alcohol and wine

**sinopa27** · 09-03-2011, 02:22 AM

first of all.......I don't drink but I was wondering if alcohol and wine keep for a long time? If so, is there a better one to buy? I've heard of having alcohol on hand for bartering and to clean wounds. But I am thinking......just have regular alcohol to sterilize stuff.
Also, does anyone stockpile wine, beer, liquor, and/or whiskey??????

**Spirit Deer** · 09-03-2011, 10:12 AM

We don't stockpile liquor, but we have a large variety of it for various purposes so it doesn't all get used in a timely manner. We've never had anything go bad.

We used to host conventions for my husband's company with hundreds of people attending, back in the mid-eighties. Any liquor that wasn't opened went back to the store, but anything that was open, we could keep. We are still using some of that stuff with no bad results. As you can see, we're not heavy alcohol users.

I don't drink either but do use some wine and other liquors in cooking. (Tortuga rum cake, oh, yum!) I also make vanilla extract using various liquors, including my personal favorite, Cruzan coconut rum. We've never had any problems with anything going bad. All the hard liquor is in glass bottles with tight caps. The wine is stoppered with vacuum seals that close using my FoodSaver.

We've had pop cans start to leak after long storage, so keeping canned products for long periods might not be a good idea.

We have had good results buying at the recommendation of the liquor store owner where we like to shop. But we live in a small town where we know people and can trust what they say, so that may not work as well elsewhere.

**Contrary Housewife** · 09-03-2011, 10:53 AM

Beer has a shelf life measured in months and is susceptible to "skunking" due to heat or light.

Wine has a shelf life measured in years, it can be as little as 3-5 before it goes off or it could last 10-15 years. It depends on the variety. It also needs to be kept relatively cool, which is why it's traditionally kept in caves or cellars.

Hard liquor lasts pretty much forever. Your plain distilled spirits will be your best keepers. Rum, vodka, whiskey, gin, etc.

**frugalwarrior2** · 09-03-2011, 12:54 PM

I don't drink either but have thought on this a bit. I keep rubbing alcohol to steralize (sp). I have thought about alcohol to get someone drunk for removing a larger object.
Have I just watched too many westerns? I really wish I could get quantity on oral antibiotics though.

**Ramona** · 09-03-2011, 03:29 PM

Wine with corks will stay good for decades if stored on its side to keep the cork wet.

Alcohol such a vodka, rum etc have very long shelf lives.

I don't know about beer, we don't drink it.

**NicJean** · 09-03-2011, 08:05 PM

Frugalwarrior - I have read, and heard people using antibiotics from a feed store (a pig is closest to human physiology and you would use the dosage for swine). I am not a doctor, nor play one on TV, I have not done this myself, only things I've picked up in my prep-travels.

**Spirit Deer** · 09-03-2011, 08:49 PM

Rubbing alcohol is a whole lot cheaper for medicinal purposes than any alcohol meant for consumption. And it's probably stronger too, since no one with a brain drinks pure alcohol. Therefore, I wouldn't keep liquor to use for first aid. Rubbing alcohol keeps forever, too, and there's no worries about whether or not it'll taste good in ten years.

**Mojjo** · 09-03-2011, 09:05 PM

Sorry...I don't drink and DH doesn't let it last.

Have you asked your local liquor store?

**sinopa27** · 09-03-2011, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by Ramona

Wine with corks will stay good for decades if stored on its side to keep the cork wet.

Alcohol such a vodka, rum etc have very long shelf lives.

I don't know about beer, we don't drink it.

Do they always use corks? I am asking because some of the bottles have a little paper wrapping around it and can't tell if it has a cork or not. Thanks!

**sinopa27** · 09-03-2011, 11:43 PM

Originally Posted by Mojjo

Sorry...I don't drink and DH doesn't let it last.

Have you asked your local liquor store?

I will find out where our local liquor store is at and will ask. I hope the person in the store has some real knowledge about the liquor.

**sinopa27** · 09-03-2011, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by Spirit Deer

We don't stockpile liquor, but we have a large variety of it for various purposes so it doesn't all get used in a timely manner. We've never had anything go bad.

We used to host conventions for my husband's company with hundreds of people attending, back in the mid-eighties. Any liquor that wasn't opened went back to the store, but anything that was open, we could keep. We are still using some of that stuff with no bad results. As you can see, we're not heavy alcohol users.

I don't drink either but do use some wine and other liquors in cooking. (Tortuga rum cake, oh, yum!) I also make vanilla extract using various liquors, including my personal favorite, Cruzan coconut rum. We've never had any problems with anything going bad. All the hard liquor is in glass bottles with tight caps. The wine is stoppered with vacuum seals that close using my FoodSaver.

We've had pop cans start to leak after long storage, so keeping canned products for long periods might not be a good idea.

We have had good results buying at the recommendation of the liquor store owner where we like to shop. But we live in a small town where we know people and can trust what they say, so that may not work as well elsewhere.

The chefs on the cooking shows always add wine when the cook certain foods. It is always....."a good white wine.....". If you don't drink wine, then how would you know. I am sure the wine makes the food taste better.

**Ramona** · 09-03-2011, 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by sinopa27

Do they always use corks? I am asking because some of the bottles have a little paper wrapping around it and can't tell if it has a cork or not. Thanks!

Good wines have a cork deep in the bottle and the top of the bottle is wrapped in paper or plastic, the not so good wines have a visible screw top.

**sinopa27** · 09-04-2011, 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by Ramona

Good wines have a cork deep in the bottle and the top of the bottle is wrapped in paper or plastic, the not so good wines have a visible screw top.

Thank you! I know what to look for!

**Contrary Housewife** · 09-04-2011, 10:46 AM

Any wine you like is "a good wine". And you have to taste it to know if you like it. If you don't like it in a glass, you won't like it in your food, either.

If you want to start buying wine, then go to tastings. Stores offer them from time to time and if you have wineries in your area you can go to those, too. You get a sip to taste and you can decide if you like it. Don't worry, they won't give you enough to get drunk or anything.

A lot of good wines have screw tops because a lot of young people today don't have cork pullers or know how to open a corked bottle. Also, cork is getting expensive. And sometimes just to mess with you they put a screw top over a cork....

So don't let a screw top put you off buying a wine, it is not necessarily an indicator of quality or taste.

**wanderlusting** · 09-04-2011, 12:15 PM

we have some alcohol- but not stockpiled. DH gets German beer, German wine and Scottish Whiskey- but he doesn't drink a lot, so what he gets lasts a while.

I don't know if I'd stockpile alcohol if I didn't actually drink it or use it regularly in cooking.

If you're set on having some, I'd think those big, cheap bottles of Vodka. Sometimes I'll put Vodka in spaghetti sauce and it can be used to disinfect. But I don't know if it'd be cheaper than buying rubbing alcohol if you only plan to use it for disinfecting purposes