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Ollllllld liquors... safe?

This might be the wrong group to post this in... but I'm guessing that many of you who brew beer (something I'm going to try soon -- a friend of mine hooked me up with a homebrew kit for Christmas) know a thing or two about how long alcoholic drinks keep.

I found several old bottles in a cupboard today left over from my parent's wedding... almost thirty years ago. One bottle is Chivas Regal, one is Crown Royal. (One is some pretty powerful rum from the Virgin Islands). I'm guessing scotch doesn't age in bottles, so I don't expect it to taste any better for the age. My question is: all of these bottles were opened & half to 3/4 full. Will it still taste good? And, more importantly, is this stuff still *safe* to drink? I'd think the alcohol content would keep it free from germs, but I wonder if the alcohol bled off by now. I'll give 'em a taste if they're safe... I'd hate to throw away perfectly good liquors. But I'll toss them if there's a chance that I'll end up with mad 3AM trips to the toilet. :)

I also found a whole bunch of mini "airline-size" bottles that I think my grandpa (!!!) bought from the naval exchange back in the 60s. They're all sealed, so I'm guessing they're good to taste test. (But please, someone tell me if I might be wrong...) I'll chuck 'em if I have to, but I think it'd be kind of cool to sip something that came into this world when my dad was still a teenager. :)

Thanks!

-R

Reply to
R
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The alcohol in the bottles, assuming they are well sealed and the alcohol hasn't evaporated away, have probably prevented anything from contaminating them. I *highly* doubt that any organisms can survive in bottles of distilled alcohol. I am actually very jealous right now, as I am sure that all the bottles, especially any scotches and whiskeys, will be absolutely amazing. My parents made a similar find (a bottle of B&B they got for an engagement present) around the time of their 25th anniversary. The stuff was liquid gold.

The only thing I would be wary of would be something like Irish Cream. I think Baileys uses actual cream, so that is all I'd be concerned with.

If you are still concerned, I'd be happy to dispose of them for you.

Reply to
Glenn L.

I'd be careful about opening and consuming the small bottles. There is a good chance that they may be worth a good deal of money.

Steve W.

--

contaminating

Reply to
QuickDraw Steve

had a similar experience recently. the elderly neighbour said we could have this 3/4 full bottle of vickers gin. she couldn't remember exactly when it was from but believed it was from her daughters 21st birthday. she is now a littel over 50. the gin was no better (or worse, depending on wether you like the stuff) than usual. i don't think it was any different.

incidentally, i recently tried some vegemite out of a jar that had a use-by date of 1984. didn't taste any different than normal either.

cheers.

sam.

Reply to
samuel mcgregor

dont worry... if its bad you will know it ... you will say yuck. especially any kind of cream liquer..it will pour out in clumps. if you have a lower alc. like a snops or cream de'mint. you will notice the flavor has vanished. my aunt had the same bottle of segrams 7 that she used for a highball every xmass for 30years. i dont think it was any change year to year. of course shes gone now so......

contaminating

Reply to
tommyboy

Sam, most in this newsgroup would not know what Vegemite is. However, with little Johnny taking our best interests to heart, the Free Trade Agreement with USA will see happy little vegemites hopping all over America. Steve W.

Reply to
QuickDraw Steve

It's probably all fine. Go for it. It will not kill you. Who knows, it might even be aged to perfection.

-- Dave "Just a drink, a little drink, and I'll be feeling GOOooOOooOOooD!" -- Genesis, 1973-ish

Reply to
David M. Taylor

When my parents moved, I found myself in a similar situation. Long story short, most of the opened stuff didn't taste too good. It was kind of like drinking a dust bunny, if you can imagine that.

The samples I have had of the unopened stuff was great.

I'm no doctor, but I can see no reason why drinking it would be a problem. It's not like anything in there could be alive. For what it's worth, I was fine after samples from opened and unopened bottles. Give it a try!

Guy

Reply to
Wiz

I think he's saying it always tastes bad (it certainly smells like something died) ;) Somehow I have a feeling you know that...

Steve

Reply to
Steve Thompson

Yeah, what the hell is Vegemite anyway? Is it the Australian equivalent of Spam, but made out of rabbit or kangaroo meat instead? I'd be curious to try it... hell, I'll try anything once, although it sounds like once would be enough for a lifetime.

-- Dave "Just a drink, a little drink, and I'll be feeling GOOooOOooOOooD!" -- Genesis, 1973-ish

Reply to
David M. Taylor

On the great day of Wed, 11 Feb 2004 08:29:54 -0600, Sneezed and expounded:

Close... it's made of dead yeasties.

The excess yeast produced from brewing beer gets sold off to Kraft who add salt and caramel colour (to turn it black) , then put it in a jar.

A great source of B vitamins. :)

It's better than it sounds. Really.

-- I practice the art of creative spelling!

remove 'z' in address for reply

Reply to
Dan

Yeh, Vegemite ain't so bad, but like Menudo, Haggis and some other delicacies, it is an acquired taste. I can recall thinking the first time I'd opened some that I'd stumbled onto a failed Aussie BW experiment, but the gal that I'd fetched it for loved its salty, yeasty flavor...

Reply to
Damian Solorzano

I'm with you. My wife grew us as a US expat in Australia, and when I met her, she'd always bring a couple of jars of that nasty stuff back. Never could figure out the attraction, but she swore by it. BTW - have had haggis and boudin (Cajun blood sausage) so I'm not exactly shy about what I eat.

Reply to
jrprice

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