My Bourbon/scotch collection has been exposed to high heat

[derekj032]

To make this short and to the point, my house had a flooding issue and the insurance company brought in a bunch of equipment to mitigate the water damages.

The room that my scotch collection is stored in has seen temperatures of about 100 degrees for almost a week now. They did not tell me that these kind of temperatures would be seen.

Do you think my collection has been ruined or degraded from this constant, high heat environment? I'm debating as to whether or not I should claim them as a personal property loss with the insurance company.

[b1gcountry]

You might as well claim them. You are probably screwed on your home owners insurance either way. Not sure if it will be covered or not.

[smokinjoe]

100 degrees isn't bad.  You just may want to tip some of the cork stopped bottles though, as they may have dried and shrunk a bit.  Just moisten them up a bit to swell them and insure a proper seal going forward. I believe your whiskey is fine.

[Harry in WashDC]

OTOH, you could be lucky.  Whisk(e)y is condensate, remember, so 100 degrees F is likely less than it and its congeners have "felt" before.  Granted, that previous exposure was pre-barreling, but still . . .

I would be on the lookout for dried corks, however.  The dry, hot air blowing around is intentionally low-humidity, and five days' worth dries out plaster and dry-wall and wood.  It'll do the same thing to corks. Pay special attention to already opened bottles.

I went through a kitchen ceiling collapse when a second floor bathroom coldwater pipe sprung a leak, and I discovered that the guys who had remodeled the bathroom five years earlier had left quite a bit of old plaster and tile resting on upper side of the kitchen ceiling.  My homeowner's insurance did, indeed, cover special items, but I understand that I was lucky - a lot of policies don't.  Do not hesitate to ask.  Also, be sure to ask if you get to keep the bottles if they are declared a loss.  Some companies won't let you.

Oh, man, do I feel bad for you. 

[Paddy]

Your whiskey is fine.  Just note what Joe said about the corks.  I, like others here, have stored whiskey in everything over the years, to include car trunks, storage sheds and barn lofts.  There is a big difference between some short term exposure vs a long term exposure (particularly when direct sunlight is added to the mix).       

[Scotch Neat]

It is all bad ship it all to my hose for proper disposal.

[The Black Tot]

I'll bet every truck delivering bourbon to the entire Southern US has gotten well above 100 degrees on it's journey.

And the dusty bottles I bought in Texas, which taste awesome, have been on the shelves through several power outages in 110 degree heat over the decades.

As has been mentioned before, your main concern is sunlight.

[Richnimrod]

Scotch Neat is WRONG!!!!

It isn't necessarily ALL bad.   Every bottle should be carefully examined for aroma and flavor, to be certain which has been totally destroyed and which may still be usable.     Please forward all of it to me, and I will do the testing for you free of charge.    I'll let you know after a couple years which (if any) can be salvaged.....   HA!

Seriously your whiskey should be entirely fine, assuming it wasn't damaged before the incident you mention.     Sunlight is the worst; and, really high heat (130+F) can be bad, especially if seals are less than stellar.   If none of this is suspected, you should be fine.

[SebastianLloyd]

Haha, I was thinking 100ºC (Canada, eh) and I was like those bottles should have exploded. But 37ºC (100ºF) is pretty hot but India and Australia is hotter and I'm sure their whiskey is fine.