze in your glass and you leave it on the table overnight; in the morning you will find that it has changed a fair bit.

With opened bottles there are noticeable changes with the whisky. Generally whisky improves with the opening and the initial oxidation. This is followed by a gradual improvement for 6mths to a couple years, although not always and it seems that the level should be still high. The problem seems to be low levels of whisky in the bottle. If you leave a small amount of whisky in the bottle for too long it will go off, so once you get down to the last few drams you should consider finishing it off soon as it turns watery and foul if left for too long. Generally though, there is never a problem. I notice this effect more often with old miniatures and their poor closures.

it can oxidise, which will dull the taste, but this happens really slowly, and if the bottle is resealed, there isn't really enough air in it to do any damage, the only time you would notice it is if there is a tiny bit at the bottom of a bottle which is left for ages, or the top is left off the bottle, but even then it takes a long time

[Tariel]

In general, if you have whiskys where you don't drink the whole bottle, what do you usually do, storage-wise?

Go and take a tactical chunder to make room for more whiskey.

[Jiggers McCoy]

Gentlemen, we're talking in circles and the thread creator has been mercifully absent for a few months now.

Let this thread die.

[Truthseeker]

I learned more from this topic than anything else I've ever read. Love you all.

[peetie44]

Can an opened whisky go bad?

Only if you allow it to breath too long.

[Mr. Viking]

http://drunkard.com/issues/10_06/10_06_extinct.html
I knew there was something vaguely relevant out there

[Rumhead]

This

How do you post on a drunkard board and not know any of this? fuckin amateur night.

This

trying to figure out how a bottle stays around long enough to worry about evaporation.
I don't care how expensive it is. If it gets opened, it gets drunk, and so do I.

And this

i have passed out with whiskey still in my glass, woke up the next morning and finished it. it was still good several hours later.

[Wingman]

whisky is born bad.