Does Gin Go Off? How Long Gin Lasts Once Opened

If you’ve suddenly found yourself asking the question that hits most drinkers at some time or another – ‘Does gin go off?’ – then we’ve got the answer for you.

• we’ll talk about whether that old gin you’ve just discovered
• the likelihood that it gin goes off
• how long unopened gin can last
• the best way to store gin
• whether gin should be refrigerated
• whether flavoured gin goes off
• and then sum it all up.

Somewhere in almost every drinks cupboard lurks a bottle of gin of uncertain age.

Perhaps it came out every Friday night for a summer and then disappeared behind the whisky. Perhaps someone gave it to you for Christmas several years ago but you’re not mad about it. Or perhaps there are only two inches left in the bottle and you’re not sure whether to drink it, or bin it.

The good news is that gin is considerably more resilient than the contents of your fridge.

A properly stored bottle of gin is extremely unlikely to spoil in the way that wine, beer or fresh food does. But that doesn’t mean it will taste exactly the same forever.

Here’s what happens to gin as it gets older – and how to make sure your favourite bottle stays at its best.

Does gin go off?

Strictly speaking, ordinary gin doesn’t really “go off”. As long as the bottle is unopened it can last for a long time.

Its relatively high alcohol content makes it very inhospitable to the bacteria and microorganisms responsible for food spoilage. So you do not need to approach an old bottle of gin with quite the same caution as an ancient bottle of milk.

What can deteriorate is its flavour.

Gin gets much of its character from aromatic botanicals – juniper, citrus peel, herbs, spices, flowers and, in our case at Rosemullion, everything from Cornish fruit to samphire and seaweed.

Those flavours can gradually become less vibrant, particularly after the bottle has been opened and exposed to air.

So the important distinction is this:

Old gin is much more likely to have lost some of its flavour than to have become unsafe to drink.

How long does unopened gin last?

A sealed bottle of gin stored properly can last for many years.

Unlike wine, gin is not sitting in the bottle gradually maturing towards some magical drinking date. The gin is intended to taste as the distiller made it when it went into the bottle.

If you discover an unopened bottle that has been sitting in a cupboard for several years, therefore, there is no particular reason to throw it away.

The important question is where it has been sitting.

Gin likes a relatively cool, dark and dry environment. A kitchen cupboard or drinks cabinet is ideal. A sunny windowsill above a radiator is not.

Heat and direct sunlight can affect flavour and aroma over time, so that beautiful bottle might look lovely with the afternoon sun streaming through it, but the gin would rather you put it somewhere darker.

Does gin go off once opened?

Again, not in the conventional sense.

Once you open the bottle, however, something changes: you introduce air.

Over time, exposure to oxygen can alter the aromatic compounds that give gin its distinctive character. Delicate citrus, floral and fruit notes may become less pronounced and the gin can begin to taste flatter than it did when first opened.

This isn’t something that happens overnight.

As a useful rule of thumb, try to enjoy an opened bottle of gin within around one to two years if you want to experience it at its best.

And there is another factor that matters surprisingly much: how full the bottle is.

A nearly full bottle contains comparatively little air. A bottle with one lonely G&T left in the bottom contains a great deal of it.

So if you have a particularly special gin with only a small amount remaining and you’re determined to save it, decanting it into a smaller clean, airtight bottle can help reduce its exposure to oxygen.

Alternatively, invite someone round and drink it.

We know which option we’d choose.

What is the best way to store gin?

Fortunately, storing gin properly involves considerably less faff than maintaining a wine cellar.

Follow a few simple rules:

Keep it out of direct sunlight.
Light can gradually affect some of the delicate flavours and aromas in a gin.

Keep it away from heat.
Choose a cupboard or drinks cabinet rather than somewhere beside the cooker, radiator or a particularly sunny window.

Close the bottle properly.
Replace the cap or stopper firmly after pouring.

Store gin upright.
Spirits are generally better stored standing up rather than lying horizontally like wine, particularly when the bottle has a cork closure.

And if your gin lives on an impressively stocked drinks trolley, simply try to position it away from strong sunlight.

Should gin be kept in the fridge?

It can be, but it doesn’t need to be.

Normal gin is perfectly happy in a cool, dark cupboard. Refrigeration won’t harm it, though, and some people particularly enjoy serving their gin very cold.

The same applies to the freezer. A full-strength gin has a freezing point well below the temperature of an ordinary domestic freezer, so keeping a bottle there is an option if you enjoy very cold Martinis or neat gin.

Just bear in mind that very low temperatures can mute aroma and flavour. If you have bought a gin specifically because you love its botanicals, keeping it at room temperature and chilling the finished drink with ice may allow you to appreciate more of them.

Does flavoured gin go off?

This is where it becomes slightly more complicated.

Not everything labelled with the word “gin” is the same product. Lower-alcohol gin liqueurs and products containing juices or other ingredients can behave differently, so it is always worth checking the producer’s advice on the bottle.

Full-strength fruit-infused gins are another matter.

At Rosemullion, for example, our Summer Gin and Harvest Gin are both 40% ABV gins rather than low-alcohol gin liqueurs. Summer Gin is infused with strawberry, raspberry and red and blackcurrant, while Harvest combines apples and plums from our orchard with raspberry, blackberry and sloe.

They should be stored in the same cool, dark conditions as our classic gins.

Because fruit and other delicate botanical characteristics are an important part of their flavour, however, we would always rather you drank them while those flavours were at their brightest.

Which shouldn’t be too onerous.

How can you tell if gin has gone bad?

If you have unearthed a particularly elderly bottle, use your senses.

First, look at it. Then smell it. Finally, if everything seems normal, taste a very small amount.

Gin that has deteriorated may have lost much of its original aroma or simply taste duller and less distinctive than you remember.

With naturally produced or fruit-infused spirits, a slight change in colour does not automatically mean there is anything wrong. Our own gins contain no artificial colourants, for example, so some natural colour variation can occur.

But if a bottle has a damaged seal, an obviously strange smell, unexpected particles or anything else that makes you seriously question it, don’t drink it.

There are limits to thrift.

So, does gin go off? Not usually in the way that food does…

The short version?

Unopened gin: potentially many years when properly stored.

Opened gin: usually still perfectly drinkable for a long time, but ideally enjoyed within around one to two years for the best flavour.

Best storage: upright, tightly closed and somewhere cool and dark.

Fridge: fine, but unnecessary.

Freezer: also possible for full-strength gin, although very cold temperatures can mute its aromas.

Above all, gin is made to be drunk rather than preserved for future generations.

At Rosemullion Distillery, we ferment and distil our spirits in small batches here in Cornwall, using traditional methods and botanicals chosen precisely for the flavours they bring to the finished gin.

So by all means put the bottle safely back in the cupboard.

Just perhaps don’t leave it there for another decade.

With best wishes

From the Rosemullion Distillery Team.