After opening a bottle of rum, then what? Obviously, you will enjoy drinking it. But typically most bottles are not finished within a single sitting/night.
A broadly accepted belief is that the older alcohol gets, the better it is as it gets more expensive day by day.
An unopened bottle of rum will last forever (unchanged), if evaporation of the liquid is avoided, rum and other distilled spirits live “forever”. Though there would be some changes in flavors due to oxidation over the years, which is seen by connoisseurs and collectors as a good thing. World over, there are many collectors storing unopened bottles which are decades old.
After their opening a bottle of high-quality rum, there’s more to know about drinking out of a previously opened bottle. Since alcohol escapes at much faster (evaporates), an open bottle of rum experiences alcohol evaporation faster than a sealed one.
Oxygen though a life-saver for humans, acts as a negative force when it comes to an open bottle of rum. Once a rum bottle is opened, oxygen starts to oxidize rum and the flavor will change gradually, making it more vanilla-like.
Light exposure, temperature changes and oxidation leading to changes in the color and flavor of alcohol in glass bottles. Botanically made liquor may not age that well after opened. Volatile compounds by nature evaporate first, so we suggest you to drink the rum within 6 months of its opening. Rum will retain both its content and drinkability (for up to 6 months) if the bottle/container is sealed and relatively evaporation free.
Contrary to popular belief, alcohol does go bad. So you can’t wait too long to finish an opened bottle if you want to savor its real taste.
How to store an opened bottle of rum
When rum is stored properly, its shelf-life can be extended even after it is opened. Its shelf-life can be maximized by storing your opened rum in a cool, dry area away from direct heat or sunlight. Keep the container tightly closed to presume if flavor for savor the optimal experience for future use.
While closing a bottle to contain distilled spirits, we don’t suggest cork closures. Corks generally dry out and allow the oxidation process to accelerate. In case of bottles with cork closures, the seal is compromised with time – though synthetic corks ones are better than natural corks. Corked rum bottles should have an additional wax or plastic seal over the cork to protect the cork’s integrity till the bottle is opened.
Instead of cork closures, we suggest screw top closures over natural cork.
Another consideration when storing rum is to minimize the oxidation process. Oxidation reduces the alcohol volume in the bottle. So each time you open and drink that delicious bottle of rum, it reduces the alcohol volume and flavor due to high volatility of alcohol at room temperature and pressure.
The bottom line is that a good bottle of rum is best when consumed within six months of opening the bottle. So drink up, share the opened rum bottle with your friends.
For more information on what more to do after opening a rum bottle, contact the SeaSpirits distillery at Kurt@seaspiritsdistillery.com
