Will liquor expire?

In ancient times, people drank liquor made from grains, such as the most commonly heard nv'erhong. In ancient times, there was a saying that the aroma of wine could spread ten miles away. This is because the longer the liquor is stored, the mellower its flavor becomes, because most liquor is brewed from pure grains. So white wine is different from beer. Beer has a certain shelf life, but white wine becomes more fragrant the longer it is stored. So will liquor expire if it is left for too long?

After a long period of storage, the quality of liquor will become mellow and rich. Although liquor has no shelf life, during the storage process, the alcohol in the liquor will react chemically with organic acids to produce a variety of ester substances. Each ester has its own special aroma. Because the esterification reaction in wine is quite slow, high-quality wine generally needs to be stored for three to four years, or even longer. However, the esterification reaction will tend to equilibrium and stop at a certain level. If it continues to be stored, the alcohol content will decrease, the taste will become lighter, and the volatile loss will increase. In particular, some mid-range and low-end liquors have flavoring agents added during the blending process, and this type of liquor cannot be stored for a long time. Otherwise, the wine will become bitter and greasy. Therefore, there is also an appropriate storage time for liquor, and the older it is, the better.

1. Alcohol with an alcohol content of 10% or less will expire. The state stipulates that liquor with an alcohol content of 10 degrees or less must be labeled with a shelf life. When the wine is over 10 degrees, it has the function of disinfection. As long as the storage conditions are appropriate, it is difficult for bacteria to multiply in the bottle and it is difficult for it to deteriorate.

2. The storage time of ordinary flavored liquor is 5-6 years. If it is stored for longer time, the taste of the liquor will become lighter and the aroma will weaken. This is because as time goes by, the alcohol will become smaller and certain substances in the liquor will slowly decompose and disappear. There is no point in storing this kind of liquor, so it is a good choice to drink it in time.

Additional information

1. There is no shelf life for liquor, but it does not mean that the longer the shelf life, the better. During the storage process, the alcohol in the liquor will react chemically with organic acids to produce a variety of ester substances. Each ester has a special aroma.

2. Chinese liquor is a traditional distilled liquor with a relatively high alcohol content. It contains a rich variety of trace ingredients. The combination of these trace ingredients is relatively slow, so the wine takes a very long time to be balanced and is suitable for drinking for a very long time. Moreover, the wine will become more balanced as the storage time increases.

3. Wine will have sediment after being stored for a long time. If it is placed flat or the bottle mouth is slightly tilted upwards, the sediment will gather at the bottom of the bottle. If the bottle mouth is tilted downwards, the sediment will gather at the bottle mouth and will stick there over time. When pouring the wine, the sediment will be poured into the wine glass together, affecting the taste of the wine.