Ask Adam: What Alcohol Can I Store in the Freezer? (2024)

FAQs

Ask Adam: What Alcohol Can I Store in the Freezer? ›

For most vodka, storing it in the freezer is the way to go because it has been distilled to the point of being pretty much odorless and flavorless, so keeping it and serving it at a freezing temperature isn't going to impact it all that much.

All alcohol will freeze at a cold enough temperature, but any proof higher than 50 will not freeze in a conventional freezer. This covers the majority of harder spirits you may buy, but beer, wine, and liqueurs will certainly freeze with enough time.

It depends on the liquor. For some like vodka, it can be kept for years. The flavor of whiskey is permanently changed if it's kept in the freezer - it tastes weak and dulled.

According to Thibault, keeping vodka in the freezer is only acceptable for low-quality or cheap vodka brands. That's because the very cold temperature helps to mask the harsh truth that lesser vodka isn't very smooth and might even burn on its way down.

If you're having trouble discerning between liquor that's been distilled versus booze that's been processed through timed fermentation, Montagano suggests a helpful blanket rule: If your booze is wine-based, or has under 15% alcohol, it's worth keeping in the fridge.

He says our sense of taste is heavily connected to our sense of smell, and this has a big impact on the way we interact with spirits. "A freezing cold bourbon won't have much of a smell and consequently will taste like the sting of alcohol and not much else," he explained.

The same goes with freezing tequila—the low temperatures may cause its compounds to separate and the texture might become thick, syrupy, and undesirable. If you do prefer your tequila cold, chill it in the refrigerator for a short period of time before serving.

Many people think placing vodka in the freezer is the best way to store it. Freezing vodka does nothing to harm it — in fact it actually creates a much more viscous texture which is hard not to enjoy with vodka. But with alcohol, there are certain molecules that get “killed off” at various temperatures.

Baileys Original lasts 2 years from the day of bottling, opened or unopened when stored at the optimum temperature (0 to 25°C/32 to 77°F). For other Baileys products, shelf life varies depending on the flavour. See below for the full list.

So unlike vodka or even gin, you cannot store whiskey in the fridge or the freezer! The second golden rule of storing sealed bottles is never, ever, store bottles horizontally.

Does Grey Goose vodka freeze? ›

Grey Goose Vodka will not freeze in a conventional freezer. Because vodka contains 40% alcohol, it won't freeze over until around -27 degrees Celsius, much lower than your typical freezer, which is around -18 degrees Celsius. This means that Grey Goose Vodka can be stored in the freezer and it will remain liquid.

Because whiskey has a lower freezing point than the recommended temperature in the United States, it will not freeze in a standard freezer. However, while keeping whiskey in the freezer will not damage it, icy temperatures will impact the liquid within the bottle.

So stick a bottle of beer or wine in the freezer, and it'll probably freeze within a couple of hours. But this could actually cause the freezing liquid to expand, potentially cracking the glass, so beer and wine are things you should never keep in your freezer (at least not for longer than just a brief chill).

Spirits with an ABV of 40 percent or higher — or 80 proof and above — can be stored in the freezer with relatively little likelihood of them actually freezing, but does that mean you should? When alcohol is placed in the freezer, the cold temperature chills the liquid, but also causes it to taste muted.

Bottles like gin, vodka, whiskey, or other hard spirits with a high percentage of alcohol are naturally preserved indefinitely at room temperature. Meanwhile, spirits like fortified wines, lower ABV liqueurs, and others are best kept chilled to avoid oxidation.

Most unopened bottles of liquor can remain in storage indefinitely without impact on their flavor and potency if stored in the proper condition. Base liquors like whiskey, vodka, rum, brandy, gin, and tequila usually don't have a high enough sugar content in them to kickstart oxidation.

Due to its ethanol content, vodka will not actually freeze solid until it reaches a temperature of -16 degrees Fahrenheit. Standard freezers are 0 degrees Fahrenheit, but that is still too cold for premium vodka. The optimal drinking temperature of vodka is somewhere between 32-39 degrees Fahrenheit.

Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius), and the freezing point of pure ethanol alcohol is -173 degrees Fahrenheit (-114 degrees Celsius).

Does Fireball Whisky Freeze? Our Fireball Whisky's proof makes it perfect to store and pour straight from the average freezer. You'd have to drop the temperature to about -12 degrees Fahrenheit to get our whisky to ice up.

Pure Rum shouldn't freeze until the temperature falls to minus 27 C (-17 F), so it is safe in your freezer. Rum liqueurs have a lower ABV and therefore freeze more easily. However, keeping Rum in the freezer is rare, as you typically want to be tasting it at its full potency and complexity, especially if drinking neat.