Either pass it on, or learn to drink!

;)

Thank the person and then give it to someone who would enjoy it.

"or learn to drink!"

Some people can't drink.

I know that, I was just trying to be light....thus the ;) emoji. I wasn't serious.

I always would give it away. When I was stationed in Germany, my landlord and the guy I was buying my car from would always give me wine. I don't drink so I'd thank them and then just give it to friends who did. Now I would probably use it in my cooking.

Same as everyone is saying....Gracious Thank You then re-gift to someone who would use it.

Or, I rarely drink anything alcoholic, although enjoy a great bloody Mary, Margarita, some of the things not at all sweet occasionally.

I do keep an array of different liquors here for guests and can make at the minimum basic cocktails. Many guests. Many bottles of things I've never even tasted 😊

Regift or save for company.

One thought though, if you keep liquor in the house for company, be aware that opened bottles have a shelf life and maybe replace it with the gift. Vodka lasts, but something like scotch, not so much. I don’t drink anymore and recently purged some nice bottles that were obviously (to me, anyway) past their prime.

Cook with it. I have a ton of liquor and wine but I don't drink. They were mostly gifts. Salmon poached in sake, chicken cooked in red wine, cake topped with whiskey sauce, bourbon whipped cream, etc.

Regift or cook with it.

Just about any type of whiskey (not scotch ) gives a sweet potato casserole a nice flavor. It's eggnog time too....but if alcohol is not a choice then re-gifting works....for me ;-)

On our local FB page, someone had a chache of wine that they had received over a few years as gifts and posted them for free. They went fast.

Vodka lasts, but something like scotch, not so much. I don’t drink anymore and recently purged some nice bottles that were obviously (to me, anyway) past their prime.

I didn't know that. There's an open bottle of Dewars in the liquor cabinet. Bought for a friend's visits and he's been gone over 10 years. Guess I should toss it. What about Crown Royal and dark rum. Couple bottles of those that haven't been touched at least as long.

I always thought most liquers lasted forever. Wine not so much...some will age well, esp if it's not on its side...others will turn to vinegar.

Thank the giver, and regift it to someone who would enjoy it.

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the help

How long does liquor stay good? We don't drink but husband's father owned a bar/restaurant and when he died we and his sister split the inventory. It's been decades since I've even opened the cupboard so I guess nothing is drinkable?

Decades? Anything open I’d toss. Anything still sealed may be ok, I don’t know. Google?

I used to sneak a swig here and there at my inlaws', and their liquor was all awful, even brands I liked. FIL drinks wine, MIL not at all. So the liquor had been for years, and it sure was not good.

Agreeing with those saying re-gift or cook with it. It's bad manners to refuse a gift anyway.

From The Spruce Eats:

"Hard liquor like vodka and whiskey has an indefinite shelf life, even when opened, though you may notice that the flavor begins to fade after a year or so."

https://www.thespruceeats.com/shelf-life-of-distilled-spirits-760730

I use liquors for cooking too - and only rarely drink alcohol anymore, so I have a lot of things that sit in the liquor cabinet for years. I haven't noticed much fading of the flavors over time.

Wishing you a happy holiday 🙂

I’ve got a whole bunch of wine and liquor that has been given to me and I have thought of regifting it but I sometimes wonder how many times it has been regifted so I don’t.😁

Santa is on his way! Merry Christmas to all!

Carol - Since many flavors make up the taste of liquor, perhaps they don’t all ”fade” at the same rate? Dunno, all I can say is over time it doesn’t taste right. Might not be apparent to an occasional or rare drinker, because it’s not bad as in spoiled, but bad as in not tasting like it should.

It's logical that anyone who knows you, isn't aware you don't drink. This leads me to think these gifts are not from anyone particularly close to you--work situations most likely. These are the gifts that are easies to regift. I have never heard of an on opened, glass bottle of liquor of any sort aging poorly. Chances are re-gifting isn't really handy either. Hopefully for you these gifts are few and they won't leave you with a closet full of 'good scotch' like my in-laws had when they died.

Depending on what kind of alcohol it is, I would use it for cooking - it is very good for tenderizing meat. I frequently use small amounts of alcohol in marinades that I make.

If it is wine, then you can store unused portions in the fridge for subsequent marinades.

Personally, I do not like to re-gift anything - I would rather donate something to charity rather than re-gift it. I would not like to receive anything that had been re-gifted, but you could give it to someone you don't like that much, since it would be a rather thoughtless gift if you did not pick it out yourself. If you do give it to someone else, let them know that you are just trying to get rid of it and don't try to pass it off as a thoughtful gift.

Anyway, that is my personal take on re-gifting.

I did not mean to pass it off as a gift. I meant just ask someone if they could use it.

I suspect others have as have we, grabbed a bottle of wine from our stash on our way out the door to dinner at someone's house...

Hopefully person won’t keep giving you each year.

Side story: my soul has candied ginger offered me a piece. I mentioned it good. She kept sending me large quanties which I gave to others, not as gifts just sharing.

It’s exspensive got her to ship. I finally told her that while appreciated it’s okay to stop.

Well, Chambord definitely loses color and flavor after a few years. I added some to a Margarita the other night. Was a little reminiscent of the simple syrup I make with fresh blackberries, just not as flavorful or colorful.

depending on what it is you may be able to cook with it or make vanilla!

Why waste the effort to cook something using "off" or other than best available ingredients?

I flagged natacastan.

And now it looks like Carol is replying to Elmer. To that post I’d say that I wouldn’t waste top shelf liquor or high end wines on cooking. How much care I’d take would depend on the particular dish, but my $20 jug of Svedka is fine for vodka sauce, and a $10 sauvignon blanc is fine to deglaze the pan for chicken francese, etc.

Well, duh... ;-)

Maybe or maybe not any $10 bottle of wine, it depends. Wine for any use, whether drinking or cooking, needs to be checked first. Sometimes lower priced ones can have an off taste. Happily some don't.

We have a favorite German riesling that's been consistently good over the years and $11.99. Can't beat that.

German Riealing? I’ll take your word for it. (Actually I don’t drink so it’s a moot point for me.)

Hopefully we can agree though, alcohol as a cooking ingredient shoild not be bad or habe off flavors, but it needn’t be the best, either.

Deleted my response to natacastan

food, we all have life choices to make and I respect all personal choices imposed only on oneself, as you obviously would seem to do.

If there were ever a time in your life when you enjoyed wine with food, you know that many inexpensive wines, even as varietal productions as almost all are now, can have unpleasant or off flavor notes. If you haven't enjoyed wine with food before, you can take my word for it.

Better wine on average is usually more expensive and usually tastes better but not always. The simple way to be sure wine to be used for cooking is suitable is to taste it first, of course.

Receiving alcohol or wine as a gift when you don't drink can indeed be a bit awkward. It's thoughtful of you to consider what to do with it. One option is to politely thank the giver and explain that you don't drink, offering to regift it to someone who will enjoy it. You could also donate it to a local charity or event where it can be used.If you're looking for support with alcohol detox or have concerns about alcohol use, it might be helpful to reach out to a professional for guidance. Virtue Recovery Chandler, for example, offers treatments and resources for alcohol addiction.

Wine not so much...some will age well, esp if it's not on its side...

If the wine bottle has a cork, it should be stored on its side, so the cork does not dry out.