There's no point in adding soda to your drink when there's no fizz left. Refrigerate these after opening. How long does raspberry liqueur last? Unlike some wines, distilled spirits don't age (or mature) in the bottle. If you buy it at room temp, you’re fine to let it sit a bit before you put it in the fridge. Once opened, they will lose certain flavor qualities over a few years but will never really spoil. In order to best protect the flavor profile from oxidation, if you half a bottle or less left you should drink it within a year, and if you have less than a quarter of a bottle you have about three to four months before it gets questionable. Use the original cap, a replacement cork, or a wine stopper that also takes the air out of the bottle. It will become musty and lose flavor if stored for too long. The base liquors (e.g., brandy, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, and whiskey) are the most shelf-stable distilled spirits because they do not contain sugars. The Spruce Eats uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Does alcohol go bad? Get our free book when you sign up for our newsletter. That date is more a recommendation of optimal use than a warning that you’ll get sick if you drink it a day too late. It probably would have been good to know whether that bottle had been opened in the last year. But alcohol can go bad, in that it can start to taste like the devil. Actually, yes — booze does go bad, so contrary to popular belief, you don't have forever to finish off that bottle of sherry you inexplicably have stashed away in the back of your liquor cabinet. Your unopened bottle of scotch that's been on the shelf for 20 years will taste the same as it would have the day it was bottled. You’re going to want to drink it once it’s opened. However, if your sealed beer is exposed to heat, it could skunk. Explore Irish Cream Liqueur and Discover Drink Recipes. The worst thing about vodka, arguably, is that it tastes like burning rather than anything discernible. Most beer will have a “best by” date printed on the can. Consider storing liquor bottles behind tinted glass if window light is prevalent in your bar. If it has lost it's vigor, use it in a cocktail. Here's how long you have to finish off your favorite booze. For instance, liqueurs with a high concentration of sugar (e.g., crème liqueurs) will deteriorate faster. Bailey’s and other cream-based liqueurs should be thrown out 18 months after they’ve been opened, for safety reasons (microbes like cream just like you do). Opened bottles are likely to lose some characteristics due to air exposure. Some may include preservatives to combat spoilage, and you can sometimes find these on the label. The shelf life of opened fortified wines like dry and sweet vermouth is much longer than regular wines. However, like beer, certain liquors can "go bad." There’s a lot of misinformation out there about alcohol, which can lead to questions about drinking safely. Remember the first time you got drunk? Think of rum like whiskey in terms of oxidation. (You’ll know if it’s skunked because, as the word suggests, it smells sour and earthy. Some older wines last one to two days once they’re opened, while younger wines can last up to two weeks in the fridge. These spirits contain sugar and other ingredients that can spoil, and some are more worrisome than others. However, that's also what makes it a highly stable alcohol that will keep almost indefinitely. How long does this homemade liqueur last? Unopened, these liquors have an indefinite shelf life. When people tell you that alcohol doesn't go bad, what they mean to say is that it won't make you sick (I mean, at least not for bacterial reasons). It’s the variation in temperature that’ll make your beer go back quickly. If vodka is your spirit of choice, congratulations on starting your freshman year of college. Again, no. You’ll want to drink your beer within the three months of that date. Avoid bright, direct light. This is so yummy that it doesn’t last long at all in my house. In a cool, dark place, you can keep it almost forever, but once you open it, it'll start degrading in about three months. picture alliance/picture alliance/Getty Images, wines last one to two days once they’re opened. Follow the recommended expiration date on the labels of all juices, bottled cocktails (e.g., margarita, daiquiri, and bloody Mary mixes), and similar mixers. Bourbon Keeping it in the freezer the whole time, while a waste of freezer space, probably does slow the decline of the flavor as colder temperatures tend to do in most cases. If it's still good, awesome! Probably best not to drink it. The shelf life of your alcohol depends on the type of alcohol it is. Once you begin to see any sugar crystallizing on the bottom, discoloration, curdling, or other changes, throw the bottle away. No. properly executed on your creative ideas-set. All rights reserved. Freezing it is not recommended as it can lead to the ingredients separating from each other and clogging the bottle. After months or years, almost any distilled spirit in an opened bottle can lose some of its character, "punch," or flavor. However, like beer, certain liquors can "go bad." I mean, you even compare things to “fine wines” if they get better with age. There are a few general rules regarding the shelf life of liqueurs: Cream liqueurs that contain dairy, cream, or egg, are a different story. Tips. Most beer is sensitive to light and temperature. Even in unopened bottles, these liqueurs may spoil and be undrinkable after a year and a half or more. By using The Spruce Eats, you accept our. When determining the shelf life of liquor, it's essential to break it down into the major categories found in the average liquor cabinet. If you’re talked about a sealed bottle, most wine will last up to 10 years if it’s stored on its side (to help the cork from shrinking or developing holes) in a cool dark place. So if you leave a bottle on the shelf too long, do what I do and give it a taste. If the alcohol percentage is high enough, it will kill bacteria or mold, so it's pretty safe for long term storage. When in doubt, pour the liquor in question into a glass. If it doesn't look, smell, or taste right, it's probably best to throw it out. Is tequila actually an upper instead of a downer? The answer to that question is a matter of quality, not safety, assuming proper storage conditions - when properly stored, a bottle of raspberry liqueur has an indefinite shelf life, even after it has been opened. 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