Do you refrigerate your alcohol?

[gamelan]

I moved recently to a home that gets really warm during the daytime. We're talking inside temps in the mid 80s in the summertime. There is no central A/C and I wouldn't be turing it on anyway while I'm at work. So I worry about my alcohol and the effects of heat on it.

I'm curious if there are any recommendations on refrigerating alcohol. This is what I'm doing now:

Beer - Yes, but only until I'm ready to drink it. Otherwise it stays outside.
Wine - No. But I try to store it away in kitchen cabinets that might be a few degrees cooler. Also, I don't have a bottle of wine that costs more than $25 so I'm not super concerned here.
Spirits - Right now, the only thing in the fridge in this category is a Macallan 17 year. Oh, and a bottle of 10 dollar rum for some reason. But the whiskey, bourbon, gin, etc. is all outside.
Liquers - Pretty much everything in the fridge and for me this includes Campari, Chartreuse, and Luxardo
Bitters - everything in the fridge. Angostura, Peychaud, orange bitters

Thoughts?

-Jeff

 

[divitius]

I keep rum and gin in the fridge during summer, but never whisky. Esp. Macallan 17? Seems wrong! I also keep cocktail glasses in the freezer so they're perpetually chilled.

 

[Huntsman]

I don't keep anything with more than 20% alcohol in the fridge. Why, I don't know. I do know that having cold spirits, etc, will affect the dilution ratio of a cocktail, and the water in them is important.

But wine, Pineau, vermouths, etc, all are either in the fridge or a wine captain. Bottles of open mixers don't last that long, generally, but wines may sit for years, so I'd rather they have a controlled atmosphere, if not for the loss of value, but the loss of taste and anticipation.

~ H

 

[MikeDT]

Ales, no. Lagers, yes. We Brits our best bitter at room temperature.

 

[willpower]

Vodka in the freezer - always

 

[b1os]

Vodka in the freezer here, too. Unfortunately, my latest Moskosvskaya freezed. Despite 40%. Stoli doesn't freeze... Right now; I use Finlandia. Let's see whether it freezes..

@Huntsman: You might be right. On the one hand the cocktail is faster/already cold, on the other hand not enough ice melted..

 

[madaboutshirt]

I don't have a cellar so I store my wines in a wine cabinet/fridge which is set to a constant temperature of 14 degrees celsius.

 

[james_timothy]

In the summer, I mostly want to drink my wine cold- so the whites and the roses,
even some reds, go into the fridge.

 

[ter1413]



Vodka in the freezer - always

+1

 

[randallr]

It's best to leave craft brewed ales in the fridge as long as possible. This allows them to become more clear. If you only chill them right before you drink them they will exhibit "chill haze". This is only for appearance purposes, but for me that's more than enough of a reason.

 

[Krish the Fish]

I refrigerate all my beer, but keep all of my liquor at room temperature. My vermouth, triple sec, grenadine (aka my mixers) and garnishes are in the fridge as well. I haven't really delved into wine yet so I can't speak to that.

 

[FLMountainMan]

All my beer in the fridge. My freezer has some patron, some vodka, and some Red Stag. A bunch of liquor on a shelf.

 

[changy]

Fridge/Freezer: Beer, vermouth, grenadine, Vodka, Martini Glass
Cabinet: Gin, whiskey, rum etc and Bitters

 

[foodguy]

freezer: vodka, eaux de vie. fridge: beer. wine vault (roughly 65 degrees): most wines, except for immediate drinkers. room temp: other spirits.
as for serving temps ... i think most people usually serve white wines too cold and red wines too warm. unless a white is fabulously over-the-top fragrant, i'll bring it out of the fridge an hour before serving. at the same time, most reds (unless it's something delicate from age), get an hour-or-so chill before serving. this is especially important with very fruity wines like beaujolais. remember that cold tempers flavors and aromas while heat exaggerates them--particularly alcoholic notes.

 

[dtmt]

I keep grappa in the fridge, but for other types of liquor, isn't that what ice is for?