It’ll also give you something fun to focus on while you learn how to get a liquor license and wait for your license application to be approved. These are best kept at colder temperatures, while other beverages need refrigeration to keep fresh. You can extend the shelf life of your liquor bottles because no alcohol should be wasted due to improper storage. These suggestions will be beneficial if you seek safe ways to keep your alcohol at a liquor store or at home. If your bottles sit on a bar cart, make sure they’re out of direct sunlight. While UV rays won’t spoil liquor, extended exposure to the sun has a similar effect to storing at high temperatures (speeding up the oxidation process).
- Fortified wines will deteriorate in flavor, making for a pretty stale drink.
- Another reason not to ice out those liquors is that spirits that have been frozen do not create balanced cocktails.
- There are a few spirits that should be stored in the refrigerator, but vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey and bourbon are not among them.
- Open shelves in a kitchen or dining room are usually reserved for glassware and china, but why not add your fancy alcohol to the mix.
- Furthermore, you can keep bottles out of view when you’re not entertaining, creating a feature for any time of day.
Why Bother Storing Liquor Properly?
- Store spirits in the freezer if you enjoy serving them extremely cold, particularly vodka and gin, which become more viscous and smooth when frozen.
- For everything you can’t fit in your home (like the collection of vinyl records and shoes you moved to make room for your liquor display, #priorities), use Clutter.
- From tall cabinets to wall-mounted shelves to trays and tables, there’s something for every bar.
- From our Japandi range, this cocktail cabinet reflects contemporary Scandinavian design while using Japanese elements to ensure functionality.
- As home bars have become more popular, small bar carts or tables have expanded.
All spirits should be stored in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and temperature fluctuations, regardless of the brand. Firstly, contact with the metal cap can leave your beer with a nasty metallic taste. Secondly, storing upright allows any dead yeast to sink to the bottom, so you can avoid pouring any ‘bits’ into your glass when you come to drink it. Beers should be stored between 7 and 15 degrees – the higher the alcohol content, the warmer the temperature. While some open bottles, like red wine and whiskey, are better stored at cooler temperatures, other options require refrigeration to stay fresh.
Open kitchen shelves
Store your vodka in the freezer for a chilled experience, but be mindful of temperature fluctuations when you take it out to prevent any changes in flavor or quality. Properly organizing your liquor collection not only enhances the appearance of your space but also makes it easier to access and enjoy. Avoid the clutter of bottles stacked haphazardly, and create a display that reflects care and class. Keep your liquor cabinet locked and inaccessible to children and teenagers at all times to prevent underage drinking and accidental poisoning.
Go vertical with this 8-bottle wine rack from Wayfair:
You can even use a TV stand or something you might find in a living room or home office. A quality office shelf without the office supplies makes for a great whiskey storage rack, or a place for wine glasses outside of your wine cabinets. Another fantastic option is to install a rack on the kitchen wall and place your bottles on it.
It will help you to store and show your collection of alcoholic beverages. You can choose from a boxed rack, spaced displays, or a horizontal shelf. If all this talk of optimal storage conditions has you wondering about that bottle of vodka living rent-free in your freezer, rest assured, you’re not permanently damaging it. Keep in mind that cold temperatures will mute a spirit’s flavors and texture when you go to drink it, though. At the same event, the Bacardi researchers also presented some of their findings on the effects of oxidation – the effect of air on alcohol. Obviously, use the stoppers or caps that come with the bottles – that’s a no-brainer.
In fact, researchers from Bacardi showed that sun can be even worse for liquor than warmth. When researchers left bottles exposed to sun for 15 days, bourbon lost 10 percent of its color, and a bottle of scotch lost 40 percent of its color in that time. When it comes to keeping your collection of alcoholic beverages in storage, quality and safety, come first. Store your favorite alcoholic beverages in a solid, lockable where to store alcohol at home bar kitchen cabinet. This is to ensure they always taste wonderful and are only available to those who are over 21.
Using a vacuum pump to remove air from the bottle or transferring the wine to a smaller container can extend its life by minimizing oxidation. If you plan on making a bunch of cocktails, store your vodka in the freezer for about an hour before the party so it’s chilled. Take it out a few minutes ahead of serving, so it has time to thaw before showing off your mixologist skills. For long-term storage, vodka can be stored in the freezer or in a dark, cool place away from direct light. While it’s less efficient for displaying liquor in a bar, a bar cart or table is a good choice to display some prize bottles.
Display liquor among your books
It’s recommended you store liqueurs for up to 3 years (maybe even 5!). It’s recommended that wines are placed on their sides to prevent the cork becoming too dry, and in a part of the home that doesn’t experience rapid temperature changes. Forget about storing wine in the attic, or next to a window, as these are places that tend to become very warm, very quickly.
These bottles can react with the liquid when kept on their side in a fridge or confined bar cabinet, giving the alcohol a musty smell. Common distilled spirits like whiskey, rum, and vodka can oxidize when heated. This could imply that if your alcohol is kept at a high temperature for an extended period of time, your alcohol concentration may be lower than it was. Proper storage of alcoholic beverages in your kitchen is essential. Whether you use it as a liquor cabinet, cocktail cabinet, or something else entirely, the elegant slatted doors of this piece ensure your fragile items stay safe. Furthermore, you can keep bottles out of view when you’re not entertaining, creating a feature for any time of day.
You can keep all your alcohol in a kitchen bar cabinet with a freezer or mini-fridge, which also has space for chilling glasses, ice, and mixers. Alcohol doesn’t go bad, except for wine and a few alcohol brands with added sugar and flavorings, typically made from nuts, herbs, or fruits. However, if the alcohol stays in poor kitchen conditions, it might lose its quality and flavor over time.
Ultraviolet rays do not affect the amount of alcohol in the liquor, but they lighten the color of dark spirits like whiskey and rum. It’s perfectly fine to chill your gin or tequila in the freezer before you drink it, but the cold temperature won’t extend the alcohol’s shelf life. So when you see a deal you can’t refuse on your favourite wine, beer, or spirit at the local supermarket, or when your garden gives you a ton of plums for making fruit liqueurs, don’t worry! Remember – the key to storing many different types of alcohol is to try and maintain a constant temperature as much as possible, so naturally dark places are ideal. Even though frozen liquor shouldn’t be used for crafting upscale cocktails, it’s just fine to get into the spirit of the holiday season with festive, ice-covered alcohol bottles.
Remember to pick up any unfinished alcoholic beverages you or your visitors leave behind. Before you go to bed, clean any leftover alcohol from a party you had at your place. In the opinion of many, vodka is best served ice-cold from the freezer. This can effectively cover up the burning sensation brought on by ethanol in inexpensive, subpar vodkas.
MAY
About the Author