Do you refrigerate your alcohol?

[cptjeff]



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.

I've often heard the rule that you should take a white out 15 minutes prior to serving and put a red in for 15 minutes. Interesting that you go so far as an hour.

Vermouth stays in the fridge for me, since it can spoil, as do syrups and juices. Wine as appropriate, and a representative sampling of beer is kept stocked in the fridge.

I don't keep liquor in the fridge or freezer. I don't take pains to make cocktails as icy as humanely possible either. As foodguy mentioned, cold mutes flavors. It's something you might want to do if you're a sorority girl or frat guy who just wants to get drunk without tasting it, but for people who care about flavor, I don't see why you would want to.

Besides, imagine Huntsman trying to fit his bar into a refrigerator.

 

[denning]

I only keep open bottles in the fridge. These currently include vermouth, Lillet, Pineau de Charentes. Freezer contains Limoncello and Rosolio. All wine gets stored in the basement in a cool, dark corner. I don't think wine should be stored long term in a fridge, it's just too cold, and the vibration of the fridge can eventually wreck the wine if left for too long (ie. years). That being said, I still keep approximately 30 bottles of wine in the wine fridge, along with a random smattering of beer, for use in the foreseeable future. All other spirits and liquor get kept on the shelf or in the pantry. As has been said a few times, I want to taste my alcohol, not freeze it until it all tastes the same.

 

[foodguy]

yes! completely forgot limoncello. so great after dinner on a summer night. and MUST be served nearly frozen.
i think the chill time for wines is flexible depending on climate, time of year and personal taste. summer in los angeles, i probably bring the whites out 20-30 minutes early, but do put the reds in for an hour.

 

[f-tard]

hells yeah. more alcohol in the freezer than food.

 

[SeanathonHuff]

what % volume of the container must be cleared in order to safely store 70-80+ proof liquor in the freezer?

 

[sinnedk]



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..

if your Vodka froze, that means someone drank some and added water so you wouldnt notice, otherwise vodka never freezes.

+1 to Vodka in the freezer

 

[b1os]

That's why I specifically mentioned it. No one drank from it, no one added water. It still ******* froze. At least I won't buy it again. Normally, Vodka might create some schlieren - it's somewhat between fluid and frozen, if you know what I mean. I actually like that. But my Moskovskaya really froze, like if you let a coke for too long in the freezer and it hardly comes out of the tin.. Slush-like.

@Huff: 40% should be enough. If you don't particularly have Moskovskaya.

 

[foodguy]



Normally, Vodka might create some schlieren - it's somewhat between fluid and frozen, if you know what I mean.

good word. i describe it as almost oily, but in a good way. i think schlieren sounds much better.

 

[sinnedk]



That's why I specifically mentioned it. No one drank from it, no one added water. It still ******* froze. At least I won't buy it again. Normally, Vodka might create some schlieren - it's somewhat between fluid and frozen, if you know what I mean. I actually like that. But my Moskovskaya really froze, like if you let a coke for too long in the freezer and it hardly comes out of the tin.. Slush-like.

@Huff: 40% should be enough. If you don't particularly have Moskovskaya.

so weird, i think that company is doing something shady then, i have never had vodka freeze on me

 

[b1os]



so weird, i think that company is doing something shady then, i have never had vodka freeze on me

I have to admit, it didn't completely freeze. But still, it's more firm than slush. When the bottle was 1/3 full it began to happen. I was hardly able to get some of that slush-mass out of the bottle...

 

[Huntsman]

I only keep open bottles in the fridge. These currently include vermouth, Lillet, Pineau de Charentes. Freezer contains Limoncello and Rosolio. All wine gets stored in the basement in a cool, dark corner. I don't think wine should be stored long term in a fridge, it's just too cold, and the vibration of the fridge can eventually wreck the wine if left for too long (ie. years). That being said, I still keep approximately 30 bottles of wine in the wine fridge, along with a random smattering of beer, for use in the foreseeable future. All other spirits and liquor get kept on the shelf or in the pantry. As has been said a few times, I want to taste my alcohol, not freeze it until it all tastes the same.

+1 for the Pineau. Whose do you like? I have both the Ferrand and the Brillat -- much prefer the Brillat.

 

[denning]



+1 for the Pineau. Whose do you like? I have both the Ferrand and the Brillat -- much prefer the Brillat.

Keeping in mind that I am stuck in the backwaters of Canada, the only one carried here is Marnier Lapostolle (Grand Marnier house). I had meant to ask you about your trip to San Francisco the other month as I will be there for a week starting on Sunday, and I have designs on going to as many great bars as possible while there. I will transfer this conversation to your other thread.

 

[eg1]

Beer and white wine in a wine fridge. White port, any opened sherry and Baileys (only use it in coffee for guests) in the kitchen fridge. Everything else in/on cabinets.

 

[Van Veen]

Any liquor you are using to mix cocktails in a cocktail/martini glass should NOT go in the fridge or freezer. If you do this, you will not get the proper dilution from the ice and you will basically be drinking straight liquor. Okay if you want to get slammed quickly, but not if you want to actually enjoy the taste. Spirits you drink straight can go in the fridge or freezer (limoncello, vodka, etc.). I also keep Irish cream in the fridge. Any other liquors (including liqueurs) will not spoil if you leave them out.

And it's a sin to put a bottle of single malt in the fridge. Why do you waste your money on it if you have to mask the taste by chilling it? It's like ordering a dry aged prime steak well done.

For fortified wines like vermouth, Lillet, etc. that tend to sit around, I use a vacuum stopper and put them in the fridge. Vermouth WILL go bad. The bad taste most people associate with vermouth is actually the taste of vermouth that's gone bad.

I live in an apartment, so beer stays in the fridge. If I had a basement, I might consider keeping some stock in the basement, but beer goes bad faster in warm temperatures and light. Temperature changes are also bad for beer, so if you bought it cold, it should go straight to the fridge.

 

[Piobaire]

Anything distilled sits at room temp. All my wine is of course in my wine cellar. I do not have much in the way of liqueurs but I keep my vermouths (Vya red and white, Antiqua Formula red (Hunts, you have to try this)) in the fridge.

I'm with FG on removing whites from the fridge well before drinking. Reds I just drink right out of the cellar.