NonGuzziContent- question for whiskey drinkers...

[NCAmother]

Do commercial whiskeys still taste decent after a shelf life of 20 years?  I buried a bottle of wild turkey 101 in the desert in the 90's, to open up on a special occasion.  Do you think the whiskey is still good?  (It was boxed and buried for 20 years) The last thing I want to do is drive my friends to the desert for shots of vinegar. 
Nate

[Gliderjohn]

My guess and that is all it is that if it buried deep enough to not have a lot of extreme temperature changes it should be just fine. Enjoy!
GliderJohn

[Chuck in Indiana]

Bourbon doesn't age in the bottle like wine. I'd bet it tastes the same as it did when it was bottled. 

[Guzzistajohn]

I saw you're nose will know if it's bad

[davedel44]

Distilling process would kill any microbes so it wouldn't spoil or turn to vinegar.  Basically inert in glass bottle.  Good luck finding it.  There still looking for Lafitte's treasure here on Galveston

Dave
Galveston

[LowRyter]

Bourbon doesn't age in the bottle like wine. I'd bet it tastes the same as it did when it was bottled. 

That's been my experience with Scotch, Bourbon, Vodka, Tequila, and Gin.  I've kept some bottles for a long time.  Some because I like and want to save and others that I can't stand but am too cheap to get rid of. 

[Fuzzy]

It'll be perfect. It isn't aging anymore, but it isn't deteriorating either. Drink the tail off...

[pebra]

The whiskey should be fine.
The cork may have disintegrated, be prepared to have to deal with that.

[Daniel Kalal]

The whiskey should be fine.
The cork may have disintegrated, be prepared to have to deal with that.

The dry cork is the thing.   A relative of mine had a large number of pre-prohibition bottles--never opened.  Truly never opened, but the contents has gone down noticeably in the bottle. Wild Turkey uses a cork (not screw-top).  Hope for the best!

[Perazzimx14]

Spirits do not age in the bottle. Once removed from the barrel/cask where the "bulk" aging occurs the aging process stops.

Also there is whiskey and whisky. If we wait long enough Norge Pilot will ask what the difference is

[LowRyter]

there's Scotch and there's everything else.


 

[fotoguzzi]

there's Bourbon and there's everything else.

 

[Vagrant]

pretty good chance you will get a severe case of dysentery from it. send it to me and I will test it for you and if ok I will send the bottle back.
scotch or bourbon makes no difference I am an approved tester.

[Kev m]

The problem is if the cork is compromised it may have evaporated by now.

[LowRyter]

it's all about the "e"

[lucydad]

Nate,

Concur with others here:  as long as bottle/stopper sealed, the spirits will be ok.  Extreme heat in desert could possibly be a problem?
We have scotch at our Colorado cabin that is over 40 years old, sips just fine, but the storage is deep freeze in winter, and mild in summer.

Dig it up!!

[oldbike54]

 Sounds like the plot of the movie Fandango 

  Dusty

[kirb]

What you need to do is buy a new bottle of 101 and compare it to the old.
The changes won't be due to age, but what grain, yeast, and methods differ from back then. Old bottles are sought after for that reason...

Rare piece for sure, enjoy it.

[ccoli]

Got a bottle of J&B once from an old timer that had it in the basement for 40 years. All I know is that it was very tasty and turned me in to a Scotch drinker. I say it does age in the bottle. Not like it would in an oak barrel but it does some maturing anyway.

[George_S]

Also there is whiskey and whisky. If we wait long enough Norge Pilot will ask what the difference is

And whichever version you choose, Kev m will tell you that you're wrong!     

[LowRyter]

And whichever version you choose, Kev m will tell you that you're wrong! 

perhaps. but you'll have to read a few dozen pages to get there.   

[George_S]

Still looking for the case of Budweiser that my bro in law buried in the sand of Seaside Park back in 1964 and lost track of the spot....

[bpreynolds]

If still corked, it will taste the same as the day you buried it with the biggest problem being that you didn't bury a bottle of Pappy.   

[Lcarlson]

scotch whiskY; bourbon/rye/Canadian whiskEY.

[Mark West]

Interesting topic. A number of years ago, my Father in law passed away. He and his wife often had people over for cocktails so he had a lot of bottles of booze even though they rarely drank themselves.

I ended up with all the hard liquor including J&B scotch, Canadian Club, Seagrams, and various other whiskies and bourbons. Some have dates on the strip that goes over the cap and are from the late 70's. All the bottles I took were unopened when I took them so no long term exposure other than what got through the caps.

I don't typically drink whiskey other than (high quality) Scotch and I've never regularly drunk these brands so I don't have much to compare to, but I would say that I notice some off characteristics in some of these bottles. It's nothing horrible but they don't taste quite right. I suspect there is some kind of chemical reaction that occurs over the decades but I can't tell you what it is.

[Mark West]

I did a quick google search and found this at whisky.com. They talk about the difference between opened and unopened.

1. Unopened

Whisky is stored upright. In contrast to wine, however, whisky in unopened bottles doesn't become better (or worse) during storage. Whisky only matures in the cask when it has contact to the oak wood. The bottles must be stored upright, since the cork doesn't close as tightly as a wine cork. Whisky corks are designed for multiple uses, whereas wine corks are disposable.

Whisky mustn't be exposed to direct sunlight, since the ultraviolet rays bleach out the colour pigments over time. A bar cabinet or a package protect the whisky from light. That way it's possible to store whisky for more than ten years. However, since tiny amounts of liquid evaporate through the cork, the filling level will decrease over time. You can monitor the liquid level of a bottle by marking the neck on the back with a felt pen.

If you're a collector and want to store whisky for a longer period of time, you have to give more thought to it. First of all, the temperature should be lower than room temperature. The lower the temperature, the less whisky evaporates. An additional cap on top of the cork can also help, but take care that the cap doesn't soil or damage the original sleeve. This would reduce the value of the bottle, as would sealing wax.

Bottles with screw-tops must be retightened by hand regularly, since they always loosen on their own, which leads to increased evaporation.

When you store bottles in the basement, you should also protect them from humidity. In a damp basement the label starts to mould easily. A thin plastic bag is ideal to pack the whisky airtight. But beware! The plastic bag mustn't contain any plasticisers or other chemicals. They could bleach out the label and affect the bottle contents through the cork.

2. Opened

Opened whisky behaves differently. The taste changes. However, it takes much longer than with wine, which must be consumed within few days. Opened whisky has a shelf life of between six months and two years. What happens in the bottle during that time?

First alcohol evaporates and the taste of the whisky becomes smoother. Furthermore, the air in the bottle contains active gases that slowly react with the flavour substances of the whisky. How the taste changes can't be predicted. Sometimes it becomes better, but also often worse.

To prevent these changes, reduce the air contact of the whisky by filling it into a smaller bottle. But please don't use a decanter. We don't know of any high-quality decanter that is truly tight over a longer period of time. The decanter must have a plastic seal or a ground glass joint.

However, it’s best not have too many whisky bottles open and to drink those you open within a few months.

[Muzz]

Still looking for the case of Budweiser that my bro in law buried in the sand of Seaside Park back in 1964 and lost track of the spot....

If it is anything like the Budweiser I tried many years ago it is best that it remain lost.

[Cam3512]

Still looking for the case of Budweiser that my bro in law buried in the sand of Seaside Park back in 1964 and lost track of the spot....

I dug that up in 1985 when I was Lifeguardimg there.  Thanks.

[Kev m]

And whichever version you choose, Kev m will tell you that you're wrong!     

Only if you actually are.

Actually, No, cause I don't give a crap about those semantics.

I'm more a beer and rum kinda guy anyway.

[Kev m]

perhaps. but you'll have to read a few dozen pages to get there.   

Ha ha, now THAT'S accurate!