Ask MRN: Questions about drinking old alcohol and Mill Creek water violation

Cleaning out a neglected cabinet, we came across an old unopened bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream … best by 2004.  It wouldn’t even pour out of the bottle.  Do other alcoholic beverages get old?  I know … better drink up early!  What do your experts and mixologists have to say?

It always helps when you have an expert in this topic on your own staff. Below is what Brittany Boll, a bartender at Spring Street Bar when she’s not writing for Muddy River News, wrote when given the question.

When cleaning out that liquor cabinet remember that most alcohol is considered shelf stabled. This means that as long as you store the bottle properly and it remains unopened, you can consider it safe to drink indefinitely. 

So, for the most part, waste not and want not. 

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. The two biggest are dairy and sugar. Bailey’s Irish Cream would be at the top of the exception list, since it is dairy based and full of sugar. The makers of Bailey’s guarantee their product for two years, both opened and unopened, provided it is stored properly out of direct sunlight and within the temperature range of most airconditioned homes. 

The consistency of your almost 20-year-old Bailey’s has to be thicker than cottage cheese.

“It’s probably like a shot I was once tricked into taking in my early bartender days,” Brittany said. “If someone ever asks you to try a concrete mixer shot … don’t.”

Bailey’s, along with other cream liqueurs, congeals with time and might thicken when mixed with different acidities such as citrus juices or tonics.  

Anything with a high sugar content can easily spoil and become undrinkable after a year or two. Pay extra attention to anything with additive fruit flavors or anything intended to be extra sweet. Those usually contain plenty of sugar.

“Bar staples such as Grand Marnier and Midori are ones that I often forget about in the back of my cabinet,” Brittany said.

Time can be sweet for some distilled alcohols. It ages and it gets better with time, but that has to do with the process before it gets in the bottle. Unlike wine, distilled spirits do not improve once they are in the bottle.

Is old alcohol safe to drink? The health department would probably say no. Some would say give it the old smell-it or taste-it test. 

“I’m more of a ‘I’d rather waste than taste it’ kind of person when it comes to anything that spoils,” Brittany said. “The last thing I would want to gamble is gagging on a something I like and ruining the taste forever.  The bottom line: Most alcohol is going to lose quality after a year of being opened. After about two years, I would throw it out or relegate it to use with heavy mixers in a pinch.”

Grain alcohols aren’t going to go gross, but they may lose quality, color or flavor. It’s a good idea to keep liqueurs with dairy or high sugar content at the front of your liquor shelf or cabinet so you don’t forget about them, and if directed, refrigerate after opening.

I heard there are or have been drinking water violations associated with the Mill Creek Water District. Is that true? 

A notice on the Mill Creek Water District website shows the water system violated drinking water standards last year. 

“Even though they were not emergencies, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did to correct these situations,” the notice says. “We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether our drinking water meets health standards.”

Mill Creek, which primarily serves Adams County, did not monitor for alkalinity, orthophosphate and pH for contaminants from July 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022. The samples eventually were taken Feb. 28, 2023.

“We get what they call a sample demand letter from the Illinois Environmental Protection Association, and those analyzers need to be tested by a certified lab,” said Darin Huntley with the water district. “It got overlooked (in 2022), and it didn’t get done. 

“The second I got that letter (from the EPA), I called our lab. I had them send me the bottles that I needed for to get those samples. Once I got the samples, I sent them back in. It takes a week or so for the samples to get tested, and the second they give me those results, that’s when I had to (publish the letter). As soon as we found out it didn’t get done, we got it done and (the results came) back within range.”

Huntley says Mill Creek has about 2,300 water meter pits and serves approximately 5,700 people. He says Mill Creek serves homes by the Ambiance, Hook ’n Quarter, out to 1500^th Street and near the Marblehead area.

Wondering about something in your community? Ask Muddy River News. We will talk with community leaders, business leaders, historians, educators … anybody who might provide an answer to what you want to know. Submit questions (and maybe even a photo) to news@muddyrivernews.com. Please provide a name and phone number. Questions about personal or legal disputes are not accepted.