Love It and Drink It Blog

Ever wondered about the shelf life of your favorite wine, beer, or spirits? Wonder no more. We’ve got the lowdown on the life span of your favorite beverages as well as how to store alcohol to ensure you have optimal time to enjoy it.

Does Alcohol Go Bad?

Does liquor go bad? If someone gifted you a bottle of whiskey or rum, is it safe to drink if it’s been sitting on your shelf for a while? Just how long does alcohol last? The good news is that liquor such as gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila, and rum, are considered shelf-stable. That means that as long as you store the bottle properly and it remains unopened, you can consider it safe to drink indefinitely. 

The Shelf Life of Liquor

The shelf life of liquor can vary depending on the type of alcohol as well as on how it’s stored. Variables such as temperature, light exposure, and o

Whether you’re cooking up a rack of lamb or preparing a hearty lamb stew, you’ll want the perfect wine to pair with your meal. Because the flavor of lamb can be described as robust, you’ll want to be very intentional about choosing the very best wine to serve with lamb.

Best Wine With Lamb

The ideal lamb wine pairing is influenced by several factors, including the origin of the lamb itself. Lamb from Australia or New Zealand has a gamey flavor, while the taste of lamb from the U.S. is milder. Additionally, you’ll want to consider the ingredients you’re using in your dish to find the wine that will enhance your culinary experience.

Red Wine With Lamb

Full-bodied red wines pair particularly well with lamb. However, you want to be cautious and not choose a robust wine that will overpower the flavors of the lamb. For young lamb that’s served pink, Pinot Noir is an excellen

Back in the day, whiskey was often used to help alleviate the symptoms of a cold. And while you may feel a bit skeptical about this treatment, there is some scientific basis for turning to the bottle when you come down with the sniffles.

Does Whiskey Help a Cold?

Whiskey contains ellagic acid, which is an antioxidant. Antioxidants work to improve immune function and fight infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Additionally, when mixed with warm water, whiskey can be numbing and soothing on a sore throat, so gargling with the combo can ease pain. Finally, just like the menthol in your favorite cough drops, alcohol dilates mucus membranes, meaning a moderate amount of whiskey can help you get rid of that stuffy nose.

Hot Toddy Ingredients for a Cold

When you’re sick with a

While the words “liquor” and “liqueur” might look similar, they are two different things. Those differences go beyond how the words are pronounced (liquor, pronounced liᐧkr, and liqueur, pronounced luhᐧkur) to the differences in how they taste.

What’s the Difference Between Liquor and Liqueur?

It’s true that both liquor and liqueur are alcoholic beverages. Both can be enjoyed alone or as an ingredient in a cocktail. And both can range in potency. Where they differ is in their flavors. 

What is Liquor?

Liquor is a distilled spirit containing alcohol and derived from plants or grains. The primary six liquors include whiskey, brandy, gin, rum, vodka, and 

If you’re a whiskey enthusiast, you probably already know what you prefer. But if you’re new to whiskey, you may want to dig a little deeper and discover the nuances in flavors that distinguish one type of whiskey from another. 

Whiskey is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from different grains that have been mashed, fermented, and then aged in wooden casks. When whiskey is spelled with an “e,” it means it’s been distilled in the U.S. or Ireland. Whisky without an “e” is distilled in Scotland and Canada.

The differences between the types of whiskey are due to their various ingredients and the processes by which they’re made.

Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey is req

The next time you pop the cork on a bottle of Champagne, will you be sipping a sweet wine or an extra dry one? Knowing the difference between Brut Champagne and Extra-Dry Champagne will allow you to choose the wine that’s perfect for any meal or occasion.

What Is Brut Champagne?

The word Brut is French for “dry” which means that Brut Champagne is a dry, sparkling wine. There are actually several different levels of Brut Champagne, each distinguished by the sweetness and acidity embodied in the wine. Brut Nature or Brut Zero Champagne is the driest and most acidic of the Bruts, followed by Extra Brut and Brut Champagne. 

Because of it

If you love Moscato wine, you already know that Moscato wine pairs with just about anything. From soup to nuts, entrees to desserts, the sweet notes of the wine complement whatever you’re serving. 

What Is Moscato Wine?

Moscato is a sweet, white wine that comes from the Muscat grape. Italy is the top producer of the wine, making their semi-sweet, semi-sparkling Moscato using Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the Piedmont region. 

While the varietal has long been considered one of the best dessert wines, the delicate flavors of Moscato lend themselves well to a variety of foods. Hints of orange blossom and peach combine with flavors of mandarin orange, sweet lemon, pear, and honeysuckle. 

What Food Pairs Well With Moscato Wine?

Moscato wine fanatics fully appreciate that there are a variety of Moscato wine types, ea

Your holiday meal is ready to be served, and you’re ready to pour that fabulous Pinot Noir or maybe that bottle of M. Chapoutier Le Pavillon Hermitage you’ve been saving for just this occasion. You insert the corkscrew into the cork, and nothing happens. The cork is stuck in the wine bottle! Now what?

Never fear! We’re sharing seven methods on how to get a cork out of a wine bottle without ruining your wine or your meal. Best of all, most involve using tools you already have around the house.

The Good Old-Fashioned Corkscrew

It makes sense to start with what’s handiest—your corkscrew. Begin by reinserting the corkscrew into the cork at a 45-degree angle. Us

Featured in hip-hop songs and even making an appearance on reality TV, Moscato is the white wine that younger generations can’t get enough of right now. But before heading out and picking up a bottle or two, it’s important to know that there are different types of Moscato. Depending upon your preferences, you may want to discover the differences between two of the most popular—Moscato and Moscato d’Asti. 

What Is Moscato Wine?

Moscato wine is an Italian dessert wine derived from Muscat wine grapes. It is light, sweet, and low in alcohol. Moscato’s flavor profile includes notes of lemon, mandarin orange, pear, orange blossom, and honeysuckle.

Moscato d’Asti is a close relative but not a twin to Moscato. Instead, it comes from the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains strain of grapes, o

The holidays will be here before you know it. If you’re planning on doing some entertaining in the months ahead, the time to set up that at-home bar with cocktail essentials and tools is now. Start perfecting your mixology skills and be prepared to artfully quench the thirst of all your guests.

The History of the Basic Cocktail

There’s so much more to a cocktail than dumping vodka into a glass of orange juice. In 1806, a cocktail was defined by The Balance and Columbian Repository of New York as “a stimulating liquor composed of any kind of sugar, water, and bitters…”1 In 1862, a bartender by the name of Jerry Thomas published The Bartender’s Guide (How to Mix Drinks) which became the widely accepted encyclopedia for bartenders and wanna-be mixologists worldwide.

The availability of ice and the ability to successfully transport it before it melted propelled cocktail culture forward, as did the repeal of Prohibition. By the mid-