Does Alcohol Expire? The Lowdown on Liquor, Beer, and Wine (2024)

FAQs

Does alcohol expire wine? ›

If stored properly, a bottle of fine wine can last up to 20 years. You should drink less expensive wines within two years after bottling. You should drink organic wines within three to six months after purchase as most do not contain sulfites used for preservation.

Is It OK To Drink Expired Alcohol? Drinking expired alcohol isn't considered dangerous, but it's not advised to do so. Be sure to check the alcohol expiration date on your bottles to ensure that you're consuming the alcohol before the past due date.

Because they are distilled, they won't expire. You may notice that if a bottle remains unopened for a long time that it may become cloudy, but the taste or alcohol content will not change.

Most opened (and well-sealed) liqueurs should last for six months to a year (or even longer), depending on the alcohol content and preservatives. Once you notice sugar crystallizing on the bottom, discoloration, curdling, or other changes, throw the bottle away.

Short answer, no. Beer isn't like milk. With age, it doesn't actually expire or become unsafe to drink. Old beer's taste, however, will absolutely change.

How Long Does Wine Typically Last? When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.

A typical lager will be drinkable 6 – 24 months after its best before date, if it's been kept in the fridge.

Yes—but its flavor will degrade over time. Beer is a perishable product that stales when it's exposed to light, oxygen, and heat, which degrade the organic compounds that make beer smell and taste great. But even when its flavor is declining, it can be perfectly safe to drink.

Spirits above 40-per-cent abv (80 proof) don't expire. Anything that's been distilled, such as gin, vodka, rum, tequila or whisky, stops aging once it's been bottled. Most brands are best enjoyed in the first year.

Most primary (also called "base") liquors like whiskey, brandy, rum, gin, tequila, and vodka, have an almost infinite shelf life if left unopened. That's because they don't have much sugar and, unopened, aren't at risk of any oxidation.

Does unopened whiskey expire? ›

Some alcohol, like wine, gets better in the bottle over time, but this isn't true for all types of booze, including whiskey. Unopened whiskey can last indefinitely, but a bottle that has been opened will eventually expire due to oxidation.

Liquor does not expire to the point of causing sickness. It simply loses flavor — generally a year after being opened. Beer that goes bad — or flat — won't make you sick but may upset your stomach.

Unlike wines, distilled spirits do not improve with age once they are in the bottle. As long as they are not opened, your whiskey, brandy, rum, and the like will not change and they will certainly not mature further while they wait on the shelf.

The recommended shelf life is two years. The U.S. Food and Drug administration which regulates bottled water does not require a shelf life be listed but due to degradation of plastic over time, especially in heat we recommend two years for still water and one year for sparkling water.

Hard Cider Has a Shelf Life

Shelf limits can be up to two years, but according to Angry Orchard, one of the most popular cider brands, their cider has a shelf life for up to 12 months. Though alcohol technically does not 'go bad,' the flavor profile of the alcohol will change the longer the alcohol sits there.

No. It does not. The only thing that will really increase ABV in your beer is an increase in sugar. But that does not mean you should not age your beer.

The best wines can be stored for more than 100 years, but most great wines will reach their peak before they turn 50 years old.

White wine: 1–2 years past the printed expiration date. Red wine: 2–3 years past the printed expiration date. Cooking wine: 3–5 years past the printed expiration date. Fine wine: 10–20 years, stored properly in a wine cellar.

Leaving unopened beer at room temperature will ensure it's at its best for four to six months on average. After that, the quality will begin to degrade. For refrigerated beers, stored unopened, you have six to eight months of peak taste to take advantage of before the quality begins to slowly decrease.

Can you drink 6 months expired beer? ›

The short answer is that yes, beer expires. But saying the beer expires is a bit misleading, it doesn't actually become unsafe to drink, it just starts to taste unappealing or flat.

How long does unopened beer last in the fridge? Properly stored, unopened beer will generally stay at best quality for about 6 to 8 months in the refrigerator, although it will usually remain safe to use after that.

Kept in a dark and cold area, like a fridge, bottled beer will last up to 6 months. Stored warm, bottled beer can spoil in as quickly as 3 months. Keeping beer bottles away from light prevents the development of skunky off-flavors.

Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily raises blood pressure. Repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases in blood pressure.

50-year-old whisky is almost the holy grail in spirits terms. Very few casks of whisky will reach 50 years old and still be drinkable, representing a tiny, tiny fraction of a percent.

20 year old whisky is a fine thing; old enough to have picked up some real complexity and depth, and plentiful enough to be affordable. It's the perfect sweet spot, particularly for independent bottlers who offer a fantastic selection at this age bracket.

Drinking a whisky that was opened years ago will not make you unwell. It is down to what your taste preference is more than anything else. If a whisky noticeably no longer tastes as good as it once did, then it's probably time to dispose of the bottle.

Pot distilled spirits, on the other hand, retain more innate funk and character through the distilling process, and generally benefit from some aging—think Scotch, brandy, mezcal. There are exceptions, of course.

Found in 1867 in the tomb of Roman soldier, the Speyer wine bottle is believed to be the oldest wine in existence. This wine is on display in the Pfalz Historical Museum in Speyer, Germany, where it attracts attention for its age, appearance and overall uniqueness.

Does Old alcohol get weaker? ›

The shelf life is indefinite. What is this? However, once a bottle of liquor is opened, the oxygen will interact slowly over time so that it may eventually lose its flavor or become weaker as some of the alcohol evaporates. To minimize this effect, keep liquor in the tightest, smallest sized bottle that you have.

Although a person can drink a small amount of spoiled wine without fearing the consequences, they should avoid drinking large amounts of it. Typically, wine spoilage occurs due to oxidation, meaning that the wine may turn to vinegar. Although it may taste unpleasant, it is unlikely to cause harm.

White wine: 1–2 years past the printed expiration date. Red wine: 2–3 years past the printed expiration date. Cooking wine: 3–5 years past the printed expiration date. Fine wine: 10–20 years, stored properly in a wine cellar.

Since a sealed bottle of wine doesn't come in contact with excess oxygen, bacteria, and heat, it has a longer shelf life than an opened bottle of wine. You can consume these wines past their printed expiration date as long as they smell and taste okay.

Yes. Drinking old opened wine is not harmful as no dangerous bacteria are present. Even if the wine appears to have mold, you won't get ill from drinking it (unlike with spoiled food, for example.) However, the flavor and aroma of spoiled wine or corked wine (cork taint) won't be pleasant and can taste weird.

Can old wine make you sick? No, not really. There's nothing too horrific lurking in poorly aged wine that would have you running to the emergency room. However, the liquid that could come out of that bottle may make you feel sick from the color and smell alone.

Whiskey is meant to be enjoyed over time, but once you open a bottle, the clock starts ticking. Most scientists believe that if your bottle is at least half full, it can last one to two years, but if it's almost empty, with a quarter or less whiskey left, it'll expire in about six months.

Bottled red wine will last for two to three years at room temperature and one to three weeks in the refrigerator after opening. Boxed wine will last up to a year unopened and up to thirty days after opening.

An unopened bottle of whiskey will last indefinitely if stored in proper condition. After opening a bottle of whiskey, you have as long as two years or as few as six months or less to drink it before it goes bad.

What to Do with Old Unopened Wine. Disposing old unopened wine down the sink is an excellent idea if you run warm water down the drain while dumping your wine. This will make sure that the wine's acidic properties will be diluted while it is going through your pipes. After the wine is dumped, recycle the bottle!

Should you refrigerate red wine? ›

Just as you store open white wine in the refrigerator, you should refrigerate red wine after opening. Beware that more subtle red wines, like Pinot Noir, can start turning "flat" or taste less fruit-driven after a few days in the refrigerator.

Oldest Wine in Existence Today: 325-350 AD Speyer Wine Bottle. Found in 1867 in the tomb of Roman soldier, the Speyer wine bottle is believed to be the oldest wine in existence.

Some wines will become more expressive with that initial exposure, but after a while, all wines will fade. Oxygen will eventually cause any fresh fruit flavors to disappear and aromatics to flatten out. Drinking a wine that's faded due to oxidation won't make you sick, it will just taste unpleasant.