Whisky drinkers do not usually have a hard time storing whisky as compared to wine drinkers. As our precious liquid stops ageing once bottled, whisky drinkers can keep their whiskies indefinitely. Well, as a broad-based theory, of course. Temperature and storage methods do affect whiskies, unfortunately, so we are here to look into how we can avoid doing the wrong things.

Storing sealed and full bottles

We need to look out for two things when storing sealed bottles. The first is temperature and the second, sunlight. Both of these affect whisky by causing chemical reactions in the whisky compounds and degrade the flavours over time. While this does not happen within a few years, but it will alter the taste after ten years or more.

The best way to store sealed bottles is in a cupboard when the light is minimal, and temperatures do not fluctuate like the stock market. Having a constant room temperature between 15 to 18 degrees Celcius is ideal. Nonetheless, we know that it is impossible for us in this part of the world to get that temperature, so keeping your whiskies in the dark cupboard is the next best thing. Otherwise, make sure that your open shelf is not facing the window to avoid heat and sunlight.

Storing opened bottles

An opened bottle of whisky requires a lot more attention and careful storage as compared to a sealed one. If your bottle is more than 2/3 full, it is entirely possible that the flavours will not change for the next one year or so. What you can do is to use some parafilm to create a seal on the bottle cap or cork to preserve the flavours as much as possible.

The challenge hits when your bottle is about 1/3 full. With that much air in the bottle, the whisky will begin to oxidise. Once oxidisation starts, the whisky will change and no longer taste the way it was. For some expression, oxidisation improves the flavours, but for most others, it degrades the whisky instead.

The best way to prevent oxidisation is to invite a few friends over to your house and finish the bottle on a glorious night. If you want to keep it for yourself, you may want to drink it as quickly as you can. Alternatively, pour the remaining whisky into a smaller glass bottle with a good seal. You can then parafilm the smaller bottle after that.

Using inert gas

You can use inert gas to remove the oxygen from the bottle before storing it for a long time. However, there is no study to verify if the inert gas will change the whisky. By theory, the inert gas will not cause any changes since they are not reactive, but nobody has verified it (at least I did not find any scientistic study on it). Some whisky drinkers in our community use inert gas, and they have not complained about taste alteration so far!

 

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