I have good news for you: drinking the Tequila you have is safe and will probably taste fine. If you find an opened bottle of Tequila that has been sitting in a cabinet for a few months, the thought of “can tequila go bad?” quickly crosses your mind.
Or perhaps you have a bottle of Tequila that you received as a birthday present a few years ago but have yet to open. After researching, you’ve chosen whether to try it straight up, with salt and lime, or in a drink. The only thing left to do before trying it out is to confirm that it is indeed safe to consume. Read on to learn more about Tequila’s storage, shelf life, and if it may spoil.
What is Tequila?
The Weber blue agave plant’s fermenting fluids are distilled to create Tequila (Agave tequilana). Tequilas is a distilled liquor that can only be prepared from the agave plant in specific areas of Mexico. Tequilas come in a variety of types, and distillers are required to abide by certain rules. The United States and Mexico are where Tequila is most frequently consumed.
There are other tequila cocktail recipes, though margaritas and several different tequila shots require it as a key component. The agave plant can be harvested after seven to ten years of growth. It resembles a massive aloe vera plant with spiked barbs on the tips and is a member of the lily family.
The plant produces a big underground bulb, pia, resembling a massive white pineapple. The pies are sliced after the leaves are taken off, then slowly roasted in steam or brick furnaces to turn the starch into sugar. The sweet juice from the crushed baked agave is then used to ferment the sugar into alcohol using yeast.
How to Tell if Tequila is Bad?
As I’ve already stated, Tequila has an endless shelf life. This means that unless you intervene, it won’t spoil. It’s probably fine to drink if the bottle has been open for a while and kept in the cabinet. If it smells delicious, give it a good whiff and then take a sip.
Drink it neat or with lime and salt if you think the flavor is right. If the taste is average but not terrible, consider incorporating it into a margarita. The extra ingredients will cover some of the Tequila’s flaws. It’s probably preferable to throw anything away if the flavor is poor.
One other thing to remember when it comes to food rotting, in general, is to trust your senses. Like other animals, humans have excellent intuition when it comes to knowing whether food is unsafe. If something seems strange with the alcohol, such as an odd flavor or odor, throw it away. Throw it out if you’re unsure whether it’s okay.
How Long does Tequila Last?
This question could be a little challenging. After being taken out of the cask and bottled, spirits stop developing and get better. They, therefore, do not get older. Tequila doesn’t become more valuable due to being kept in storage for a long time. After being bottled, it mostly remains unchanged from when it was bottled.
Tequila essentially has an endless shelf life. Therefore, if the Tequila just opened isn’t of high enough grade, it was probably always that way. Please note that the Tequila should be used within a year once the seal has been compromised, which means you’ve opened the bottle at least once.
The booze maintains its highest quality for around that amount of time. The flavor and aroma will steadily diminish after you open the bottle. Of course, as I indicated, how you keep the alcohol and how much is still in the bottle will affect how quickly it degrades.
How to Store Tequila?
- Tequila should be stored the same way as other distilled spirits like vodka, rum, or whiskey because it is a distilled spirit. This implies that you keep it in a dry, cool environment, away from heat sources like sunlight. Although the pantry would be ideal, room temperature is also acceptable.
- Once the bottle is opened, oxidation becomes a concern. In essence, oxidation is a process that modifies the components of alcohol somewhat. The flavor is changed as a result.
- Tequila can be left in a shot glass for 24 to 48 hours to feel the effects of oxidation. Then, compare the flavor to Tequila poured straight from the bottle. You ought to be able to tell the difference if you’ve had some familiarity with the beverage.
- Keep the tequila bottle tightly closed while not in use, as this is the most important step in preventing oxidation.
- Tequila should be poured into a smaller bottle once the original one is roughly halfway empty if you sometimes consume it in tiny doses. Pouring the alcohol into a smaller bottle will decrease oxidation since the more oxygen in the container, the faster the oxidation process happens.
- That only makes sense, of course, if you want to keep the opened Tequila longer than a few months. The oxidation process happens gradually, so the quality gains would be insignificant if you completed the bottle in a month or two.
What does Tequila Taste Like?
Tequila typically has a distinct, earthy flavor with a kick of alcohol. The puresTequilala, earthy, semi-sweet, and agave-flavored, may be found in Blanco tequilas. Each Tequila varies a little depending on the style and the region in which the agave was cultivated.
Tequila produced in lowland regions is typically fruitier and earthier, but Tequila grown in highland areas is greener and more vibrant. Tequila starts to develop varied oaky tastes Tequilaages in barrels. The tequila variety is five. The distinctions are made by criteria established by the CRT based on how they are completed. Tequila Blanco (silver or white) is a clear liquor.
Some tequilas are unaged and clear, while others develop an amber hue due to either caramel color additions or barrel aging. If these tequilas are matured, it is for no longer than 60 days in stainless steel or wood tanks. Generally, it’s a good, reasonably priced, all-purpose tequila for margaritas and shots.
The Tequila Joven White and aged tequilas are combined to create Joven (young) or Oro (gold) tequila, which may contain any of the allowed mellowing additives. While Joven tequila can be fairly remarkable, the most affordable “gold” tequila is typically a mix that contains caramel or another similar ingredient.
How is Tequila Made?
Like all distilled spirits, It is made from fermenting sugars in the blue agave plant heated to greater alcohol. It is boiled, then cooled again. Yeast consumes the sugar in the blue agave during fermentation, turning it into alcohol. The alcohol concentration determines the power or potency of the finished product. 40% alcohol by volume is the alcohol percentage of Casa Mexico Tequilas.
Tequila is either immediately bottled after distillation or undergoes a maturing process that normally lasts a few months to a few years in various hardwood barrels. Given that, we won’t get too far into the topic. Still, Tequila is matured for multiple reasons, including having a smoother taste and gradually changing the color Tequilaavor profile.
Do you Need to Refrigerate Tequila?
Hard liquor doesn’t need to be frozen or refrigerated, regardless of whether it has been opened or is still unopened. Bitters, most liqueurs, including Campari, St. Germain, Cointreau, and whisky, as well as hard liquors like vodka, rum, and whiskey, are all safe to store at room temperature. The greatest way to appreciate spirits like gin and vodka is in a cocktail. Shake or swirl your drink with some ice and Tequila into a glass without any ice if you want to unwind.
It shouldn’t be kept in the refrigerator or frozen; doing so could change its flavor and make it overly cold, which can dull your palate and lessen the taste of your drink.
These take longer to melt, preventing the drink from becoming too diluted. Or, a big cube or sphere will serve if you truly love Pattern on the rocks. Whiskey should be served between 49 and 55 degrees, whereas Tequila should be done at room temperature. Nevertheless, if you prefer your Tequila cooled, feel free to put any wine or other beverage that I open that has less than 15% alcoTequilathe refrigerator.
Note: If Tequila is kept in the freezer, some of its aromatic qualities may be lost, so use caution if you don’t want tequila good Tequila.
Spirits with a high alcohol concentration, such as whiskey, rum, gin, and vodka, don’t require refrigeration because they keep their integrity without it. If you do this, Rodriguez warns, you’ll likely have trouble smelling the flavors of your Tequila.
Can you Get Sick from Drinking Old Tequila?
You probably won’t like it or the fragrance if your liquor has gone bad. So could you not drink it, throw it away? Its likelihood of getting sick from drinking alcohol that is too old is low. Still, there is a chance that the beverage contains dangerous microorganisms like mold or parasites.
Tequila is practically always good to go. The booze is at its optimum for about that amount of time. Please be aware that once the seal has been broken. Once you’ve opened the bottle of liquor once, liquor should only be used with it.
The answer, given appropriate storage circumstances, is a matter of quality more than safety. When stored properly, a liquor bottle has an endless shelf life, even after it has been opened. On it, the typical person would experience Tequilad intoxication after two shots, moderate intoxication after foTequilas, and severe intoxication with additional photos.
You’ve probably heard that consuming alcohol might make you gain weight, but interestingly, it doesn’t do this. This is a result of its low-calorie content. Of course, this is extremely dependent on various variables, including body weight, mood, age, and even tolerance to alcohol.
Conclusion
Tequila typically has an alcohol content of 35 to 40% by volume (ABV or 70 to 80 proof). It ordinario, which has an alcohol content, is made by distilling fermented agave juice in either pot stills or column stills, frequently twice. Depending on the type, it may rest briefly in tanks or age in barrels; some it is blended or filtered. Before bottling, the distillate is diluted with water to obtain the bottling strength.
However, it cannot surpass 55% ABV (110 proof). Tequila can also be used to prepare the cuisine. Salsas and marinades served cold or with little cooking typically contain them. It is generally mixed with potent flavors like cilantro, chili, and citrus in Caribbean, Mexican, and Tex-Mex cuisine. Because alcohol doesn’t cook off in raw foods like fresh salsa, only served to adults.
