The Common Storage Mistake That Can Ruin Expensive Liquor

People build spirit collections for a variety of reasons. Whatever brings you into it, there's one thing that unites hobbyist compilers: the desire to keep their liquor collections in top condition. Avoiding common home bar organization mistakes is the first way to prevent ruining your expensive liquors. To understand the regular oversights people make with their costly bottles, Tasting Table touched base with a seasoned expert, chief mixologist, and spirits educator at Total Wine & More, Molly Horn. "The number-one mistake is storing anything full-proof or over on its side instead of upright," said Horn. 

It's a well-known recommendation to never store whiskey on its side, and the reason extends to other strong spirits as well. Full-proof liquors, as Horn mentioned, will work against the cork at the top of the bottle, degrading it as time goes on. Eventually, the liquor that you spent valuable cash on will degrade the cork, which could lead to leakage from the bottle at worst, or at the very least, sentiment build-up in the bottle. Wherever you keep your liquor, it's important to make sure the bottom of the bottle is on a flat surface, outside of direct light or excessive heat.

"The second and more grievous mistake is holding onto the bottle forever," said Molly Horn. "Collecting is great, but at some point you owe it to the artists behind the liquid to actually enjoy it!" Not only does this make sense in terms of craft appreciation, but it's also a good tip for getting the best quality from the expensive spirits you purchase.

If you plan on buying expensive liquors or spirits and never opening them, you can disregard this advice. Generally, unopened bottles don't expire, so long as the seal from production remains intact and they are kept in climate and light-controlled environments. That said, if you've popped a top, you should know that most spirits have a defined lifespan after opening. 

Distilled spirits — gin, vodka, whiskey — won't expire, exactly. They remain safe to consume years after opening. Still, oxidation will occur in open bottles, and after a year or more, that could affect the flavor you purchased them for. Evaporation also plays an effect, meaning that your distilled liquors could lose potency if enough time has passed.