There has been correspondence in the past about how to keep an opened bottle of wine fresh, but I would welcome experiences of leaving spirits and liqueurs in bottles where the ratio of liquid to air had diminished over time. I had sip last night of a Bas Armagnac 1988 from the maker of the little known Ch Belle Brise. It was in a 50cl bottle last “approached” several months ago and the bottle,which had been first opened perhaps a couple of years ago was no longer more than one third full. It seemed to have lost much of its fruit and the nose wasn’t what it had been either.Should I have been surprised?
That does surprise me, but I have no expertise with spirits whatsoever.
Actually, John, that doesn’t surprise me. I have a bottle of 1959 Armagnac that is about 2/3 gone (purchased in 2001). On revisiting it recently, I found it had lost a lot of its finesse. Same with a bottle of single malt scotch. Don’t know the ‘science’ behind this, but I have found over the years that as the air/contents ratio increases spirits do lose ‘their stuff’. Is it because as the air volume increases, the aromatics decline? I’ve also heard that some of the alcohol evaporates too, but again I don’t know this specifically.
One thought, are you keeping these ‘cool’, and in a dark place, this I am sure would help
How about the change that occurs with us?Surely our sense of taste and smell does not stay the same as time passes.
Having enjoyed malt whisky and cognac over many years, I have very little doubt that spirits do deteriorate from the moment they are opened, albeit at a different rate and in a different way to wine. The first glass from a freshly opened bottle always seems to nose and taste better than subsequent glasses.
Phillip Hills in his book ‘Appreciating Whisky’ refers to this problem and the process of dehydrogenation and the formation of acetaldehyde.
The solution is similar to wine, either drink the bottle on opening (not recommended) or prevent air getting to it. Air-pumps which I have tried make the problem worse by stripping out much of the aroma, so I guess a gas blanket would be better.
thank you all for helpful,informative and amusing responses, but apparently no escape for the occasional drinker of spirits from an inevitable deterioration in quality
John I’ve heard it sugested that once you get past the half way point on a bottle you can decant it into a smaller bottle to preserve it longer, although I’ve never tried this myself. I have certainly noticed though that malt whiskies lose their flavour a lot faster once there is only a small amount left in the bottle.
As “Keeper of the Qaich” of our small Scotch nosing society, I’ve had the opportunity to try several of the “partials” left from previous Nosing Investigations. We feel that the whisky will lose a small amount of freshness over a long period of time. On the other hand, the partial does retain sufficient character to be illustrative of type and distiller when compared with other whiskies. We don’t keep anything over 2 years after opening - not planned that way, but when it gets down to about half the bottle, it is used for various functions. Yes, we alwqays have an enjoyable time. No, we don’t “just nose” at Nosing Investigations.
I am very glad to be back on Jancis’ site after an absence of some years.
I agree that as the spirit level decreases, there is greater risk that it will lose its best qualities. Sometimes, very small amounts in the bottle will oxidize. This type of oxidation can impart a characteristic, metallic-like scent and taste - not very pleasant. The strategy to transfer spirits to smaller bottles is a good one but I find it easier to use up the products and buy new ones.
I think various components in the spirit are volatilizing constantly. Also, probably some new ones are being made as suggested by Phillip Hills (a very knowledgeable authority). Esterification can be a factor, for example. Sometimes, opening the bottle seems to improve the contents for a time, I have found this with some bourbons and straight ryes. It isn’t a linear problem, which makes it all rather interesting.
I once kept an over-proof rum for over twenty years in a bottle less than half full. This is a famously spicy, congeneric-type rum. After twenty years, the non-ethanol constituents (and perhaps some ethanol too) had lifted off and the spirit was similar to a regular-issue white rum, almost vodka-like in fact…
The metallic-type oxidation does not occur with spirits long kept in barrel, even when the level drops to a quarter or so of the container. To be sure, oxidation proceeds apace but not in the unpleasant way which can afflict small amounts in a bottle. I am not sure why this is.
Gary