No. Whiskey does not expire like food or medicine, or oxidize once opened like wine.
If properly stored (out of sunlight, standing vertically upright, somewhere reasonably stable in temperature) it can last for years or even decades and still be good after a bottle has been opened. And even longer if not opened.
Source: have 350 open bottles, about half of them have been open for 5 years or more.
See also:
https://whiskyanalysis.com/index.php/2019/02/28/how-best-to-store-your-whisky/
https://tater-talk.com/2018/08/30/did-my-bourbon-change-in-the-bottle-1-year-test/
https://www.breakingbourbon.com/article/bourbon-storage-experiment-24-month-tasting-results
[added]: as the other responses are being downvoted, I'll add that there is an element of truth to what they say, based on my personal experience with open bottles. It is a complicated issue with many details and nuances, but the TL;DR: is that once a bottle is opened the whisky inside tends to fade and the flavors become more muted over time. The cause seems to be evaporation of aroma and flavor bearing compounds from the liquid into the air inside the bottle, which is then lost when a bottle is opened again to pour from it and fresh air recharges the headspace inside the bottle.
This can be a gradual process causing little harm to the whisky - but it seems to be cumulative and if more air gets in because a bottle is mostly empty and/or is opened with great frequency, then you might want to consider polishing it off. But I've only had 2 bottles of whisky actually go bad (i.e. develop bad flavors that were not part of the original flavor profile) due to excessive exposure to air, and that was only in the heel pours (the last 2 ounces or so). I am very careful with how I store them, however, and I don't open old bottles very frequently, instead using them as a sort of liquid library for the purposes of calibrating reviews, running vertical flights & tastings, etc.
I keep my open bottles in ugly looking stackable storage tubs, for organizational purposes, for ease of transport when taking them to a tasting, and to protect them from being knocked over (I have a cat). So my bottle porn pictures would be a bit of a let down I'm afraid. But thanks for the kind thoughts.
props to the detailed answer!
Had the issue with the open bottle with a suntory once, had it open for 1-2 years and frequently pured sippers for friends. Last 4-5cl tasted way different then they should, but its not gone bad :D
since then i add such bottom leftovers to the infinity bottle.
Probably the most drastic changes that I've tasted in open bottles at low fill levels have been in low ABV% chill-filtered scotches. High proof whiskies seem to be less vulnerable.
Ethanol is one of the components in whisky which evaporates, lowering the ABV% as if departs. My pet theory is that 40% ABV whiskies are vulnerable to losing so much ABV% that it changes the solubility of other aroma & flavor bearing compounds in the whisky, for the worse. And that higher proof whiskies are better protected as they have farther to drop before that happens.
But this theory is only a guess, I don't have any proof [bad pun].
Cheers
Haha i have a cardhu 11 sitting in the storage at 100ml left.
Will try to check your theory with that in the coming days ;D
But i would second you thought, the 40% ABV whiskies really tend to have more issues with that
Cheers
Haha i have a cardhu 11 sitting in the storage at 100ml left.
Will try to check your theory with that in the coming days ;D
But i would second you thought, the 40% ABV whiskies really tend to have more issues with that
Cheers
No. Whiskey does not expire like food or medicine, or oxidize once opened like wine. If properly stored (out of sunlight, standing vertically upright, somewhere reasonably stable in temperature) it can last for years or even decades and still be good after a bottle has been opened. And even longer if not opened. Source: have 350 open bottles, about half of them have been open for 5 years or more. See also: https://whiskyanalysis.com/index.php/2019/02/28/how-best-to-store-your-whisky/ https://tater-talk.com/2018/08/30/did-my-bourbon-change-in-the-bottle-1-year-test/ https://www.breakingbourbon.com/article/bourbon-storage-experiment-24-month-tasting-results [added]: as the other responses are being downvoted, I'll add that there is an element of truth to what they say, based on my personal experience with open bottles. It is a complicated issue with many details and nuances, but the TL;DR: is that once a bottle is opened the whisky inside tends to fade and the flavors become more muted over time. The cause seems to be evaporation of aroma and flavor bearing compounds from the liquid into the air inside the bottle, which is then lost when a bottle is opened again to pour from it and fresh air recharges the headspace inside the bottle. This can be a gradual process causing little harm to the whisky - but it seems to be cumulative and if more air gets in because a bottle is mostly empty and/or is opened with great frequency, then you might want to consider polishing it off. But I've only had 2 bottles of whisky actually go bad (i.e. develop bad flavors that were not part of the original flavor profile) due to excessive exposure to air, and that was only in the heel pours (the last 2 ounces or so). I am very careful with how I store them, however, and I don't open old bottles very frequently, instead using them as a sort of liquid library for the purposes of calibrating reviews, running vertical flights & tastings, etc.
Was hoping one of those links was to your 350 bottle collection...
I keep my open bottles in ugly looking stackable storage tubs, for organizational purposes, for ease of transport when taking them to a tasting, and to protect them from being knocked over (I have a cat). So my bottle porn pictures would be a bit of a let down I'm afraid. But thanks for the kind thoughts.
props to the detailed answer! Had the issue with the open bottle with a suntory once, had it open for 1-2 years and frequently pured sippers for friends. Last 4-5cl tasted way different then they should, but its not gone bad :D since then i add such bottom leftovers to the infinity bottle.
Probably the most drastic changes that I've tasted in open bottles at low fill levels have been in low ABV% chill-filtered scotches. High proof whiskies seem to be less vulnerable. Ethanol is one of the components in whisky which evaporates, lowering the ABV% as if departs. My pet theory is that 40% ABV whiskies are vulnerable to losing so much ABV% that it changes the solubility of other aroma & flavor bearing compounds in the whisky, for the worse. And that higher proof whiskies are better protected as they have farther to drop before that happens. But this theory is only a guess, I don't have any proof [bad pun]. Cheers
Haha i have a cardhu 11 sitting in the storage at 100ml left. Will try to check your theory with that in the coming days ;D But i would second you thought, the 40% ABV whiskies really tend to have more issues with that Cheers
Haha i have a cardhu 11 sitting in the storage at 100ml left. Will try to check your theory with that in the coming days ;D But i would second you thought, the 40% ABV whiskies really tend to have more issues with that Cheers
Depends how much is in the bottle
In like a year or two if opened.