![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/kDqvtJtxMTFRcqR2r4\/giphy.gif\" "\\"\\"")
If your bottle of Kahl\u00faa has been sitting in your cabinet for a while, will it go bad? Can you drink it if it has gone bad? And more importantly, how can you tell if it has<\/em> gone bad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We often use the terms going bad and expiration interchangeably but are they the same thing? Not exactly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The expiration date states the last day a product is safe to consume. These products don\u2019t go bad as soon as the date hits, but they have a very short time before mold or bacteria take over. Suffice to say that a product should not be consumed after its expiration date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you take a look at a Kahl\u00faa bottle, you won’t find an expiration date. That\u2019s because it, like most spirits, don\u2019t go bad in a traditional sense, but rather lose quality, taste, and smell. In the case of Kahl\u00faa, we are dealing with a product that \u201cgoes bad<\/em>\u201d over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a product goes bad it means our standards of that product have diminished. A product could be said to have gone bad because of its diminished quality or characteristics, but still be safe to consume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahl\u00faa is an alcoholic product so it has a long shelf life. The alcohol in Kahl\u00faa gives the product a self-preserving property so it should be good for a long time. However, given enough time, Kahl\u00faa will eventually go bad, because it will diminish in flavor and quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kahl\u00faa’s parent company recommends that it be consumed within four years of the production date. Not from when the bottle is opened, But from when the bottle was factory sealed. You can find this information on their official website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is an excerpt of a forum in which an official Kahl\u00faa team member explains how to find out if your bottle has gone bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo find out when your bottle of Kahl\u00faa was produced please read the Lot code which is printed on the bottom edge of the label on the backside of the bottle. You will find a code consisting of numbers and letter e.g. L3043FJ 12:01. The code in this example stands 12th of February 2013. The second character in the example \u201c3\u201d indicates the last digit of the year it was produced. The following 3 digits indicate the day in the year (Julian date) and the last 4 digits indicate the time of day.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Kahl\u00faa Is a coffee liqueur, so its main ingredient is coffee. After sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, the Kahl\u00faa will begin to get stale and the aroma of the coffee will begin to degrade. And as the smell goes, so does the tase. Therefore, the easiest way to check if your bottle of Kahl\u00faa has expired is by giving it a whiff. If it smells like Starbucks, you should be good to go. If it smells a little flat, then it’s likely time to buy a new bottle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Given the alcoholic properties in Kahl\u00faa, it\u2019s unlikely that an old bottle will harbor harmful bacteria or other pathogens, but it\u2019s still possible. This is why it’s important to pay attention to any foul smells. Is it a weak coffee smell, or a slightly sour scent? If it’s the latter, this may be an indicator that your bottle of Kahl\u00faa has been contaminated and should not be consumed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t forget to check for any visual signs of contamination. Look all around the bottle, especially the lid for any funky mold or growths that could have found a home in your bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like most liquor bottles, Kahl\u00faa should be stored in a cool, dark place far from heat or sunlight. You can store Kahl\u00faa in a refrigerator, but if you’re doing so to extend its shelf life, you can forget about it. Storing Kahl\u00faa in a refrigerator will not extend its shelf life; at least not to any notable degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And If you think keeping your bottle in the freezer to preserve it is a good idea, it’s not. Most home freezers do not have the capacity to fully freeze alcohol, rendering it a thick slushy mess that becomes difficult to pour. The main takeaway is that you should never store your Kahl\u00faa bottles in a freezer. That’s not to say you aren’t allowed to chill a bottle. Just don’t set it and forget it. You might not want to come back to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best thing you can do to preserve your bottle of Kahl\u00faa, or indeed any bottle, is to ensure that the lid is tightly sealed. This will help prevent flavor degradation and preserve the coffee aroma. This will also prevent the alcohol from oxidizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need to use an older bottle of Kahl\u00faa (less than four years old), remember that it, like most things, will eventually start to settle after a while. So before you serve that cocktail, remember to flip it upside down a few times to wake it up, sort of speak. But don’t shake it! Just let it gently wake itself up. And for god’s sake, make sure that the lid is tightly sealed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was once like you. Contemplating a Kahl\u00faa purchase; concerned about how often I’d get to use it. But not that you know all about the shelf life of Kahl\u00faa, you know that you can have a bottle around for years before it goes bad. After all, you’d rather have it and not need it, than need it, and not have it, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s the difference between expiring and going bad?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can a Bottle of Kahl\u00faa Expire?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is the shelf life of a Bottle of Kahl\u00faa?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cocktailhammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/kahlua-lot-calendar-1024x750.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Bottle](\"https:\/\/cocktailhammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/bottle-of-kahlu-front-e1607386438311-768x1024.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Bottle](\"https:\/\/cocktailhammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/bottle-of-kahlu-back-edited-768x1024.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/l0HUg6Ypas42ubkXu\/giphy.gif\" "\\"\\"")
How to Properly store a bottle of Kahl\u00faa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/cocktailhammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Image-of-freezer-Source-Pixabay-1024x683.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Does](\"https:\/\/cocktailhammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Does-Kahlu\u0301a-Expire-or-Go-Bad-How-Can-You-Tell-if-It-Does-683x1024.png\" "\\"\\"")