Does Whiskey 'Go Off'

by **studal** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 1:52 am

Please excuse my ignorance as I am just getting into whiskey and while I am adoring and savouring all that I drink and taste there is one question that keeps popping into my head. Does whiskey go off? Or more so does it loose its potency and flavour? I have a Bruichladdich full strength 13 YO and distilled in 1989. Well since I have opened the bottle nearly a year ago I get the impression that the taste has changed and the nose is not the same. The alcohol vapour does not seem to be as strong. Am I imagining this? Should whiskeys be drank quite quickly? Once again please excuse my inexperience. :oops:

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:13 am

Hi, studal, welcome to our virtual pub. Your question has been discussed at length--check the FAQ's, or do a search on oxidation, spoil, etc. The short answer is that yes, the bottle will go off after a while; how long depends on many factors, like how empty the bottle is, how often it is opened, how good the seal on the cork is, whether you have gremlins in your house, etc. I believe the chief culprit is simple evaporation of alcohol and perhaps other volatiles. There is widely varying opinion on what is a safe length of time to have a bottle open, but the consensus seems to be that when it gets much below half full, you don't want to let it die a lingering death. Drink up, and buy another one!

by **les taylor** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 9:20 am

I'm with Mr T. There is nothing worse than a slow lingering death. The more oxidation that takes place the worse it is. Life is to short to drink bad whisky.

by **Di Blasi** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:54 pm

And how have your whisky tastes and experiences changed and evolved studal in the year that bottle has been opened should be considered too. I think whisky benefits, improves as it gets some air. Within the month of opening and the level in the bottle lowers a bit. And as you sip and taste and experience that newly opened whisky, you develop an understanding and hopefully a liking of it. I don't like having my bottles left over a year, especially with a small amount left. But if it's not a favorite whisky, and since "I'm not an alcoholic," and "life is to short to drink bad whisky," I'll leave it til I have a good reason to drink it, hoping it hasn't gone off.

by **Oiler_Kiwi99** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:18 pm

I have a hydrometer in the house.

I might try to see if the ABV of a whisky changes from month to month.

I took 4 months to go through a litre of Bomwore 15yo and I felt the same that the whisky had become dummed down in taste over time especially in the last month. Mind you it depends on whether I could get another litre to last as long.

by **studal** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:30 am

Thank you all for the replies. Since I posted my question I had time to go through the forum and I did indeed find the answer to my question. But thank you all for the patience and for replying when indeed it has been disgussed in lenght in the past. Since my original post I have finished the said bottle and I have to admit that on a whim I just added a little water and I really enjoyed my drinking experience. As I said I do love a tipple and am trying to expand my knowledge of the whiskey experience and I am delighted to have found this website and I am finding it a mine of information.