Long term storage of good scotch in an partial bottle - not a good idea - saveable?

[Destin_scot]

The culprit for the deterioration is actually oxygen. I'm no expert on this, but is seems that if you could eliminate the oxygen you could extend the shelf life of the whiskey, (how much longer...unknown). Nitrogen and CO2 would both seem good candidates, as both are already in use by the wine and beer industries to help extend the shelf life of those products, and both relatively easily obtainable. CO2 is cheaper than Nitrogen, so I'd give that one a try first. CO2 being denser than the atmosphere, you could put a charge of CO2 on top of the whiskey before re-corking it.

[CDNSushi]

The culprit for the deterioration is actually oxygen. I'm no expert on this, but is seems that if you could eliminate the oxygen you could extend the shelf life of the whiskey, (how much longer...unknown). Nitrogen and CO2 would both seem good candidates, as both are already in use by the wine and beer industries to help extend the shelf life of those products, and both relatively easily obtainable. CO2 is cheaper than Nitrogen, so I'd give that one a try first. CO2 being denser than the atmosphere, you could put a charge of CO2 on top of the whiskey before re-corking it.

That's what I was going to say. Oxidation is what's killing it. Once something is oxidized, you are S.O.L. because it's an irreversible chemical reaction.

Just think of the last time you forgot a half-finished glass of wine at a house party and you re-discover it the next day. It's absolutely horrid and undrinkable. And yet, archaeologists are unearthing wine from Greece, from over a thousand years ago that is perfectly drinkable today. It's the oxygen.

To PREVENT it however, there are systems out there that allow you to suck the air out of bottles that have already been opened, essentially re-sealing them back to an almost pre-opened state. I don't know how long this will extend the life -- but it may be worth a shot.

[tundramanq]

I'm a bit gun shy of putting pressure or vacuum on these non pressure type bottles. I'll shop around in Texas and I'll bet I can find a CO2 dispenser to purge the air out with for the future bottles. Thinking maybe the whipped cream dispensers but don't know how long a CO2 cartridge lasts once breached. Maybe there are still some cans of CO2 dust blowers still around.