Just curious if ~10 month old (unopened) Vodka and Rum will taste different. I don't know if there's any sort of "good before" date on these two liquors. Also, will some time in a hot car "damage" them at all?
TIA!
TIA!
Vodka & Rum - does heat damage them? age?
- Thread starter Maverick2002
- Start date
It would have to be pretty high heat or direct sunlight to have an affect as long as they were unopened and sealed.
lxskllr
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- Nov 30, 2004
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I would guess strong heat would affect it in a couple of days. You may only be able to tell via side by side tasting though. I left a half empty bottle of scotch in my Jeep for a year, and it went through everything MD could throw at it. It still tasted fine when I finally drank it. I couldn't tell a difference from new, but it had been awhile since I had it new. I would expect scotch to be more delicate than a white spirit, so that would be a good test.
Bill Brasky
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- May 18, 2006
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Cool, thanks for the info. No, I'm not trying to change the flavor, just curious about the effect of heat and time on vodka and rum, opened and unopened.
SacrosanctFiend
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SacrosanctFiend
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lxskllr
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One other thing to keep in mind, is airspace can degrade the flavor of spirits. If you have 1/2 bottle or less, you may want to decant it into a smaller container(preferably glass). Alcohol will get into the air space, and evaporate when the bottle's opened. Also, air can cause some oxidation of key components(more of an issue with dark spirits I imagine).
JulesMaximus
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Hard alcohol will last nearly forever as long as it is stored in a relatively cool dark place. Subjecting it to temperature extremes between freezing and 90 degrees probably won't change the flavor at all. Exposure to direct sunlight and high temperatures might not be the best idea though.
Joemonkey
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- Mar 3, 2001
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Knowing where you used to work (and where I work now) I'm surprised you say this
we do shelf life tests all the time, as in does a bottle of X that has been on the shelf for 1 month taste the same as a bottle of X that has been on the shelf for 1 year, or even a bottle of X that has been on the shelf for 5 years. Most of the time, to a trained palate, you can actually tell a difference.
Now, mix that stuff up and you probably won't notice, or if you buy random stuff now and again and don't have a specific brand you won't care. If you are used to consistently drinking brand X neat at room temperature then you may notice a difference based on shelf life, temperature, sun exposure, etc.
zerocool84
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Babbles
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If they are unopened I would not think it likely that vodka or rum would change flavor over ten months. Really vodka is essentially distilled to be just the ethanol and when kept in a sealed bottle I would not think it likely to change flavor over any period of time.
Rum could be a different story due to the cane sugar mash they use when making it which still remains in the liquid after the fermentation ceased.
Oxidation is usually the enemy of alcoholic beverages. However again vodka by it's nature is probably (relatively speaking) the most immune to oxidation compared to wine on the opposite end of the spectrum. I would also be surprised if heat would greatly affect vodka. If you have an unopened bottle, leave it outside for a couple of days to heat it up, then bring it back inside and allow it to reach ambient room temperature unassisted, then I don't think there would be any significant taste difference. If you open it up when it is warm, though, there will likely be a higher concentration of vaporized ethanol in the headspace of the bottle which would be released after the seal is broken. This would affect the concentration of ethanol in solution.
Rum could be a different story due to the cane sugar mash they use when making it which still remains in the liquid after the fermentation ceased.
Oxidation is usually the enemy of alcoholic beverages. However again vodka by it's nature is probably (relatively speaking) the most immune to oxidation compared to wine on the opposite end of the spectrum. I would also be surprised if heat would greatly affect vodka. If you have an unopened bottle, leave it outside for a couple of days to heat it up, then bring it back inside and allow it to reach ambient room temperature unassisted, then I don't think there would be any significant taste difference. If you open it up when it is warm, though, there will likely be a higher concentration of vaporized ethanol in the headspace of the bottle which would be released after the seal is broken. This would affect the concentration of ethanol in solution.
- Oct 10, 1999
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I already did. Its ok, but nothing to get excited about.
An orange or lime flavour would be better.
HomeBrewerDude
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