I don’t drink much, really just a few drinks a few times a year. I have occasionally entertained, now I’m thinking when I retire and move to the Tucson area I’ll do a lot more hosting, dinners, tastings, etc. Got to make new friends and enjoy life!

I was looking and I’ve got pretty much everything needed for a home bar setup, minus a bar. I’ll need to start learning how to master some mixology.

How long will unopened bottles of liquor stay good? I’ve got unopened bottles of Bourbon, Whiskey, Tequila, Vodka etc etc etc, that are 5 to 7 years old. I just don’t actually imbibe much.

Are the Kirkland brand of Liquors & Spirits at Costco good?

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!

Unopened liquor is good forever. Well, maybe not forever but your is still fine.

Liquor that's more than a few years old won't hurt you, but it won't taste the same. It starts to degrade after a couple years.

If it's kept at a normal temperature, out of the light, and in a tightly sealed bottle, it will last longer than otherwise. Heat, light, and air speed the oxidation and flavor degradation.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Liquor that's more than a few years old won't hurt you, but it won't taste the same. It starts to degrade after a couple years.

If it's kept at a normal temperature, out of the light, and in a tightly sealed bottle, it will last longer than otherwise. Temperature, light, and air speed the oxidation and flavor degradation.

In addition; would recommend laying the bottle on its side to keep the cap from deteriorating and further ruining the flavor.

Donworryboutit. Booze good forever. Wine not so much. Beer is the first to go bad and very quickly if it went cold, hot, cold.

In answer to your question about Kirkland brand liquor, it's good to go as to quality and price. We don't buy a lot of liquor but I've never heard any complaints about it.

Jim

Hey Gene! I’m a UofA alum. Wanna try out your new bar setup during Arizona homecoming this fall?

Unopened bottles with good deals that were kept out of sunlight will last a long time. Opened bottles are as good as their seals in general. Oxidation happens and once a bottle is under a quarter left it’s best to finish it sooner or pour into s smaller container. Don’t rest any liquor with a cork top on its side. The alcohol content will destroy the cork. Kirkland spirits range from meh to good. They’re absolutely fine as mixers.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Hey Gene! I’m a UofA alum. Wanna try out your new bar setup during Arizona homecoming this fall?

Ha! I’ll be in Arizona next month for a couple days.

What time is the BBQ?

When I was in the Marines I hosted a lot of parties at my apartment. I told everyone that if they brought a bottle of anything they could share everything. Because of that I got a wide range of stuff, some of which I rarely drink. I still have bottles from 20 years ago in my collection that do the job of asked. I just recently broke out an open bottle of SoCo that still had the MCX price tag on it and I can confirm that it worked as intended.

All my liquor is stored in my basement where it remains generally cool and with no sunlight.

I've seen bottles of things like Irish Cream solidify, but straight spirits are generally good to go.
I generally don't stock anything I wouldn't drink myself. I don't feel the need to satisfy every possible whim someone coming over might have.

I haven't tried the Kirkland brand spirits, but personally if I were putting a bar together intended primarily for entertaining new potential friends, I would stock it with name brand stuff, rather than something that might evoke a Costco run in the minds of my guests.

Now, don't get me wrong - assuming had I tried and liked the Costco stuff, I might get some for personal use - just saying it may not help you make the first impressions you want.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
I haven't tried the Kirkland brand spirits, but personally if I were putting a bar together intended primarily for entertaining new potential friends, I would stock it with name brand stuff, rather than something that might evoke a Costco run in the minds of my guests.

Yeah. Perception is a big issue.

Screw tops and synthetic corks are objectively better than natural corks, but adoption has been very slow amongst good wineries because of negative perception. It's gotten better, but maybe 10 years ago I fairly frequently heard stories like "I took come clients to a nice dinner and ordered a $100 bottle of wine and it came with a screw top, I was horrified! They must have thought I ordered drugstore wine!"

What I’ve heard about the Costco liquor: it’s not bad but the real deal ain’t much more and if you don’t drink often might as well spring for a name brand.