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How do I Store Whisky?

Posted by Steve McGilvray on 4th Dec 2019

How to store whisky? If you are a collector or just enjoy drinking whisky, it is important that your whisky bottle, flask or decanter is stored correctly to protect your investment and the precious liquid inside the bottle. The following information will help you to keep your bottle or collection in prime condition. 

Store your bottle upright or vertically

There are some basic things that you must do when storing whisky and one of the most important of these is to keep your bottle upright, do not store it on it's side or back, it must be upright or vertical with the cork, stopper or cap at the top: see image below

The reason for this, is that unlike wine, whisky is a high strength spirit. To be classified as whisky it must be at least 40% alc/vol. The strong spirit can react with the cork material and cause it to deteriorate and fail, this will then lead to the cork allowing air/oxygen into the bottle which will oxidise the contents of the bottle and spoil it. The cork can also break or crumble when it is removed.

Turn the bottle regularly to moisten the cork.

While it is not desirable to have the cork permanently in contact with the Whisky in the bottle, you should ensure that the cork is kept moist so that it does not dry out, which would lead it to become brittle and break up or crumble when removed. 

In order to keep the cork moist, you should agitate or gently turn the bottle once a month to wet the cork this should only be done for a few seconds and the bottle should then be store upright again.

Protect from direct sunlight

Store your bottle away from direct sunlight, as exposure to sunlight will fade and degrade your bottle's labeling, and any other decoration that is intrinsic to the bottle. 

Worse still exposure to sunlight will breakdown the alcohol within the bottle and cause a chemical reaction that will lead to the deterioration of the whisky flavour. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight will also affect the colour of the whisky and can accelerate the evaporation process. 

To help protect your bottle from direct sunlight it is desirable to store your bottle in a box or carton that will shield your bottle from sunlight and help to keep the label etc in good condition 

Store in a cool place with stable temperature 

The ideal temperature to store whisky is at between 15 - 20 ºC (59 - 68 ºf) ideally with little or no temperature fluctuations. Temperature fluctuations especially when exposed to heat, can cause the bottle to expand and can potentially damage the seal which will allow oxygen to enter the bottle, that will in turn spoil the contents. At the other end of the scale do not allow the bottle to become cold and damp as this will damage the labeling and can cause unsightly wrinkles or foxing on the labels, which affect the appearance and potential value.

Vermin and pests

The last thing to remember is to ensure that your whisky is stored in an area that cannot be penetrated by vermin and other pests that could eat or damage the packaging of your whisky as this may lead to your bottles being exposed to other damage. 

In summary it is not difficult to store your bottles correctly and with a bit of planning you can enjoy your collection in the condition that it was intended to be consumed.