The Expiration Debate: Does Unopened Whiskey Ever Spoil? What You Should Know About Its Shelf Life

When it comes to expiration dates, food tends to steal the thunder. Everyone seems so hyper-aware of what's in their fridge potentially going bad, that sometimes we forget about the shelf life of our drinks. Despite the general assumption that alcohol basically lasts forever, that's not exactly the case. Booze can, and will, spoil, so it is important to know when it has and how you can prevent it from going bad prematurely. For example, an open bottle of whiskey should last three to six months after it's been opened. But what about bottles that haven't been opened at all? To find out just how long you can leave that bottle of Pappy van Winkle on the shelf before you open it, we spoke to Caitlin Bartlemay, master distiller of Hood River Distillers in Oregon. 

As it turns out, the longevity of your unopened whiskey has more to do with how it's kept, not the length of time it has sat unopened. "If not stored properly, it could spoil," Bartlemay told Food Republic. "If the bottle is sealed and kept in a cool, dark, and dry place it is just as likely to last longer than we will." The crucial factor is keeping the bottle away from light and heat, which can cause the liquid to evaporate — and that's bad news: "Whiskey will spoil in storage because of evaporation, so take care of the bottle and the closure and your favorite whiskey will stick around for that next special occasion."

The thing is, even if you take good care of a bottle and store your whiskey like a true connoisseur, sometimes you can just get unlucky and the spirit will turn. Though unlikely, it's worth knowing the telltale signs that your whiskey has gone bad — just in case you fancy breaking out a rather aged bottle you might have forgotten was hanging out towards the back of your cabinet.

To identify if an old bottle is in fact, too old to be enjoyed, Caitlin Bartlemay shared the signs you'll want to look out for. "If the bottle looks undamaged without noticeable mold or monsters attached anywhere, and the liquid appears and smells as expected, you are good to go." As long as whiskey has been properly stored and remains un-tampered with, there's no real reason why it shouldn't last for decades — or even centuries — without spoiling at all. The expert shared, "There are whiskies that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been stored well, and if their buyer was the type to enjoy them and not save them, they will be quite the dram indeed and no worse for the wear of time in storage." However, if your whiskey looks or tastes slightly off after you finally break the seal, it is best to toss the bottle out altogether.