The Proper Way To Store Cognac

You'd never dream of failing to recork or decant that open bottle of wine, and everyone knows beer belongs in the fridge. And, it turns out, the way you store your hard liquor matters just as much too. The hard stuff is alcohol after all, the very thing you'd think can never go bad, but when it comes to storage of the spirit cognac, don't just toss it on any shelf or surface and hope for the best.

Natalie Migliarini, the founder of the website devoted to spirits and beverages, Beautiful Booze, and multi-hyphenate author, influencer/creator, cocktailian, and social media maven, knows her spirits inside and out, as you might expect. She advises to keep cognac in pristine shape — meaning to preserve its intended flavor and appearance that it has straight off the shelf — always keep it away from the elements, much like you would with so many foods and drinks.

The same common culprits responsible for the decay and degradation of many beverages are the things you want to keep cognac safe from — namely, sunlight and temperature fluctuations. Keep open and unopened bottles of cognac in a cool dark place like a pantry or inside of a cabinet, for the freshest flavor and color for as long as possible.

A lesser-known variety of the brandy family, this dark after-dinner spirit isn't exactly a mainstay in everyone's bar cart, but those who've had it know it deserves a spot in your collection. Named for the specific region in France from which it must come to be considered cognac, the drink has a fruit-forward flavor and smooth profile and can be sipped neat, on the rocks, or into numerous cognac-forward cocktails, or even in baking projects like Ina Garten's boozy pound cake! 

Cognac is made from grapes much like wine, and much like wine, it also needs to be kept away from sunlight. Natalie Migliarini says if bottles are sitting in an area of the kitchen or on a bar cart where the sun is routinely shining through the windows the drink can become oxidized. Instead, stash it in a dark cupboard (you can even achieve an extra layer of protection by keeping your bottle in a box or wrapping it up in a dish towel). Oxidation won't turn your drink undrinkable — and some amount is unavoidable once a bottle is opened — but it's in your best interest to slow down the process as much as possible since oxidized cognac will have a dull, lessened flavor detectable to those who enjoy the drink.

In addition to keeping your bottle of cognac somewhere protected from direct sunlight to avoid oxidation, Natalie Migliarini reminds us of a secondary motivator for keeping it in the dark. Not only will sunlight diminish the pristine flavor of your liqueur, it can alter the beautiful rich color — changing the presentation of your pour.  

Finally, Migliarini reminds us that keeping cognac protected both from sunlight and temperature swings is crucial. When temps swing to either too hot or too cold, changes in humidity often go hand in hand. Subjecting your spirits to the weather in this way, means tiny changes to the cork sealing the bottle, which in turn allows for evaporation. And no one wants to let good alcohol literally vanish into thin air. Ideally, aiming for relative humidity of approximately 60% to 70% is a good goal. Too cold or too warm temps can also cause premature aging and undesirable changes to taste, so no stashing bottles in a super hot attic or out in the cold.

In general, your bottle of spirits isn't something you need to worry about going bad — after all, cognac is routinely intentionally aged for years —  and with proper storage care, there's no reason you can't continue to enjoy that bottle for as long as you can make it last.