How to preserve an already open bottle of cognac ?!
How to preserve an already open bottle of cognac ?
A friend of mine gave me a Bottle of Hennessy XO Cognac. We just drank 2 glasses from the bottle and I want to preserve it for the next guest (who will appreciate it). What can I do to preserve it ? Thanks in advance.
Answers:
Use one of the Vaccum-Vin wine bottle sealers. They suck the air out of the bottle, slowing down the deterioration (oxidation) of your cognac.
Best of luck.
Put the top back on. :-)
It is a preserve. Just put it down. It'll do fine. It'll taste just as disgusting the next time you pour it.
Put the cork back in/cap back on and put it in your cabinet.
I'll be round in a minute...........
Just seal it.. It will be fine for a very long time...
Or till I get there..
Put the cork back in the bottle and lay the bottle on it side so the cork will stay mosit. Keep in a cool dark place such as a cabinet. Enjoy for a long time.
Not possible mate! Send it round here & I'll arrange for it's safe disposal...
I always find the best place to store alcohol is the stomach.
Cognac is not like wine and start to deteriate when in contact with air,just replace the top until next time.
I'll appreciate it, bring it to me. I'll preserve it in my stomach.
People who understand cognac know that to preserve an opened bottle you must drink the Cognac in the months that follow the bottle's opening, or to transfer the contents to a smaller bottle in order to avoid the oxidation that could deteriorate the Cognac's quality. In other words the less air in the bottle the longer it will retain it's taste.
Lucky you simply just put the stopper back in the bottle, the alcohol will preserve it for quite a while, but why take a chance? drink it as long as you are not going to drive and enjoy. Cheers
Left in a cool place away from sunlight it will last for a very long time...if you really want to know check their website or just give their customer service dept. a call!
Put a cork in the hole. At the top of the bottle.
The whole goal here is to prevent oxygen from getting at the cognac. Closing the top is good, but doesn't prevent the oxygen already inside of the bottle from getting at the liquid.
One of the other answers above suggested Vacuvin. If you use that, it will decrease the gasses inside the bottle (reducing pressure of course). This does 2 things:
1. Reduce the amount of oxygen available in the bottle that can oxidize your cognac (a good thing). However, it does not get rid of all the oxygen. (a bad thing)
2. Evaporate some of the alcohol into a gas, reducing the amount of alcohol in solution in the cognac (a bad thing!)
This is okay for shorter periods of time because it takes a while for the oxygen to do its thing. I use a Vacuvin for my wine for example because I know that I will finish the bottle the very next day, so it is fine. But I only drink cognac every few months, so leaving the little bit of oxygen there for a few months will definitely affect the flavour.
A better solution is to sparge the bottle with inert gasses like CO2 or nitrogen, which replace the oxygen-laden air with something that will not affect the flavour of the cognac and will not draw out any of the alcohol. If done right, you can get rid of practically all the oxygen in the bottle.
There is a commercial product called "Private Preserve" which is intended for wine and spirits to do just this. It is a mixture of inert gasses (CO2, nitrogen, etc.) that you spritz into the bottle to displace all the regular air, and then quickly close it off. It is available at my wine shops and grocery stores.
Alternately, I have a solution that is much cheaper. Get one of those bottles that makes seltzer water. These are the bottles that you put water in, screw on the top, and then screw those little CO2 cartridges onto a recepter on the side of the top. Then, shake it and wait for a bit, et voila you get seltzer water when you squeeze the button.
Now what I do is not put the water in. Instead, I just screw the CO2 cartridge on the side of the seltzer maker, and squirt the plain CO2 gas out the nozzle. It comes out fast enough that it can blow out the regular air from the top of a bottle. A package of 10 of these little CO2 cartridges cost $10 and last as long as the Private Preserve which costs $20 to $30.
Just put the top firmly back on. That will be fine for ages.
But why worry, it's waited long enough, enjoy a nip after every supper.
Cognac is a distilled Eau de Vie that is stored in barrel in part to allow oxygen to impact on the flavour and aging process.
Put the cork back in the bottle and relax - it will be fine whenever you want to have another sip. Hennessy XO is great stuff but for a real treat try a step up with their Paridis or Richard Cognac.