Too much humidity can also lead to “an elevated level of alcohol loss,” he adds, and potentially cause cork closures to swell and eventually break off. Get handy organizational tips and space-saving hacks delivered straight to your inbox. Open alcohol and sleep shelves in a kitchen or dining room are usually reserved for glassware and china, but why not add your fancy alcohol to the mix. Here are 10 creative ways to store and display your liquor, plus three quick tips about how to do it safely.

And that a decanter is a beautiful way to showcase whisky, but not a suitable way to store whisky for longer periods of time as it will expose it to air and light. Fortified wines, such as port, sherry and vermouth, should be stored in the fridge after they’ve been opened. The colder temperature slows down the oxidation process and keeps the bottles fresher longer.

1. “Room temperature is best for tequila,” says Neil Grosscup, Tanteo Tequila master blender and CEO.
2. Similar to vodka, stick gin in the freezer for about an hour before serving to make a smooth, chilled martini.
3. Thanks to their high alcohol content, spirits won’t freeze.
4. Here are the dos and don’t-you-dares of storing wine at home.
5. “An upright position helps minimize the surface area that’s exposed to oxygen, slowing the oxidation process,” says Hoel.
6. “It limits the amount of oxygen that’s in contact with your wine and helps keep its flavor fresh for longer,” he explains.

Overhead lighting and refrigerator exhaust give off a lot of heat, and the constant vibration can adversely affect taste. But while some types will stay good for quite a while, others have a more complicated shelf life. If you want to keep your spirits spirited longer, follow these tips on how to store your liquor properly. “Room temperature is best for tequila,” says Neil Grosscup, Tanteo Tequila master blender and CEO. “Avoid direct sunlight as well as temperature variations,” says Hendrick’s Gin ambassador Mark Stoddard.

Similarly, Murphy Quint, head distiller and director of operations at Iowa’s Cedar Ridge, says the ideal conditions to store whiskey are “room temperature or slightly colder,” meaning 65–68°F. From timeline to temperature, here’s everything you need to know about how to store wine at home. Follow these tips and you’ll never have to worry about your wine falling flat, whether you’re opening a bottle for tonight’s casserole, next week, or a few years down the line. Long-term exposure to heat can cause spirits to “cook,” degrading the quality of a spirit over time.

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“You can easily get a quality vacuum pump for $10 to $20 and, while not perfect, it can add a few days to the life of your wine,” explains Hoel. If you’ll be enjoying a glass of white (these are our favorites under $20) or rosé with say, a fresh salad, just stick it in the fridge for about twenty minutes prior to serving. Stored in the right conditions—cool, dark, tightly closed—an opened, 80-proof-or-higher spirit bottle can be preserved for years, even decades. “If people want the spirit to look absolutely pristine, they’ll want to keep it above 35–40°,” says Polonski. Spirits stored below that range won’t be harmed, although some—notably those that are not chill-filtered—may take on a cloudy or hazy appearance.

However, “chilling your spirit in a fridge or freezer may change the flavor of the spirit, muting lighter notes and tones that would be present in a room-temp bottle,” he adds. While some open bottles, like red wine and whiskey, are better stored at cooler temperatures, other options require refrigeration to stay fresh. No alcohol should go to waste because it wasn’t stored properly, so here are the best ways to extend the shelf life of your bottles of cheer. “Unlike wine, whisky does not change in the bottle, so as long as it’s stored correctly, there is no expiration data,” says Raquel Raies, national brand ambassador for The Macallan.

Then, give it a taste test (don’t worry—bad wine won’t hurt you). For red wines that have gone “off,” you’ll find that the flavors and aromas will flatten, replacing fresh flavors with nutty, sherry-like notes. You’ve sought the expert advice of a service like Winc’s Wine Club and now you have a few bottles customized to your tastes—how long will they last?

How to Tell if Wine Has Gone Bad

“I’ve got several bottles of single malt in various cellars that I’ve had open for 25 years and they’re just about as good as I remember when I opened them,” says Lumsden. “Spirits do not require you to coddle them or monitor them, they are very hardy and will endure,” says Stuart Baxter, a global brand ambassador who works with a wide range of spirits, from Caorunn Gin to Phraya Rum. Tips, tricks, and endless ways to make more space in your life.

Turn a small, unused shelving unit into a cute stationary bar set-up. Just clear the shelves and add bottles of liquor, glasses, napkins, and cocktail mixers. You can’t exactly glue your glass bottles to your kitchen shelves for maximum stability, but you can be smart about where you choose to store them. Whether you’re a liquor connoisseur, self-proclaimed mixologist, or just a lover of fresh cocktails, you probably have at least a small collection of hard alcohol at home. Learn how long your favorite spirits will last, and whether they should be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Let Clutter store everything else

“It is not necessary to refrigerate liqueurs which are spirit-based, and they usually have a high enough sugar content so they will not oxidize,” says Daniel Warrilow of Campari America. Sommeliers often encourage storing bottles of wine on their sides, but for liquor, not so. Keeping your whiskey down rather than standing it upright can cause the cork to mix and seep into the liquid, altering the high-alcohol content and causing it to disintegrate over time. Most liquor has a high-enough alcohol content to be kept at room temperature, either in a cabinet or on a bar cart. Warm temperatures can speed up oxidation, negatively affecting the quality and flavor. “This process is also useful for checking the integrity of your wine when dining out,” explains Hoel.

If your bottles sit on a bar cart, make sure they’re out of direct sunlight. While UV rays won’t spoil liquor, extended exposure to the sun has a similar effect to adderall xr amphetamine dextroamphetamine mixed salts storing at high temperatures (speeding up the oxidation process). In fact, researchers from Bacardi showed that sun can be even worse for liquor than warmth.

White wine and rosé should also be recorked and stored in the fridge after opening. While most spirits have enough alcohol content to be fine when stored at room temperature, there are a few items that belong in the fridge. Fortified wines—such as vermouth, port and sherry, as well as cream-based liqueurs, like Baileys Irish cream, need to be kept cold. Reds will begin to darken to brown and brick tones, while white wines will often deepen and become more yellow.

Keep spirits away from direct sunlight and humidity.

With more delicate liquors, oxidation happens faster than with higher proof spirits. Showcase your prettiest liquor bottles alongside your book collection. Not only does liquor make a unique decorative addition to a bookcase (or China cabinet, like in the photo above), alcohol withdrawal but it’s also a surprisingly convenient storage spot. Liven up a console table by using it as a makeshift bar cart. You can dedicate the entire surface to your liquor display, or mix your bottles with other decorative elements like a vase, sculpture, or stack of books.