Answers.Body: <p><strong>Hard spirits naturally <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2009.01116.x/full" rel="noreferrer">degrade over time once opened</a></strong></p>
  
  <p>You've already opened the bottle because you wanted to actually enjoy the drink, here are step you can take to help ensure the slow and unstoppable flavor degradation takes as long as possible.</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Store out of the light in a cool and dry place. </li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>A good general rule of thumb for just about any type of alcohol is to store the bottles in a cool, dry, and dark location this will prevent any fluctuation in the environment from causing changes and prevent UV radiation from getting in. </p>
  
  <ol start="2">
  <li>Keep the bottle completely sealed.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.alcademics.com/2015/09/science-on-how-spirits-change-or-age-in-the-bottle-rather-than-the-barrel.html" rel="noreferrer">Whiskey and other spirits will not mature</a> like a wine in a bottle over time, in fact using an open cork will likely contribute to the breakdown of the flavor as the spirit will have more opportunity to oxidize. A proper rubber stop/cork will do the job just fine. </p>
  
  <p>If you are looking to "age" a whiskey your best bet would be to store it in a small used whiskey cask or in a sealed class bottle with whiskey cask staves added. Both will allow the whiskey to absorb more flavors over time. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-06-11T02:25:30.163Z
Answers.Text: A good answer. Your comment about replacing the cork with a rubber stopper is what I was looking for. I'd considered using them for screw caps, but for some reason the thought never occurred to me for cork stoppers.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Phil D.
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-06-10T21:42:13.547Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-06-10T21:42:13.547Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Joshua Aslan Smith
Body: <p>I'm not a wine man but I believe the general rule is to keep the cork wet, although the story is entirely different with whisky due to the effect of its high alcohol content breaking down the cork.</p>
  
  <p>If the rule for whisky is to store the bottle upright, will it not suffer the same fate as wine stored upright? Assuming I open a number of bottles for enjoyment rather than waxing the seal for longevity, how can I make my spirits last?</p>
  
  <p><strong>Edit</strong>: <em>for clarification, this question is focused on whisky that comes with a cork and by extension what to do with the cork, not whisky storage in general.</em></p>
  
Tags: <storage><whiskey>
Title: How can I keep Whisky from corking over time?
UserDisplayName: Phil D.
ThreadText: # How can I keep Whisky from corking over time?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-10)
  
  I'm not a wine man but I believe the general rule is to keep the cork wet, although the story is entirely different with whisky due to the effect of its high alcohol content breaking down the cork.
  
  If the rule for whisky is to store the bottle upright, will it not suffer the same fate as wine stored upright? Assuming I open a number of bottles for enjoyment rather than waxing the seal for longevity, how can I make my spirits last?
  
  **Edit**: *for clarification, this question is focused on whisky that comes with a cork and by extension what to do with the cork, not whisky storage in general.*
  
  **Tags:** storage, whiskey
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-06-10. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
  
  **Hard spirits naturally [degrade over time once opened](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2009.01116.x/full)**
  
  You've already opened the bottle because you wanted to actually enjoy the drink, here are step you can take to help ensure the slow and unstoppable flavor degradation takes as long as possible.
  
  1. Store out of the light in a cool and dry place.
  
  A good general rule of thumb for just about any type of alcohol is to store the bottles in a cool, dry, and dark location this will prevent any fluctuation in the environment from causing changes and prevent UV radiation from getting in.
  
  2. Keep the bottle completely sealed.
  
  [Whiskey and other spirits will not mature](http://www.alcademics.com/2015/09/science-on-how-spirits-change-or-age-in-the-bottle-rather-than-the-barrel.html) like a wine in a bottle over time, in fact using an open cork will likely contribute to the breakdown of the flavor as the spirit will have more opportunity to oxidize. A proper rubber stop/cork will do the job just fine.
  
  If you are looking to "age" a whiskey your best bet would be to store it in a small used whiskey cask or in a sealed class bottle with whiskey cask staves added. Both will allow the whiskey to absorb more flavors over time.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: A good answer. Your comment about replacing the cork with a rubber stopper is what I was looking for. I'd considered using them for screw caps, but for some reason the thought never occurred to me for cork stoppers.  
  
  ---
  
  