Quote Originally Posted by Delkal View Post
Straight liquor (not sugared) is easy. An unopened bottle will last for decades if you keep it cool out of direct sunlight. It will not get better but not get worse. Once opened try and finish it in 6 months to a year max.

An OK red wine >$10 will keep at least 3-4 years if left in a basement on its side. Some types will even last longer and they might even improve for a few years. More expensive wines can last much longer and get better with age. Eventually they will hit a peak then start to go down in flavor but for a good wine can keep for a decade or more.

Commercial cigarettes will go stale in a matter of months but quality loose tobacco and cigars can last for decades if kept in a temperature controlled humidor. Some cigar aficionados use large coolers with hydrated silica gel (cat litter) to keep the humidity constant. You might have to add some water every few months and monmitor the humidity but stored this way good cigars can last decades.
As somebody who recently opened 5 bottles of red wine to get one drinkable bottle, this is spot on. Most of the bottles i opened were 2010-2012 vintage. Fortunately, they were also all free. 3 were possibly drinkable if i really really needed to drink bad wine. 1 was out and out bad. 5th bottle was not exciting, but it wasn't all that great when it went into the bottle.

-Zach