Is it bad to leave alcohol in a warm/hot car?

[crankin]

Would it be bad if I had to leave some bottles of alcohol (i.e. whiskey, vermouth) in a hot car (trunk, outdoor temp: approx. 80ºF) for about three hours? Would that damage the flavor of the alcohol?

 

[Uncle Bob]

For that amount of time ~~~No..........

 

[crankin]

For that amount of time ~~~No..........

Does that mean something more? With the ~~~ ? Sorry, just curious.

 

[Uncle Bob]

It means for the amount of time you state, the answer to your question is NO....Nothing more...nothing less.

 

[crankin]

It means for the amount of time you state, the answer to your question is NO....Nothing more...nothing less.

Okay sorry just asking in case...

 

[Selkie]

As Uncle Bob said, "no" - not for hard liquor or mixes, but beer is different. You didn't say anything about beer, but for the future, even letting it cool down to room temperature will change the flavor of beer - permanently. Some beer can stand up to being at room temperature, but most American beer can't.

 

[apple*tart]

Too right. NEVER drink cold beer that's been allowed to warm up and then been rechilled. Do yourself a huge favor and take my word for it.

PS - I know the original post isn't about beer, but this is worth saying anyway, in case anyone doesn't know.

 

[BreezyCooking]

While hard alcohol won't suffer, I wouldn't leave beer or wine (or vermouth for that matter) in a hot trunk for any length of time. And I wouldn't feel terribly comfortable subjecting liqueurs to really high temps either. If the outdoor temps are 80, the temp in the trunk is probably going to be way over 100 in just 15-20 minutes tops.

 

[Hoot]

I will say this.....While it will not harm the liquor, if the bottle has a cork and the only thing holding the cork is the overwrap (Wild Turkey, for example), do not leave the bottle on its side as the heat will cause the whiskey to expand enough to allow some minor seepage. There won't be much loss but, HOOO...EEEEEE!! your trunk will smell like a distillery.

 

[ChefJune]

As Uncle Bob said, "no" - not for hard liquor or mixes, but beer is different. You didn't say anything about beer, but for the future, even letting it cool down to room temperature will change the flavor of beer - permanently. Some beer can stand up to being at room temperature, but most American beer can't.

You don't want to leave wine in a hot car, either.

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

though i try not to heat and re-chill beer, it is largely a myth that beer will become "skunked" if left to warm then chilled again....light is the main enemy of beer, not heat.....that is why many brewers choose dark bottles....so, i dont think i would purposely leave beer in a hot trunk, but you don't need to worry as much as people tend to believe....just put it back in the fridge and it will be fine

How Does a Beer Get Skunky? : A different way to end up stinking drunk - CHOW

Skunked Beer - BeerAdvocate

http://tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_089/TECH_V089_S0227_P007.pdf

(yes, i realize the last link is extremely old...i find it more funny than helpful...but at least it gives the opinion of a major brewer)

 

[apple*tart]

I'm not talking about it smelling/tasting like skunk. I'm talking about it making you puking sick. You don't want to learn that the hard way (like I did, many moons ago).

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

you sure that was because of the heat? i can't think of why heated beer would make you physically sick....it could have been something else

ive had "bad" beer before with no problems (im sure anyone who has gone to college has)....and i think many of us would be surprised to learn that alot of the beer we buy at the store "cold" was warm/hot at some point

 

[Selkie]

....and i think many of us would be surprised to learn that alot of the beer we buy at the store "cold" was warm/hot at some point

The brewerys are regional in order to cut down on the shipping time. It's chilled at the end of the brewing process, it's chilled during brewery storage, it's chilled in refrigerated trucks between the brewery and the stores, and then placed into refrigerated display cases. The primary reason is to keep the carbonation under control, but there is also a minor flavor issue. With cut-throat national and international competition, the brewery's profits demand it.

I think many of us would be surprised to learn that a lot (virtually all) of the beer we buy at the store "cold" was NEVER warm/hot at any point!

 

[BreezyCooking]

A bit off topic, but does anyone here remember the Peter Falk "Colombo" episode with Donald Pleasance as the murderer/winery owner? He was found out at the end because unbenownst to him, the power had gone out over the murder weekend, & thus the a/c to his wine cellars (where he'd hidden the body) which turned his precious & priceless vintages to worthless. Colombo cornered him as he was tossing the bottles over a California cliff into the sea.

One of my favorite episodes (one of the other ones being Louis Jourdan as the murdering food critic).

 

[powerplantop]

The brewerys are regional in order to cut down on the shipping time. It's chilled at the end of the brewing process, it's chilled during brewery storage, it's chilled in refrigerated trucks between the brewery and the stores, and then placed into refrigerated display cases. The primary reason is to keep the carbonation under control, but there is also a minor flavor issue. With cut-throat national and international competition, the brewery's profits demand it.

I think many of us would be surprised to learn that a lot (virtually all) of the beer we buy at the store "cold" was NEVER warm/hot at any point!

When I had my liquor store the only trucks that broght cold beer was coors. All of the others came in at ambient.

 

[Selkie]

When I had my liquor store the only trucks that broght cold beer was coors. All of the others came in at ambient.

No beer trucks delivering to Circle Ks (an American Southwest Convenience store chain) were ever unrefrigerated. But if what you say is true for your store, I wonder why Budweiser was sold to a European conglomerate while Coors remains an American company.

 

[apple*tart]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was the heat. It wasn't quantity and everybody else was drinking the same thing without problem. It was a blazing hot summer night and I, being young and inexperienced and not knowing any better, put my beer back in the fridge to cool it down a few times. Big mistake!

 

[GB]

though i try not to heat and re-chill beer, it is largely a myth that beer will become "skunked" if left to warm then chilled again....light is the main enemy of beer, not heat.....that is why many brewers choose dark bottles....so, i dont think i would purposely leave beer in a hot trunk, but you don't need to worry as much as people tend to believe....just put it back in the fridge and it will be fine

How Does a Beer Get Skunky? : A different way to end up stinking drunk - CHOW

Skunked Beer - BeerAdvocate

http://tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_089/TECH_V089_S0227_P007.pdf

(yes, i realize the last link is extremely old...i find it more funny than helpful...but at least it gives the opinion of a major brewer)

+1

 

[GB]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was the heat. It wasn't quantity and everybody else was drinking the same thing without problem. It was a blazing hot summer night and I, being young and inexperienced and not knowing any better, put my beer back in the fridge to cool it down a few times. Big mistake!

There could be many other factors as to why you got sick. There is nothing about what you did with your beer that would cause you to be sick.