Need storing advice - new scotch collector

[timelinex]

My business partner and I have recently started enjoying fine whiskys. We have 'drank' our whole lives but have never really enjoyed drinks beyond their social role.

As a new whisky drinker that used to think Crown Royal was 'top shelf', it is very exciting to try new whiskeys. They are all so different! So with our limited knowledge we thought that of course alcohol 'never goes bad'!! What fools we were! In our excitement we have each probably bought around 15 scotchs in the last few months, and have only drank a dram or 3 from each. Each one is between $50 and $200, which wasn't a big deal because business is good and if it last forever, why not!

Then I randomly come to find out that whisky does start going bad!

I have a bottle of Macallan 21 thats about 2 years old now and half empty. No wonder when we taste tested it last week and compared it to the other years, it was a bit lack luster .It definitely tasted more complex than the "rare cask"/15/12 but it was surprisingly less smooth than the "rare cask". I'm guessing thats from the oxidation.... There goes a $500 bottle! I now store everything at cool room temperature, in the dark and standing upright. Is there something else I should do to try and preserve this, or is it a goner by now?

Anyways, I do realize that it doesn't actually go bad and it's just the taste that gets worse. How long can these scotchs sit around open before REALLY noticeably going down in quality.

I guess my question is just how much the taste changes. In 6 months (or 12 months or 24 months) is it subtle to the beginner drinker. Or is it a huge difference to the point that you might as well be drinking cheap stuff.

Thanks for the advice

[TheWM]

Hi and welcome on board.

I've rarely had a bottle open for longer than 6 months, although you're right oxidisation does play a part. Some times this works in your favour (i.e. a bottle will improve, especially if it's aged) when you open it and a couple of weeks later it will transform.

I'm no expert, but I think once you start getting below 50% full, you want to start drinking up quickly.

You could always get some bottles to decant your whisky into (say 250 - 500 ml bottles) and seal up nice and tight. That way you can sample your whiskies and put the remainder away for another day without worrying too much.

Some decent tape should so the trick, or it you want to be really posh, melt some wax and dip it in. Should be good for years!

[Calder]

You may find this page of interest: http://www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/how-to-store.htm

As it states there is no exact answer to how long you can keep a bottle once open, personally I consume open bottles within a year. One thing you can do is decant the remaining whisky into a smaller bottle if you want to keep the whisky for a long period.

[timelinex]

[sorren]

Once you open a bottle you let the air in, this will make very subtle changes, the more air and the longer the bottle is open the more it will change, to some people you will not notice the changes to others you will. My advice is this.. Open the bottle, drink some, put cork back in, drink some more, put cork back in, you don't really need tape round unless you plan on leaving it for a long time, once the bottle gets to half full then if your not drinking it very often then put the liquid in a smaller bottle, 35,20 cl size.. This way it will slow down any changes. I have opened bottles that have changed within days, others have taken years.. Every bottle is different..

[Quaich1]

[TheWM]

[timelinex]

Awesome.

Thank you guys for all the knowledge!

It's so hard to not keep buying new ones to try. They are all so different and pleasant in their own way. Since I just began, I'm like a kid in a candy store.

[TheWM]

[sorren]

There is nothing wrong with buying new bottles to try, unopened they will last for a very long time if looked after in the correct ways, I have bottles dating back to the 60s and 70s these bottles have been looked after and the whisky inside is very drinkable, and as I am one who likes to bug the odd bottle now and again I know the ones that have not been opened will see my lifetime out..

[opelfruit]

In terms of time lines. I usually like to let my whisky breath for a week or so before I look at it closely, a month and I know it's well oxydised and giving most of what it's got in terms of flavour and smell.

I try not to keep anything open longer than 1 year, I personally find that to be the tipping point, obviously this time decreases with volume. Once I get to about 1/4 left I tend to finish a bottle within a few weeks.

You can buy inert gas to spray into the bottle that stop the oxidising if you are keeping them open for a long time.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[TheWM]