How long does liqueur keep?

An unopened herbal or fruit liqueur of 15 percent or more keeps for years, provided the bottle stands dark, upright and at room temperature.

Alcohol acts as a preservative. From 15 percent, the legal minimum for liqueur, hardly anything goes wrong in a sealed bottle. Color and aroma do change, but slowly and gradually.

Cream and egg liqueurs fall outside that rule. Advocaat even falls under its own category with a lower alcohol minimum.

Drinks with an alcohol content of 10 percent or more are exempt from the mandatory best-before date.

The Voedingscentrum names that group by name: wine and drinks with an alcohol content of 10 percent or more do not need to carry a date. The exemption comes from the European rules on food information. Liqueur starts at 15 percent and therefore falls under it.

If a date is shown anyway, that is the producer's choice, usually because dairy, egg or fruit juice has been used in it.

Cream liqueur does carry a best-before date and belongs in the fridge once opened; the instruction on the label takes precedence.

Cream is dairy, and dairy goes off even in alcohol. Producers therefore put a period on the bottle themselves, both for unopened and for after opening. Those periods differ per brand, so read the bottle before you still use an opened cream liqueur.

If the liqueur separates, or a layer sinks out that does not come back after shaking, do not use it any more.

After opening, oxygen reaches the drink, so colour, aroma and flavour slowly change; the emptier the bottle, the faster that happens.

A half-full bottle holds as much air as drink. A fruit liqueur therefore loses its freshness first. An herbal liqueur with a higher alcohol content keeps the longest.

Screw the cap on tightly, stand the bottle upright and out of the light, and finish an opened fruit liqueur within a reasonable time.

Watch for curdling, for a layer that will not mix back in, for cloudiness that was not there before, or for a smell that has clearly changed.

Crystals at the bottom of a sugary liqueur are usually crystallised sugar and not spoilage. They dissolve again when the bottle reaches room temperature. A cap stuck from dried sugar is the same story.

If in doubt, do not use the bottle any more. We are happy to answer questions about a specific bottle in the shop, using the label.