Will drinking aged mint gin kill me?

August 13, 2009 11:57 AM

Friends sent me two in-flight-sized bottles of alcohol: a bottle of "mint gin" and a bottle of vodka. They are of unknown age (probably at least the early 1970s, possibly even older) and most likely American provenance. They appear to be unopened. Can I die/suffer permanent injury from drinking them?
posted by Damn That Television to health & fitness (10 comments total)

Nope! You're good! Drink up!

Just out of curiosity, what are you worried about being in them? Microbes? Toxins as a result of time? Toxins as a result of more-lax 1970s regulations?
posted by Greg Nog at 12:02 PM on August 13

You'll be fine. I have a whole mini-bar of '70s-era in-flight bottles my grandpa gave me.
posted by infinitywaltz at 12:04 PM on August 13

drink up!
posted by special-k at 12:05 PM on August 13

I'm sure it's fine to drink, health wise. Flavor wise, you probably deserve whatever horrible experience awaits you upon trying to drink "mint gin".

Seriously, am I the only one shuddering at the mere idea of "mint gin"?
posted by amelioration at 12:11 PM on August 13 [3 favorites has favorites]

You know how people fawn over and splurge on really old wine and whiskey? Those are stored in glass bottles or wooden barrels and just keep getting better. Your stuff is stored in glass or plastic, and while it will not 'age' and 'mature' it will still be fine. One thing to look out for is that the bottles are truly unopened, are clearly labeled for consumption, and are as full as they should be. Small cracks in the seal might have allowed enough alcohol to evaporate out over the years to the point that bacteria could live in the bottles, but this would be obvious as the bottle was only half full or so. I know some distilleries produce collector bottles of various kinds that are clearly labeled 'not for consumption' as they're filled with water or something else.

You are probably very good to go.
posted by Science! at 12:11 PM on August 13

I'd give the "mint gin" a quick sniff, since there's obviously some sort of mint flavoring in there. I doubt it'd be dangerous in the least, but it might be fouler than actual mint gin. As for vodka, it's nothing but alcohol and water. I doubt properly sealed vodka is capable of going bad.

My only hesitation with drinking those would be that they may have value as collectibles. Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to check.
posted by Saydur at 12:18 PM on August 13

The only thing I would watch out for is "crud" in the threads of the screw cap that comes out as you open it.
posted by smackfu at 12:41 PM on August 13

Thanks for the confirmation, everyone. I assumed it would probably be good (well, safe, rather) to drink, but I wanted confirmation. I don't really know what possible dangers I was fearing; these bottles just are really, really old. I know that good alcohol is better when aged, but these, I don't think, ever qualified as good.

Also, the mint gin is green (by design) and looks like Listerine.
posted by Damn That Television at 12:46 PM on August 13

Just to chime in that it's ok, I have a number of bottles of liquor that my parents were given for their wedding (and I'm not a bastard). Most have uhm, lessened in quality in the ensuing decades, but the Chivas is still awesome.
posted by notsnot at 12:57 PM on August 13

"I know that good alcohol is better when aged, but these, I don't think, ever qualified as good."

For what it's worth, aging is only really relevant when it's still in the barrel. A 12-year scotch bottled in 1975 is still, today, a 12-year scotch.
posted by CrayDrygu at 4:56 PM on August 13