Once you open a bottle...

Pretty much all of my bottles are open. The only ones that are not are really the bottles I just haven't been able to try yet or back-ups. But all my whiskey is for drinking. And I tell anyone that comes over, if there is a bottle you want to try and it's not open yet...Let's open it.

However, that means I have a "lot" of open bottles. And that begs the questions... how long does it stay good? Will it go bad? Does it have a shelf life? Will it spoil?

All good questions. Now, again, I'm no scientist. I'm just a person who enjoys drinking whiskey and learning about it. The best I can do is reference some articles from people who know more than I.

I do know that whiskey and wine are different in shelf life. Wine needs to be drank within a week or so of opening. Whiskey on the other hand is a whole different story. I've poured myself a glass from a bottle that's been open for over a couple of years and it's still damn tasty.

 An article from Garden & Gun talked about this topic of how long a bottle will stay good once it's opened. And, they get into the debate of the Neck Pour as well. (See, that debate is ever present). You can find the article HERE. It's quite interesting.

This article from Food Republic talks about transferring your whiskey to a smaller decanter and also wades into the whole Neck pour debate. But the article is really making the case for why we should buy very cool looking smaller glass decanters and put our whiskey in it. And I can see the allure in doing so. There are some very slick looking decanters on the market. However, there are a ton of really cool looking whiskey bottles as well. Once you finish drinking the whiskey in them, re-purpose them to your decanter. Bottles such as (Hill Rock Estate, Blue Run, Mary Dowling, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, Driftless Glen, Dimple Pinch ( I know, it's a scotch), and Blantons.)

Bottom line here are a few things to remember

• Whiskey should be kept out of the sun

• Whiskey doesn't like the heat or florescent lights

• Whiskey bottles should be stored upright

• Whiskey will keep for quite a while...as long as...

• The cork / stopper has a tight seal

If you only keep a few bottles around the house, and you drink on them fairly often, two, three or five months isn't going to affect them. If you have hundreds of open bottles you shouldn't have a problem as long as you keep them away from sunlight and heat, store them correctly and make sure the cork is tight. I have lots of bottles that are open, and I have not noticed any type of change in them.

But, if you ever start to get worried that they might spoil, let me know and I'll be happy to taste them for you. Leave us a comment and let us know what bottle is sitting on your shelf that has been open the longest.