Storing A Bottle Of Nice Scotch

[snikt]

Hello -- I just ordered a nice 29 year bottle of scotch that was distilled on my birthday in 1983. I'm curious as to the best way to use and keep it. I was thinking it'd be neat to have a shot every birthday, but that would require just 1-2 shots a year.

Would something like that be a good idea or would it be better to wait for a special occasion and drink it quickly after opening? I'm not really sure how long they keep unopened and opened. It was bottled June 11th 2012

Thanks in advance --

[michael]

Welcome to the Whisky.com Forum snikt! I've upgraded your status. You can post freely now.

[drakoskl]

Make sure to keep it somewhere where there is not direct sunlight. When it is closed it la
sts forever. If you open it , it depents how much oxygen remains in the bottle as to how fast it ll go bad. With half the bottle full it lasts about five years. The best , if you want to do it like you said, is to buy small sample bottles and once you open it put what is left in tge small bottles. This way it ll stay fresh until you drink again

[snikt]

Thanks for the tips, I've also heard mention of possibly filling the bottle with nitrogen after use to help reduce oxidation, does anyone have any experience with that?

I'm pretty curious to try it, it's being shipped from Scotland right now.

http://www.gillespiepartners.com/en/...1/dailuaine-en

[youngatheart]

I see your bottle is 49.9 % AT NATURAL CASK STRENGTH

Isn't this s little low ?

[snikt]

Originally Posted by youngatheart

I see your bottle is 49.9 % AT NATURAL CASK STRENGTH

Isn't this s little low ?

Maybe that distillery is lower than some, their 40-year 1971 is 47.6% cask strength

Should you dilute that some when drinking? I've heard the ideal whiskey sipping proof is around 82-88

[PerfectCellar]

I personally think keeping it in a cool dry place is key. Try saving for special day and inviting your friends to drink it with you.

[Cannella]

Similar to Snikt, I have a few bottles that I had planned save and drink over a number of years. Like Snikt, I want to keep the whisky as tasty as possible.
I thought the concern was that the cork may dry out (leading air to leak in to the bottle and ruin the taste). The local Specs told me their policy for nice bottles was to turn them on their side for 7-10 seconds every 30-90 days.
Being lazy (and forgetful), I was wondering if melting some wax over the corked bottle woud help with the issue by creating a seal? Not something for every bottle, just the nice ones that only get opened once every month or year.
Thanks for any advice,
Chris

[blenderm]

The problem with using wax is that there's no natural movement of air and the cork will dry put. The only reason I know is that an acquaintance did this to a bottle he wanted to keep for 21 years [sons 21st] but when he prised the wax off the cork crumbled and the whisky was ruined.

ps the reason that older casks strengths can be low depends on the warehouse where they're stored, a dry warehouse seems to lower the strength faster than a damp one.

[LostBoyScout]

Whiskies lose alcohol content over time as they are stored through evaporation. Wood isn't completely impenetrable, after all. Thus a young cask strength can be over 60% while the cask strength of very old whiskies, like 40-50 years, can come close to dipping below the 40% minimum.

On topic, I've been thinking of doing the same thing with a bottle of Talisker 30 year bottling from 2011/2012 (born in 1981). The 5 year shelf life for a half-empty bottle is a lot shorter than I've previously been led to believe. I was under the impression you're basically okay for a good dozen years, but perhaps I've heard wrong.