Many types of alcohol can be stored for months or years. Some even get better with age. Of course, the quality of the bottle will depend on how it is stored. This is certainly true for whisky and there are a few things to remember when storing sealed and opened bottles.
Sealed bottles are often easier to store than those that have been opened. The main points of concern are temperature and light. If you store your whisky in an area that experiences temperature fluctuations – even normal seasonal fluctuations – it can cause the whisky to degrade. Like wine, you need to make sure that your whisky is stored in some kind of cellar and out of the light. Both natural and artificial light can cause the quality of the whisky to decline. In short, the alcohol content will not change but even the most expensive bottle of whisky will taste cheap if stored improperly. Things like constant low temperatures or vibrations will not affect the quality of the bottle.
As for opened bottles, you may not want to store bottles that are below the two-thirds mark. When only a third of the bottle remains, you might want to finish it with a few friends rather than trying to store it for a long period of time. If you do not consume the remaining whisky, the oxygen exposure will cause the quality to decline until you are left with a rather unappealing beverage. You can test this by leaving some whisky in a glass on your kitchen countertop overnight. When you return to taste it the next day, you will notice the huge difference. This is the effect of oxidation on whisky. If the bottle is more than two-thirds full, then you can safely store it much like you would a sealed bottle. Beware of temperature fluctuations and light exposure. You don’t want to store this bottle for too long, however, because it has been opened and some oxygen exposure has already occurred.
With these tips in mind, you can make the most of every bottle and every glass of whisky. Now you know that there is no need to rush to open and consume a sealed bottle. You can hold on to it for a special occasion!